Can't afford a IPAD air. Anything close or equal for less?

[Pghpooh]

HI
Grandkids, my kids, nephews, nieces, everyone owns a tablet. I always use theirs when they visit and get jealous!!! LOL
I would like to buy a ipad air or any ipad with retina disolay and A7 chip but feel they are too expensive. (I'm a cheap ole retiree! LOL)
There are so many brands out there I get confused when looking.
Any suggestions? The ole cheap guy I am wants a ipad equivalent (same screen quality, storage, etc. for less money! To make it harder, I would like to add 4g if possible but not mandatory. I looked into the apple refurbished and the price range is better. On the down side the Verizon network is almost impossible to get on a refurbished unit.
Any and all thoughts and suggestions will be very helpful!!!!

 

[gmaster456]

The best thing I can think of is an LTE iPad Mini non retina. The screen won't be as good but it ticks all of the other boxes. If they all have iPads, that's probably what you will want too for Facetime, iMessage, games etc. Plus they can help you.

 

[Roland00Address]

I am not 100% sure on this but apple website seems to back this up, but there are only two models of the ipad air with lte, one for the US and one for overseas. The US model should work with Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T for lte. Same thing for the ipad mini with retina display (which has a retina display and A7 chip)

http://www.apple.com/ipad/LTE/

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So in theory if you have a verizon sim for your ipad you can activate it on verizon even if it was originally sprint, or at&t and it comes with those sim cards already preloaded.

Can someone else confirm?

 

[bearxor]

I am not 100% sure on this but apple website seems to back this up, but there are only two models of the ipad air with lte, one for the US and one for overseas. The US model should work with Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T for lte. Same thing for the ipad mini with retina display (which has a retina display and A7 chip)

http://www.apple.com/ipad/LTE/

----

So in theory if you have a verizon sim for your ipad you can activate it on verizon even if it was originally sprint, or at&t and it comes with those sim cards already preloaded.

Can someone else confirm?

If you have an already active Verizon SIM, you can put it in to any iPad Air or iPad Mini w/Retina and get LTE service. I don't believe you'll get 3G EVDO service.

 

[vi edit]

Odd choice out - that Nokia WindowsRT tablet for Verizon?
http://www.rakuten.com/prod/nokia-l...e&adid=29963&gclid=CPW8kty1pr8CFQovaQod0GMA6A

Nice screen, 32 gig storage, USB port. Can hook up full keyboard for cheap if you want. Has Verizon LTE built in.

Downside? Windows RT and app selection is crappy.

 

[luv2liv]

for people on a budget, i would never ever recommend any tablet or phones from apple.
why? because with each annual update from apple, the device becomes slower until you cant bear it any more and want buy another newer idevice. what if you dont update?? well, you cant install newer apps.

 

[Mopetar]

why? because with each annual update from apple, the device becomes slower until you cant bear it any more and want buy another newer idevice. what if you dont update?? well, you cant install newer apps.

How is that unique to Apple?

 

[boomhower]

Refurbed iPad Mini, preferably retina, would be my suggestion as well. I have the original mini and even with the slower processor I am perfectly happy with it. I would prefer to have a retina screen but it wasn't worth it for the upgrade. Speed wise it's perfectly fine with iOS 7.

 

[Mopetar]

If you wait about 3 months, the new version will come out which means that the price for the old model will drop and a lot more used or refurbished tablets will be available which will drive the price down. If your grandkids and family primarily have iPads, Facetime might be nice to have and it might make it easier to play some games with them online if you or they are into that at all. If they have a mix of device types, then it doesn't matter as much.

Otherwise, your next best bet might be a Kindle Fire HDX. The 16 GB 8.9" 4G version is $480, which is $150 cheaper than the cheapest iPad 4G iPad. I've heard that the Mayday button (directly connects you with a support person who can answer questions you have or help you with problems with your device) actually works quite well, and if you're not terribly experienced with these devices it could be helpful. App availability is somewhat more limited than other Android devices (although you can get around this restriction if you really want) and iOS devices, but it has most of the big tent pole apps that you're likely to want.

 

[TheStu]

How is that unique to Apple?

Well, because it actually gets updates.

And, you can still install apps, the store will provide the most recent version that's compatible with your device.

 

[drbrock]

Get an Ipad. I have a chromebook and android phone but on the tablet side I yet to see anything that directly competes with apple. The Ipad is the business and a bag of chips. My ipad 2 is still going strong without any problems. Will probably upgrade in a year or two. The 4:3 aspect ratio is one of the most important reasons I like the Ipad. I have had the widescreen tablets before and they are not that great for websurfing imho.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think the ticket is an iPad 4. Lot of value in those.

 

[paperwastage]

microcenter generally sells stuff at a discount, or at an open box discounted price

you usually don't see apple stuff getting discounted anywhere

 

[Eug]

I would wait for the next replacement to the iPad mini, coming out probably in October.

 

[bassoprofundo]

Get an Ipad. I have a chromebook and android phone but on the tablet side I yet to see anything that directly competes with apple. The Ipad is the business and a bag of chips. My ipad 2 is still going strong without any problems. Will probably upgrade in a year or two. The 4:3 aspect ratio is one of the most important reasons I like the Ipad. I have had the widescreen tablets before and they are not that great for websurfing imho.

^^^This^^^

I have a hunch that getting anything else will result in a lot of disappointing comparisons between your device and your grandkids' iPads. I'm a huge Microsoft-ee and have owned and extensively used pretty much every tablet out there in terms of OS, but there's still nothing that beats the iPad for casual use. I love my Win8 tablets, but I still find myself reaching for the iPad when I want to just kick back and consume content. My 2 cents...

 

[s44]

If you want an iPad, get an iPad. If you want a superior tablet, get the Note or Tab S...

 

[Super56K]

Nexus 7 2013. Screen's a bit small, but it's a seriously nice tablet that fares very well against an iPad Mini Retina for half the price.

IMO anything priced in the same ballpark of an iPad Air or Retina Mini isn't worth buying over either of those. If you really want an iPad Air, you're going to be disappointed with about anything else. 16gb wifi models can be had for around $400 pretty regularly. Mini Retina's can be had for ~$330 sometimes. Nexus 7 2013's are often below $175. LTE just isn't cheap, no way around that aside from finding a below market value used deal.

 

[richierich1212]

LG Gpad 8.3 + Verizon goes for around $200 on eBay. Without Verizon it goes for around $150. It's the best tablet in this price range.

 

[Geekbabe]

LG Gpad 8.3 + Verizon goes for around $200 on eBay. Without Verizon it goes for around $150. It's the best tablet in this price range.

For a budget minded person the Gpad is certainly an attractive option, the screen quality is quite good and the 8.3 inch form factor makes it easy to handle.

If you are not dead set on iPad I would also suggest hunting for deals on the newer Samsung tablets, I have seen some really great deals on refurbished 2014 edition Galaxy Note & Best Buy recently had a nice deal for an 8.4 inch Tab.

If you want iPad you can get a refurb via the Apple online store, you could also look on Craig's list but be careful. You might also consider waiting till one of your young relatives wants to upgrade & offering to buy their used iPad from them.

 

[ponyo]

If you want an iPad, get an iPad.

Pretty much this. If you settle and get something else because it's cheaper, you're going to have doubt and second guess yourself. And then you might end up buying an iPad anyway and end up with two devices and spend more money . Just bite the bullet and buy what you want in the first place and save yourself time and money.

 

[shortylickens]

I had the mini and it was OK.

 

[mikegg]

for people on a budget, i would never ever recommend any tablet or phones from apple.
why? because with each annual update from apple, the device becomes slower until you cant bear it any more and want buy another newer idevice. what if you dont update?? well, you cant install newer apps.

It was a problem before but the processing speed is approaching diminishing return on tablets and phones so it shouldn't really factor into your decision anymore.

 

[Roland00Address]

Currently Target.com's website is having a $100 gift card on the various ipad models, mini, air, cellular, wifi, etc.

I am posting the slickdeals link since I found the info on that website, and they have an easy organization to click on the models you want (16, 32, etc, mini or air, wifi or lte)

http://slickdeals.net/f/7043928-app...y-100-target-gift-card-from-399-free-shipping

 

[rh71]

just got my kids an ipad mini retina and while I have a phablet ($200 Note 3 with expanded storage) I just don't get the appeal of paying $400 for these ipads. Just about the only good they do is games and watching netflix in bed. No 4G so we can't even go anywhere and have it be always-useful. Way overpriced. I tried taking pics and videos and less than 5 mins took up 500mb of the little space it has on it. iCloud is only 5gb for backup. WTF Apple. You suck. People buy this sh!t in droves. If 4 people didn't chip in for it, I would've just returned it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm not a fan of the iPad when compared to other options in the Android world because I'm not a fan of Apple's Ecosystem and I have more freedom with Android. That's me but I did buy my Mom an iPad Air because it's pretty simple to use and she doesn't need to tweak stuff at all. She uses an Android phone for the screen size but for tablets it depends on who will be using it IMO. They are all largely going to perform the same functions.