[Ben]

Just wanted to assess interest in iPad 2 amongst Talk3G members!

Are you buying? If so, what? If not, why not?

[Ben]

64GB Black WiFi+3G for me. Oh, and one of those snazzy magnetic covers.

It'll replace the 16GB WiFi iPad I'm on now, but this was always destined to be a glorified Crestron remote for around the house. I've learnt that I need more space for content, and that integrated 3G, though I'm still enamoured with MiFi, is just easier when travelling light - especially given the iPads legendary battery life.

White looks nice but already I'm reading reviews that the white border is a distraction, exactly as I imagined it would be. Surrounded by black, the excellent iPad screen really pops.

[paulbds]

Yes, getting 3G version ( already have collection of pre paid Micro sims)
I was going to get the 16GB version but, may get a 32Gb version as I have a couple of cruises coming up this year and will put a few films/books etc on it.

I liked Bens quick update and the uses he was getting out of his iPad whilst on holidays

Roll on 25th March I say

I also have a Galaxy tab that I will be keeping because I know her indoors will be assuming control of my new iPad!!

What about everyone else?

Paul

[Hands0n]

I intend to give this particular version a complete swerve by. It just seems such a minor update to the overall package to me that I cannot see the worth. But I accept that this is entirely a personal point of view and relates completely to the use that I currently make of my iPad 16GB WiFi only device. I just don't feel that there is sufficient new "stuff" in the iPad 2 to persuade me to part with the wrong side of £500 for.

Instead?
Well of course there had to be an instead :)

I am quite interested in what Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) has to offer and therefore will most likely be taking up one of the new Android tablets that are imminent. This is a touch of going back to square one because the OS is so very new on that format of device. The Xoom, for example, has already proven a bit controversial and it isn't even on our shores yet. But it may be fun to go back to being an early adopter of the first generation of tablet device that is taking on Apple's well-established lead.

[miffed]

Hmm , I would love to get excited about the upcoming Android , but it seems like only weeks ago I was being bored to death with friends telling me how the Galaxy Tab was going to be wonderful !
Ironically , the very same friends are now telling me how the NEXT Gen are going to be wonderful , and try to pretend like the first (failed) generation never happened ! :)

Of course , at least this time the manufacturers won't be putting an OS that has been contra-indicated !! , so things could be better because of that , but IMO it would be jumping the gun to assume we'll be getting anything other than "more of the same"

Android Tablets do serve a MAJOR purpose though - Some people absolutely want an iPad (of course they'll deny it frantically ) , but are fully paid up Apple haters ! Selling inferior Android tablets to these people is like shooting fish in a barrel ! , if you put a logo on the back with an Apple Logo with a big red strike through it , they'd sell even more !!! IMO the Android phone market is built on the back of these people , and I suspect the tablet market will evolve this way too.

Pretty sure I'll get an iPad 2 , but ATM I am very unsure of what model - I had promised myself a 3G , but with hotspot ability on the iPhone I am not sure now

[Ben]

The hotspot feature on the iPhone has definitely confused things a little and I can imagine cannibalisation of Apple's 3G iPad sales as a result. However, when I'm going full out my iPhone lasts exactly 1 day as it is. To also have it providing WiFi? That's probably not going to work for me, especially given that the iPad battery goes on and on!

In terms of upgrade potential, there's no direct reason to buy. However, there are good supporting reasons.

1. Double the RAM. Got to stop those Safari tabs refreshing. EDIT: Nice video example! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojRzPyuJFcU
2. Dual cores. I outpace my iPad like I outpaced my iPhone 3G; iPad 2 is FAST.
3. Smart covers. It looks like these work incredibly well, and as my iPad lives in the Apple case this will be a big improvement.

[gorilla]

I'm getting the iPad 2, but only because it has a camera (want it for skype) and that my current iPad is being given to a family member. I tend to agree that this is not a significant upgrade.
Like Ben says above, the increased RAM will definitely make the iPad better - my iPad suffers quite a few app crashes and the browser can leave a lot to be desired.

I want an android tablet, but I think we are at least a year away from seeing anything competitive coming to market. By competitive I mean, cheaper and comparable to the iPad. The Xoom and the Galaxy Tab aren't quite there yet.

[Ben]

See I can't imagine I'll use the camera(s), but we'll see! Maybe I'd be tempted to give FaceTime a proper go on it... O_o

I've started to lean heavily towards white... with the red cover it just looks fantastic! Works nicely with the grey cover, also... one for work, one for play? ;)

I'm concerned about the back. I can't see how it's not going to get scratched to pieces!

[miffed]

I was having this conversation with someone yesterday , I think the cameras WILL be useful , but not as a proper stills camera , more as a "visual sensor"
For example , I use a nutrition App called "Daily burn" , you can scan food products and it will identify the product , log the nutritional values & monitor them against your daily targets - For anyone following any kind of sports focused diet plan , this is absolutely a godsend !
Also , the ability to photograph documents is useful . And we have also seen the "World lens" thing , and then there are some augmented reality apps that would shine on such a device too.

But as a "point and shoot" for taking your holiday snaps ? Erm .... no ! not ideal !

[gorilla]

The question I have now is where to buy it from? Apple store, apple online or 3rd party retailer?

[miffed]

Just spotted this deal on Three , for the old iPad - Pretty good I thought ? (sorry if its old news !)

£99 for 16GB 3G iPad - £20 per months for 24 months , 15GB of data

Total cost of ownership (inc @ 15GB pm data) £579

http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary.aspx?offercode=24IPAD007

[DBMandrake]

Just wanted to assess interest in iPad 2 amongst Talk3G members!

Are you buying? If so, what? If not, why not?

You forgot to add a choice that says "Yes, if I had the money" :D

[DBMandrake]

The hotspot feature on the iPhone has definitely confused things a little and I can imagine cannibalisation of Apple's 3G iPad sales as a result. However, when I'm going full out my iPhone lasts exactly 1 day as it is. To also have it providing WiFi? That's probably not going to work for me, especially given that the iPad battery goes on and on!

It might be an unusual idea, but I would love the possibility of charging an iPhone from an iPad :D For those who are carrying both out in the field during a work day, the iPhone is almost certainly going to run out first, while the iPad will go on for days.

Imagine if far from any other source of power you could plug a special double ended dock connector cable between the two (or plug a normal iPhone dock cable into the camera connection kit USB adaptor on the iPad) and top up the battery in the iPhone from the iPad...(come to think of it, has anyone ever tried the latter ?)

The iPad battery is 25 Watt/hours while the iPhone 4 battery is 5.25 Watt hours, so you could fully charge an iPhone 4 from an iPad battery whilst only using up roughly 20% of the iPad's charge :)

I hereby patent this idea, and expect my cut from Apple if they ever implement it ;)

[Ben]

Love it!

As for where to buy; it has to be apple, IMHO. I'm actually considering going to an Apple store on launch day for this one... argh... I bet I end up ordering online!

[paulbds]

Well, couldn't wait..went and got a 16gb 3G version from a well known auction site for just over £300.

I already have some micro sims - and the 3G version has GPS. Despite this one of the main reasons for getting one is I want to read my newspaper on it ( I know it's sad but after using my daughters ipad to read the papers - The Times - I really like the feature it saves me having to go down to the shop at weekends and get up early). I know this is sad, but when I go on holiday, I get also obtain my newspaper via a wifi connection and keep up to date with news without paying over the odds of out of date newspapers.
Another reason of getting the 1st version is, there are rumours about version 3 comming out later this year, so i could leapfrog a genertaion and maybe upgrade to version 3

Will use it for a few months and may upgrade later when the version I want will be available in the UK. There seem to be some problems in US with supply with reports that some stores have sold out
I will still be buying the ipad 2 (for her indoors) but with the unfortunate events in Japan these last few days, I wonder what will happen to the supply chain and prices of Tablets (Yes, I know the ipad is made in China) I presume supplies will be tight and prices will go up?
Reports from the news suggests that many of the electronic factories have closed (hopefully on a temporary basis) but price rises will be on the cards

I presume R & D will also be put back and I feel that the iPad is currently the only one worth considering at present

Different note: I am on a few forums and occaisonally meet up with professional colleageus from these sites at conferneces. ...and just before you begin to wonder what I am up to, my profession is in my user name, I am a dentist (ducks for cover) and its great to meet up with colleagues and like minded folk out of the surgery environment

anyway, anyone from the site going to the Gadget show??
I an going on the Wednesday afternoon and will be having a mooch about
anyone else going?
ttfn and sorry for the rambling

paul

[Ben]

The price of the first generation iPad makes it a compelling proposition at the moment; I'm sure you'll be far from the only one picking up the old one Paul.

That you've found a newspaper setup on the iPad that's to your liking is very encouraging. I struggle a bit with newspapers because I hit the BBC news site so often for 'the latest', rarely reading 'real news' articles, if you will. Trying to get into the FT app... We'll see. I'm not even using flipboard as much as I used to :-/

Books, though. Ahh, books on iPad just work IMHO! That's something that won't exactly benefit from the power of iPad 2, lol.

Will iPad 3 come out this year? I'm doubtful. Though we may see a new form factor appear. I suppose there's also a chance of iPad 2S, as it were, retaining the new form factor but bringing the new screen to the party and possibly the next revision of Apple's processor (I don't know what the ARM roadmap looks like tbh, and of course have no idea what changes Apple may be wanting to make to it's Ax package).

Re: R&D - was there a great deal going on to begin with? Most manufacturers are simply trying to get the latest spec out as quickly as is humanly possible. Lots of engineering I'm sure, but not a lot of R&D. Then Apple turns around and shouts "Hey boys! We've got magnets"! HP and RIM could be the exceptions, though we won't know until we see their next iteration of devices.

I don't know a lot about the Gadget Show... Give us the full low-down of how it goes! :)