Here are my reasons you will be underwhelmed after a couple of weeks:-
weight/bezel - Air is smaller & lighter but that becomes immaterial once you put it in a case. Lets face it iPad2 was barely heavy for day to day use.
Retina display - I could not see any difference when watching films, youtube.... Use your usage habits to determine if you will benefit from retina.. Sure the screen icons on retina iPad look better, but I did not buy it just to stare at icons!
MIMO wireless tech - IF you don't have wifi range issues with the iPad2 then you certainly won't benefit from this in any way
Faster Processor - I don't play games so could not see a difference in normal usage
Siri - This is a gimmick i don't use
Better camera For me this is literally the best feature
128GB - Next best advantage if you are a space junkie that would rather pack the iPad with content rather than use iCloud
I would say you are better of playing with both side by side for a prolonged period before deciding on the purchase … or just wait 8 months for the next Air
The main reason to hold out for an iPad 6 (or whatever they call it) would be for the increased ram (hopefully) and maybe even a quad-core processor. Touch ID doesn't excite me terribly, though I suppose it's always welcome.
That's if they even do the extra RAM. The tab reload issue really seems to be a safari and iOS thing. Touch ID isn't a big deal for me either.
How does data work. I bought the AT&T one. Does it go automatic or I have it sign up.
Your reasons are why you were underwhelmed. You can't speak for the OP.Here are my reasons you will be underwhelmed after a couple of weeks
Or add it to a share plan if you have one.You need to sign up if you want to use data.
Personally it was a waste and I should have kept hold of my money. I bought the Air because I thought that the so called retina display will give me a good real estate screen for when I connect to my home servers via RDP apps. WRONG!. The ipad2 & Air looked exactly the same ..
Retina display - I could not see any difference when watching films, youtube.... Use your usage habits to determine if you will benefit from retina.. Sure the screen icons on retina iPad look better, but I did not buy it just to stare at icons!
MIMO wireless tech - IF you don't have wifi range issues with the iPad2 then you certainly won't benefit from this in any way
Faster Processor - I don't play games so could not see a difference in normal usage
If I pay for data but cancel mid month does it get prorated? Not sure if I'm making sense.
Ummm, this post is full of misinformation, and I'm going to correct it.
If you can't see the difference between the two, then you need glasses. It's as simple as that. The retina screen has 4x the number of pixels and has significantly more pixels than your TV, unless you have a 4K screen. The non-retina screen has significantly less. Video looks far improved, though you won't see much of a difference if the video is not HD, since the improved resolution of the screen doesn't help you there. Text is FAR sharper and easier to read, however, and that's a huge plus if you do any significant amount of web browsing.
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Ummm, this post is full of misinformation, and I'm going to correct it.
If you can't see the difference between the two, then you need glasses. It's as simple as that. The retina screen has 4x the number of pixels and has significantly more pixels than your TV, unless you have a 4K screen. The non-retina screen has significantly less. Video looks far improved, though you won't see much of a difference if the video is not HD, since the improved resolution of the screen doesn't help you there. Text is FAR sharper and easier to read, however, and that's a huge plus if you do any significant amount of web browsing.
Being able to get on the 5 GHz band of N is certainly very helpful as is 802.11ac. Once ac routers become more common, speed will be significantly enhanced.
The processor is worlds faster than the processor in the iPad 2, fast enough to affect general usage. Apps should launch much faster and accomplish tasks faster as well.
This isn't to say I think your conclusion is wrong; if the improvements of the Air don't help you very much, then it's not worth it for you (and it's not a great feeling to spend a lot of money on something that doesn't give you much of a perceived benefit). I simply want to correct the factual errors of your post.
You're right that the Retina display doesn't actually give you more usable screen real estate; everything is the same size, but 4x as detailed. This is helpful for anything related to creating content and it makes the text far sharper, but you can't actually fit more "stuff" on the screen. This is why I'd buy a Mini if I was buying a new iPad today; same amount of stuff in a smaller package!
To OP: the move from a 2 to the Air is huge, you won't regret it.
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No, you pay for each month in a block. If you cancel halfway through (I don't know if you can even do that on the month-to-month plan), there's absolutely no benefit. You don't save money or data.
Essentially, you can pay for a month at a time, at which point you have however much data you purchased to use in that month. If you don't use all of it, it doesn't carry over.
Things are different if you add it to a share plan or a two year contract.
So once I reach for example 5gb data cuts off or do I pay for going over if that makes sense.
You'll pay overage costs. Typical usage won't come anywhere near 5 GB unless you are watching lots of videos. Make sure you're on the WiFi at home and you'll be fine.
I'm just thinking about when i go on vacation. IF i go to europe all i have to do is get a sim card in europe and put it in my iPad?
I have an ipad 2 and considered the air... But decided to keep what I have. I'm not disputing the many improvements, but consider what you use it for and whether the improvements will matter given your personal uses.
Personally, I use it primarily for netflix/YouTube/HBOgo, sometimes for readings iBooks, rarely for email/web. Im not saying there would be NO improvement with an air, but I'd essentially be doing the same things with maybe a minor visual enchantment (in some cases - not for streaming video). I could maybe get $200 for my ipad now, and the air would cost $600 (32 gb) plus tax and a new cover for the front and skin for the back... Probably $700 out the door. So a $500 loss for... A few ounces and crisper text on my books? Doesn't make sense - for my particular uses.
It will be a major upgrade, but it is shocking how well the ipad 2 still handles IOS 7