I just get frustrated by this poorly informed assumption that somehow these devices are miraculously obsolete and uselss now.
Many of the Apps in the apps store, even new ones, are compatible all the way back to IOS3 or 4, and that includes devices such as the poor old iPhone3G.
That device is still in use by millions of people and the last version of IOS for it was 4.x. Look at my sig - I still have one running 3.1.3 and use it regularly!
All devices have an end of life, but the iPad1 is far from its own end. 5.1.1 was the "current" version of IOS just 2 weeks ago, and it will contiune to run with more than 99% (my own estimate) of apps in the app store for several years yet...
Personally it seems to me that you are much more likely to retire your own iPad1 at some point in the future than you are to be forced to retire it by Apple through their decision not to push IOS6 to it.
Many of the Apps in the apps store, even new ones, are compatible all the way back to IOS3 or 4, and that includes devices such as the poor old iPhone3G.
That device is still in use by millions of people and the last version of IOS for it was 4.x. Look at my sig - I still have one running 3.1.3 and use it regularly!
All devices have an end of life, but the iPad1 is far from its own end. 5.1.1 was the "current" version of IOS just 2 weeks ago, and it will contiune to run with more than 99% (my own estimate) of apps in the app store for several years yet...
Personally it seems to me that you are much more likely to retire your own iPad1 at some point in the future than you are to be forced to retire it by Apple through their decision not to push IOS6 to it.