buying an Ipad

missjake

My husband and my birthdays were in October and we're going to get an Ipad as presents for each other (we'll share it). 

We both have iphones so I'm thinking we'll just get the Wifi 16gb.  Can anyone give me tips?  Where to buy (retail store vs. online)? TIA!

RhymesWithOrange

If you buy it online, you can get it engraved for free! That is all

Deeder522

We got ours at Best Buy. They had it in stock at the time. We went a step up with a 32G WiFi and I'm glad we did otherwise it would be full already. Over 350 songs, 300 pics, 3 movies and then the apps had me at just over 16G. I do suggest getting at extra charger and a nice looking case for it as well.

GilliC

I have the 16GB WiFi, and it's fine for me.  I don't really use it as storage, so the videos I keep on it won't stay there after I've watched them.  And it's a bit bulky to use as a music player, so I don't keep too much music on it either.  Mostly I just keep as much as I need when I travel for a few weeks.  At the moment that's a full season of Grey's Anatomy and Cougar Town, and a few hours of music to play in my hotel room.  And since the hotel usually has WiFi, I just supplement that with Pandora or the Rhapsody iPhone app.

If you're planning to use it as a NetBook for mobile web browsing, you might consider the 3G version, but other than that, it's not a big deal.  I really wanted the 3G but wasn't sure I'd be able to get data access from the carriers here (I bought it in the US before it was officially released in Europe), so I got the WiFi-only.  Honestly, I don't really miss it.  I may step up to 3G when we get the 2nd generation (another reason we went with the 16GB is that I'll pass this one to DH as an e-reader as soon as the next version is released).

Ditto the PP about a good case. I would recommend one that you can leave the iPad in when you use it, because it's kind of nerve-wracking to hold the thing if you ever use it standing up.  ("OMG! What if I drop it!")  I've started buying digital copies of guidebooks, so I carry it around when we're sightseeing, and if there was no case on it, I'd be terrified!  Another thing to look for in a case is that it will either converts to a standing position for watching video or an angled position for using the on-screen keyboard.  I have the official Apple case, and the keyboard angle is incredibly nice if I'm typing more than a few sentences.  Unfortunately the Apple case isn't really stable enough to do a standing position for video, so if I get a new case, I'll look for one that can do both.

Also, get a screen protector.  I went about a month without one and managed to scratch the screen slightly and have no clue how it happened.  I ended up getting an InvisibleShield on Amazon (and then paying a few bucks to have the guy at the mall kiosk install it for me), and while it makes it a bit harder to drag my finger around when playing certain games (*cough* Diner Dash *cough* ), I really like the peace of mind it brings.

Lastly, take it with you when you go purse shopping.  A few of my purses are just slightly too small.  In one case, the iPad will fit in it, but as soon as I put anything else in, it doesn't really fit so well any longer.  Frustrating.

MrsBrownsFan

I heard from someone I know that you can get 18 months free financing at Best Buy, which is also good on the iPad.  Although I RIDICULED the thing when it came out (I am a happy nook owner), I am thinking of treating myself to one next year for my 35th (!!!!) birthday in April.  I did stick it on my Christmas list as a "ha-ha, J/K" gift, but I know that I won't be getting one from Santa!  I don't think I will use it necessarily as an e-reader because I am a big fan of the e-ink on the nook, but it seems like it would be a fun device to have.  I especially would like to play some of the games I have on my iPod touch (Angry Birds, Bejeweled, FarmVille, etc.) on a larger device, as well as watch movies and TV shows (I have a sh!t ton of episodes of SVU saved on my iTunes account) on a larger screen.

missjake

Thanks everyone for your input.  I'll be making a trip to Best Buy in the next few days.  BrownsFan, I heard that too about the financing and luckily we have a Best Buy card, score! 

Now, I just need to decide if we need the 16 or 32gb!  I'm sticking with just wifi though because we both have data plans for our iphones and I'm not interested in subscribing to another.  We have wifi at home (which is where we'll use it the most) and lots of places have wifi, so I'm not sweating it.

s5m9j

missjake:

I'm sticking with just wifi though because we both have data plans for our iphones and I'm not interested in subscribing to another.  We have wifi at home (which is where we'll use it the most) and lots of places have wifi, so I'm not sweating it.

If you do buy the 3G version you don't have to buy the plan every month. You can just purchase it when you are traveling etc and do not have access for a WIFI network.