Although we're still working with Apple's first generation iPad, there are six different models to consider, each with varying amounts of RAM and different networking characteristics. So which one should you spend your hard-earned money on? To answer that, let's get three major questions out of the way:
It's easy to think of the iPad as an overgrown iPod touch. It's also easy to think of the iPad as a slightly lobotomized laptop. Both perceptions are wrong. While the iPad certainly resembles its pocket-sized cousin, and even Apple confesses to pulling from the iPad's DNA to redesign the MacBook Air, the iPad really exists in its own special continuum.
The iPad isn't ideal for long bouts of text entry, at least if you're a touch typist--the on screen keyboard lacks the tactile response of real keys. But for creating business presentations in one of Apple's iWorks apps, it's terrific. And there are a ton of sophisticated business apps--some designed for specific markets like medicine, others designed with a broader audience in mind--that enable the iPad to work as a terrific business machine. FileMaker's Bento software has also helped to blow the iPad's doors wide open for use for tracking everything from holiday greeting card lists to product inventories.
iPads come in two networking variants: the less expensive models are available with 802.11n Wi-Fi networking only and pricier models include 3G networking capabilities. That extra capability will cost you $130, and that price doesn't include an actual data plan, which will set you back an additional fee each month--$14.99 or $25, depending on your usage.
What's more, you can't add 3G to an iPad after you get it. So you need to decide up front how important it is to you to be able to access the internet at all times, because any way you slice it it's going to cost you.
Figuring out the answer to this question requires you to sit down and understand your perceived usage case for the iPad. Are you going to use it in place of a laptop, when you're out and about? Where? Is it a location that's likely to already have Wi-Fi installed, like a cafe, bookstore, hotel, convention center or airport? Then you may very well find out that 3G access is really optional for you, and that it's not worth the added expense.
On the other hand, if ubiquitous communication is of utmost importance, and you're in an area with good enough 3G data access via AT&T's network, then the iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G may be the better choice.
It's worth noting that AT&T's 3G service for the iPad is a no-contract plan. In other words, you can close your plan if you're not using it for extended periods and save yourself the money.
If you do find yourself later on, stuck with a Wi-Fi version that you wish had 3G access, all is not lost: You can pair a Wi-Fi iPad with a 3G "MiFi" device from any wireless carrier. In fact, Verizon Wireless sells the iPad bundled with their MiFi interface.
The iPad comes in three different sizes: 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. Starting at $499, each larger iPad will cost you $100 more than the last--$599 and $699 respectively. Adding another $130 for 3G, and that explains the price range from the lowest to highest priced iPads: $499 to start, $829 at the top end.
64 GB doesn't sound like a lot of space, and if you're syncing every iPhone app you've collected in the last three years, along with every song or video in your iTunes library, it probably isn't. But if that's how you're using your iPad, you're doing it wrong.
64GB, the top end of the iPad storage capacity spectrum, is a cavernous amount of space. The iPad stores files quite compactly; images, files created in specific iPad apps and a lot of other content isn't going to take up quite as much room as you might expect.
What will eat up space is large applications with graphics "optimized" for the iPad (id Software's game Rage HD, for example, clocks in at 745MB) and big movie files (Hollywood releases like 2009's Star Trek tip the scales at a little less than 2GB).
32 GB is the sweet spot for users looking to stretch their budget without breaking the bank. But in truth, even 16 GB is a fair amount of space for the iPad, if you're judicious with how many apps you install on the system and how you use it. And if you use Netflix, for example, you don't have to keep a lot of bulky video files taking up precious storage capacity, though you can still enjoy the iPad as a movie-watching device.
Now that you have a better handle on what iPad to get, are there any other factors you need to consider? With only one iPad "version" to consider, there isn't too much on the hardware end we haven't covered, with the possible exception of accessories.
To that end, you don't need a whole lot to get started with the iPad, but we would recommend getting a case. It'd be a shame if your gorgeous iPad ends up getting dented, dinged or scratched within a few days of use. There are a ton of them on the market from Apple and third-party manufacturers, so shop carefully.
And as with any portable Apple gear you're going to buy, it's probably worth considering getting AppleCare to protect your hardware investment over the long term. AppleCare extends out the original warranty of the iPad from one to two years, and extends your ability to get telephone-based support from 90 days to two years. There are no moving parts in the iPad, but still better safe than sorry.
