iPad Gen 3 Thread "Official"

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Just got my shipping notice(s), thought I'd start an official thread to cut down on the plethora of threads that have cropped up.

What model did you order or want to pick up?

I ordered a couple of 16GB Wifi black. (just can't get into white stuff)
 

Ravynmagi

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2007
3,102
24
81
Went with a 16GB Black wifi also. Wanted to go 32GB, but an extra $100 for just 16GB more space seems like robbery, so I didn't do it.

PS. Mine finally just shipped this morning.
 

kyrax12

Platinum Member
May 21, 2010
2,416
2
81
Still heavily thinking between an Ipad or a cheap 500$ computer.

I know there are a lot of readings I could do to help me decide but it is quite hard. I will usually use the Ipad for school and typing up word documents...

Is it good at typing up word documents?
 

runawayprisoner

Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2008
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0
76
Is it good at typing up word documents?

No. If you do any word processing at all, even something as silly as typing "I love you" once a day, get a notebook.

I can guarantee you 101% that you'll find that tablets suck a lot for word processing and composition, and that goes for any tablet.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Still heavily thinking between an Ipad or a cheap 500$ computer.

I know there are a lot of readings I could do to help me decide but it is quite hard. I will usually use the Ipad for school and typing up word documents...

Is it good at typing up word documents?

It's not meant for typing but they do sell keyboards that you can use with the iPad. If you're serious about typing, a laptop is what you'd want.
 

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
If you're planning to do a lot of word doc transferring and receiving then I would definitely get a notebook instead. The iPad has the app Pages you can buy and then you could get a bluetooth keyboard stand, but Pages isn't completely compatible with Word.

I ended up getting the 16GB Black Wifi too. I can't get into that white stuff, I feel like its more for women.
 

kami

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
17,627
5
81
64gb wifi here. My current ipad has about 55 gig on it so I use the space. I was really hoping for a 128gb version but oh well.

Says its preparing for shipment on order status page.
 

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,159
6,872
136
No. If you do any word processing at all, even something as silly as typing "I love you" once a day, get a notebook.

I can guarantee you 101% that you'll find that tablets suck a lot for word processing and composition, and that goes for any tablet.

You'd probably be better off with a notebook, but you could do it on an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard and the Pages app. However, if you'd absolutely need to be using Microsoft Word, there's currently no tablet version of Word for any platforms and I'm not sure how good Pages support is for all of Words features.

In general though, a laptop will be more flexible. There's no telling when you'll need to install some crazy program for a class and find that it's a Windows only program.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Still heavily thinking between an Ipad or a cheap 500$ computer.

I know there are a lot of readings I could do to help me decide but it is quite hard. I will usually use the Ipad for school and typing up word documents...

Is it good at typing up word documents?

Yeah, get a laptop, I wouldn't want to rely on an iPad only for school.
 

JS80

Lifer
Oct 24, 2005
26,271
7
81
Just got my shipping notice(s), thought I'd start an official thread to cut down on the plethora of threads that have cropped up.

What model did you order or want to pick up?

I ordered a couple of 16GB Wifi black. (just can't get into white stuff)

Same. My ship noticed came March 7.
 
Nov 29, 2006
15,731
4,267
136
Im very tempted for the 16GB or possibly the 32GB black wifi version. Never owned a tablet before. Just not sure how much actual use it would get. Afraid ill pay $500+ for something that will eventually become a paper weight. Hopefully that wouldnt happen but never know.
 

dagamer34

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2005
2,591
0
71
Im very tempted for the 16GB or possibly the 32GB black wifi version. Never owned a tablet before. Just not sure how much actual use it would get. Afraid ill pay $500+ for something that will eventually become a paper weight. Hopefully that wouldnt happen but never know.

What do you mean by paper weight? The resale value for iPads within the year you buy them is quite good. I just sold a 16GB WiFi iPad 2 for $429 after buying it for $475 in August.

I would take advantage of Amazon's no-restocking fee return policy and buy one to see if you like it for 30 days. If you don't, all you loose is shipping costs. Or return it anyway and get an iPad 3.
 

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
What do you mean by paper weight? The resale value for iPads within the year you buy them is quite good. I just sold a 16GB WiFi iPad 2 for $429 after buying it for $475 in August.

I would take advantage of Amazon's no-restocking fee return policy and buy one to see if you like it for 30 days. If you don't, all you loose is shipping costs. Or return it anyway and get an iPad 3.
apple products tend to hold their value very well.
except for their regular ipods
ipod touches, iphones, ipads, and macs hold their value
 

Oil

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2005
3,552
4
81
Ordered a 64gb Verizon black with estimated delivery Fri 3/16 Will be selling my 16gb wifi iPad 2 to the 'rents at a very discounted price
 

Binarycow

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2010
1,238
2
76
No. If you do any word processing at all, even something as silly as typing "I love you" once a day, get a notebook.

I can guarantee you 101% that you'll find that tablets suck a lot for word processing and composition, and that goes for any tablet.

even when it's running a full version of Office on cloud? I think you're are being over-dramatic, dude. Check out the Onlive app on iOS first before making such bold claim.

BTW, I ordered a 32 gig WiFi white version. Already got a 64 gig iPad 2 (from work) but just couldnt resist the new screen. Apple also has a 6 months (or 12 months) no interest offer on their site. I dont care for the white bezel either but already has one with black so had to order a white one to avoid confusion.
 

runawayprisoner

Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2008
2,496
0
76
even when it's running a full version of Office on cloud? I think you're are being over-dramatic, dude. Check out the Onlive app on iOS first before making such bold claim.

Yeah. Even when it's running a full version of Office on cloud. In fact, I'll even assume that the iPad will get a perfect native Microsoft Word version from Microsoft in the near future. It will still suck.

It's not the software that's the issue, but that a tablet is not the best tool for writing. I have used a tablet (iPad 1 + iPad 2) for a long time, and I assure you, I can type with 10 fingers on the screen of a tablet at 60WPM minimum... but I still think it sucks for word processing.

Specifically, what happens when you need to format multiple paragraphs, highlight different things and apply formatting? You have to hold your finger down every time, wait for a magnifying glass to come up, and pray that your finger won't accidentally move the cursor when you lift it.

Not painful enough? Try to change font size of different sentences in the same paragraph.

Still not painful enough? Try to copy and paste from different documents.

Sincerely, it's okay if you are writing 3-4 pages of an essay (minus the fact that you have to email the document to yourself just to print it out if your printer doesn't support AirPrint), but if you are writing more than 3 to 4 pages, it becomes a huge exercise of patience.
 
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Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,159
6,872
136
Im very tempted for the 16GB or possibly the 32GB black wifi version. Never owned a tablet before. Just not sure how much actual use it would get. Afraid ill pay $500+ for something that will eventually become a paper weight. Hopefully that wouldnt happen but never know.

I felt similarly when I initially bought my first tablet, but they're quite useful. I definitely got plenty of use out of it over the past two years and I just sold my iPad for about half of what I originally paid, so I don't think you'll have to worry about getting stuck with a huge expense. If you want something that's good for browsing, email, reading, and other light tasks that's easy to use just about anywhere around the house, it'll definitely get plenty of use. Try it out for a month to see how you like it. If you don't, you can probably get almost the full purchase price for it.
 

kaerflog

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2010
1,899
4
76
Never own a tablet before because I have a 11" airbook so I jumped at the chance after seeing the specs and Apple keeping the $499 price.
Mainly it will be a present for the wife and I can mess around with it.
Both mine, white, 16GB WIFI are shipped already.
Funny but mine are shipped from nashville overnight but its being "on hold" for right now.
Planning to sell one off.
How much do you think you can resell one for ?? Up to $600 ??
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
I'm not sure it's worth to try to flip this go around. Apple seems better prepared for the preorder rush and must have good number in stock ready to go. I remember the wait times on iPad2 quickly changed to more than 2 weeks out on the first day of preorder and month out within couple days/week. Currently it's only 3 days out which tells me there's enough supply and scalpers won't make much if at all.

Given current ample supply situation, I would wait til places like MacMall and JR receive their stock and order from those sites. Tax savings should be worth the short wait for most people.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
I'm not sure it's worth to try to flip this go around. Apple seems better prepared for the preorder rush and must have good number in stock ready to go. I remember the wait times on iPad2 quickly changed to more than 2 weeks out on the first day of preorder and month out within couple days/week. Currently it's only 3 days out which tells me there's enough supply and scalpers won't make much if at all.

Given current ample supply situation, I would wait til places like MacMall and JR receive their stock and order from those sites. Tax savings should be worth the short wait for most people.

Yep, I suspect you're right. Oh well, might make a buck or two :) Looks like all of the first batch are sold out already though, we'll likely see more delays before the B&M launch.
 

smartpatrol

Senior member
Mar 8, 2006
870
0
0
Ordered a 32GB wifi black. I'm not a fan of white bezels. I think the screen just "pops" a lot more with a black bezel.
 

Steelbom

Senior member
Sep 1, 2009
450
21
81
Still heavily thinking between an Ipad or a cheap 500$ computer.

I know there are a lot of readings I could do to help me decide but it is quite hard. I will usually use the Ipad for school and typing up word documents...

Is it good at typing up word documents?
That depends on whether or not your comfortable typing on a virtual keyboard, but if you pick yourself up a wireless keyboard (or a keyboard-dock) for the iPad.

Not sure how you'd go at school with it though. I'd give it a try. I'm quite comfortable typing on a virtual keyboard, but I much prefer a physical keyboard.
 

kyrax12

Platinum Member
May 21, 2010
2,416
2
81
So is the Ipad 3's display can compete with E-ink equipped E-readers in text sharpness and eyestrain reduction?
 

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,159
6,872
136
but I still think it sucks for word processing.

Specifically, what happens when you need to format multiple paragraphs, highlight different things and apply formatting? You have to hold your finger down every time, wait for a magnifying glass to come up, and pray that your finger won't accidentally move the cursor when you lift it.

Not painful enough? Try to change font size of different sentences in the same paragraph.

Still not painful enough? Try to copy and paste from different documents.

Sincerely, it's okay if you are writing 3-4 pages of an essay (minus the fact that you have to email the document to yourself just to print it out if your printer doesn't support AirPrint), but if you are writing more than 3 to 4 pages, it becomes a huge exercise of patience.

None of those are really a problem if you're using TeX, though I have no idea if there's a good editor for any tablets, though I suppose any editor would work. Honestly, if you're doing anything above 4 pages that needs heavy editing, I wouldn't recommend Word regardless of what kind of system you're using.

So is the Ipad 3's display can compete with E-ink equipped E-readers in text sharpness and eyestrain reduction?

My understanding of the eyestrain issue is that some people don't blink often enough when staring at screens that produce light, so I doubt the new iPad will fix that. If you're a person who gets eyestrain from using a computer, etc. I'd recommend that you just make a conscious effort to look away once in a while and relax your eyes.