Yesterday’s Technology, Today! (iPad)

While folks are lining up for iPad 2s today, my wife will be surfing the web from her “new” refurbished iPad 1. $350 was too good a deal to pass up. The fact is, Apple’s prior generation iPad is superior to current generation Android tablets in many regards – namely polish and app ecosystem. For the sort of casual usage I anticipate, she’s going to really enjoy v1 and wouldn’t necessarily appreciate the improvements of the iPad 2.

The last time we possessed an iPad, I found a decent stand for in-home use… but never came across a slim, functional case that I was willing to invest in. Fortunately, due to Apple swiping an InCase design and resultant publicity we learned of the Convertible Magazine Jacket ($50). And now have a winner.

As to refurb quality, the iPad looks brand new. I have no idea how Apple does it, but this seems to be their SOP. Not to mention, the iPad was ordered on a Thursday and the FedEx guy showed up on Friday. And that’s the free shipping tier. Lastly, thanks to those of you who suggested I check out TrackThis. I opted for their iPhone app and it’s well worth the 99 cents for keeping tabs on packages in various states of delivery.

28 thoughts on “Yesterday’s Technology, Today! (iPad)”

  1. I THINK that the SOP for refurbs is actually to replace the back case on the unit, AND possibly the screen or course if there is any damage. New headphones, usually a new PA, and it all comes out looking like brand new.

  2. that’s awesome your wife now has an ipad! not only does a refurb have its issue fixed, they also fix any cosmetic issues! reburbs is one of those trade secrets to get that extra discount, plus it comes with the same warranty as if brand new!

    I use “delivery status” by for my iphone, ipad and the widget for my mac to track all my packages. it’s iphone app is ipad ready as well. http://junecloud.com/

    i’m thinking about a new ipad case, one that that comes with a handle, and this one seems to strike my fancy. ask your wife is she likes! it would be just swell for presentation purposes while speaking.

  3. tivoboy, I’d heard they replaced the back on things like older iPhones, but I wonder if it makes sense economically to replace screens. Hm.

    evan, we already picked up the Incase. I’m pleased with it. It’s very slim and doubles as a stand for certain orientations.

  4. Dave, Does the trackThis app sync back up to their site, or is it 100% iOS based?

    I am applying to grad school (again) for the fall, and trying to convince my wife that an iPad is an essential tool for my studies…

  5. If you have a TrackThis account, I think it syncs to their website. However, I didn’t bother making an account since I now have cell service in the office – the iOS notifications is more than sufficient for me.

  6. I got one of these. Only slight catch is that there are no headphones included, but that’s not a big deal.

  7. Jeff, tivoboy, hm did the original iPad used to ship with headphones? I didn’t think it did…

    Frank, the Motorola Xoom runs 3.0. It’s still not as polished or stable as iOS. And they haven’t actually enabled Flash yet. Having said that, I’m keeping my eyes open for a 7″ Galaxy Tab or Nook Color sale ($200 or less) to play with.

  8. @Dave,

    Based on the Xoom reviews, I wouldn’t go near one for several months. The hardware sounds fine but the OS is incomplete and very crashy based on all the reviews I’ve seen. I think you made the correct call. Within a few months I would assume Google will fix those issues (Flash, SD card slot support, side loading, crashes, email support, etc) and it might start looking a little more viable, at least if they drop the price.

    I agree though that a smaller device still seems like a good idea to me. Still think Apple should do one, whether its a 7″ or just an 8.5 or whatever. The weight needs to come down and the portability angle is still important to some. Maybe in the fall…

  9. Apple refurbs are great: they replace the case (the front glass is part of it I believe) and the battery. Really just the motherboard is refurbished—just like all of your replacement motherboards (if you need it replaced as part of a repair).

    Also comes with a full warranty and eligible for full Applecare.

    My iMac 24″ early 2009 was a refurb. Great price and it was (and is) positively mint condition.

    The refurb iPads are an incredible deal. I have my heart set on the iPad 2 because I really want a lighter/smaller model. But I’d get a refurb iPad 2 in a new york minute if the price was right.

  10. Just realized I said the motherboard only. Actually, the LCD is refurbished too of course. But it is the front glass that looks worn, not the LCD, and I am almost 100% sure you get a new front glass. The screens on refurbs should be equally mint.

  11. I can add my own Apple Refurb experience to this discussion, which would seem to validate (in my case) what tivoboy and Jon the Heretic are saying.

    Last summer I bought a Refurb iMac 27″. It arrived (next day, I think) and I was dumbfounded about how pristine the machine appeared to be. It was as if it had never been touched by human hands. Unfortunately, the optical drive was defective (couldn’t eject the install DVD), so Apple replaced it with another unit (no charge). The second unit was equally pristine. I simply could not understand how those two units could ever have been used before.

    If they replace the glass and the case, it would explain why it looked so impossibly clean. I have to say I am extremely satisfied with the Refurb and would be very likely to buy refurb from Apple again.

  12. I also jump on the $350 referb deal. It’s on it’s way now. I didn’t even want a table, but I guess they found my “jump” price.

    From the Apple site:
    “We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty.
    All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell.”

    Another stand to look at is the padpivot. It won’t ship until April, but it looks interesting.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jay-design/padpivot-lap-and-desk-stand-for-your-ipadtablet-or

    John

  13. Apple refurbs are great and offer nice price competition. Always need to look at student pricing as well as amazon pricing (no sales tax, 9.5% in CA).

  14. I was all excited to order one of these too but the 16G version, the one I want, is out of stock! Any hope they’ll come back in again?

  15. Dave,

    T-Mobile is selling Galaxy Tabs for $249 (w/instant rebate) this weekend or $299 less a $50 starting on Monday. I was looking at the three devices last night (Tab, Xoom & iPad2) and am really impressed with the Xoom’s interface and performance. But like you said, I find the Tab’s size to be more to my liking right now.

    pat—-

  16. Pat, I’ve been tempted – they’ve hit that $250 mark a few times. But it’s weighted down with a two year contract (@ $40/mo). If the Nook Color hits $200 again I’ll probably pick it up. Or perhaps Amazon will introduce something similar. Hm.

  17. Mine arrived the other day, looking brand new. It’s fast enough for most things, but boy would this system benefit from Chrome! What are the chances of that?

  18. I did the refurb thing for my first iPad and have REALLY enjoyed it. Will say, though, that I ordered it on March 3 with rush delivery, the day after the $350 announcement, and it still took until Monday to get it. Wasted money on the shipping. Grr.

  19. With iPad 3 (or 2.5) supposedly coming in the fall, refurb iPad 1 is a good compromise.

    I can also attest to Apple refurbs — my 3rd gen iPod Touch was a “refurb”, but it looked brand new.

    P.S. Just checked & Wi-Fi 16GB version is back in stock.

  20. Yeah, no headphones. I just got carried away (and didn’t respond for a week since there is NO EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS!!!!!!!!!)

    That said, I do think the glass is replaced per an apple colleague, but I guess he could be wrong. My experience with buying about four of them in the last year is that the glass is perfect, never an issue. It really is the best deal

  21. tivoboy, I hear you and I want it to. But as I’ve said, I’m only going to implement it when it’s rock solid -unfortunately I lost confidence in the old plugin we used to run and I’m not entirely comfortable outsourcing to Disqus. However, WordPress.com is bundling some of their popular plugins and services for self-hosted folks (“JetPack”). I’m hopeful they’ll provide updated ‘subscribe to comments’ functionality in the near future.

  22. Yeah, I could probably hack that together pretty quickly. But it would be a hack and not clean/pretty in terms of layout. And haven’t you heard? RSS is dead. ;)

    Regarding your comment getting flagged, I have two queues. One is “Moderation” and one is “Spam” – the spam is usually identified by blacklist (Akismet) and is pretty darn accurate. The Moderation queue is based on certain criteria I specify such as profane words or number of links in a comment. Everything sent to Moderation is emailed to me and I approve them when I’m available.

    So sometimes you just gotta wait it out. Fortunately, I’m online quite a bit. And actually, the WordPress app (which has been highly unstable) was updated this week. If I get to trusting it, I can even more easily moderate comments.

  23. “And haven’t you heard? RSS is dead.”

    Just like CableCARD is dead?

    Things are fully alive until better everyday usable functionality actually arrives

    And civilians may not use RSS, but civilians don’t add value. Meh. Civilians.

  24. I just bought an iPad 1 because the price was right. The Bestbuy employee told me they stop taking orders on the new iPad because Apple didn’t know when they’ll get any since the Japanese tsunami.

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