I plan on getting the 16 gb Wi-FI model for $499 and am wondering if it will be enough for my needs. I mostly just plan on reading ibooks, surfing the web at home on my bed or couch, downloading music on itunes, and downloading some movies.

I would think so. You are clearly going to be in close proximity to your computer most of the time. Saying you won't be days or a week without access to your home computer.

I would not look at the 16 GB for indefinate storage of anying but your most beloved movies and music. I am well past the 16 GB mark on my 64 GB iPod, but have 2 weeks of non-reapeating music/audio-book value. 15+ and growing hours of video. And I guess what would the equivelent of eBooks looking like a drop in the bucket, even with a full color 578 page 100 MB PDF in that mix.

As long as you use iTunes smart playlist creatively you should easly be able to keep a rolling music and video selection without having to have all of it loaded all the time.

A typical hour long iPod format show would be around 800 MB. Closer to 500 as most shows of that type are really 42 to 43 miniutes, not a full hour.

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I really think this is why Apple didn't push the iPad as a laptop replacement. It really does need a home computer if it is going to get the most out of it's stored video viewing. Even 64 GB is hardly enough to keep a robust show and/movie catalog on you for weeks if you are away from your computer that long. It is not digital video library in your messanger bag. You (in the plural sense) will need a base computer for long term storage if you are a video junkie.

I'm planning on the 16GB WiFi model as well. It should work out fine for me. I can fit pretty much all of the documents I need for work into 2GB of space (I use a free dropbox.com account to sync my work documents between my iMac and MacBook) and I can cram enough audio into a 2GB iPod Nano to last me for a week long trip without a problem. Do I get repeats? Sure, but hey, I've got actual work to do during the day and I only really listen for maybe an hour or so a day at most. The podcasts I like can cram even more programming into that space (NPR stuff, audio drama, etc.). I figure I'll have room for all that, a couple of movies, some books and plenty of room to spare. In a pinch, dropbox already has an iPhone app. I have no doubt it will work on the iPad until they release an enhanced version.

i am going to get the 32...I think i need more storage....

Yeah its enough if you dont use it for(documents,picture), or like to listen to a bunch of music. But its enough for an average person IMO.

I think 16gig could be good for light duty stuff, but I think I'm going to go with the 64gig so that I can keep several of my movies and most of my music

Originally Posted by DG~X

Yeah its enough if you dont use it for(documents,picture), or like to listen to a bunch of music. But its enough for an average person IMO.

For general documents I don't agree. If anything the 16 GB is even more practical for general document and photo use... as long as it isn't combined with over stuffed music and most espcially video use. When I was going photo crazy during a month long trip I generated about 10 GB of images (lots of XD cards), mostly duplicates to insure quality. Hopefully with an SD card reader attachment many of those photos would not need to be loaded to an iPad being take out to the field for moblie reporting.

Originally Posted by Dorje

Originally Posted by DG~X

Yeah its enough if you dont use it for(documents,picture), or like to listen to a bunch of music. But its enough for an average person IMO.

For general documents I don't agree. If anything the 16 GB is even more practical for general document and photo use... as long as it isn't combined with over stuffed music and most espcially video use. When I was going photo crazy during a month long trip I generated about 10 GB of images (lots of XD cards), mostly duplicates to insure quality. Hopefully with an SD card reader attachment many of those photos would not need to be loaded to an iPad being take out to the field for moblie reporting.

Maybe its just me. I really don't store much things in my devises. Im usually playing some B-ball and football. Ill be buying the $499 one though.(16GBs)