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iPad Original iPad 1 still worth it?

jthesssin

jthesssin

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 6, 2013
162
95
Matthews NC
So, I have the iCade, the first edition from Think Geek, and was looking into getting an iPad 1st gen to load up some arcade action. is the first edition still worth purchasing? I have the Atari Greatest hits, and the Midway arcade pack as well. Im thinking the batteries on these have to be at the end of their life cycle. what about replacements? I want the original, as it offers the best fit for the original version of the iCade cabinet. It also has a big enough screen border to allow for a custom Arcade Skin to be applied to complete the look...
 
I would say no. I currently have a first generation iPad mini, and it has so much lag on basic tasks. My mini has an A5 chip, and the original iPad has an A4 chip. Maybe if you got it for very cheap, although I can't see it being of very much value to be honest.
 
it only needs to run Atari Arcade and midway Arcade. 2 apps designed for the first generation. I don't remember much, if any lag, when I originally had these apps on my iPad1. Most of the iPads I have seen are roughly 50-150 depending on if they had 3G or 64Gb. Im not planning on spending more than 75 since it needs to hold about 600 mb total :)

Having just browsed my downloads, i see the the Atari App has been updated and requires iOS8 as a minimum so this may all be a moot point..... time to look at my old 2010 Mac Mini to see if i still have the original version of the App....
 
I own a gen 1 iPad and with iOS 5 its fairly frustrating to use. Its slow and apps tend to crash frequently. If you want to run a single app designed for it and can get it fairly cheap than sure but its about as useful as a cassette recorder now. I use it for browsing (have to be selective) and Plex (luckily still mostly functional).
 
I have an original iPad running iOS 5.1.1

If you do a fresh install/reset it runs great. It is still used in my house by my 4 years old to just watch Videos on the Videos App, seeing as iPlayer is not longer supported and the YouTube App no longer works as well.

If you can get an older version of the Atari App for it, it should be fine. Problem is you don't want to be paying much for it. I reckon £50($75) for a 32Gb model.
 
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i ordered an icade core with my ipad2. awesome. especially with imame, when it was available. (no JB required)

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The problem is iOS 5. I had the iPad 1, and iOS 5 just killed it. It cannot even open apps without something crashing.
If you found one with iOS4, then I think it's fine. Other than that, even the iPad 2 will be miles better.
 
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ha
sjleworthy said:
i ordered an icade core with my ipad2. awesome. especially with imame, when it was available. (no JB required)

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ic03.jpg
Click to expand...
Had never seen this version of the iCade.... thats pretty slick!

flopticalcube said:
I own a gen 1 iPad and with iOS 5 its fairly frustrating to use. Its slow and apps tend to crash frequently. If you want to run a single app designed for it and can get it fairly cheap than sure but its about as useful as a cassette recorder now. I use it for browsing (have to be selective) and Plex (luckily still mostly functional).
Click to expand...
HEY NOW! I still own a cassette deck and cassette tapes! IN fact, I just bought a handful of tapes at the goodwill store last night! (vinyl selection is getting weak in NC goodwill stores). Nothing wrong with keeping a little vintage around. reminds us where we came from! :)

davygee said:
I have an original iPad running iOS 5.1.1

If you do a fresh install/reset it runs great. It is still used in my house by my 4 years old to just watch Videos on the Videos App, seeing as iPlayer is not longer supported and the YouTube App no longer works as well.

If you can get an older version of the Atari App for it, it should be fine. Problem is you don't want to be paying much for it. I reckon £50($75) for a 32Gb model.
Click to expand...
I doubt I would even go up to 32 Gb since its only for those two previously mentioned apps.....32 is a little overkill ;-) I forgot to look at my 2010 Mini to see if i still had the old version of Atari App somewhere.....
 
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I have the original iCade. It works with all versions of the iPad btw. Get a used iPad 2 or iPad 3 with Retina Display, they fit the cabinet quite well (the iPad 3 is actually thicker than the iPad 2 which might help you). jailbreak it and install emulators on it. A much better solution than the original iPad.
 
jthesssin said:
HEY NOW! I still own a cassette deck and cassette tapes! IN fact, I just bought a handful of tapes at the goodwill store last night! (vinyl selection is getting weak in NC goodwill stores). Nothing wrong with keeping a little vintage around. reminds us where we came from! :)
Click to expand...
Just to be pedantic, I did say cassette recorder. I feel a little down now that you are implying my iPad 1 is vintage but then again so am I so its in excellent company.
 
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If you have a museum, you can get it. Otherwise, you should spend your money on something more recent.
 
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