I have a feeling most of the people who start these threads - this one included - are just old users who create a new account looking for a few cheap laughs![]()
It surely isn't a coincidence...
For 10+ years I had a plan in place about refreshing my Apple computers. I always had a desktop and laptop and would get replacements in alternative years. So I each year I would get something nice and shinny new and sell off the previous on eBay. Apple blew that for me with the conversion from the PowerMac to the Mac Pro by jacking up the entry price making it no longer a "mid-range" desktop and also doing away with "matte" screens on iMacs. So I no longer get "desktops". But that is a story for a different day...
With the iPhone it has been pretty simple, I have just refreshed every two years (iPhone 3G to iPhone 4) as that is when the contract expires.
Not quite sure were the iPad is going to fit in a refresh policy. Because of the huge hit it has been in the extended family it would be quite easy to just get the new model each year and hand the previous years model to my niece or nephew. So every year I would get a new shinny one, but give them something updated every year too...