Yeah, guess we will see. I just know for me, my web surfing is as fast as I need it to be. I'll enjoy faster page rendering in the future, but my first gen is not exactly a slouch and this issue alone would never be worth it for me to upgrade right now this early for me. End of day, it would be somewhat coming down to splitting hairs I think. Surfing performance for me is excellent and I compare it with dektops and laptops that I also have. That said, I am still glad Apple is staying current with the competition and that their first model at the same time remains a gem!

I saved myself £100 by cashing in on the iPad one at the reduced price last week. I'm really happy with it and couldn't justify paying more money for a very similar but newer version. I hope for massive improvements on the iPad 3 :-)

I debated about iPad 2 a lot and finally decided, for what I do with the iPad, I don't need an iPad 2. I am going to wait until iPhone 5.

Originally Posted by mossman

The iPad 2 is now upon us. The first reviews are in, and they are as strong as the reviews for the original iPad which was released a year ago. This time the device is lighter, thinner, more powerful, comes with two cameras, and has the ability to utilize a neat magnetic cover which doubles as a stand. The competition hasn’t caught up with the original iPad, and everyone seems to agree that the iPad 2 is even better.

I’m not going to lie to you. I want the iPad 2. I’ve thought about it a lot. What if I sell my current iPad? I purchased a 32GB 3G model last year, but I don’t need the extra capacity nor the 3G service since I have a mifi spot I’m already paying for. I could cash in my existing iPad for $350, and purchase a new 16GB iPad for $500 – or to put it another way, I can buy the iPad 2 for $150. Trust me, I’ve thought about this a lot. To be just as frank, it’s been kind of cool having the latest gadget, and I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of that. Now my iPad will be old, yesterday’s news, and a piece of me is kind of bummed about that.

But I’m not going to buy the iPad 2. It’s a hard decision emotionally, but a really easy one rationally. Let us count the reasons why.

The iPad 2 actually isn’t better than the iPad
Technically this isn’t true, but practically it is. I don’t need a camera on my iPad and wouldn’t use it if I had it. A thinner and lighter iPad would be nice, but I would still have to put it down at some point because my arms would get tired. Yes, the dual core processor has been rated faster than the single core chip my device uses. But I’ve been here before. All this talk about the better processing will mean about a second or two quicker page loads and slightly improved app performance. It kind of reminds me of TVs. Go to the store and look at two TVs, one will stick out for you as better than the other. But often you can look at that same TV by itself and feel just fine about it. Unless I plan to use both iPads at the same time, I won’t notice the difference in performance at all.

It would be a hassle to sell my iPad and buy a new one
Not a huge hassle, but more effort than I want to put into it. I work a full time job, have a four year old son, and want to spend time with my wife on top of the time I am using to edit my second book and learn how to play guitar. I don’t have a lot of disposable time, and I certainly don’t want to spend it on this.

Sometimes you just need to be happy with what you’ve got
I love my iPad. I read on it, watch news videos on it, surf the web on it, play games on it, blah, blah, blah. I use the iPad almost every day. I have zero regrets about this purchase. But the fact is that the iPad 2 won’t make me any more productive or happier than my current model does. This is where my rational brain fights with the emotional one. Why do I want the iPad 2 at all? It’s the hype machine. It’s the brilliant Apple marketing that has nothing to do with their ads. It’s the American consumer economy that suggests that almost all the goods we buy are disposable. But they’re not. There’s a cost to each electronic purchase we make. An environmental cost and a human cost, not to mention the financial one. I don’t mean to get too dark here, but our purchases have consequences and rampant consumerism is a frightening thing. I’m not saying I’m not going to buy electronic equipment anymore because of these things, but I would have to be completely soulless not to recognize the impact of my decisions on the world. Kind of puts that hype machine into perspective, doesn’t it?

The iPad 3 will probably be way better
I will buy a new iPad, but it just won’t be every year. Maybe it will every other year, or perhaps less frequently (although I’d bet on every other year). If the price stays the same, an average of $250 a year for a new pad every two years isn’t too bad. That’s just $20 a month. Dirt cheap compared to some hobbies I know people engage in.

So that’s my thinking. Laying it all out like this, I feel confident about my decision. It makes perfect sense. I can’t argue for the purchase of the iPad 2. Yet somehow I get the feeling that on more than one occasion after posting this editorial, I will consider buying the iPad 2 again.

You've thought this out very well and come away with rational conclusions to keep the IPAD-1........... Ken

I'm glad I was able to communicate in a way that so many people could connect with. Although I don't always make it, my goal is to write intelligent, thoughtful posts with a touch of humor. Looks like I hit the mark this time.

The ipad2 seems to suffer from the same problem as the non-apple products compared to the ipad1. It's not about the specs, but the user experience.

If you are happy with your current ipad and don't care about the camera's, there's not going to be a whole of change in the "user experience". With the ipad1 being the bulk of ipads out there no app company in their right mind is going to want to cut off that potential revenue for a while. And by the time the ipad 2 is out-numbering the ipad1, it'll be time to upgrade to a freakin' awesome retina screen ipad 3 with Thunderbolt and maybe even 4g internet.

I especially think it's humourous when the tech bloggers rave about how much thinner and lighter the ipad2 is and than say they want a full case to protect their baby. I guarantee that case is gonna be more than the 2 oz they saved in weight and a leather folio case is going to give back alot of that thinness.

Originally Posted by mossman

I'm glad I was able to communicate in a way that so many people could connect with. Although I don't always make it, my goal is to write intelligent, thoughtful posts with a touch of humor. Looks like I hit the mark this time.

It is very well written. It did have a nice touch of humor too. I like the last poster's comment too about the thinness of iPad 2 being used up in folio cases. As much as I like my Targus case, that's what I was doing with my iPad, keeping it bulked up. I only just now changed it out to the carbon fiber shell back case with the Invisible Shield that I already have on the front and now am toting it around just for transport with a sport sleeve neophrene case made for it, (and keep it in there at home for safety) but when actually using it, for the first time in my 3 1/2 months of ownership, I'm using my iPad in the minimalist form and design it was made for and really enjoying it. I'm just a few months into iPad ownership which is one of my main reasons for not upgrading just yet, and here I can humorously note on this thread that I spent almost all this time not even fully enjoying the elegant shape until lately!!

Sent from my iPad using iPF