<p>BB, from what i have read, ipads in areas without 4g, just go down to their 3g capabilities.</p>
<p>Does he mainly want it for reading books? If so, go with the Fire or Nook. The backlit option is wonderful. The battery life isn’t as good but so what, just charge it more often :D. If he wants a portable computer that he can also use to read books, get the IPad or one of the larger Android Tablets (which are much less expensive than an IPad). For the price of the Ipad you could get a Nook AND a Kindle and have money to spare for a lot of books.</p>
<p>I am a Nook fan, however Amazon has signed a deal with most of the major publishers and has pretty much cornered the market on the free books. I got 100’s of books for my Nook before this, all free, not so much now. We will probably cave in and get a Kindle as well.</p>
<p>Oh, and if he gets an Ipad and doesn’t want a data plan, get PdaNet for his smartphone (assuming he has one). It’s a one time $15/fee and you can use to connect to the internet via bluetooth or USB. I use it all the time when we are driving in the car. Best $15 I’ve spent in a long time.</p>
<p>Ek, it works with iphones (apple even sells unlocked iPhones - just got one for D), but unfortunately, that is not true for iPads. If I find a link, I will post for the folks who are interested. Jym, sorry about sidetracking your thread. :)</p>
<p>No worries. Still trying to absorb it all.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In case the smart phone is an Apple …</p>
<p>Apple has not accepted PdaNet into the App Store since it avoids the carriers’ tether plan. One will need to jailbreak an iPhone and install it through Cydia.</p>
<p>DS has jailbroken his phone, and assume knows all the tricks I don’t. DH said Tmobile was getting more available and will likely offer more data options for the Ipad at some future point (I didnt quite follow it all…)</p>
<p>Sooo, spoke to DS who said if he wanted to use data he’d tether from his phone, and would prefer the Ipad2 to the 3. He would rather have the longer battery life than the higher resolution, and doesn’t care that the camera is a little better. And prefers the slightly lighter weight (due to lighter battery).</p>
<p>Well, it looks like you might be saving yourself from buying the latest and best. Nice son! It seems to be a very good option, as long as it will be used here in the good old USA! As I wrote, my lukewarm endorsement was based on having the 3G capability. I did run a couple of experience abroad with an older jailbroken iPhone (Unless one did preserve the ancient settings, the newer one is totally useless on foreign soil) and with a couple of MiFi. None of those solutions worked very well, as it was slow and unreliable. On the other hand, popping a data microsim card in the iPad made it useful, albeit just as limited as it ever was. My conclusion is that once one gets over the Apple pricing, may as well splurge! I would still get the 3G.</p>
<p>Of course, given the iPad usefulness, I can see why someone would not care to have anything else than the WiFi for the US. :)</p>
<p>The IPad two is selling for about $100 less than the IPad 3 equivalent models.</p>
<p>He is a nice son! He did the microsim thing with his phone when he went to Australia and New Zealand.</p>
<p>His comment about Europe was that if he travels there he’ll be going for work and will have his laptop and will let them pay for any data plan he needs while there.</p>
<p>Can’t stand iPads. I got my younger kid the HD version because of the cameras or whatnot. Kid uses it to play Angry Birds and Minecraft or whatever it’s called. The display resolution is better but nothing that noticeable. The video output is also grainy. The iPad that got superceded is in a box because my wife hates them, too, and if I gift it to a niece, the other niece will probably call and ask why she didn’t get one.</p>
<p>It’s shiny, though.</p>
<p>Can"t stand it? Or don’t understand it? ;)</p>
<p>Jym, I bought the iPad with 3G and only paid for the data plan one month at a time, as needed. For the first six months, I never paid for 3G. Then I visited my family in Kentucky where wifi was unavailable and paid $14 for data (I could have paid $30 for much more but didn’t need that much). Then I canceled it the day before it was to renew and didn’t use 3G for several more months. </p>
<p>But then came the hurricane in New England late last summer. We were two weeks without power. I gladly paid the $30 for the data plan and it was a godsend. DH has an iPhone but was frequently borrowing my iPad to do work because it was much easier than using his phone.</p>
<p>It is very easy to pay the cheapest price whenever you are traveling or have a need for 3G capability and then cancel when you don’t need it. I have found airport wifi to be iffy at best, so for those long layovers it is worth every penny to have it when traveling.</p>
<p>I really can’t imagine anyone “hating” the iPad. Maybe not loving it, not needing it or not being able to afford it but given the options with it (if you take little bits of time to explore it) it’s hard to hate IMO!</p>
<p>I have a first generation Nook and now an iPad2. Love the IPad Nook app for reading books and magazines. Use my Nook less now, but still use it for bedtime reading and out on the sun reading. Love that the app and the Nook “synch” the page I’m on when I use both to read a book!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’d be happy to send you my mailing address to help unclutter your house:)</p>
<p>DS is going to go look at the options today. Then will get back to me. Still (currently) looking like the Ipad2 without data option is what he is fine with.</p>
<p>I bought a Kindle a few years ago. I loved it. Got a whole bunch of books, and read a LOT. Kids bought me an Ipad for Christmas. I love it too. The problem, I haven’t read ANY books since getting my Ipad. I get too distracted with Angry Birds and other games; App shopping, browsing, etc. My poor Kindle is dying from neglect, especially since it’s not shiny and new anymore…and my brain is disintegrating :-(<br>
So all I’m saying is if your son is an avid reader, just get him the Kindle. And maybe not even the Kindle Fire.</p>
<p>Mom0809, I got my D an iPhone for her birthday. She had to use the parental controls to lock the browser and other time wasting applications. ( only her bf has the password)
I hope that once the newness wears off it won’t be so distracting. The camera however is really amazingly good.</p>
<p>I also can’t imagine anyone saying the iPad 3 display is grainy. You must have MUCH better eyesight than I do.
[url=<a href=“http://www.pcworld.com/article/252010/apple_ipad_review_the_retina_display_redefines_the_tablet.html]Apple”>http://www.pcworld.com/article/252010/apple_ipad_review_the_retina_display_redefines_the_tablet.html]Apple</a> iPad (third generation) family Tablet Review | PCWorld<a href=“granted,%20that%20could%20apply%20to%20many%20people.%20But%20still”>/url</a></p>
<p>Mom0809, put the kindle app on your iPad. Maybe you will read your downloaded books of you use one device instead of two.</p>