Ive been thinking about getting the new iPad since it was announced and can't decide if I will regret it or not.

I've got an iPad 1 32gb 3G as it is, used daily for web surfing ect ect the odd bit of games (real racing ect) and can't really see any reason for upgrading. Has anyone with an older version made the change and now regretting it

Cheers

I think you'd notice quite a difference - not just with the screen but also (as you have an iPad 1) the speed.

The iPad 2 was a step up from the iPad 1, the 3rd. gen. more so...


I had an iPad 2, and don't regret getting the new one. I know people who upgraded from the iPad 1 and they have no regrets at all.

I had the iPad 1 16gb wifi and have now got the iPad 3 wifi

Wow what a difference in speed and screen quality

Just sold my 1 on eBay for £220 which I was a little surprised about
I got the 3 from Tesco with there £15 code for £384

So my total cost to upgrade was £165 - eBay costs

I have an ipad 1 16gb but just bought the ipad 2 16gb for £300 new.Save more money being a gen behind

I had an iPad 1 16gb wifi and upgraded to a new iPad 3 last week. I'm finding the new iPad faster and the screen quality is amazing. My iPad 1 was also crashing quite often but that hasn't been a problem with the new iPad, it runs so smoothly. It has definitely been worth the upgrade for me.

I'm now selling my original iPad on eBay. Hopefully I'll get a decent amount for it.

If you want a new tablet and already have an iPad, why not consider an Android Tablet, like the Asus Transformer Prime?

I have an iPad 2 and the upgrade to the 3 was well worth it for me!

Very happy!

I had an iPad 1 16gig wifi and upgraded to the 3. Couldn't be happier. Perfect screen and such a speed upgrade it's unreal. It's replaced my MacBook completely.

Normally I'd agree with you but the iPad's are, relatively speaking, cheap as chips for what you get. An extra ton for the iPad 3 over the iPad 2 seems worth it, but more importantly the step up from the iPad 1 to the iPad 3 will actually feel like you're getting your money's worth.

All IMO obviously. Money is money and there's not enough of it to go around, unless you're a banker.

"cheap as chips for what you get" ????

"cheap" is very subjective ....

"what you get" .....

small screen (although admittedly quite high res)
mono speaker
no GPS (unless you get the 3G model)
non-expandable memory
limited connectivity (without specific extra adapters)

Whilst im not getting into any Apple criticism here you can get an awful lot more for your money elsewhere ....

But its Apple so its perfect Steve Jobs said so

Alternatively...

What you get is a screen of a quality, produced in numbers and at a cost, that pretty much anyone who knew anything about it couldn't be done 12 months ago, which is universally agreed to be the best currently available. And is a screen that any user can appreciate the benefit of.

What you don't get are often things that most people don't necessarily need or have much use for.

so you are getting a screen ? is that really the only thing that now justifies the cost ? and looking at other threads there are many who dont feel the screen is worth an upgrade ....

Its a good resolution for a tablet (slightly higher resolution than the new ASUS) but its still:

1) smaller than may competitor screens
2) 4:3 - making it a much smaller viewing size for widescreen video content than most competitors
3) much lower resolution than many high-end phones (ie pixels per inch)

but to make it clear im in the camp that high resolution is good .... i just think that the comment that 'its cheap for what you get' was a tad misguided ....

There are tablets out there that are cheaper AND provide more features - and are just as well made.

That doesn't mean that the iPad isn't good for what you get.

This is like when the original iPad came out. There was a consensus that within a year, the market would be full of tablets available at a much lower price than the iPad. That didn't really happen.

And no, of course the screen isn't the only consideration, but given the nature of the device, its a big one. And the phone resolution is a bit of a red herring when you take into account the different viewing distances, and different screen size.

I agree its a red herring - particularly as iPad1 and 2 owners were raving about their screen until the new one came along .... but like I say, i firmly believe that higher res is better (to a point).

But .... back to the value for money .....

The ASUS pad (due to be released soon ?) has:

1) Bigger screen
2) Almost as high a resolution
3) keyboard dock
4) additional battery (assuming 14 hours in total if like the existing transformers)
5) HDMI port
6) USB ports (with USB host)
7) expandable memory (plus the ability to use an external drive)
8) card reader slots
9) GPS ! (still cant believe you only get this on 3G model iPads or has that changed with the new one ?)
10) Stereo speakers (again ... mono iPad speakers ? really ???)

That, to me, would be more justifiable use of the term 'cheap for what you get'.

Just to comment on a few of those points -

3. This can be achieved through a bluetooth keyboard
5. I have an Apple connector to HDMI dongle that works fine on my IPad
9. There is a good reason for this. The Apple implementation of assisted GPS requires a cell signal to accelerate the acquisition of the location.

to be fair I know that some of the above can be achieved through bluetooth or adapters but thats all additional costs - making the case for 'cheap for what you get' even worse ..... one of the things i AM envious about with regards to Apple is the extras you CAN buy if you want (ie docks, speakers etc).

with (9) though - android uses assisted GPS using cell signal too .... if you are on 3G .... but I still have GPS on my wifi only tablet !

In fact my Nexus also uses a Barometer to assist the GPS fix even further.

so ill give you (3) and (5) to a pint (as long as we agree that extra cost is involved ) but (9) thats really no excuse from Apple

[quote=Stuart_h;57341366 but (9) thats really no excuse from Apple [/QUOTE]

Actually I agree with you. It's just the usual Apple decision to not offer something if it detracts from the user experience - and yes, I'd also rather have something than nothing, but that's not how Apple works. Though in the long run this philosophy tends to win for them giving simple easy to use products without lots of setup and tradeoffs.

I think that's what it comes down to - yes its obviously useful to have as many features / options as possible. But ultimately if a large proportion of users aren't going to make use of them, and the overall usability can be kept as simple / intuitive / unobtrusive as possible, then those are arguably upsides.

Given Apple's success, its difficult to argue that they've gotten it wrong.

I think the rise of Android in the smartphone market says something (choice of features, sizes, price etc).

Ite quite similar to the original Apple vs IBM/Microsoft battle for those of us old enoght to remember

I think the tablet market will be interesting for the next few years. I think many people who now have Android phones will be looking to the (gradually improving) Android Tablet market. I also think that for tablets it may be that Windows is the dark horse ....

My personal opinion is that Apple have had the majority share for a while but that has now gone with smartphones (even when looking at an individual handset rather than the OS I believe that the Galaxy S2 sold more units in Q4 2011 than the iphone did) and the tablet market will go the same way. The tablet market has moved from a 95% market share to about a 60% share already. This is simple logic based on the number of other manufacturers producing tablet now.

Im not saying that Apple is 'in trouble' but that the market share is changing. However .... with the market itself increasing they will still probably sell more units year on year.

If the iPad has no gps how does find my iPad work ?

By triangulating on cell towers and wifi hotspots

I wonder what the percentage of users that would need GPS on their iPad is?

How many are used at home and never leave the house?

If you want to use it away from home you get the 3G version with GPS(like) functionality.

I would rather have GPS on a phone sized device that you can always carry in your pocket, why lug a tablet around everywhere?

Thats the point exactly .... some people will never use these features .... but others will. My wife doesnt use Twitter. Does that mean that the phone should be prevented from using a Twitter app ?

My (original) point was that the iPad isnt really great 'value for money' as - for a tablet - it is actually quite sparse on features and 'nice to haves' .... you pretty much get the bare minimum.

Thats not a dig at Apple, just a fact. It doesnt stop them selling iPads though so either:

1) those that DO want the missing features go elsewhere (as per the increasing market share of other devices)
2) a percentage of iPad owners (maybe a tiny percentage or maybe a huge percentage) dont even know that the features are available elsewhere.

its (2) that worries me. Anyone spending that much money on a product really should research the item first (IMHO).

Looking at your list I would be thinking ...


So for times when I don't use my iPad (1st Gen) I use a Toshiba L750D laptop.

As well as the extremely rare occasions of using Flash, I can't run MS Access on my iPad either.