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Parent desperately needs advice ASAP! Ipad1 still a viable Christmas gift?

bnell

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Hi I made a tentative deal to buy an Ipad1 from a friend,for $100, as a Christmas gift for my 2 year old. She loves playing with my smartphone. Was seriously considering buying a LeapPad until reading many negative reviews about durability and the high cost of apps. Thought the 1st gen Ipad would be a good alternative until I started reading the stories about iO6. She would primarily be using it for children's apps, music and maybe some video content. Will I still be able to find viable apps & where? Even $100 is too much to pay for something that will soon be completely obsolete. Need advice from people with much more expertise regarding this matter. Thanks so much for your help!
 

skimonkey

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Hi Bnell...If I were you...I'd put the money in the iPad 3 or the 4. You may even be able to get a refurb one at the apple store online. I would also recommend the iPad 2...but consider future updates. The iPad 2 may at some point not be properly equipped to take on future updates.
 

VitaW

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I just went from a 1 to a 3. My three year old still loves the original iPad and I think for children's apps for a two year old it might be relevant for a bit longer. My 1 was getting slow as far as handling a lot at one time. Personally it think its a good price but you need to consider your financial situation as well. Is $100 a lot for you to afford? Can you afford to upgrade in a couple of years? Will you be happy using it for just music and a few movies or tv shows when it no longer supports as many apps as you want?
 

Nakedbabytoes

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My 11yo son just got a 1 and he loves it. I have used it a time or two, and while it is noticeably slower than mine opening things or refreshing web pages, after things load you would have no idea it was a 1. $100 is a great price for a 1 and if I had the cash, I would totally get my 4yo one! Remember it was cutting edge not more than 3 years ago. Even a 1 is better than most desktops or laptops people currently own!
My son was only bummed out that the 1(and 2s for that matter) can't have Siri. He likes to ask mine goofy questions. And a camera, he was hoping for a camera(which was the only reason I never bought a 1 when they were new). But the camera on my 2 sucked, so when 3s came out I upgraded and sold my 2. But I am happy as a clam with what I have now and won't be upgrading.
$100 is what a leapad costs, with one game. Get an iPad 1, get free games, WINNING!
And if not, send it to me:)
 
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bnell

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Thanks skimonkey and VitaW for the quick replies. I'd be happy if my baby could squeeze a couple of years use out of it. VitaW where do you currently find apps that still work on the 1? Are there still a fair amount of apps for children that can still be used on the 1? The person I'm buying from does not have kids, so currently it has absolutely no apps for children loaded. Thanks again.
 
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bnell

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Thx NBT totally what I was thinking in comparing it to a LeapPad. Where do you find compatible kids apps for the 1?
 

skimonkey

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Thanks skimonkey and VitaW for the quick replies. I'd be happy if my baby could squeeze a couple of years use out of it. VitaW where do you currently find apps that still work on the 1? Are there still a fair amount of apps for children that can still be used on the 1? The person I'm buying from does not have kids, so currently it has absolutely no apps for children loaded. Thanks again.

Bnell...many people still use the ipad 1 to get onto the web, check their emails, etc. For a $100, that's really good. The only thing to be aware of is that as the ios updates, so do apps in order for it to properly function. Many have mentioned frequent crashes on the original ipad, so making sure to close out the apps regularly will help to free up some of the RAM. Also, have a look to see what version your friend's ipad is running on. iOS 6 was not available for the original ipad. The highest it will go will be 5.1.1 as far as I can remember, but please verify. When I bought my ipad 2, I was on version 4.3.5. Updating it to 5.0 took some time because it was a big update...its doable, just be patient.

Also, you can access the itunes store online and check out the various apps you might want to buy for your child. It should have the requirements listed and what version it will run on. Would hate for you to get the ipad and want certain apps that are no longer available or is on the edge of needing an ios update for it to properly function. Have a look at some of the existing threads for ipad 1 and 2 comparisons. In addition, like NBT...others with the ipad 1 will hopefully chime in.
 

Nakedbabytoes

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Well, my son is quite a bit older than the child you are buying it for, but my 4yo has a touch. Most apps still work fine and you can get new ones for anything OS 5 or greater(iPad 1 can run 5.1.1). So there hasn't been any apps that I can get so far that he cannot. So I think thus far, most benchmarks are set with OS 5 or less. Some updates will optimize the app to work better on OS 6 and it can potentially make the app not work correctly with your device after updating. So you might wanna read the "update" info before you choose "update all".
But so far, there hasn't been any apps that either boy can't get to work on their OS 5 devices. But we have an old touch that can't run anything newer than 4.3. That does cause issues with most apps out today. We can use what is on there right now but we can't get much that is newer. At some point, this will happen to OS 5 devices as well. But it hasn't occurred yet and I doubt it will become common until the next big update(to OS 7 more than likely, whenever that is)
 

arbj

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I have an ipad 1. It works very well, I am able to get most of work doen from it. These include, downloading photos from my digital camera (using camera connection kit). Editing HTML,PHP files, accessing internet, viewing films, writing documents etc. I don't see any reason to upgrade to ipad 2 for some time atleast.

I think the ipad 1 would be very good for children.
 
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bnell

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Thanks for all the responses. Have decided to take the plunge.:thumbs:
 

KevinJS

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I'm late to the party but I'll pitch in with a bit of experience.


When the anklesnapper was younger, I bought him a LeapPad. It was never touched, and now, never will be. Last year we bought him an iPod touch. He already had a DSi, which quickly became obsolete. He carries the iPod everywhere, so this year he's getting an iPad mini.

The iPad 1 is a great introduction to iOS and at that price, I don't think you can go wrong.

Sent from my iPad using iPF
 

Nakedbabytoes

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Second what Kevin reports. My 4yo has a Vtech Vreader. $75 system and $20 games(x5 later) and he never touches it. Ever. Even if I had younger kids coming up, I wouldn't sink money into a cartridge system again. They have a certain age range they are good for and then you have a paper weight! My oldest went from a Leapster---to a Gameboy Advance---to a DS as he got older. I spent probably over $1000 total buying systems and games for those specific systems. An iPad can be from ages infant to old guy. They can be a book reader and a game system and a video watcher and a music player.
Hands down, iPad wins for both money and adjustability.
 

Husq250

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I realize the decisions been made but I thought I'd put in my 2 cents for perspective. I run a small business on an iPad 1st gen as of a few months ago. I decided to upgrade to a 2 to be able to "multitask" switch between apps a little faster. That's it. Otherwise worked great.

I did not win the "coolest neighbor with the most expensive and latest gadget of the month award". Oh well, it did the trick.
 
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bnell

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Thanks for the continued input. I will be purchasing the Ipad over the weekend and will start getting it ready for Christmas. Will have to overcome a learning curve. Want to upgrade to iOs5 and add some apps for my 2yr old.
 

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