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Mom's birthday coming up, is the iPad 2 the right gift for her?

V

vader1990

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 23, 2008
220
2
Hi all,

My mom's birthday is coming up in a couple months, and I have begun looking into getting her an iPad 2. I need a few suggestions from you guys as to whether you think the iPad 2 is the right product for her.

She uses a really old windows Toshiba laptop (really heavy; she hates lugging it around) to do some of these things:
1. Browse the internet; reading blogs, news, etc
2. Watch videos on youtube
3. Occasionally watch downloadable/home movies, or look at pictures, etc.

I was wondering if the iPad 2 is a good product for her?

Also, should I wait for back-to-school to get it for her, i.e. are there any "deals" or discounts that I can take advantage of in the next 3 months or so? Alternatively should I wait to get her the iPad 3 or will there be marginal gains for HER purposes?

Thanks for your help guys!
-V
 
From the things uve mentioned, shes a consumer, not a creator. Sounds perfect fo her. Buy now. The iPad 2 hasn't even been out 6 months yet.
 
Sounds like a great choice for your Mom

As far as Back to School, I don't think anyone knows at this point
But typically that would involve the iPod and don't see that changing

I don't believe the iPad 3 will come before next year
But nobody knows for certain

AbyssImpact said:
I would rather buy her a Macbook Pro to replace her current laptop.
Click to expand...

I think a MBP would be overkill for what she uses it for and would add additional and unnecessary cost
 
Is she ho.....I mean, yes, this is a great idea. I'm gonna buy one for my grandparents soon for all the same reasons you listed.
 
I know this sounds silly, but I'm serious.

Check exactly what she uses it for and what web sites.
If she loves to access some sites than use Flash, then it may be a problem and she may not really understand what all the fuss is about, just that it's not as good as her old machine as she used to be able to use/see the thing before.

apart from that, sounds great.
 
There have been rumors of discounts available for iPads with the Back to School Promo, but it has yet to be confirmed.

Honestly i think iPads are great computer replacements for older, and/or less tech literate people especially with iOS 5 coming out soon. I personally would never want one for my main computer, but i'm more of a power user, and we power users aren't the norm.
 
if she can already use a laptop with ease then i would recommend a macbook pro, because some this things she is used to doing she wont be able to do on a ipad.
 
Before we gave my wife (67 years old) an iPad 2 as our Mother's Day gift from the family, she was already using my hand-me-down Macbook. She started using the Macbook and Internet just over a year ago. She would only use her Macbook to check/send emails and spend limited time browsing the net, maybe a few minutes every other day.

Now that she has her iPad 2, she's on it everyday and enjoying it! And she takes it with her all the time.

Go for it. She would still have her laptop to go back to if there are any "special" stuff that she would do there that she couldn't on the iPad. I doubt it.

Even I hardly open my iMac 27 nowadays ever since I had my iPad 2 as well.
 
MacDawg said:
I think a MBP would be overkill for what she uses it for and would add additional and unnecessary cost
Click to expand...

Way overkill.. I hope he's kidding, lol.

OP: iPad 2 is the right gift for anyone! Even those who fear technology, like my mom, can easily get used to it even if it's just because you touch on what you want to choose (my mom had trouble with mice lol). She's never been a fan of computers, rarely used her netbook and when she did it was to do what you describe yours does. And she carries her iPad everywhere around the house now :)
 
macrat said:
Go for it. She would still have her laptop to go back to if there are any "special" stuff that she would do there that she couldn't on the iPad. I doubt it.
Click to expand...

Great point. She could use the laptop she already has for anything that requires full fledged computer.

What I appreciate about the iPad is that it exposes how unnecessary a full fledged computer is for the majority of the world. We pay for all these features that we never use. TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY and time considering that we have to wait for these things to boot up.
 
I got an iPad for my non tech savvy mom and she loves it because she doesn't know how to use a mouse normally and with an iPad she can just swipe and flick and tap. Holds all her photos and makes everything easy for her.

All of those things that you say your mom uses her old computer for, she can do soley on an iPad with enjoyment. I'd say go for it.

I don't think there will be back to school deals for the ipad.

Would not wait for ipad 3. Improvements will be great, but the ipad 3 will be a long ways off.
 
Last edited:
It would be a wonderful gift. Agree that it's not perfect for large scale content creation, but she's got the macbook as a backup for that.
 
GREAT idea

The iPad 2 is everything your mom would need. It suits needs for readers, mild web browsing, games, email, etc. My moms birthday is coming up and I am going to get her the iPad 2 but not till after July. It will be a investment that is worth it in the end.

I myself would never buy the iPad for me because I use my iMac and MacBookPro at home and on the go. The most important thing that will be nice is IOS5 coming out in July which will make the iPad 2 a even better and easier device for our older folks to use. Including reminders, lists, game center, iCloud and so much more. If you have the money to spend I would suggest you to get the 32GB if you think 16GB is too little. I think the iPad 3, iPad 2s, iPad Pro, or whatever Apple will come up with for the next generation will be a while away, so no worries to you and what doesn't the iPad 2 offer? Apple is farther ahead technological wise with ideas but who knows whats next?


Bottom line:

Your mom will GREATLY appreciate your thought in it and even though you will most likely have to teach her how to use it, It will be more than worth it in the end. Good Luck to you! I would love to hear what you end up doing
 
CRFDirtbiker said:
The most important thing that will be nice is IOS5 coming out in July which will make the iPad 2 a even better and easier device for our older folks to use.
Click to expand...

Agree that iOS5 will make the iPad even better for non-technical folks, but it's not coming out in July -- it's not coming until sometime in the Fall. I think you may be getting it confused with Lion, which is coming in July.
 
Night Spring said:
Agree that iOS5 will make the iPad even better for non-technical folks, but it's not coming out in July -- it's not coming until sometime in the Fall. I think you may be getting it confused with Lion, which is coming in July.
Click to expand...

Yes you are right I was talking about Lion. Sorry I got it mixed up. But yes Lion will be great too. iOS5 will be a enormous update. Considering Apple had to build a 500,000+ Square foot Data Center to prepare for new updates and Users. Apple has the money to do anything. Hoping they dont buy netflix though! :(
 
Well, I cannot know for sure whether your mother will like the iPad 2 as a present, but I can tell you that my mom was blown away by it. :)

I bought it for her as a birthday present and she literally uses it every day: now, she can check her e-mail (but she couldn't do that on her Windows pc...), receive pictures my brother and me quite frequently send to her, watch her favourite tv shows online (using various apps or on youtube), browse the Internet, listen to her music, read her books and chat with her girlfriends and children via FaceTime and Skype. The first thing she said was that the iOS is extremely easy to use and that it will be hard for her to go back to the Windows environment (she won't have to do that, I will take care of that personally).

I guess she is so in love with her new iPad 2 32Gb because she normally only consumes media and other content and does not need to create it.

My advice would be: give an iPad 2 to your mom and see whether she likes it. If it is not quite her thing, then simply return it to Apple and get your money back! Good luck! ;)
 
The older non-technical crowd loves these things. They are hassle free and do MOST of the things that MOST people use laptops/desktops for. On the reverse side, my son is 4 and had the iPad 2 figured out in about 5 minutes.

For me, it's with me constantly and was the nail in the coffin for my old laptop. If I need a full blown computer for something, I have plenty of them available to me, but so far I have not. Long story short, my laptop has a new home with someone else now, I use my tower as a media server at the house, and my iPad 2 is for everything else.
 
I got my mom an ipad for mother's day last year and she is completely addicted to it. She barely puts it down to hold her new Grandson. I am actually starting to think she needs to go to rehab. She plays games on it constantly, mostly bejeweled and plants vs zombies.
 
I think for "older people" iPads are just ideal

They don't want to be messing around with updates, crashes, long load times etc, my mum absolutely loves my iPad, tempted to get her one tbh since I am going to Uni soon and she won't have it here to use.
 
Got my mom an iPad for Mother's Day/Birthday due to them falling within weeks of each other. She loves it. She is not tech savvy at all.

Example: After a few hours telling her how to d/l iTunes and updating the iPad, I told her to connect to their WiFi network. She responded, "What's a WiFi?"

I showed her a few things, had her d/l the app AppStart, and I now get far less IT troubleshoot phone calls than when she was only using her computer.
 
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