New to Apple products, is the iPad right for my son & me?

budmonster

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I'm looking to buy a tablet, I have an old Kindle Fire and it's just time to upgrade. I'm an Android fan always have been, was thinking of maybe getting the new Nexus 7 or waiting for the next Nexus 10 2nd gen. Then I forgot I have never used an Apple product (but been dying too) so I'm kind of leaning towards an iPad 4 now. For some reason I really want an Apple product, don't know why? As an Android fan Apple is always getting kicked around. I would mainly be using it with my son it would basically be his, educational purposes, etc. I heard that iPad's are great for kids, learning and a great teaching tool? The Kindle Fire just doesn't have that many solid educational/learning applications in the Play store/Amazon market. The iTunes market, yes it has less apps but the apps seem to be more solid, the Android & Amazon market seem to have a lot of junk apps. If I do go and grab that new iPad 4 tomorrow am I making the right choice. We have that new Nexus 10 coming down the line, a new Asus Transformer Pad, a new Samsung G Tab and so on. Will the iPad 4 still be relevant for the next couple years? Or am I going to be buying an iPad 5 in the upcoming months. I was on the Apple website and I saw refurbished iPads. Is there a big difference? I was in the Apple chat with a rep and she said "Most of our refurbished items are like-new and are returned orders or the product of buyer's remorse. Some are even last years model that never sold." Is this true or am I better off buying a brand new one? I was looking at the 32gb models and I would be saving $100 going with a refurbished, which is a lot to me. That comes to my next question, is 32GB enough space? Like I said my 4yr old son will be using it a lot, he loves to play games, I'll be using teaching app to help him, he'll be watching movies and he likes to take pictures but nothing to serious. Anyways, I'm curious to find out what guys think I should do you, your thoughts and comments are welcomed.

I appreciate you guys letting me rant, it's a big step buying a new piece of technology these days lmao.
Thanks...//budmonster
 

Just_Me_D

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re: New to Apple products, is the iPad right for my son & me?

Yes, Apple re-furbished product are indeed "like new". When you visited the Apple Store and played with the iPad 4, did you like it? I'm sure you are aware of the build quality and you've already mentioned good things in regard to educational apps and the device's ease of use. Since you've stated that your 4 year old son will be using a lot, you might want to consider an iPad Mini because it's lighter and easier to hold for long periods than a full sized iPad, in my opinion. Anyway, in regard to whether or not you'll want a newer device when it's introduced, that will depend on you. We all want the latest and greatest, but the question is is this: Is the device that I currently have sufficient for my needs? If so, then refrain from getting caught up in the lure of having "next best thing." Finally, We have both Android and Apple tablets and the Android tablets are rarely used and were a waste of money, but the decision to get them was not mine....:)....No, I am not bashing Android tablets, I'm merely speaking in regard to their usage in MY situation. Anyway, go with what makes sense to you, my friend, and have a great day.
 

Trees

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re: New to Apple products, is the iPad right for my son & me?

Adding on to JustMe'D's good advice: 1. Parental Controls. Either by accident or, as they get older kids will find or stumble upon stuff that you don't want them to do or see. You can lock down by age level for appropriate content (games, apps, movies, etc), and hide certain apps or features like Safari. 2. Get the largest capacity that makes sense for your budget. Movies, games and apps can quickly fill storage.
3. New Kids section in the App Store. 4. Super easy learning curve, which helps them gain more independence and minimizes the "help me every five seconds"

There are more pluses, but just a few that came to mind. If it were me I'd get the latest refurbished model so that you can benefit from updates and current technology longer than what an older model provides. Either way, you won't go wrong. I bought the 1st gen iPad and it's still working great for our 1st grader.

Edit: Highly recommend getting a protective case. It will be dropped, and in general boys are a bit more rough with their stuff.
 

kch50428

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Is the iPad 5 going to be announced soon? Some guys over at macrumors are telling me to wait?
The rumor mill says there will be an Apple event sometime in October and it's rumored to include new iPads... we won't know until the event for sure... at this point, I might hold out for the event and see if something might make for a good Christmas present for someone.
 

rdiddy_25

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The rumor mill says there will be an Apple event sometime in October and it's rumored to include new iPads... we won't know until the event for sure... at this point, I might hold out for the event and see if something might make for a good Christmas present for someone.


And if they do have new iPads then the price of the current iPad will drop to about the se price as a refurb, so then you can buy new instead. Loving my iPad 4 retina and 32GB is way more than enough space for me. Use it for work and personal
 

budmonster

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And if they do have new iPads then the price of the current iPad will drop to about the se price as a refurb, so then you can buy new instead. Loving my iPad 4 retina and 32GB is way more than enough space for me. Use it for work and personal

I finally picked up an iPad Air 64GB. I can use that bad boy up fast with 3 people using it. I should have went with the 128. But the my true point, my son loves it! Pricey investment but a good one in the long run. Hopefully I get his insurance to help with some of the payments.
 

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