iPad or iPad 2

[dougp]

Which one would you go for? I'm trying to determine if it's worth it to jump the $150, I mostly want it for viewing photos from my camera, browsing the web (screw flash, sorry) and other general odds and ends.

Any input?

 

[poofyhairguy]

iPad 2 is more than twice as powerful, and it will be supported longer by Apple.

 

[dougp]

iPad 2 is more than twice as powerful, and it will be supported longer by Apple.

Obvious and good points, but I'm looking for a little more depth. Technically, the iPhone 3G is still being supported, so I'm just curious.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Obvious and good points, but I'm looking for a little more depth.

Ok, sure.

The iPad 1's GPU is the same as the 3GS. The iPad 1 has half the RAM of an iPhone 4. Meanwhile the iPad 2 has twice the RAM, twice the CPU, and a GPU that is like 5 times better.

What this means is that already the iPad 1 is worse in browsing (fill up a few tabs and you hit that 256mb limit), and will very quickly fall behind in games. The only thing that will keep iPad 1 going longer than most is the fact that Apple sold tons of them, but Apple isn't known to be kind to legacy customers of older products. The iPhone 3G is a perfect example- sure its technically supported still but the experience of newer versions of iOS for the device are terrible.

Based on Apple's history, the big OS upgrade after the next one (so 1.5 to 2.5 years) will "work" on the iPad 1 but run like crap. If that is long enough for you, and you don't mind missing the top games (or the extra features like a camera) get the iPad 1.

 

[amdhunter]

My iPad 2 feels much more snappier than my 1 did. Some apps, like FlipBoard, are absolutely night and day...which is weird since FlipBoard is so smooth on the iPad 1.

My biggest reason to upgrade was for 3G though. I would not have gone from 1 Wi-Fi, to 2 Wi-Fi. Not worth it.

 

[shabby]

Obvious and good points, but I'm looking for a little more depth.

dougp's friend: is that an ipad 2 you got there?
dougp: no, its the original ipad
dougp's friend: pfft go away

Doesn't get anymore in depth than that.

 

[zerocool84]

My iPad 2 feels much more snappier than my 1 did. Some apps, like FlipBoard, are absolutely night and day...which is weird since FlipBoard is so smooth on the iPad 1.

My biggest reason to upgrade was for 3G though. I would not have gone from 1 Wi-Fi, to 2 Wi-Fi. Not worth it.

Yup the iPad 2 feels infinitely faster than the 1. More RAM makes it studder less when multitasking. Play with an iPad 2 and you won't be able to go back to a 1.

 

[Mopetar]

For photo viewing, the original is perfectly fine and I haven't had any problems with mine to suggest that the iPad 2 could offer a vastly improved experience. The screens are essentially the same, and the iPad doesn't have any performance issues with browsing photos.

In terms of web-browsing, using the iPad 2 is going to result in a noticeably better experience. Web pages will load faster, and due to the increased amount of RAM, you'll be able to cache more pages so that you're not frequently reloading pages if you're browsing between two different sites.

Essentially any activity that requires loading or rendering large amounts of data is going to be better on the iPad 2, but anything where you're only sporadically interacting with the device or offloading the work to some dedicated hardware on the SoC (video, audio, etc.) isn't going to see the same performance gains.

 

[boomhower]

Buying new the iPad 2 is an easy decision. If you were upgrading from a 1->2 not as easy. Spend the money and get a 2. Get the 1 and you'll get hamstrung by OS updates sooner down the road.

 

[Aikouka]

Would you consider playing a game on it? There are some nifty (and fairly inexpensive) games that look much better on the iPad 2 than on the iPad 1.

When it comes to pictures, both should perform about the same. As people have mentioned, when it comes to browsing... the iPad 2 will feel a bit smoother and allow you to open more pages at once without having to flush the cash as soon. You can also get flash videos on the iPad if you download the Skyfire web browser. I also use the Atomic web browser (paid / free) as I much prefer having actual tabs, and it pretty much works a lot like Safari since it also uses webkit.

The iPad 1's GPU is the same as the 3GS.

It's easier to state that the iPad 1 has the same SoC as the iPhone 4 (Apple's A4). You aren't wrong in that both the 3GS and the 4 use the PowerVR SGX 535, which is a bummer when it comes to iPhone 4 graphic performance (given the higher resolution, it performs worse in most tests).

 

[Pliablemoose]

I have both, definitely get the 2... They're easier to find nowdays, just use one of the trackers...

 

[SandEagle]

i would trade my 64GB, 3G iPad 1 for a 32gb iPad 2 wifi

 

[dougp]

Ordered today online as I couldn't find it in any of the stores around me.

 

[chin311]

try calling ABT (abt.com) my friend got a black 16gb wifi yesterday, they seem to be in stock more then other retailers... and no tax unless you are in Illinois

 

[tonygeor]

Just get an Ipad 2. And if you think your going to be doing some gaming check out The Fling for the Ipad.

http://www.blamza.com/fling-for-ipad-review/