iPad 1 Owners - Why the Frenzy For iPad 2

[marmiteturkey]

Rumor has it the iPad 3 could arrive as early as September, but even 11 months is a short time. You bought the iPad 2 for it's potential, which even you admit might not be fulfilled for months. You could've waited yourself to see if it was truly a worthy upgrade. The answer to your question is there isn't a lot, aside from a handful of games/apps (imovie, etc) which are iPad 2 exclusive, that 2 can do versus 1. If you facetime/skype videochat constantly, I guess you could use the cameras for that, but chances are you already have a device(s) that you use for that anyways.

That rumour came from the same place as the retina screen in iPad 2 rumour, and it's just as false. There is no way Apple will move to a 6-month launch cycle on the iPad. There's just too much money in the annual upgraders, and they'll lose potential sales on the iPad 3 if they send out a signal that it will be obsolete in under a year.

I bought my iPad for £400, sold it for £300. That works out at less than £10 a month to use my iPad, which is a pretty great deal, and makes it very easy to justify an upgrade. Ditto with iPhones, Macbook pros. Never forget to factor in the resale value when buying it. In a year's time when the iPad 3 is out, my iPad 1 would have been worth very little.

 

[Daremo]

It seems to me that a lot of people currently in "I gotta have it right now" iPad 2 frenzy mode also currently have iPad 1's. My question is, other than facetime (which few really use), what can you do that much differently in iPad 2 RIGHT NOW that really make that big of a difference that you can't wait 4-5 weeks?

Tony

I don't think it's a fair assumption and you really can't speak for the general facetime users to say how few people use it. You can't even judge the forums here on Mac Rumors, since the ratio of facetime ios devices vs forum users is only a fraction. From the amount of subscribers Skype has, I think the video chat is a HUGE reason people want it. I believe it's used a lot more then you think it is.

 

[Tones2]

Playing around with one in a store doesn't do justice to its speed unless you run some of the more processor-intensive apps. It is noticeably faster, particularly in graphics intensive operations. And enough people use Facetime that it would make a significant uptick in sales.

That may be true, and that's the reason that I ordered it, but it's not enough for me to line up each morning with the hope that an Apple store will have one in stock. I can wait the 4-5 weeks because right now "faster" wouldn't really increase enjoyment of using it for my existing apps - the iPad 1 is certainly fast enough for those.

Tony

 

[Pipper99]

Yes, all good reasons. But why the frenzy to get it NOW as opposed to 4-5 weeks since iPad 1 can still do about 95% of what iPad 2 can do?

Tony

Because I got a very good price from gazelle on my iPad 1 before launch day, and I only have 30 days to get the iPad to gazelle to get my price. I use my iPad a lot, and I would rather not have a few weeks where I didn't have an iPad, between selling the old one and getting a new one. That being said, I wouldn't stand in line every day, but I did put one on reserve at best buy, and I have it on order at apple.com, too, and I check target's stock. I'm planning on sending my iPad 1 to gazelle today, so I will have a bit of a wait.

 

[bmorris1]

Why teh Frenzy

Some of us merely wish to extend the usefulness to a family member.
My wife bought iPad 1 for my birthday last year. I am reciprocating this year.

 

[jb007clone]

That rumour came from the same place as the retina screen in iPad 2 rumour, and it's just as false. There is no way Apple will move to a 6-month launch cycle on the iPad. There's just too much money in the annual upgraders, and they'll lose potential sales on the iPad 3 if they send out a signal that it will be obsolete in under a year.

I bought my iPad for £400, sold it for £300. That works out at less than £10 a month to use my iPad, which is a pretty great deal, and makes it very easy to justify an upgrade. Ditto with iPhones, Macbook pros. Never forget to factor in the resale value when buying it. In a year's time when the iPad 3 is out, my iPad 1 would have been worth very little.

Define 'very little'.

 

[Romanesq]

simple

it's much better.

Using the 1 and then the 2 is a big difference, end of story.

 

[NeonGreenHermit]

From a performance standpoint you are hard-pressed to find another iDevice upgrade that have brought such a high increase in performance.

I'm not knocking it - I'm sure it is speedy. But I don't rely on my iPad as a portable powerhouse to number crunch on the go. I read ebooks, play some great simple games, surf online, watch films and look at my pics. Sure, I may be able to shave a few seconds here and there... maybe I'm just a simple guy with simple tastes. My point is that it's a fantastic device made better for anyone new to the iPad... but for my needs, I'm not made of dosh so would rather keep what I have, save up for a year for the treats the iPad 3 will bring, and hand down this one to a lucky family member.

It will be the screen res bump that does it for me - until then... I'm happy.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

That rumour came from the same place as the retina screen in iPad 2 rumour, and it's just as false. There is no way Apple will move to a 6-month launch cycle on the iPad. There's just too much money in the annual upgraders, and they'll lose potential sales on the iPad 3 if they send out a signal that it will be obsolete in under a year.

The iPad3 if it does come about like some rumors have said; I see it not as a replacement to the iPad2. I could see different iPad product that could be sold along side the iPad3. Some ideas might be a smaller screened version - I know Steve says no way, but he can change his mind - at a lower price point. Or something the same size but with better a better screen - something that is easier to read in sunlight - at a higher price point.

I bought my iPad for £400, sold it for £300. That works out at less than £10 a month to use my iPad, which is a pretty great deal, and makes it very easy to justify an upgrade. Ditto with iPhones, Macbook pros. Never forget to factor in the resale value when buying it. In a year's time when the iPad 3 is out, my iPad 1 would have been worth very little.

I think that if the above thought of a less expensive iPad3 does not happen, that waiting a year from now for the iPad3 would still net you between £150 and 200 for the first iPad. Still around £10 a month to use your iPad.

 

[Don Kosak]

Well,

I think a lot of people who gave the iPad v1 a try really found the device extremely useful for getting things done. It surprised me how much of a work-horse the iPad turned out to be with just a few basic apps(*).

I think the iPad 2 will be even more capable with its addition of Facetime, faster CPU/GPU, and more RAM. That's why I'm pretty excited about upgrading.

I ordered mine online, to avoid the lines. In my timezone orders started just after 10pm, so it wasn't a big deal.

(*) The apps I use most are: Numbers, Evernote, Dropbox, iDisk, Goodreader, Wiki Edit, and the built-ins: Mail, Safari, Calendar, etc. I'll probably add Facetime to that list as I live pretty far from my friends and family.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Well,

I think a lot of people who gave the iPad v1 a try really found the device extremely useful for getting things done. It surprised me how much of a work-horse the iPad turned out to be with just a few basic apps(*).

I think the iPad 2 will be even more capable with its addition of Facetime, faster CPU/GPU, and more RAM. That's why I'm pretty excited about upgrading.

I ordered mine online, to avoid the lines. In my timezone orders started just after 10pm, so it wasn't a big deal.

(*) The apps I use most are: Numbers, Evernote, Dropbox, iDisk, Goodreader, Wiki Edit, and the built-ins: Mail, Safari, Calendar, etc. I'll probably add Facetime to that list as I live pretty far from my friends and family.

+1

The apps that I use most (in no particular order) are Mail, Safari, iDisk, Keynote, USAToday, BBC, ABC Player, Goodreader, Pages, photo apps like Adobe PS Express, some games like Angry Birds and some card games.

I think the iPad line is causing folks to rethink computers in general. For me right now I have an iMac, MBA 2gen, the first iPad, and the iPhone 4. As of now my iMac is basically being used as a media server.

Most anything that the iPad can't do is being done by the MBA - like my some of my photography editing, since I like sitting back on the couch as opposed to the desk for that sort of stuff. And I use the MBA with my iPhone 4 for the classes I teach at work using Keynote. PIA to layout cables from the iPad to the projector, so sweet to use my iPhone with the Keynote Remote app.

But I am outside the norm for most folks how they use computers. In the end the iPad replaces the notebook computer for most folks. Many that I have shared my iPad experience with like the idea of this "new laptop idea"... the new iPad2 will give even more freedom I think from what we thought a laptop was needed for....

 

[Rafterman]

That may be true, and that's the reason that I ordered it, but it's not enough for me to line up each morning with the hope that an Apple store will have one in stock. I can wait the 4-5 weeks because right now "faster" wouldn't really increase enjoyment of using it for my existing apps - the iPad 1 is certainly fast enough for those.

Tony

Yes, it depends on the experience. I wouldn't wait 4 or 5 hours or run all over town either. I was able to get one on launch day at an out-of-the-way Best Buy and stood in line for about an hour, being in 7th position. I sold my original for $525 (AT&T 64GB) and got the same iPad 2 model in black for $900 including tax. That was a net of only 400-ish bucks for upgrading. $400 and one hour of line-standing time. So for me it wasn't painful at all.