Opinions on the ipad please.....

[mom2threecuties]

Can you tell me what the first generation can not do that the newer ones can?? I know that the 499.99 one only had Wifi and I think it is only 16gb too right??

The iPad 2 has a camera, both forward and back-facing, so it can be used for Facetime. It's also a bit thinner/lighter, and has a dual core processor that is faster than the original. As another poster mentioned, the $399 refurbished first generation is 32gb with 3G. The iPad 2 with the same specs would cost $729.

 

[edk35]

It might be a great replacement for a laptop for you, but I just want to caution the OP against taking this at face value. If your son will be in a situation shortly where he will need a laptop (college, job, etc.) - the iPad will not be a replacement for it. You cannot install word processors or other very important (and very basic) productivity software onto an iPad, and although Microsoft has apps, they are just to view those documents, not to edit or create them.

I agree with the person who said that if your computing needs are primarily Internet surfing, music storage, reading books, keeping a calendar, taking brief notes, and playing games, it definitely can function as a laptop replacement. But for anything more than that, it would be a cool toy to have in addition to a real computer.

My son has a new laptop from this past spring for college. He is a Sr. in high school now. He just wants the ipad because he loves APPLE products and would use it for surfing, watching movies and for his music too. He has an iPhone and we have an imac computer that is new too.

 

[edk35]

I hate that Apple comes out with new updated Ipads every year and phones less than every year. I feel like if we get the ipad 2...the ipad 3 will be out and we will wish we had gotten that. However....I wonder if the ipad 3 will start out at 499.99 or be even more.