iPad for uni...

[jackgbanks]

Good 'morrow,

I'm looking at getting an iPad before I head off to uni in the summer but am a bit stumped as to which one to go for...

The white one does look gorgeous but I already have a BlackBook and a black iPhone 4.

Also, what size do you reckon I would need? Are people finding certain sizes are too small?

And last but not least: accessories! Which ones to go for? Any decent but cheaper 3rd party ones that can do the same? Also, iPad covers - polywhatdymacallit or leather?

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!!

Jack

 

[seajay96]

Good 'morrow,

I'm looking at getting an iPad before I head off to uni in the summer but am a bit stumped as to which one to go for...

The white one does look gorgeous but I already have a BlackBook and a black iPhone 4.

Also, what size do you reckon I would need? Are people finding certain sizes are too small?

And last but not least: accessories! Which ones to go for? Any decent but cheaper 3rd party ones that can do the same? Also, iPad covers - polywhatdymacallit or leather?

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!!

Jack

Your first two questions can only really be answered by you...white/black, whatever...are you going to use a case? If so, does the color really matter?

Size? What are you planning on using the iPad for? Are you thinking of storing a lot of media files and PDFs, textbooks, etc on the iPad? If so, the biggest iPad you can afford is the best...I have 12gb of media and around 19gb of PDFs from my classes...so, nothing less than 64gb would do.

 

[jackgbanks]

[QUOTE/] Size? What are you planning on using the iPad for? Are you thinking of storing a lot of media files and PDFs, textbooks, etc on the iPad? If so, the biggest iPad you can afford is the best...I have 12gb of media and around 19gb of PDFs from my classes...so, nothing less than 64gb would do. [QUOTE/]

Hmmm... well, from the sound of it you use quite a lot of space so maybe the 64 Gb would be the best option. Roughly how large are the PDF's that you have on yours and are they easy to annotate?

Jack

 

[Scuby]

No opinion on colour, up to you.

For size, your best bet is to sit and think about what you'd realistically want to out on it. How much music do you usually carry around? Do you have any other big data-hungry apps you expect to use? What documents / images will you load onto it? Get a rough idea of what you think you'll use it for, roughly how much capacity each needs, and then choose your iPad. If you've already got an iPhone, that should give you a reasonable starting point.

For accessories, I just have a car charger (generic brand, but rated 1A to give a decent charge speed), a stick-on screen protector (which i don't think it needs, but don't notice it so figure it's better to be safe), and a cheapo eBay neoprene zippered sleeve for when i'm carrying it around a lot (but usually it just lies around the houses with no cases / sleeves / protection, and if i'm not going far with it it'll just slide into one of the pouches in my rucksack).

David

 

[anjinha]

Another thing to consider when you're picking the size of the iPad is also if you're getting the 3G model or not and how much access to WiFi you will have. If you're always with access to internet you can have files and PDFs stored in the cloud and only access them when you need them. You can also potentially stream movies and TV shows instead of storing them on the device.

 

[Entame]

Colour I have no opinion.

Size, i got the 32gig. It is more then enough for me. I am very cloud-heavy, I have 50+ gigs for dropbox. I keep around 10 gigs of music/podcasts/audiobooks. I would have felt constrained with 16gigs, i'm happy with 32gig, I never would have needed 64gigs.

I'd skip the smart cover. It offers very little protection, none to the back and I found mine (polyurethane) makes my screen feel dirtier. This is because it has vertical ridges (that allow it to fold up and act as a stand) and so you get a strip pattern on the screen. I'd wait until 3rd parties start releasing their cases. The first round didn't know about the magnets. I think once 3rd parties start making their own "smart covers" you'll see much nicer cases.