Questions for a cheap Ipad...

[beno44]

Got myself an Ipad Air 2, love it..problem is my 9 year old loves it as much as I do.. not going to spend a ton, so looking at the older ones off ebay... is there a huge difference between the different generations?? how about the Airs???

thanks!

 

[hollyworld]

Not a lot of difference especially if it's going to be for a child. however I'd look at the Nook. We have the Nook 7" HD for our kids and I think you can get the newer ones for $150ish. What I like about it is that you have a personal login and then set up your kids. You download the apps/games etc. on your account and then you can assign what you want to share with your kid. They only have access to what you have shared with them. I have the Ipad and love it but I like the Nook better for the control I have over appropriate content. As far as apps goes, just about everything we have looked for that is on the Ipad has been available on the Nook. We have a Nook for my 6 and 10 year old and they love it and never ask to use my Ipad anymore! Just my opinion.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

We have an iPad Mini, and iPad2 and a "new" iPad (the third one). My four year old will use whichever he gets his hands on. There is nothing that one does that the others don't as far as what the kids use them for.

 

[beno44]

Thanks guys... maybe the bigger decision is Ipad or Mini

 

[havaneselover]

I have a mini 2 32gb. I paid $250 for it last year right before thanksgiving. I love it. My DD has a mini and my DS has an iPad 2. His will eventually get upgraded to a mini 2.

 

[aprilchem]

We have them all here (DH is an app developer). I'd say anything after iPad 2 would be fine - my kids use the mini, Air, and Air2. The iPad 2 has issues with Minecraft sometimes because the processor isn't quite as fast. The rest of them are just fine.

 

[jedijill]

Just be aware that some of the older models don't support the newest IOS releases which mean some new apps won't work. Not sure of the cutoffs but something to think about.

Jill in CO

 

[princessesintraining]

My husband just order an iPad mini from best buy online for $199. That's the cheapest we've seen them. We actually just ordered another one because my oldest was saving for a Disney trip, but wanted an iPad too. Guess she'll have to start saving again.

 

[mondragon]

Do not buy off eBay. Instead check out apples refurbished iPads. They are just like new and you get a warranty from Apple. You can buy last years model too.

 

[havaneselover]

Just be aware that some of the older models don't support the newest IOS releases which mean some new apps won't work. Not sure of the cutoffs but something to think about.

Jill in CO

I think everything but the original Ipad can run on the latest IOS. My DS has an IPad 2 and DD has and IPad mini and their dad upgraded both of their IOSs. But going forward they probably won't be able to be upgraded.

 

[havaneselover]

Do not buy off eBay. Instead check out apples refurbished iPads. They are just like new and you get a warranty from Apple. You can buy last years model too.

When I got mine last November, refurbished ones were more expensive than new from Best Buy. Sometimes you can find a better deal buying new but most of the time refurbished from Apple are a great deal.

My other advice is not to buy a 16gb one. They are just too small. My kids are constantly running out of space.

 

[beno44]

Dont see any Apple refurbs for much less than $400... can get a new mini from Best Buy for $200 or a refurbed 3 for about $230 off Ebay or from a local guy...

 

[ktlm]

The original IPAD is not upgradable and there are a lot of apps you can not download onto it. I would say probably more that you can't download, than you can. We have one of those at our house that still gets played with for what is on it, but really we can't put anything new on it. I would stay away from anything that old. DD (9) has an IPAD mini that she got for Christmas 2013 from her Grandparents just before she turned 8 and she loves it. She has never complained that it is not full sized. Hers is wifi only so it was cheaper and we have no monthly charge for service. She gets a little annoyed that there are things she can't do in the car with it, but she's 9 so she can deal with it! So far we have been able to upgrade it and we have not had any apps that we could not download onto it. I would go with the most recent version you can afford though because the last thing you want is to get it and it become obsolete in 6 months and you are already having to look for a new one.

 

[greentea]

Dont see any Apple refurbs for much less than $400... can get a new mini from Best Buy for $200 or a refurbed 3 for about $230 off Ebay or from a local guy...

Yes, Apple doesn't have any of the lower-priced ones in stock right now, but I bought my 16gb ipad mini 2 from the Apple refurb store for $250; it's $300 new. If you don't mind the first-generation mini, Best Buy is probably a good way to go.

 

[HM]

If you child likes the iPad, do not get a Kindle Fire because it's cheaper. It's just not the same.
We have both at our house and the Fire sits in a drawer, the iPad mini (I bought to replace the original iPad that I couldn't upgrade the IOS on) gets passed around all evening between us.

 

[eolian]

I will also say don't buy a nook or fire and expect your 9 year old to use it instead of the ipad. I tried that and it was a total waste of money. We have a mini we got for $199 and it has been as good as the ipad 2 we replaced (it died). I thought I would miss the size but I don't.

 

[beno44]

Other than size... whats the difference between the 3/4 generation and the Air 1/2?

 

[bbarba]

Check out swappa.com. Forum to sell electronics. I have bought used iPhones and had great success.

 

[epsmith921]

we bought our 2nd iPad last year refurbished from Apple. Best buy didn't have what we wanted and the issue we had was we were wanting to basically max out the storage. So used was the way to go, we have full warranty, and the price was about the same as a new one but that new one would have had much less storage capacity.

 

[havaneselover]

The mini is getting old and 16 BG is too small imo. My kids are constantly having to delete stuff.

we bought our 2nd iPad last year refurbished from Apple. Best buy didn't have what we wanted and the issue we had was we were wanting to basically max out the storage. So used was the way to go, we have full warranty, and the price was about the same as a new one but that new one would have had much less storage capacity.

That was smart. I regret that both my kids got 16 gb iPads. I bought 32. But I don't understand why people buy a 16 gb iPhone 6 either.