iPad 2 vs. iPad 3?

[happypamama]

I was all set to get an iPad 2 when the iPad 4 came out. That's way out of my price range, but now I'm wondering if I'm just asking for trouble to get the iPad 2 instead of the iPad 3. It looks like they've discontinued the iPad 3 but still have the iPad 2, so it looks like I could still use most apps if I got the 2? I'm not too concerned about the camera, which seems to be one of the improvements on the 3 and 4 over the 2. I think we may watch movies/TV on it occasionally, or read books on it, but those wouldn't be our main uses. Mostly, I think we'd use the iPad as a second computer, a portable complement to our desktop machine (which is pretty good but not top-of-the-line) -- checking email, a little web surfing, educational apps, portable notepad, minimal word processing/spreadsheets, stuff like that.

 

So, do you experts think the iPad 2 would work for us just fine, or should we continue to save until we can get the iPad 3?

 

Also, I was planning to get the 64G one, so that we wouldn't run out of space easily, but maybe that's not worth the extra price either? Thoughts?

[Mommyof4ks]

I have a 2 that I got back when it first came out. All of the apps work on any iPad, so unless you care about a better camera and the retina display, then I would just go with the 2. I have the 32GB, and as long as I rotate movies and pictures off of it, then that is plenty of space. I accidentally downloaded 6 episodes of Dr. Who and over 1000 high resolution pictures to it once, and it did get mad and tell me I did not have enough memory to update my apps. Oops! Honestly, I think 32 is plenty for most people.

[mamajag]

Whichever you get, get the 64 gb. Educational apps tend to be rather large and you'll do more with iPad than you think. I teach from mine, lesson plan on it, and use it with my Apple TV as an electronic whiteboard. The kids and I love it.

 

I would hit their refurbished site and get a 3. Here's the link. The iPad 3 will last you longer than a 2 before it can no longer be upgraded, and it has the same warranty as a brand new iPad. All of my Apple stuff except my iPad 3 is from their refurbished section. You won't know the difference, but your budget will. Also, the screen on the 3 is just gorgeous and easier on the eyes when reading, etc.

[happypamama]

I have a 2 that I got back when it first came out. All of the apps work on any iPad, so unless you care about a better camera and the retina display, then I would just go with the 2. I have the 32GB, and as long as I rotate movies and pictures off of it, then that is plenty of space. I accidentally downloaded 6 episodes of Dr. Who and over 1000 high resolution pictures to it once, and it did get mad and tell me I did not have enough memory to update my apps. Oops! Honestly, I think 32 is plenty for most people.

 

Thank you so much -- that is really helpful! I don't think I'm going to store a lot of pictures on it, and we'll probably rotate videos, so maybe the 32G would be fine.

[happypamama]

My husband says he wants one with the better display, even if it means smaller space, so I suppose I will check out the 3. :)

[Farrar]

I have the 2 and my mother has the 3 and I honestly can't tell the difference in the displays. I can see that her camera is a bit better though.

[StaceyinLA]

I do see a difference in the display when they are side by side. Of course, the 2 looks perfectly fine - the 3 is just more "sharp."

[PeterPan]

That's not even rocket science. DEFINITELY get an ipad 3 over and ipad2. It has a much better screen, and the price is actually lower right now than the ipad2. It makes no sense to buy the ipad2 right now, imho.

 

You asked about size. I went for the middle one (32GB) for my ipad3, and it's been adequate (but barely). I'm sort of an app hoarder and not tidy, lol. Like I have 200+ apps on there and a whole bunch of ebooks and then, rats, don't have room for ALL my music. :D You can actually select what goes on and off with the click of a button. If you tend to be very tidy with your stuff and you're not putting movies on, I wouldn't go over 32GB. Some tidy people can even make do with 16 GB. I just think their jump in price for memory is too much, way too much. I would go ipad4 with 32 GB before I'd do ipad3 with 64 GB. The ipad4 is going to have twice the wifi speed, literally DOUBLE. So put your extra $100 into bumping up the speed. The memory size you'll be able to work around.

Edited November 4, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[happypamama]

That's not even rocket science. DEFINITELY get an ipad 3 over and ipad2. It has a much better screen, and the price is actually lower right now than the ipad2. It makes no sense to buy the ipad2 right now, imho.

 

You asked about size. I went for the middle one (32GB) for my ipad3, and it's been adequate (but barely). I'm sort of an app hoarder and not tidy, lol. Like I have 200+ apps on there and a whole bunch of ebooks and then, rats, don't have room for ALL my music. :D You can actually select what goes on and off with the click of a button. If you tend to be very tidy with your stuff and you're not putting movies on, I wouldn't go over 32GB. Some tidy people can even make do with 16 GB. I just think their jump in price for memory is too much, way too much. I would go ipad4 with 32 GB before I'd do ipad3 with 64 GB. The ipad4 is going to have twice the wifi speed, literally DOUBLE. So put your extra $100 into bumping up the speed. The memory size you'll be able to work around.

 

Thanks for this detailed help -- it's exactly what I need to help with the decision! I think we're going to get the iPad3 with 32G. I do tend to be very tidy with stuff and don't want to put a lot of movies or music on it (we have really good mp3 players for music/audiobooks and don't see the iPad really replacing those), so hopefully the 32G will be plenty. As for the iPad4 and the double WiFi speed, I think the 4 is way out of our budget, but also, we don't have the highest DSL speed at home anyway, so there's a limit to how fast the WiFi can get anyway. :) (It is generally good enough to stream nicely from Amazon/Netflix/Hulu, though.)

 

Thank you!