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Which IPad should I get? 32Gb or 128Gb?

romeo212000

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So I’m starting my doctoral program in January and will have to get an iPad. It’s actually required by the program, but I figure it will be useful for studying notes and so forth. I’m only looking at the iPad 5. Not going to spend the money on a Pro or something like that. I’m just trying to decide whether to get the 32Gb model or the 128 model. I will primarily be using it for a couple of apps (which I’m told shouldn’t take up a ton of space) required as part of the program, for studying and reviewing notes. However, I’m also considering the possibility of purchasing a few of my textbooks as e-books and assume I would need the space to store them on there as well. I will also probably be using it to take video of various things during labs to go back and review later and will also probably keep personal videos on it as well.

At their regular price it kind of seems like a no brained to step up to the 128 gig model because you get so much more for your money at $100 more. However, Best Buy is running sales on the 32 gig model and has them down to $275, so now we’re talking about a $155 difference. I know you can add cloud storage for insanely cheap amounts all the way up to a whole terabyte. My only concern is not being able to access what I need when I need it if for some reason I can’t connect to WiFi to get to the cloud. What am I not considering that I should? Which way would you guys lean?

Feel free to ask any additional questions to help me figure out which way to go.
 

WizardHawk

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Given how central that will be for your educational experience it seems fairly clear that more storage would be invaluable and you would for sure end up kicking yourself in the ass for not spending the extra money at some point. You will be using it for years. Bit more money now for something that central doesn't seem like much of a tough choice for me unless money is just really that tight.

If you will be using it that extensively there is absolutely no doubt you will add more than those minimum school related apps and uses. Cloud storage is nice, but when dealing with large files it's not always convenient to wait for transfer times and you might not always have internet access when you need it.

32G is super easy to max out. I've had phones that low and hated how much juggling I had to do so I could take any reasonable video. Some of those labs or lectures you may want to video that run more than 10-15 minutes could chew up quite a bit of space.
 

Center Ice

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So I’m starting my doctoral program in January and will have to get an iPad. It’s actually required by the program, but I figure it will be useful for studying notes and so forth. I’m only looking at the iPad 5. Not going to spend the money on a Pro or something like that. I’m just trying to decide whether to get the 32Gb model or the 128 model. I will primarily be using it for a couple of apps (which I’m told shouldn’t take up a ton of space) required as part of the program, for studying and reviewing notes. However, I’m also considering the possibility of purchasing a few of my textbooks as e-books and assume I would need the space to store them on there as well. I will also probably be using it to take video of various things during labs to go back and review later and will also probably keep personal videos on it as well.

At their regular price it kind of seems like a no brained to step up to the 128 gig model because you get so much more for your money at $100 more. However, Best Buy is running sales on the 32 gig model and has them down to $275, so now we’re talking about a $155 difference. I know you can add cloud storage for insanely cheap amounts all the way up to a whole terabyte. My only concern is not being able to access what I need when I need it if for some reason I can’t connect to WiFi to get to the cloud. What am I not considering that I should? Which way would you guys lean?

Feel free to ask any additional questions to help me figure out which way to go.
Perhaps it's just me but I hate the way Apple makes you prisoner to internal storage. That of course is a revenue generator policy and nothing more. Personally, unless your school has mandated an Apple product, I would opt for the best tablet you can find that has either a USB port or a Micro SD card. This way you can plug in all the memory you want for the cost of a memory card which is very little on Amazon.
 

romeo212000

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Perhaps it's just me but I hate the way Apple makes you prisoner to internal storage. That of course is a revenue generator policy and nothing more. Personally, unless your school has mandated an Apple product, I would opt for the best tablet you can find that has either a USB port or a Micro SD card. This way you can plug in all the memory you want for the cost of a memory card which is very little on Amazon.

I can actually store stuff on a flash drive with a USB adapter.
 

night

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Books hardly take up any space at all. I have had an iPad 3 with 16 gigs for about 5 years now and I've never had space issues. I don't keep music and videos on it at all and I just use it for reading and going to websites. I think you'll be fine with either one.
 

night

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Videos take up a lot of space. Pay the extra $100 now and not regret it later.
It kind of depends on what kind of user they are. If they do need videos and would prefer to store a large library of them the extra space would definitely be needed.
 

WizardHawk

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It kind of depends on what kind of user they are. If they do need videos and would prefer to store a large library of them the extra space would definitely be needed.
He's a student and the device is required for the program he is in. Given that a substantial part of his student life will revolve around the device it stands to reason spending a little more to not have to mess around with deleting or moving files/vids to the cloud or storage devices would well be worth it. Being able to keep video lectures and whatnot right at hand where he goes and be able to get to them for quick reference is huge. Every time he had to clear space he'd be kicking himself in the ass for not just doing it.

I agree to the principle. I never recommend more device than the case use requires.
 

night

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He's a student and the device is required for the program he is in. Given that a substantial part of his student life will revolve around the device it stands to reason spending a little more to not have to mess around with deleting or moving files/vids to the cloud or storage devices would well be worth it. Being able to keep video lectures and whatnot right at hand where he goes and be able to get to them for quick reference is huge. Every time he had to clear space he'd be kicking himself in the ass for not just doing it.

I agree to the principle. I never recommend more device than the case use requires.
That's the tough part because we don't know if that kind of stuff is something he can stream or needs stored on the memory. Without specific given instruction I am not totally convinced he should have to pay the extra money for more memory. If it were necessary they probably would've told him so.
 

WizardHawk

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That's the tough part because we don't know if that kind of stuff is something he can stream or needs stored on the memory. Without specific given instruction I am not totally convinced he should have to pay the extra money for more memory. If it were necessary they probably would've told him so.
I was referring to the part where he said he might use it to video things during his labs. He said pretty clearly the stuff the school requires it for shouldn't take up much space. If he wants to use it for more than just the required element it stands to reason he will be using it a lot, and probably for non school related things because it will be with him and second nature to grab it often.
 

Bunkamania

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If you're forced to by an Apple product I would say spending the few extra dollars on more storage is a no brainer.

If you can buy any tablet of your choosing, I would go with an Android tablet. The ability to swap out memory cards is a feature that Apple doesn't offer and is extremely handy.
 

TheDayMan

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Get as much as you can afford. The deal would be with it if you could expand with an SD card, but you can't. I'd guess you could get by with 32 if you just need to take notes and download documents and books, but why worry about it if you don't have to. If you want to store pictures, videos, or music it'll fill up fast.
 

HaroldSeattle

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Guess it depends how tight money is for you. If you can afford it I’d recommend going with the 128. Your going to be using that iPad a lot and not just for education. In the past I’ve regretted trying to save a little money and going cheap, don’t ever recall regretting going with the best option, even though that meant spending more.
 

romeo212000

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Thanks for the input guys. Y’all pretty much confirmed what I was thinking.
 

TheDayMan

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Guess it depends how tight money is for you. If you can afford it I’d recommend going with the 128. Your going to be using that iPad a lot and not just for education. In the past I’ve regretted trying to save a little money and going cheap, don’t ever recall regretting going with the best option, even though that meant spending more.
Yeah, with technology stuff it's always a good idea to get the absolute best of whatever you can afford, you end up saving no money when you don't have to upgrade in a year.
 
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