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to buy or not to buy ipad now

M

maikutanner

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 29, 2010
3
0
hi all,

I'm eager to get a ipad 32gb wifi only but i'm concerned i might have missed the boat and will end up buying one only to find a new one released in a few months. I'm happy with the way the unit is now but would be disappointed if a new version came out with a front facing camera, as this would be my only issue with the product in its current state.

i was hoping for your opinions of should i buy or not buy based on future release rumours you may know or release cycles.

thanks in advance
 
Apple are holding an event on September 1st but it seems unlikely they'll announce new iPads. Hang on until September 2 then buy one.
 
If you can wait for the second revision, you should just wait. I think that it's safe to bet that the next version will have a front facing camera for Facetime.
 
thanks for the replies - i know its a stupid question but.....

any ideas or educated guesses when a 2nd gen ipad will be out? i know you people can usually get a good idea on apple cycles

thanks again
 
maikutanner said:
thanks for the replies - i know its a stupid question but.....

any ideas or educated guesses when a 2nd gen ipad will be out? i know you people can usually get a good idea on apple cycles

thanks again
Click to expand...

Beginning of next year, Apple usually has a one year cycle with their iPods and iPhones.



4561230714_d6e9a40397_o.jpg

 
Does anyone really think Apple will pee off iPad v1 buyers so soon by releasing a new iPad upgrade this year - with camera etc? I don't see a new iPad until mid next year.

I'm guessing if you look at all apple refresh stats they are prob 12 months at the earliest - I could be wrong but it seems reasonable.

If I'm right why wait a year? There will always be someone wanting a second hand iPad next if you want to upgrade.

I brought one and it's brilliant.

If apple upgrade this year I'll be pee'd off for sure. They've ONLY JUST been released in the UK and other parts of the world and they've been struggling to make them. Why would they not milk the profits & hype of this v1 by releasing another one. They will milk v1 profits and then when some of the competition come out with something next year they will blow them away with V2.
 
My better half and I were having these same thoughts. Should we buy or wait. Yesterday morning we woke up and decided " Today's the day!"

Zero regrets! I know it's only been about 24 hours, but I haven't put it down yet. I was up till four AM with this thing!

What a beautiful piece of machinery! I could go on and on but I would be repeating what has been said here over and over.

I'm glad we didn't wait.

EDIT: Sent from my iPad. Teehee.
 
The iPad won't get upgraded till April 2010 at the earliest. And that's not even a sure thing since the iPad has been so successful thus far without any real competition.

A lot can change from here till April in terms of other tablets being released but as of now, why would Apple upgrade prematurely? Makes zero sense. Plus they'll obviously piss off the early iPad like us :)

My advice to you: BUY ONE NOW! April is a long ways away. And you can always sell your first gen iPad at a pretty reasonable price when the time comes. You're missing an awesome product!
 
maikutanner said:
hi all,

I'm eager to get a ipad 32gb wifi only but i'm concerned i might have missed the boat and will end up buying one only to find a new one released in a few months. I'm happy with the way the unit is now but would be disappointed if a new version came out with a front facing camera, as this would be my only issue with the product in its current state.

i was hoping for your opinions of should i buy or not buy based on future release rumours you may know or release cycles.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

To search or not to search? This is the question. Your question has been asked by others in various other threads a thousand times. Dude, use the search feature.
 
GinoDotCom said:
The iPad won't get upgraded till April 2010 at the earliest. And that's not even a sure thing since the iPad has been so successful thus far without any real competition.

A lot can change from here till April in terms of other tablets being released but as of now, why would Apple upgrade prematurely? Makes zero sense. Plus they'll obviously piss off the early iPad like us :)

My advice to you: BUY ONE NOW! April is a long ways away. And you can always sell your first gen iPad at a pretty reasonable price when the time comes. You're missing an awesome product!
Click to expand...

I agree with this, but you meant April 2011, not 2010. ;)
 
If you need it now, buy it now. You can always sell it later for 60-70% of retail depending on the condition of your used iPad if you want to get the second gen whenever it's released. I was in the same situation as you, but I figured I will want to start out this academic year with my iPad as to develop a routine around it so I took the plunge and I am very happy that I did. Once this thing gets iOS I will be the happiest camper in Appleland.
 
STEAZEDOUT said:
do you think that maybe the ipad will drop in price after the september first event?
Click to expand...

https://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/08/apple-open-to-ipad-price-cuts-if-demand-lags/
The Wall Street Journal reports on a research note from Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope based on meetings with Apple executives revealing that the company has apparently left the door open to future price cuts on the iPad should customer demand not meet expectations.
Click to expand...

I think that it has met expectations and Apple is not willing to drop the price now or anytime soon (but if history teaches us nothing, Apple didn't care about early adopters when they dropped the price for the original iPhone back in 2007)

So my point is, Who Knows?? (other than Apple, of course)
 
My take:

No price drop--still plenty of demand. The original iPhone price dropped because the demand was lower than Apple expected. Demand for the iPad was HIGHER than expected at introduction.

No upgrade until April of next year. They *may* announce in January, as they did this year. And they *may* bring out a smaller version for Xmas, but I doubt it--no real reason to do so until the scheduled refresh at one year (give or take). There's not enough REAL competition out there yet.

iOS4 To the general public in October at the earliest. It hasn't even hit beta for the iPad yet. My bet would be November.

So should you buy? Only if you actually want one in hand for the next six months or so. If you'd rather wait for the latest and greatest, all reliable indications are you'll be waiting at least that long. Keep in mind too that the "latest and greatest" may not be much of an upgrade. I saw no compelling reason to ditch my original iPhone until the iPhone 4 came out. The 3G/3GS models were pretty meh as far as both my husband and I were concerned--not worth spending the money! I won't be at all surprised to find the iPad 2 fits in that category.
 
There won't be an update for quite a while. Right now the iPad is flying off the shelves, and Apple will have no incentive to PO early adopters by updating. If you have an iPhone 4, get the iPad now. If you don't and don't plan on getting one anytime soon, wait.
 
Are you kidding me - the iPad hasn't even been released here (Romania/EU) and some of you have doubts if maybe its too late to buy one?!? :D

Considering the next iPad will most likely be announced sometime in April '11 => thats 7-8 months from now...

BUY ONE NOW!
 
likemyorbs said:
I agree with this, but you meant April 2011, not 2010. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes sir I did!

I also meant to put in my original post that Apple doesn't want to piss off early iPad adopters like us by upgrading their hardware prematurely.

My laptop hardly gets any use since the purchase of my iPad back in April. And when the laptop does come out, it's usually just to backup the content on my tablet & phone. :)
 
thanks for all the posts - very useful!

what i think i've learnt from this

1) wait till after the event this week
2) buy now and sell later to upgrade if a newer version comes out
3) resale value will be 60-70% so that's a £175 loss (if i get the £499)

i do have another question but i think i better just search for the answer, so not to cause any more complaints.

thanks for all your help
 
IrishVixen said:
My take:

No price drop--still plenty of demand. The original iPhone price dropped because the demand was lower than Apple expected. Demand for the iPad was HIGHER than expected at introduction.

No upgrade until April of next year. They *may* announce in January, as they did this year. And they *may* bring out a smaller version for Xmas, but I doubt it--no real reason to do so until the scheduled refresh at one year (give or take). There's not enough REAL competition out there yet.

iOS4 To the general public in October at the earliest. It hasn't even hit beta for the iPad yet. My bet would be November.

So should you buy? Only if you actually want one in hand for the next six months or so. If you'd rather wait for the latest and greatest, all reliable indications are you'll be waiting at least that long. Keep in mind too that the "latest and greatest" may not be much of an upgrade. I saw no compelling reason to ditch my original iPhone until the iPhone 4 came out. The 3G/3GS models were pretty meh as far as both my husband and I were concerned--not worth spending the money! I won't be at all surprised to find the iPad 2 fits in that category.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this. No price drop with these insane levels of demand. They're just now catching up with demand. No reason to drop the price.

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't release a new version next September alongside the annual iPod refreshes. Get the iPhone out in June, take a little time to assess the onslaught of competitor tablets in early-mid 2011, then unleash a new version in September that wipes everyone away. Having said that, I think the hardware updates will be incremental at best. I would guess more along the lines of a 3G --> 3GS upgrade and a front facing camera. I'm more interested to see how iOS evolves.
 
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