I'm going to sell my Nook Color, and am looking at getting an iPad. It seems like the only difference between the iPad 2 and the new one is the screen. Has anyone seen the new one? How much of a difference does the retina make? I could save $100 if I went with the second iPad. I want to use the iPad for when I start college next year, and it's just more useful then a Nook. I will be getting a new macbook pro as my main device though.
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iPad 2 or new iPad?
- Thread starter MauerFan
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the retina screen makes a hell of a difference, imo. it also depends in how youre planning to use your ipad, if reading is anywhere higher up on your list, get the new ipad, your eyes will thank you. also consider that you may find yourself using your device more than you initially anticipated once you have it, like quite a few people who have an ipad report. up to you to decide if saving 100 dollars is worth passing up on a gorgeous screen to you, it certainly wasnt to me. i have both ipads, and the difference is like night and day to me, though some do say they don't see too much of a difference.
i recommend checking both devices out in a store before committing at any rate.
i recommend checking both devices out in a store before committing at any rate.
Don't even bother with the iPad 2, just get the new one. otherwise you WILL regret it later.
Me and my wife both had thee iPad 2, I ordered 2 iPad 3's (3rd gen iPad, whatever) I knew I wanted the better screen and LTE since I use mine mostly away from home. My wife stays home so had just a wife iPad 2.
Wife didn't want a new one, didn't care about the screen, etc.. told me to just return the second one I purchased for her... I showed her my screen on my new iPad compared to hers, and it took 2 days but she decided she wanted the new one after all..
you really can see a big difference if you read on it at all. its worth the added cost IMO.
Me and my wife both had thee iPad 2, I ordered 2 iPad 3's (3rd gen iPad, whatever) I knew I wanted the better screen and LTE since I use mine mostly away from home. My wife stays home so had just a wife iPad 2.
Wife didn't want a new one, didn't care about the screen, etc.. told me to just return the second one I purchased for her... I showed her my screen on my new iPad compared to hers, and it took 2 days but she decided she wanted the new one after all..
you really can see a big difference if you read on it at all. its worth the added cost IMO.
I sold my iPad 2 and got the new iPad and it's a lot better. Retina screen is amazing its a lot faster and there are some really cool new features.
The screen is a massive difference. I was never a huge fan of the screen on my iPad 2, as it wasn't very high resolution, which I felt made reading web content in portrait difficult without zooming right in. (and even then it was problematic on some sites)
With the iPad 3, text looks great at all sizes, and larger text looks amazing. Games with a lot of 2D art look especially good.
I wasn't actually blown away by the new screen initially, despite this. It was very clearly better, but you quickly accept that. (or I did, at least)
However, after having the iPad 3 since launch and going back to using an iPad 2 recently, I was shocked at how much worse that screen looks now. It's like there's a huge grid over the screen.
The weight difference is noticeable to me, but I feel like the new one seems more "solid" as a result. Definitely hasn't been a problem.
Thickness is only an issue if you have an old case you really like.
Heat? With the exception of some graphically intensive games (or a select few that seem to be a battery drain for no apparent reason) the iPad generally stays cool. Even at its warmest, it's still far cooler than any Intel-based laptop Apple has made, by a pretty big margin. Actually, any laptop Apple has made in recent years now that I think of it. (going back to the Powerbook G4 at least)
And the graphics processor is faster than the iPad 2 as well. Now most of this additional power goes into driving the new display panel, but it does seem that in some cases, things run better on the new iPad than the iPad 2. It's also the case that some things run worse than the iPad 2 as well, but that's been rare in my experience.
PDF page rendering is the one thing I definitely have noticed being slower on the new iPad, but it goes from being a device where I would have to zoom in and pan on every page, to one where I can read the full page clearly, so maybe it cancels out a bit.
3D games with rushed out retina support tend to run poorly as well, but optimised games seem OK. There's very little 3D gaming that's of interest to me on iOS though, I'm more interested in 2D board/card and puzzle games.
And battery life is a bit mixed. If you're using maximum brightness all the time, it's going to be worse than an iPad 2. At medium brightness settings, it seems about the same as I got with my old iPad. At low brightness settings, I actually seem to be getting battery life that's better than the iPad 2. (I guess the minimum draw isn't much more than the iPad 2, but now it has a much bigger battery?)
Even if you can get a good deal, as long as you can afford the new product, I say it's almost always better to buy current generation hardware with electronics. Two or three years from now if iOS requires 1GB minimum RAM, you'll definitely regret it if you bought an iPad 2.
With the iPad 3, text looks great at all sizes, and larger text looks amazing. Games with a lot of 2D art look especially good.
I wasn't actually blown away by the new screen initially, despite this. It was very clearly better, but you quickly accept that. (or I did, at least)
However, after having the iPad 3 since launch and going back to using an iPad 2 recently, I was shocked at how much worse that screen looks now. It's like there's a huge grid over the screen.
The weight difference is noticeable to me, but I feel like the new one seems more "solid" as a result. Definitely hasn't been a problem.
Thickness is only an issue if you have an old case you really like.
Heat? With the exception of some graphically intensive games (or a select few that seem to be a battery drain for no apparent reason) the iPad generally stays cool. Even at its warmest, it's still far cooler than any Intel-based laptop Apple has made, by a pretty big margin. Actually, any laptop Apple has made in recent years now that I think of it. (going back to the Powerbook G4 at least)
And the graphics processor is faster than the iPad 2 as well. Now most of this additional power goes into driving the new display panel, but it does seem that in some cases, things run better on the new iPad than the iPad 2. It's also the case that some things run worse than the iPad 2 as well, but that's been rare in my experience.
PDF page rendering is the one thing I definitely have noticed being slower on the new iPad, but it goes from being a device where I would have to zoom in and pan on every page, to one where I can read the full page clearly, so maybe it cancels out a bit.
3D games with rushed out retina support tend to run poorly as well, but optimised games seem OK. There's very little 3D gaming that's of interest to me on iOS though, I'm more interested in 2D board/card and puzzle games.
And battery life is a bit mixed. If you're using maximum brightness all the time, it's going to be worse than an iPad 2. At medium brightness settings, it seems about the same as I got with my old iPad. At low brightness settings, I actually seem to be getting battery life that's better than the iPad 2. (I guess the minimum draw isn't much more than the iPad 2, but now it has a much bigger battery?)
Even if you can get a good deal, as long as you can afford the new product, I say it's almost always better to buy current generation hardware with electronics. Two or three years from now if iOS requires 1GB minimum RAM, you'll definitely regret it if you bought an iPad 2.
The new iPad for sure. The screen is night and day better than the iPad 2. You'll be sorry if you get an iPad 2.
However, if the iPad 2 was like $200 then I'd do that.
However, if the iPad 2 was like $200 then I'd do that.
Ditto to comments here. I'd get the iPad 3, with the following caveats...
If you plan on using the iPad in bright areas, the iPad 2 might be the better choice. This is what I have. I most often use the iPad 2 on the patio for the morning news, at the coffee shop, or on the road/car traveling. So the battery at high brightness trumps the retina screen for me. Also, it's rare I get the luxury of 8 hrs sleep on the road so charging time is important.
Added weight/thickness are non-issues. Heat has been overblown. If you get tinting, take it back for another.
Enjoy your new iPad, whichever you get!
If you plan on using the iPad in bright areas, the iPad 2 might be the better choice. This is what I have. I most often use the iPad 2 on the patio for the morning news, at the coffee shop, or on the road/car traveling. So the battery at high brightness trumps the retina screen for me. Also, it's rare I get the luxury of 8 hrs sleep on the road so charging time is important.
Added weight/thickness are non-issues. Heat has been overblown. If you get tinting, take it back for another.
Enjoy your new iPad, whichever you get!
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Performance wise. Not much difference in speed between iPad 2 and new iPad. M
I own both.
If u can snag a refurnished iPad 2 for $350 from apple with full warranty and are tight on money. Go for the iPad 2 if you just plan to use it for web browsing and email and light games.
I own both.
If u can snag a refurnished iPad 2 for $350 from apple with full warranty and are tight on money. Go for the iPad 2 if you just plan to use it for web browsing and email and light games.
One thought. If you're going to be reading multimedia textbooks
like Apple's next iBooks 2 standard,mthe extra power of the iPad 3 might come in handy for you.
like Apple's next iBooks 2 standard,mthe extra power of the iPad 3 might come in handy for you.
Trust me, get the new iPad 
I'd suggest you go to the store and have a look yourself, personally the new iPad all the way! I love the new screen
I'd suggest you go to the store and have a look yourself, personally the new iPad all the way! I love the new screen
I am personally going to suggest a refurb from apple of the 32 gb ipad 2, its 100 cheaper than the ipad 3 16gb, and gives double the capacity of the 16 gb ipad 2 if you bought it new.
Refurbs from Apple are well tested and come with the same guarentees that new ones come with, they come in new shells and you cant tell the difference between them and a new one aside from the box they come in. Which is a white box like retail but with the words ipad on it rather than a pretty picture.
Refurbs from Apple are well tested and come with the same guarentees that new ones come with, they come in new shells and you cant tell the difference between them and a new one aside from the box they come in. Which is a white box like retail but with the words ipad on it rather than a pretty picture.
You will not regret getting the new iPad over the iPad2. It is really worth it.
Go for the newest and with the most memory that you can afford and you can't go wrong.
As for wifi only or wifi + 4G I'd go with the wifi+4G as it can be used in places where wifi only can't. However, on a college campus it is so easy to find wifi hot spots that it doesn't really matter. Unless your going to a small college way back in the hills that doesn't know what a computer is.
Go for the newest and with the most memory that you can afford and you can't go wrong.
As for wifi only or wifi + 4G I'd go with the wifi+4G as it can be used in places where wifi only can't. However, on a college campus it is so easy to find wifi hot spots that it doesn't really matter. Unless your going to a small college way back in the hills that doesn't know what a computer is.
Unless your going to a small college way back in the hills that doesn't know what a computer is.
A small college way back in the hills is unlikely to get 4G either.
I've got both an iPad 2 and new iPad in our family. Yes, the new iPad screen is awesome, but the iPad 2 is noticeably lighter and runs a lot cooler, plus it charges a lot faster.
For those who can't or won't appreciate the screen resolution, I can see that the iPad 2 is actually a good option for many. I actually think the iPad 2 is better if you really travel a lot because of the better battery life as quick recharge. Just think about your needs and what you will be doing.
For those who can't or won't appreciate the screen resolution, I can see that the iPad 2 is actually a good option for many. I actually think the iPad 2 is better if you really travel a lot because of the better battery life as quick recharge. Just think about your needs and what you will be doing.
I really like how much better the camera on the iPad 3 is. I use a lot of photo apps, so having the 5 megapixel camera is a significant upgrade.
Also, the speech to text feature is amazing, and is a big time saver. It's better than Siri's.
I got the 4G version so the faster internet is also nice to have.
And like others said, it will have better resale value if you ever need to sell.
Also, the speech to text feature is amazing, and is a big time saver. It's better than Siri's.
I got the 4G version so the faster internet is also nice to have.
And like others said, it will have better resale value if you ever need to sell.