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Is the iPad 3 worth the extra 100 bucks?

L4Leonard

L4Leonard

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 15, 2011
107
0
So I will probably be spending some of my money on a new tablet, which actually will be my first one. I live in Sweden, and iPads are pretty expensive here. Ive tried to make some kind of estimation of the price translated into dollars. As you can see, there is a pretty big difference in price. Therefore I am wondering;
Is the iPad 3 worth the extra money or should I go with the iPad 2?

Swedish Currency --> American USD

625 Dollars for the iPad 3 16GB WiFi
470 Dollars for the iPad 2 16GB WiFi
 
The biggest difference is obviously the screen, so it's a bit of a subjective question. Personally, I probably wouldn't pay 25% more for that although it is nice.
 
The iPad 3 is also heavier, if thats something that matters to you.

I was in the same spot as you and decided that a nice screen wasn't worth a price increase of that percentage. I love my iPad2. No regrets.

If you have extra money, who not a higher capacity iPad2?
 
i think the blazing fast 50/25mbps (here in austin tx) plus the screen is worth it. Camera is okay, if i didnt have a 4s with a far superior camera i would prolly use it more often.

Edit*

plus siri support on ios 6
 
Last edited:
Simple as it is: the screens the main difference and reason to get iPad 3. In my eyes it's really worth the money. I still have ipad2 but don't want to look at it anymore.:rolleyes:
 
If you can afford it, it's always better to buy the latest generation hardware. The iPad 2 is a great device and if I already had one I would not have purchased a new iPad -- but the iPad 2 will become obsolete sooner and the iPad 3 screen is amazing.
 
L4Leonard said:
So I will probably be spending some of my money on a new tablet, which actually will be my first one. I live in Sweden, and iPads are pretty expensive here. Ive tried to make some kind of estimation of the price translated into dollars. As you can see, there is a pretty big difference in price. Therefore I am wondering;
Is the iPad 3 worth the extra money or should I go with the iPad 2?

Swedish Currency --> American USD

625 Dollars for the iPad 3 16GB WiFi
470 Dollars for the iPad 2 16GB WiFi
Click to expand...

What do you plan to use iPad for??

pictures and movies? 3ed Gen.

Email, reading books, typical web sites? 2

Taking photos of family, friends, stuff? 3ed.

Games? Depends on games (most now do not take advantage of retina display).

Also keep in mind 3ed has Dictation for a few languages, and soon will have Siri.
 
If you have the money get the 3. The display is so good at that size that it's almost dizzying. I considered the 2 as well but decided to future-proof as much as possible. If money's tight, get the 2 and don't look back, you'll be happy with it.
 
If you are considering doing a lot of reading (iBooks is great on an iPad), then the clearer text on the new iPad will make a lot of difference to eyestrain.
 
Will the the WiFi be faster on the newer version or not? 4G/LTE is not available yet here in sweden, but my broadband is still pretty good.
 
Since the screen is what you are looking at 100% of the time, it really does make a difference I believe. Fonts are much sharper, and games and movies in true HD make a marked improvement. The color saturation being higher does help a lot too.

Testing them both would be the smartest idea to see if u can notice the changes.
 
I specifically waited for an ipad with a good screen so for me the 3 is worth the money.

Going from a retina phone/ipad to a non retina phone/ipad is jarring.
 
Get the 2, or wait 9 months for the 4. The 3 was a hack, since the thinner more efficient izgo screen from Sharp could not meet production needs, so the iPad 3 was a compromise to bring hi res and 4g out, even tho it was not what apple had planned.
Get the 2 or wait, if you can get the refurbs they are only 319 USD at apple here in US.
 
I was going to get the refurb iPad 2 to save a little extra... But decided to spend a little more and get the retina since all my devices are retina. Well worth the cost. No regrets just that I didn't get it sooner.
 
If you must buy new (ie., non-refurb) and/or the extra money doesn't really matter, then pay the little extra to get the iPad 3. It's worth it.

If money is an issue, a refurb iPad 2 will do you well.
 
PracticalMac said:
What do you plan to use iPad for??

pictures and movies? 3ed Gen.

Email, reading books, typical web sites? 2

Taking photos of family, friends, stuff? 3ed..
Click to expand...

Actually, it's the reverse. The most clear difference between the 2 and 3 is that on the 3, texts are much sharper and clearer. If you do a lot of reading, go with the 3. Pictures and videos, the difference is not that distinct, especially since there are still relatively little retina-level high def content around.
 
i'd get the 3rd gen. it'll last a little longer in terms of support than the 2 and the display alone makes it worth the extra money.
 
Another thing to consider is that the 16GB for the iPad 3 is probably not enough space. I imagine the apps for the retina screen, and HD content for the retina screen will quickly fill up that space. With the iPad 2, 16GB might be adequate, but for the iPad 3, you might need more because why have retina if you're not going HD?
 
+1 that the screen is the major difference for iPad3 and is REALLY worth it. It’s easier and more rewarding for sustained viewing.

Screen improvements go much slower than chip improvements, so the "Retina" resolution is a big step, and is recent.

I share the view (see link below) that a model (of any Mac or iDevice) with low end storage (here, 16 GB) is a much better bargain. There are always work arounds (external devices & the cloud) if extra storage is needed.

http://www.slate.com/articles/techn...ttle_more_space_on_your_ipad_and_iphone_.html
 
iPad 3 is a good economical way to experience retina from apple. $100 I can manage but I don't see myself jumping aboard the retina MacBook pro. Percentage wise it may represent a lot, 25% for the enhanced experience, but nominally I've blown away $100 easily on other useless things. For me retina is worth it. Can't ever go back to looking at an iPad 2 screen, the difference is that noticeable to me.
 
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