confused re which ipad

[CatJ]

Hello,
Here I am in an iPad forum to ask a few basic questions.
I've been waiting to get the new ipad2 but now wonder if the ipad 1 will meet my needs just fine.

also I just bought MIFI mobile hotspot from Verizon in order to have wifi at my office and wherever I need it. I was told it would work with the ipad but now I am confused as to whether I have to get a wifi & 3G ipad. this MIFI works with my MacBook, my ipod and I assume with any ipad I might buy, new or old. Is this true?

I've been reading about the pros/cons of 16, 32, 64 GB. I am not planning on keeping a lot of data on my ipad... I am writing a book and might want some chapters of the book with me, I might want to read a book on the ipad or listen to an audiobook. I definitely want to use it for email and web surfing.

and where's the best place to buy a used or old ipad if I decide against the ipad2?

Not quite sure how this works but I'll see what happens!
Thanks CatJ

 

[twerppoet]

Welcome to the forum.

The MiFi will work with any iPad.

You should look on the Apple site for refurbs if you decide to get an iPad 1.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hello,
Here I am in an iPad forum to ask a few basic questions.
I've been waiting to get the new ipad2 but now wonder if the ipad 1 will meet my needs just fine.

also I just bought MIFI mobile hotspot from Verizon in order to have wifi at my office and wherever I need it. I was told it would work with the ipad but now I am confused as to whether I have to get a wifi & 3G ipad. this MIFI works with my MacBook, my ipod and I assume with any ipad I might buy, new or old. Is this true?

I've been reading about the pros/cons of 16, 32, 64 GB. I am not planning on keeping a lot of data on my ipad... I am writing a book and might want some chapters of the book with me, I might want to read a book on the ipad or listen to an audiobook. I definitely want to use it for email and web surfing.

and where's the best place to buy a used or old ipad if I decide against the ipad2?

Not quite sure how this works but I'll see what happens!
Thanks CatJ

Just reinforcing and agreeing entirely with what twerppoet says. For sure, a MiFi will work just fine with a WiFi only iPad..

You talk about 16, 32 or 64 GB iPads. Most audiobooks take about 150-200 MB of storage, depending on the compression settings used. I listen to a lot of audio books from Audible and I download the *least* compressed versions of unabridged books - say 12 - 13 hours of audio - and I've rarely exceeded 150 MB. So you could get about 6-7 full length unabridged audiobooks in just 1 GB of memory. What really takes up the space is if you want to store videos/movies on the iPad - particularly high definition (HD) versions, which can take several GB per movie. So, in my opinion, this is the deciding factor about what storage capacity to get - how many (if any) movies do you want to store? Even a 16 GB iPad would store a couple of movies, 6 or 7 audiobooks and, I'm sure, all the written books you could imagine.

As you will have read, Apple intends to continue marketing the iPad1 albeit at a reduced price for a while. Plus, there is the availability of refurbished units that will be sold, through Apple retail outlets, at an even lower price. These refurbished units are in 'as new' condition, so can be a really good deal. However, there have been reports in the Forum of some unscrupulous dealers selling these refurbished units as new and at the new price, so it's definitely worth purchasing through a regular Apple store if you can as then you can be sure, if you decide to purchase a new iPad1, that it really *is* new.

For your intended applications, my own opinion is that iPad1 would do just fine. Your requirements don't seem very demanding and there are many of us out here in 'iPad land' who feel just fine with their iPad1. Sure, if a 'magic fairy' offered us an iPad2 for free, who wouldn't take it? But, in reality, for most people, the iPad1 will do just fine.

I hope that you enjoy your iPad when you decide. Keep in touch with the Forum and don't hesitate to post any questions or comments that you might have. We'd love to hear from you again....

And - of course - welcome to the Forum

Tim
Spracklen