What iPad should I get?

I can afford whichever, but I don’t want to spend more than what’s necessary. I wouldn’t be doing anything important on it, just using it for travel and as a nifty toy.

I’m doing this as a multi-poll, so answer once on iPad 1 or 2, once for storage, once for connection. Or use one of the 'you forget to include…" options.

Thanks.

To start, so long as you’re just looking to get what you need, no less than an iPad 2… Speedier, thinner, and two cameras, front & back. The first iPad has no cameras.

Can you ballpark how many gigabytes of music/video you’ll be syncing to the iPad? I’m a heavy music guy, and I have the original iPad, 32 GB, WiFi only. It’s about 2/3 full of music & vids… Then maybe another gig or two for pics and apps. And honestly, if I’m gonna listen to music, I’ll be using my headphones on my iPhone, or my Mac out to my speakers or stream it to the AppleTV thru iTunes.

Although, can’t ever go wrong with a 64 jigger, if you don’t mind the extra $.

I gotta say, since I already have an iPhone, I just don’t personally see the need for another subscription just so I can look up that name on IMDB on my iPad, when the iPhone is already fantastic. If I traveled, then yes, I’d think I’d opt for the 3G… But if you already have a smartphone… Meh.

Plus, there’s a ton of places that have free WiFi, or offer it (hotels). I find myself taking just the iPad now to almost anywhere. Great to snag for meetings. Great eBook reader. Awesome for the pooper. And I can’t express how much more comfortable it is than a laptop on the couch or on a plane.

I’ll concede I’m somewhat of a Mac fanboy, but one of the main reasons besides the fact I love Apple’s aethetics and philosophy when it comes to these sorts of things. Mostly, the practically seamless integration between everything Apple/Mac now. All the hardware and software is built from the ground up as a mega-platform. Our iPhones, the AppleTV, our MacBook, my 12-core Mac tower, this iPad I’m typing on… They just all cooperate and see each other now with no set-up. It’s all bottom up, not top down. I do surely dig it. Their stuff is like liquid silk, great suite of hardware/software to work and live with.

/witnessing

Thanks for your take cmyk.

I have an iPod that I’ll be using for music - I doubt that I’d use the iPad for that. I would, however, like to have some movies on there. Which reminds me - does Netflix watch instantly or Amazon’s Prime streaming work on the iPad?

I have a Blackberry I can use for basic surfing and email, but it obviously has limitations. It seems like it might suffice when WiFi isn’t around though - and more and more places have WiFi every day.

The one thing that does seem annoying is the lack of Flash.

If you’re primarily going to be using it to watch movies, you might consider one of the current crop of Android Honeycomb tablets, which are all 1280x800 16:9 aspect ratio. Working Flash, too.

Much more limited app library, though.

Full disclosure: I went with the Asus Transformer.

Netflix yes (although quality can be spotty over 3G), Amazon streaming no.

Definitely get 3G if you’re going to use it for travel; having to constantly find hotspots takes all the fun out of a vacation. Which kind of 3G doesn’t really matter, they’re pretty close in price and performance if you’re getting a new plan.

Nice thread. Since I’m going to be purchasing an iPad next month, I’m very interested in the answers. My default selection is going to be a 32gig iPad2 3G AT&T, since I already have an iPhone through them and don’t need the extra room for music or movies.