which iPad ?

Paul_C

Thinking about getting the missus an iPad for Xmas - any idea which of them is the best value for money?

I don't want to spend a fortune if I can help it, but I don't necessarily want to buy the cheapest one if a few quid more gets me something worthwhile.

She's got a Kindle Fire which I assume is similar in size to the iPad Mini, is the full size one better because of, or despite, its size?

thermionic

I've been thinking about this recently. My vote goes for the 16GB iPad Air for £319. The processor is one down from the newer iPad Air 2, but iPads aren't generally taxed in terms of processing power. Also, not much need for loads of memory because they're different to phones - you don't treat them like iPods and put loads of music on them, and you don't carry them around everywhere and fill them with photos and video clips. I think the bigger screen size over the iPad Mini is worth it.

monquixote

The only one to avoid is the first gen Mini which is now quite old and slow compared to all the others.

The Air or Mini 2 would both be good choices.

robinbowes

Word of warning: if you get an iPad Air 2, make sure you get the Applecare+ when you buy it - it gives you accidental damage cover.

I got an Air 2 and didn't buy Applecare+. After a couple of weeks, I dropped the device and it landed face down on ceramic tiles, cracking the screen. The replacement cost is, get this, £306.44. The new iPad Air 2 devices have the class, touch screen, and LCD fused together as one unit to make it thinner, but it makes it cripplingly expensive to replace. None of the "fix your iPhone for £40" merchants can get parts for the Air 2 so I'm pretty much shafted, and not happy.

R.

richardhomer

Personally I would go for more memory - I use mine as a sort of 'hand around' photo album and have my full iTunes library on it, so I can (via Airplay) run music through a B&W Zeppelin.

My personal one is a couple of years old and performs perfectly. I have a (first gen) Air from work - there is no noticeable difference in performance.

The iPad remains one of Apple's coolest products - I love the concept.

stickyfiddle

16gb is fuck all once you put any music and apps on it, let alone video. I wouldn't go anything older than Retina Mini or iPad Air, but other than that they're all excellent. 

I have a Retina Mini / mini2, 64gb wifi only. Tethering with iphone works really well and I very rarely need it tbh. I've filled mine with comics, games and TV shows. Great for flights.

mart

Personally I'd go for one with 3G; maybe the 16GB mini 2. But then I have a really cheap phone that doesn't do wifi tethering. If you've got a better phone, then maybe a wifi-only ipad is a better bet.

menamestom

 

I have a 16GB Ipad 2 and definitely need more space.  Every IOS update pinches more of the 16GB for itself and some apps are pretty big.  If you use it for any video or music making 16gb goes nowehere.  I'd go for the Air 32gb as a minimum but more likely the Air 2 64gb. 

fretmeister

A SD film needs 1.5 to 2GB. HD can be 4GB.

16GB is a waste of time. Far too small when you've got a few apps on it as well.

chillidoggy

My iPad Air is 16GB, which has been fine up until the point where I wanted to put quite a few films on it, then I could have done with more. I guess you have to decide how much you need first.

Paul_C

I went for an iPad Mini 2 32gb WiFi in the end - she's got an iPhone 5 that can be hooked up to it if she wants to take it out of the house, otherwise we have a router at home.

£279.00 delivered, from John Lewis.

sinbaadi

The storage approach is another thing which puts me off Apple as a brand. SD storage costs f-all, and they just use it purely as a basis for their inflated pricing structures. And of course they will never put an SD slot on anything ever.

chrispy108

fretmeister said:

A SD film needs 1.5 to 2GB. HD can be 4GB.

16GB is a waste of time. Far too small when you've got a few apps on it as well.

You can easily compress films smaller than this, I've got 1080p rips at 1.6GB and SD at 700MB.

fretmeister

chrispy108;434240" said:

fretmeister said:

A SD film needs 1.5 to 2GB. HD can be 4GB.



16GB is a waste of time. Far too small when you've got a few apps on it as well.





You can easily compress films smaller than this, I've got 1080p rips at 1.6GB and SD at 700MB.

Not from iTunes!

FelineGuitars

Just bought my 72 year old mum one of the iPad Air 2s and she's loving it (way more than she at first thought she would).

We just got the wi-fi 16gb version, and it's likely to be all she needs (I have an older 16gb one and often for my own needs would prefer to have a 64gb as i have a lot of magazines etc on mine)

I always prefer to buy all my tech stuff at John Lewis simply because their customer service if anything goes wrong is second to none in my experience. They can't do enough to help. They also give a longer warranty than other places on Apple stuff.

chrispy108

fretmeister said:

chrispy108;434240" said:

fretmeister said:

A SD film needs 1.5 to 2GB. HD can be 4GB.



16GB is a waste of time. Far too small when you've got a few apps on it as well.





You can easily compress films smaller than this, I've got 1080p rips at 1.6GB and SD at 700MB.

Not from iTunes!

Fair enough. I can't remember the last time I plugged my iPad into my PC!

Paul_C

I'm currently being driven to distraction by:

a) Hermes who appear to have lost my iPad

and

b) John Lewis (as I can't contact Hermes direct), who are giving me bugger-all information as to where it might be, whether or not it might turn up, or what they intend to do if it doesn't.

fucking livid doesn't really begin to cover it.

fretmeister

You got it yet?

Fretwired

Paul_C said:

I'm currently being driven to distraction by:

a) Hermes who appear to have lost my iPad

and

b) John Lewis (as I can't contact Hermes direct), who are giving me bugger-all information as to where it might be, whether or not it might turn up, or what they intend to do if it doesn't.

fucking livid doesn't really begin to cover it.

@Paul_C did you know that Hermes had a fire in a warehouse. They claim nothing was destroyed but we've been waiting for an item to be delivered for two weeks. My wife telephoned the supplier and they cancelled the order and raised a new one which should be delivered today. They were aware of problems with Hermes.

Paul_C

No, not sure if I will.

According to the tracking it was out for delivery last Friday, nothing arrived so I assumed that it was possible the driver ran out of time to get his van load done. Nothing showed up on Saturday or Monday so I called John Lewis who looked into it and called Hermes, and then called me back to say it was going to be delivered yesterday (Weds).

I called them around five to see if I was likely to get it and was told that I shouldn't have been told it was on the van for Weds, mostly because I don't think Hermes have the slightest clue where it is. They're so backed up that the call-centre staff are no longer allowed to call Hermes, one of their managers has to do it, which apparently is in progress but will take up to 24hrs to conclude.

My big problem is the lack of coherent information, if they were honest with me I could deal with it, it's being told one thing one day and then something else the next, and the "we really sorry but we're doing everything we can" over and over that irks me, if someone just said "it's an utter shambles and we have no idea what's going on" then I could sympathise and live with it (possibly )

I'm tempted at the moment to cancel the order and order a posh bottle of brandy for her instead - she likes Hine, so a very pricey bottle of that would not only be gratefully received, but it would probably save me £150

The only problem with that is another wait for it to be delivered, as there doesn't seem to be anyone local who stocks it (Majestic do the cheapest bottle, but that's too cheap)

Paul_C

Fretwired said:

Paul_C said:

I'm currently being driven to distraction by:

a) Hermes who appear to have lost my iPad

and

b) John Lewis (as I can't contact Hermes direct), who are giving me bugger-all information as to where it might be, whether or not it might turn up, or what they intend to do if it doesn't.

fucking livid doesn't really begin to cover it.

@Paul_C did you know that Hermes had a fire in a warehouse. They claim nothing was destroyed but we've been waiting for an item to be delivered for two weeks. My wife telephoned the supplier and they cancelled the order and raised a new one which should be delivered today. They were aware of problems with Hermes.

Yes, I was aware of the fire, my order was collected from John Lewis after it had happened as far as I'm aware, but it looks like it's been caught up in the chaos that has no doubt ensued.