iPad vs. Kindle Fire (mrstjohnson)

I wouldn't go back too far with Apple products. Who is to say that future OS or other updates...will continue to apply to your product? They have already ceased support for several ipod's including the first gen Touch as I understand. They have no real reason, to continue to retrofit what is a constantly changing and evolving software and OS to fit something out of date. In fact, it's mere courtesy that they do at all. My niece has a gen 1 iPad and she cannot text from it without an external app nor can she facetime...and she never will be able to. She has no Retina display and her camera is NO WHERE near as nice as the new iPad. You ARE going to give things up to save what amounts to a piddling amount IMO when you factor in the abilities I mention above. You get, what you pay for. The new iPad is amazing...and it is MUCH improved from my nieces 1st gen, and the 2nd gen was hardly changed from the 1 as I recall. Once you throw your lot in with Apple you just need to accept that you will be buying new stuff periodically because the company is just that innovative. LOL.

When iOS 6 is released in the fall, the iPad 1 will not be supported. If that trend holds true on the iPads, you can expect no support for the 2 possibly the following year (2013), but they may continue to support it a bit longer because as far as I know, they are still producing the 2. Definitely something to consider there.

We have iPhones and a Kindle Fire.  I have been using the Fire lately to read a book, but anytime I try to search the web or do anything else on it, I am instantly annoyed that it isn't quite as easy of an interface, or maybe just not the SAME interface as my iphone and end up on my iphone.  I have a laptop as well, but I usually only get it out on the weekends because by the time I have kids in bed at night and everything cleaned up, I just don't spend enough time on the computer to warrant getting it out and booting it up etc.  I LOVE my iphone and like Gina said, I have come to the conclusion that although I will still by PC's over Mac's probably, I do love the touch devices.  And Apple has an app for everything.  I don't know how we survived before iphones and smartphones in general were around and we had everything right at our fingertips.  The Wi-Fi vs network ability is also an issue for me bc I often am in places where there isn't free wi-fi and want the ability to surf.

Looks like Google just complicated your decision a little more Lisa! LOL! Their new tablet intrigues me! The FULL Android store for one...and no slave ties to Amazon for another. I already use Chrome so that would be no biggie. I wonder how responsive it is tho...I will have to try and get handsy with one someplace when they come out!