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Can't decide-- 16gb or 32gb iPad

T

teege

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 31, 2010
48
0
I plan to have:

-5 GB songs
-1 GB pictures max.
-Plenty of Apps
-Plenty of Books/magazines
-4 or so movies at a time max (more likely 1-2...but for long trip maybe more) and a TV show or two.

I'd like to think 16 GB is OK, just worried about what I don't know. Will movies be more space on iPad...will magazines become highly enriched in content?

Ugh. Worth the $100?
 
teege said:
I plan to have:

-5 GB songs
-1 GB pictures max.
-Plenty of Apps
-Plenty of Books/magazines
-4 or so movies at a time max (more likely 1-2...but for long trip maybe more) and a TV show or two.

I'd like to think 16 GB is OK, just worried about what I don't know. Will movies be more space on iPad...will magazines become highly enriched in content?

Ugh. Worth the $100?
Click to expand...

it's probably worth the $100, yes. But you have plenty of time to think about it (unless you reserved the 16 AND 32gb).

I reserved the 16gb and when I thought maybe I want the 32gb, it was too late to reserve to get on day 1. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do.
 
teege said:
I plan to have:

-5 GB songs
-1 GB pictures max.
-Plenty of Apps
-Plenty of Books/magazines
-4 or so movies at a time max (more likely 1-2...but for long trip maybe more) and a TV show or two.

I'd like to think 16 GB is OK, just worried about what I don't know. Will movies be more space on iPad...will magazines become highly enriched in content?

Ugh. Worth the $100?
Click to expand...

If you go with less space you'll be the first in town to be able to fit less onto your pad. Take into account that iPad apps are likely to use alot more space than their iphone counterparts.
 
I think you would be better off with a 32GB. Me personally, i am getting a 64GB.
 
I have a different way to answer this: how much of a burden would it be to buy a new iPad next year?

If you would think you will have this device for a couple of years better get the bigger storage. If you think you might buy a newer model in a year because of added features, save now for spending later.

If you are rich, buy a 32 gig for yourself and 16 gig for your mother (father, girlfriend, etc.)

I bought a WiFi 32 gig model now thinking that I could hand it down to my daughter and buy a new one next year -- assuming added features, or the need or desire for 3G.
 
teege said:
I plan to have:

Ugh. Worth the $100?
Click to expand...

how long do you plan on having the ipad before you get a new one? 2 years? 3 years?

do you really want to spend that much time adding/removing content everytime you get close to your limit?

I went from an 8GB 3G always needing to delete a couple songs here and there and barely having any free room on my phone, to a 16GB 3GS that always has room to spare, WITHOUT any movie/video content. It was a nice switch, I never have to look at how much free space I have on my phone because there's always plenty

you have 1GB of pictures now, but you'll get more, and you shouldn't have to worry about it. I'm not exactly certain at this point cause I don't have an ipad to play with, but I'm pretty sure 4 movies and numerous TV episodes at ipad resolution will come pretty close to your limit, you're going to end up resenting having to work so hard to enjoy what you've spent 500$ for, when you could have put another 20% into your purchase and been worry free... :]
 
Mpalmieri1203 said:
If you go with less space you'll be the first in town to be able to fit less onto your pad. Take into account that iPad apps are likely to use alot more space than their iphone counterparts.
Click to expand...

That is not true. iPad apps will be just a tad bigger than their iPhone counterparts. Not a lot bigger.


The only thing that truly takes up a lot of space on a device like this is high definition TV shows or movies. If you just get standard def TV show or movies they take up a lot less space.
 
i got the 16gb as well but i will probably have my ipad for awhile and i dont want to worry about what i can or cant put on there. So i will be buying from best buy sat morning and returning my apple preorder to the store.
 
I reserved the 16GB and the 64GB models, as I was unsure of which one to get—have a 16GB just to play with (as I have a laptop, iPod, iPhone, Kindle) or go all out on the capacity; hindsight should have told me to reserve the 32GB model instead.
 
Wait until version 2. You'll get more memory for the money, and most likely an additional hardware feature or two. How do I know? Touch memory.
 
alphaod said:
I reserved the 16GB and the 64GB models, as I was unsure of which one to get—have a 16GB just to play with (as I have a laptop, iPod, iPhone, Kindle) or go all out on the capacity; hindsight should have told me to reserve the 32GB model instead.
Click to expand...

when you get to 64gb, you're talking about $750 with taxes and that's A LOT, especially when you can get a regular laptop or just $100 more for a macbook.
 
Personally, I'm getting the 16GB but

I won't have hardly any music on it (have iPhone for that)
I won't have more than 2 movies max on it at any given time

I will have a few book, mags, couple dozen apps.

If you really need to cram your iPad w/ media then $100 extra is worth it. I'm happy xfering now and then and using the $100 to trade up next year.
 
Are you going to be using your iPad a majority of the time at home? If you are, it's important to keep in mind that you will be able to stream music from your computer to your iPad over WiFi, or better yet, connect your computer to your home sound system using the iPad as an awesome remote.

This is what I'll be doing. There is no way I can fit all my media on the iPad no matter what version I get, so I'll just stream it all from my computer. This means I won't need to store any music on my iPad, so I can leave all that space for apps and photos. Plus it also gives me the very big benefit that I can listen to my music over my expensive sound system as opposed to the small iPad speaker.

But I'm in the situation where I'll be using it primarily at home 90% of the time. If you are going to be taking it out on the train etc., you obviously won't be able to do this. (Although for the days I'll be traveling, I will just sync a couple of GB of my newest songs for the ride.)
 
I've been umming and ahhing over this for a while! Glad to see a couple people have the same thought process as me!

I decided to go with 16GB WiFi in the end.

I'm not going to have my music on there, my iPhone is for that (I'll always have my iPhone wherever my iPad is, but not the other way around lol) That's going to free up 7.2GB as it stands.

I won't need to install GPS on my iPad. CoPilot Live UK and North America take up 1.6GB

That's 8.8GB already, and I still have 2.31GB free on my 16GB iPhone. That means if I was to have everything I have on my iPhone without the above, I'd still have over 10GB to spare! I think that's enough to play with?

I still keep thinking maybe I should go with the 32GB option, but as a couple of people have already said, when the next latest and greatest generation iPad comes out I'm bound to want that, and at that point I'll have a better idea of my needs! Start of entry level and take it from there? ;) This thread has reassured me, a little at least haha! Let's see what I walk out the Apple Store on Saturday with, as I only have 16GB reserved, probably 16GB lol :)
 
see the problem with this is the syncing restrictions apple puts on you. I have my itunes library on my home computer as its too big to have on a mobile device. so if you get an ipad thats too small and go on a trip your really restricted in what you can do. i wish you could sync over the net then it wouldnt be a big deal. just take off already watched movies and put on new ones. but off course then the 64gb model wouldnt sell. probably the same reason you cant stream to the ipad like you can the apple tv.
 
Over time iPad apps are going to be bigger.
Who knows how large interactive dynamic Magazines will be?
I plan on receiving a few newspapers and mags on my iPad.

I went with the 64GB.
You NEVER regret more memory.
I remember computers with 10MB drives ;^) (actually I had many computers with NO HDs), so I always buy as much as I can.
It's a great time to buy technology, it has never been cheaper in my lifetime.

If nothing else it ensures a longer lifespan, even if I just hand it down to the kids and buy a v2 or v3 iPad.

My iPhone 3GS is 16GB and is always full.
 
Very little music is going in my iPad.
Everywhere I go, my iPhone is there. Why have music in 2 places?

Besides, streaming is always available, and very soon spotify, grooveshark, or an Apple streaming service will be available eliminating the need for music to be stored on the device.

So 16 GB is more than enough for me.
In a year or 2, I will get iPad 2.0.
 
Depends on you.

Questions I'd use to decide.

- How frequent will you be away for days at a time?
- What is the avg bitrate of your music library/file size per song?
- How many hours per day will you actually use your iPad away from home for media?
- How many movies/shows will you actually watch per day?
- How frequent can/will you sync with a computer?
- Is this going to be your primary media device?

For me I do travel but most of my trips are in the 3-4hr range flying. Once I reach my destinations I'm usually enjoying myself out and about rather then watching movies, etc.. (not that it's anything wrong with watching movies). So a 2-3 movies would be fine for me. That's roughly 2.25GB

Most my music is lossless but I have an iPhone so I doubt I'll even put music on the iPad 0MB

I figure away from home other then travel I'd use consistently for media maybe an hour. That's some of a movie or 2 30 min episodes, etc..

Other then when away I can sync everyday and it's not my primary media device.

That said while more space is always better, depending on your situation it's not always needed.

I've yet to see a person with a 32GB iPhone myself included actually use up that amount of space because it was needed.
 
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