It is worthwhile to buy an iPad 2 ?

Whether it’s worthwhile to buy an iPad 2 is your decision depending on how much you like it and whether you can afford it without missing a rent payment. And here are seven reasons not to buy one.

I think the answer lies in 1) how much more do you love your iPhone than your PC, and 2) how much do you use your PC primarily for internet browsing?

The iPad is primarily like a bigger, easier to read version of the iPhone. If you use your computer mostly for the internet, are considering getting a eReader, and don’t have a tendency to want to customize how things work on your computer, then you will love and iPad. For many people, the iPad is transformational.

@Austinlad I’m not sure I want to click on your links because I am planning to get one today for my “big” birthday present. (The consolations of old age!)

I have decided to treat myself to one because I spend a fair bit of time in airports and on airplanes and enjoy my social network sites while waiting. I do love my iPhone and like the fact that the 2 is thinner and lighter than the original, plus I do not yet have an e-Reader. Yet, I see it as a luxury and would not get one if I could not afford the splurge. As it is, I was debating whether to send the money to Japan instead. I do think we do well in general to keep our luxuries separate mentally from necessities.

No.

There is honestly no practical reason to buy an iPad 2, or iPad 1 for that matter. They’re glorified laptops, that are far more delicate and significantly more expensive. They can be fun, but the majority of the things you can do on it you can do on an iPhone or a laptop.

As with most Apple products, they are nothing but a status symbol for fools.

@janbb, for the reasons you stated, you will love it and not look back twice. It will truly make your life better for the reasons stated. I would give up Starbucks and eating out and send that money to Japan. Organizations are going to need sustained donations over time.

@BarnacleBill Yes, I am very fortunate to have money enough to send some to Japan as well and thanks for not labeling me a fool. I have thought about this for a while.

I love my Ipad. I love that it is lightweight, I hated travelling with my heavy laptop. I however do not have a smartphone, so I guess with an iphone you already can access the web and watch movies, see email? I bought the ipad that has the option to have webservice even when not in wifi range; the ones that are wifi only are a very reasonable price. Maybe get one of those since you have your iphone in a pinch when you don’t have wifi service.

If you have to ask, the answer is probably no.

When looking at a tablet computer, you have to think to yourself “Is this useful to me in any way?” If you can think of a way you could use it that you would like at that moment, then you can get it. If not, don’t bother.

I think the iPad is just inconvenient enough to not be worth using at all. Typing is annoying, you can’t multitask, and I can never find a way to keep it propped up. So, if you additionally buy and carry around a keyboard and stand, then it would at least be minimally functional for basic purposes… but that also completely defeats the purpose of it being small, light weight, and easy to transport.

On top of this, you can’t use it for many of the important functions of a laptop. The Office applications constantly malfunction, so I can’t really access and definitely can’t modify Word, Excel, or Powerpoint files. It is really a consumption machine that allows you to be a passive observer of things that are fed to you, but completely prevents you from creating anything yourself.

I got mine for free and I still pretty much hate it and barely use it. I am totally confused as to why anyone would pay money for it.

There are a variety of reasons I personally would never get one. A couple of them are presented in @Austinlad‘s link. One is Apple’s quick obsolescence cycle, coupled with the fact that the iPad2 isn’t that big an upgrade (unless the chat-cam is vitally important to you), so if you are set on getting an iPad, see what the iPad3 has to offer; it’ll probably be out well before Christmas.

Another is that it’s a bit big for what I would use a tablet for; I prefer a 7-inch form factor. Then again, most of what I would need a tablet for is stuff I can already do on my Droid X, though it would be nice to do the same stuff without draining the battery on my phone, especially since I don’t have a landline. I would pretty much use it as a combination e-reader (I have many PDF-format RPG books, and those are 8½×11”; not a fun read on a 4.3” screen) and game rig. For actual computer-type stuff, I have a nice 13” Toshiba laptop with a battery life of over 6 hours, a weight of under four pounds, and far more computing power than any tablet.

I find Android to be better than iOS anyways, and when you add that to the fact that Apple doesn’t offer the sort of hardware I want (only one model really) while the Android side does, if I were in the market for a tablet, I would look elsewhere. I might change my mind if Apple offered a 7” model for under $400.

Your desires may be different from mine though. Just as opinions differ, it is hard for any of us to say if an iPad2 would be a worthwhile purchase for you. It really wouldn’t be for me since that is a lot of money to shell out for the convenience of carrying my RPG sourcebook library with me, especially since those PDFs are already on my laptop.

@JLeslie There is a reason I got a 13” model. Many people I hear that complaint from have something a bit larger and almost twice as heavy as what I have that has no more processing power and about half the battery life. An added bonus is that, unlike a tablet, a laptop that is not in use is fairly rugged; I don’t have to worry so much about cracking my screen (which is safely covered my much hard plastic that is even tougher than Apple’s “Smart Cover”) like I would with a tablet.

@nikipedia Many (most?) people only use their computer for surfing the net, e-mail, and watching videos. For people like that, a tablet actually makes more sense due to it’s limited functionality; why get something you don’t need like the ability to run Excel? However, I think that people like you and I are better served by actual laptops.

You know what, Ipods are going to get better and faster. Sooner or later there are going to have millions of them. If you wait, it will get cheaper and you could buy anyone of them. Or something els will come and you’ll say man i wish i would buy that instead.. ya know… I would wait, but it’s all on you… Good luck

It depends on what you will be doing with it. For example, I use it so I can videotape myself while practicing, and so I can take notes without carrying around a laptop.