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Was it worth the upgrade/purchase? Sound off...

Ccrunch10 said:
Honestly? I don't think it was worth it for me. I think I bought into the hype a bit and that's my fault. Screen is still amazing, but it detracts from the wow factor just a little bit that I have already been spoiled from the "retina display" goodness of my iPhone. And I love Apple products. Like I said, it's probably just me, but that's my honest opinion.
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This is what I've been debating about. To me, and some will probably disagree, this seems like an iPad 2S. Yes, Retina Display is a huge deal, as is the dual-core A5X chip. But after all of that, it just doesn't seem like there is a single "wow" feature in it, instead, there is a combination of upgrades that is making it great. I'm trying to look at this with a level head and see through the hype but dang, the temptation is still growing..

The model I'm looking at is Wi-Fi only, I'm not really interested in the 4G feature...is 4G a deal maker for people?
 
Can someone tell me where they see the main difference in the display? I mean, I see a bit of a difference with the retina display, but not as much as people here (and elsewhere) are raving on about.
At the moment, I'm quite underwhelmed by the upgrade from the iPad2.
Even running games that have had the upgrade to retina, I'm struggling to see a huge difference.
 
As an iPad 2 owner who just received my iPad 3 today, I'm awestruck. The screen is just as amazing as the hype would suggest. Small type is incredibly readable. Books will be a joy to read. High-res photos look amazing. I just loaded my best DSLR macro shot of a flower in Hawaii on it, and it looked indistinguishable from a professional 8x10 print. Wow. Just wow.

Given that everything one does on the iPad involves looking at the screen, it seems like a worthwhile upgrade even for owners of the iPad 2, if you have the money and if you are a heavy user of the device.
 
MacGeek7 said:
This is what I've been debating about. To me, and some will probably disagree, this seems like an iPad 2S. Yes, Retina Display is a huge deal, as is the dual-core A5X chip. But after all of that, it just doesn't seem like there is a single "wow" feature in it, instead, there is a combination of upgrades that is making it great. I'm trying to look at this with a level head and see through the hype but dang, the temptation is still growing..

The model I'm looking at is Wi-Fi only, I'm not really interested in the 4G feature...is 4G a deal maker for people?
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I think the general consensus lines up with online reviews as well. If you enjoy using a iPad and currently have the 1st gen, the upgrade is fantastic. If you're coming from 2nd gen and you have to pay the full price for it, it's a tough sell depending on what factors are important to you.

I also got the 4G model, but I haven't left the house all day. I tested the speeds and they were amazing, but with a 1GB limitation, I will have to see how I use it outside of school and home before I can personally feel satisfied from it. The difference in speed from 3G to 4G is pretty ridiculous though.
 
Definitely worth it for me. I have to admit, I was one of those people who just called it a big iPod touch when they first came out. Apple finally putting a high res screen in them made me decide to buy one (two, actually...one for me, one for my girlfriend).

I'm typing this on mine now at pretty much full speed, and I'm finding I don't have much need to grab my MBP anymore (unless I need to VPN into work and get some stuff done in various shells).

The only limitation I've found so far is the 9-tab safari limit, which is annoying. Other that that, I love it.
 
I'm totally happy. My screen is outstandingly beautiful, no back bleed, no yellowing, etc. The older I get the worse my eyes get, and just looking at this screen makes my eyes relax and say "thank you."

The ONLY thing I am unsure of is the storage size - I got the 32GB (same as my 2) and I'm thinking I may want the 64GB. Going to play with it for a few days and see how it goes, and if I still feel I want more storage, I'll exchange.

I sold my old iPad 1 for $310 with case, and my daughter is happily inheriting my iPad 2, so I got this one for $470 net... not a bad deal!
 
MacGeek7 said:
This is what I've been debating about. To me, and some will probably disagree, this seems like an iPad 2S. Yes, Retina Display is a huge deal, as is the dual-core A5X chip. But after all of that, it just doesn't seem like there is a single "wow" feature in it, instead, there is a combination of upgrades that is making it great. I'm trying to look at this with a level head and see through the hype but dang, the temptation is still growing..

The model I'm looking at is Wi-Fi only, I'm not really interested in the 4G feature...is 4G a deal maker for people?
Click to expand...

Honestly, with gaming I haven't really noticed the retina display being a big deal on my iphone 4 vs. other stuff that don't have the "retina" display (well, Ok, I did notice that Need for Speed looked a helluva lot better on my iphone than the Nexus they had on display at AT&T but that also could be due to the Nexus having a larger screen so if it had a larger screen and smaller amount of pixels or even the same, it is going to be grainier. Not to mention it could be due to them not trying as hard for the android version of that game. Too many variables to say the retina display was the reason).

Where I notice the difference is in text, especially in reading ebooks. Then it is pretty noticeable. So I'd say it really depends on what you use your ipad most for whether the screen is a big upgrade or not.
 
imacken said:
Can someone tell me where they see the main difference in the display? I mean, I see a bit of a difference with the retina display, but not as much as people here (and elsewhere) are raving on about.
At the moment, I'm quite underwhelmed by the upgrade from the iPad2.
Even running games that have had the upgrade to retina, I'm struggling to see a huge difference.
Click to expand...

I haven't got an the new iPad but I would say you most notice the difference with text. That is defiantly where I noticed it most going from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4.
 
underwater said:
For me the killer feature is LTE data speed. The Display is also a killer over ipad2... very crisp reading books, etc.

Image
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:eek: that is bloody amazing for a mobile device. That's almost as good as the average speed I get on my home fibre-optic connection.

Is that upload speed accurate?

I want 4G over here :(
 
imacken said:
Can someone tell me where they see the main difference in the display?
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When I first used iPhone 4, what struck me the most was how much thinner 1-pixel graphical elements looked (e.g., small-sized fonts such as zoomed out website on Safari, vector graphics like lines on Mail and Maps apps). The same applies to iPad 3. 1-pixel just looks so much thinner (well, they are twice as thin), even with my poor vision.

Also immediately noticeable are non-retina graphics. While I thought iPad 2's screen looked just fine, non-retina graphics on iPad 3 just stand out like sore thumb, even 12 inches (sometimes further) away.

As far as I am concerned, the key thing that separates iPad from iPhone and iPod touch is the large screen. Large screen allows new types of experience that simply isn't possible on smaller iOS devices. So for me, retina display on iPad is an upgrade worthwhile in itself. Things like 1GB RAM (which allows things like more tabs opened in Safari and run more apps simultaneously) and camera are just icings.

It has gotten to a point where I am having trouble imagining what I would really want from iPad 4 (hardware wise). Thinner and lighter chassis would probably top the list, but they would have to be significant enough for me to even consider upgrading. Then there are less important things like better camera (especially the front), speakers, improved battery life, universal 4G LTE, and even faster performance.
 
Im very surprised how short some peoples memories are and how high Apple Mania has risen their expectations.

12 month ago we were all going crazy over the idea of a retina screen, dual cameras and a bit more ram. iPad 2 was very nice indeed but was still lacking the "dream tablet" specs.

12 months later we have every box in the dream spec ticked but wow, havnt some people's expectations gone up! Now, unless it has quad CPU, A15, 128GB etc etc its not good enough.

Luckily its only the lunatics who are still not happy. 99% of iPad users are going to be more than impressed with the most technically advanced piece of consumer electronic device available.

The new iPad is definitely a long term keeper for me. I will interested to see how Apple can convince me to upgrade again. This is the most satisfying IOS device ive had since the iPhone4 and I have no intention of upgrading that for a very very long time too.
 
Meh

I'm certainly thinking meh, but more so in general then compared with the iPad 2. The screen is amazing and the new iPad works buttery smooth, but I feel I bought into the hype and just don't need or want a tablet at this point.

I find my iPad use is forced, meaning I'm using it because of the money I spent. I already check email, twitter, Facebook, etc throughout the day on my phone. Using the iPad is redundant for "me" - albiet a slightly different experience. I'm finding I'm way quicker on my phone's virtual keyboard then the iPad which even with split keyboard is awkward.

I don't game much, and I'm not about to keep a $600 dollar device just for ereading.

I'm already reaching for my MacBook to type emails, write this post, bank online, and do anything else that I prefer a keyboard and mouse for precision - and I love the Apple trackpads on notebooks.

I think I'll probably return this and put the money toward upgrading to a MacBook Air Ivy Bridge this summer.
 
We purchased the iPad2 last week and were happy with it; especially with the $100 price reduction.

Went to Best Buy yesterday to compare, and was sold on the spot with the Retina Display.

Found out my WiFi reception is stronger, and the dictation feature is sort of cool.

So, even though my $100 savinge evaporated, I am more than happy with the iPad3.
 
...

I actually prefferred my ipad 2. Lighter, thinner, faster to charge, just as fast, and to be honest the retina doesnt really do anything for me.
 
Well I took my iPad 1 to the Apple store and compared it side by side with the 3. I decided not to upgrade. Yes, the 3's screen looked a little sharper, but so what. My 1's screen still looks great IMO. Speed wise I browsed several web sites on both and I didn't see much difference. As far as the camera, I have no need of it. So I said no thanks, I'll just hang on to my 1. No need to spend the money. What I really want is a smaller iPad.
 
MacAttacka said:
The new iPad is definitely a long term keeper for me. I will interested to see how Apple can convince me to upgrade again. This is the most satisfying IOS device ive had since the iPhone4 and I have no intention of upgrading that for a very very long time too.
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I've considered all upgrades on iPhone and iPad to be worthwhile, but for me the biggest incremental upgrade was from the iPhone 4 to the 4S. The camera improvement was worth it alone, and Siri is a real boon at times.
 
What is the point in the better graphics part? Have i missed an app or something, which shows the power off?

I mean the 4S is suppose to have 7x better graphics than the 4 but i havent seen anything to back that up, and really is it the same for the iPad 2 and the new iPad?
 
Mikey86uk said:
What is the point in the better graphics part? Have i missed an app or something, which shows the power off?

I mean the 4S is suppose to have 7x better graphics than the 4 but i havent seen anything to back that up, and really is it the same for the iPad 2 and the new iPad?
Click to expand...

What do you mean 7x? The 4 and the 4S have the same display resolution, but the iPad (3rd gen) has 4 times the number of pixels that the iPad 2 has.
Having now spent some time with my iPad (3rd gen) there is a huge difference in the display quality compared to my iPad 2. Everything just looks so much brighter and livelier, especially text and icons. Some games, e.g. Asphalt 6 and real Racing 2 have been updated and look great too.
 
"worth"? Don't know yet, but probably not when you consider the cost. But I'm so far happy with LTE speeds -- seems faster than my wifi, since I don't have fios. And the screen is very nice - although that alone wouldn't have gotten me to upgrade.

Dictation is nice, but I'm not sure I will actually use it.
 
I love the new retina display. The one gigabyte of RAM makes switching through apps much better. However, I would be perfectly fine with an iPad 2, as I had before. I simply enjoy having the latest and greatest apple products, so I must have it.

I think what apple did was great, it allows the $399 iPad 2 to still be an amazing product while making the new iPad a nice upgrade.
 
Although not very apparent in apps that have not been updated for the Retina display, the crisp, sharp display just blows me away every time I open one that has been optimized. This was a VERY worthy upgrade indeed (I upgraded from the original iPad).
 
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