OK so I bought both myself and my niece an $828 Ipad (each). First Generation, just before Ipad 2 rolled out 2+ yrs ago.
Ipad hardware is proprietary, and locked in - such as memory. You can not go to Best Buy and add more memory. You can even pay Apple to add more memory.
Now with the new, memory intensive features in the new OS, IPAD ! users are finding that their Ipads are locking up and shutting down very very frequently. There are web pages that list a slew of new options that are responsible, as well as how to deactivate them, to “reduce” the black screen of death.
Even so, if you disable every feature they list, it will still lock up, especially when using Safari or Terra to surf the net. Not so, when you just open Facebook via the App (but it will if you use Safari and go to Facebook.com.
So, since Apple sold us all a very expensive Ipad, that they alone made obsolete via a new OS (that works well with the IPAD 3 - which has a lot more memory), could there be a class action lawsuit?
They should at least offer a hell of a discount to IPAD 1 loyal customers to upgrade to Ipad 3.
I think the best you can hope for is a downgrade to iOS 5. And they are already offering a discount to upgrade - the resale value of an iPad is higher than other tablets.
Tablet storage/memory is usually not upgradable. Android tablets often have a micro-SD card for secondary storage, but the primary storage is what it is.
Although I think it’s crappy that newer OS versions make the device unstable you always had the option of not upgrading the OS.
I’m confused. I have a 32GB first-gen iPad, pre-ordered and delivered on the very first day they were available in 2010. I don’t believe it can even run iOS 6.x (the current release)–I’m running 5. It hesitates a bit at times, but I’m not having any issues with system crashing.
The first generation iPad, as RickG mentions only run iOS 5. It might feel as a stab in the back, but they(and many other companies) call it a business model.
New hardware stimulates new software development that creates new enduser options, this makes the end user buy the new hardware because they want the latest features. Which raises enough funds to start the cycle again.
So when you’re filing your class action suit about an upgrade that happened well over a year ago, you might want to include the majority of Android users who are stuck with old (sometimes even 2.x) versions of Android because their carriers won’t upgrade them, and the Windows phone people who can’t upgrade from 7.x to 8.x, the i386 users who can’t run Call of Duty because their machines can’t be upgraded sufficiently, and the Model T owners who aren’t allowed to drive on modern freeways because they can’t reach the minimum speeds.
Time marches on. Your iPad still works just fine for the software it came with; that’s the best you can hope for for any device in this era of rapid obsolescence.
IIRC, the thing is that Apple doesn’t let you downgrade, due the way they handle the DRM. And, yes, that is a problem. Whether a suit can be filed depends on the EULA. And I’m not talking about the boneheaded court decision that lets a company tell you you can’t file a class action suit. I’m talking about whether the restrictions are made clear to be part of the product.
And, no, this is not the same as not being able to upgrade an Android. Heck, it’s not the same as not being able to upgrade in any sense. This is downgrade rights we are talking here. Does Apple have the right to prevent you from undoing an upgrade that wound up slowing down your system?
If you’re going to be condescending, can you at least be sure you know what you’re talking about? The OP doesn’t even mention new software.
Sure. And if you’re going to be condescending, could you learn to read? The OP mentions “new OS” twice, and talks about the “features” of the new OS that he has to turn off. Sounds like new software to me – particularly since he pointed out you can’t upgrade the hardware.
You can’t downgrade most other mobile devices either – my point was that for many others, you don’t even have the option of upgrading.
I own (and know others who own) first generations iPads running 5.1.1 without difficulty. If the OP’s is broken, take it to a damn Apple store and have it replaced. These “class action suits” for petty crap like this are annoying, and stifling actual innovation.
I am sorry you paid so much for your iPad. The correct term in the tech world is “early adopter” as referenced above. Early adopters are a weird mix. They are usually people that have excess money to use on status symbols for yet unproven products but sometimes they are just gullible people who get sold something. Experienced tech people like myself are very rarely early adopters and tend to look down on those that use tech in that way. Early adopters are good in many ways however because they help pay for the more refined versions that surely follow for any successful product line.
I don’t think a class action suit is warranted in this case. A iPad 1 is still a quality product although you should take it to the Apple store and demand that it still run exactly like you just bought it if that is what you really want. That doesn’t mean that it will ever be able to run newer software the way you seem to expect. That is unreasonable for any tech product of that type. You should be able to restore it to out of the box condition like it is 2010 again however.
If this type of thing makes you angry, there is an easy solution in the future. Don’t be an early adopter. Most computer technology has roughly the shelf-life of bananas so don’t buy the first version when it comes out unless you have money to burn and really, desperately need it to enhance your life. Wait 3 - 5 years until the technology is proven and the cost comes down. That applies to everything from new technology light-bulbs to flat screen TV’s along with most other things including the latest tablets. You can even buy better, cheaper Android tablets than now than the likely cost just to repair an iPad 1.
Quibble: OP was not an early adopter. OP bought late in first gen production (just before iPad 2 came out). I was an early adopter on iPad, getting mine on day 1 (3 April 2010). OTOH, I already had a (2nd generation) iPhone, so knew I liked the OS. Also, there weren’t any Android tablets, and iOS had accessibility features for the visually impaired (which I am) that still make it the best platform for me. Also, iOS was already 3 years old, so even the first gen iPad wasn’t completely new.
Cheaper? Sure. Better? Maybe, maybe not. Seen some reports lately that Nexus 7s from last year are starting to fail. According to Gazelle (which buys and sells used gadgets) the Nexus 7 and the iPad 1 have both lost about 80% of their original value, except it took 3 years for the iPad to fall that far, and only one for the Nexus. Apple doesn’t set resale prices, the market does. So which is the better value?
FYI I don’t regret buying the Ipad 1; I got my monies worth in the 1.5 yrs of use. So did my niece in college. I just don’t believe that I am unrealistic to feel that I should expect to enjoy it for another 3 to 5 years.
My point is that I have bought laptops and desktops, that I could upgrade the memory (and did) as well as the Hard Drive memory, to keep them running fine, across of levels of Windows upgrades, for many many years.
Apple soldered the 256MB Ram memory chip into the Ipad (256 in Ipad2) ; they knew from the start that 256MB was a joke, and would force users to buy the next generation a year later. It would have added maybe $50 to the $850 price of a IPAD 1 to have 512mB from the factory. I think anyone spending over $800 would gladly have paid another $50 to double the ram, so they could enjoy their Ipad for half a decade or longer, just as we have with laptops and desktops.
BTW - I found this excellent way to disable the new IOS 5 features, to free up RAM on 1st and 2nd gens.
And you knew that when you bought it, or you should have known. A tablet is not a laptop or PC, and even those have limits to expansion. I’m not sure what your argument is - did Apple force you to buy the iPad 1?