Ipads

[washernoob]

I hope this is the right place for this.

At our school here in omaha, the district is doing a trial using Apple Ipads in class. Our school already does a system with Macbook 13"s. Every student gets a laptop they keep all school year (and all breaks but summer) to use in class and home. The curriculum is based around using the technology to learn...

Well there has been a word flying around that the school may replace the laptops with Ipads.
Our literature class is the one class in the building to test them out.

My reaction.....

BLOWN AWAY!

I did get to play with them a bit at NFM when the members here were in town new years, But using them in class, more hands on, learning environment, much more interesting!

___
Does anyone here own an Ipad? Any downsides to it? I think I know what to save my next several paychecks for. A nice 16gig used will do just fine!

Any words of advice? Options, accessories, comments?

 

[supersuds]

I got mine with the 3G option as I'm often out of range of a Wi-Fi network. The low-level AT&T plan is (barely) sufficient for light usage but costs only $14.99 a month, which is well worth it. I usually run out of bandwidth a few days before the automatic renewal...anyway, consider where you'll be using it and what for.

I love mine, and have only minor complaints. It would be better if it had Flash compatibility, for sure. I was hoping to catch up on some NBC sitcoms I'd missed but their site is not compatible. I think hulu is not compatible unless you pay for their premium service.

 

[washernoob]

Well... I think our home internet would be fine.

I did have an original ipod touch when they came out. Took it to Europe with me. Worked fantastic there, and here.

I probably wont get the 3G model, because of price for one, and I dont necessarily need the extra features so much.

Thanks for your input!

 

[lordkenmore]

No experience, but the one real possible problem I see is that the iPad is likely to be updated in the coming months. The next generation may have some feature or features that make people who buy now scream in anguish: "Why didn't I wait? I could have had something better!"

Plus, there is always the hope that even if this generation is good enough, when a new generation comes along, the prices (clearance new, and used) on this current generation might come down. Although, unfortunately, Apple used prices don't seem to come down as much as one might like.