Should I Pre-Order an iPad?

I can't remember the last time I was as consumed by "I gotta have it" fever as I am for the iPad. Maybe the GI Joe with Kung Fu grip? Anyway, I'm going to buy an iPad. Not the very first one, I'm going to wait for the 3G model to come out later in the month. But I can pre-order the 3G model for delivery upon release. What to do? The WSJ Smart Money blog says wait:

Price drops

Putting off your purchase a few months could cut your bill substantially. When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, it slashed the 8GB version’s $599 price tag to $399 just 10 weeks later. (Outraged early adopters received a $100 credit.) That swift of a drop on the iPad is unlikely, but the price could come down in as few as six months, says Michael Carnell, the founder of Charleston, S.C., information technology firm Palmettobug Digital. “The run-of-the-mill consumer can wait that long,” he says.

In particular, consumers could see prices drop on the Wi-Fi/3G version. “The extra charge for 3G in the device doesn’t make much sense,” Enderle says. Apple stands to profit from the $15 to $30 monthly 3G subscriptions.

Bugs

“This is version one — there’s a lot that has to be worked out,” says Aaron Ray-Crichton, an independent technology consultant and the founder of ARC Systems Consulting in Brooklyn, N.Y. Apple originally anticipated an iPad release in late March, and analyst reports have pointed to possible production problems.

App availability

Currently, the iPad has very few apps of its own. Most are iPhone apps, Carnell says. Displayed on a 9.7-inch screen instead of a 3.5-inch one, they may appear too jagged and low resolution to be useful, he says. If you’re looking at the iPad for the apps, hold off a month or two until developers can catch up.

Connectivity

A Wi-Fi-only device is fine if you plan to use it at home or other areas with Wi-Fi hotspots. But 3G connectivity – available in iPad models set to launch later this spring — is basic for consumers who want their iPad to work while traveling in the car or in other locations where Wi-Fi is scarce. “Otherwise, you’re going to have limited access to that rich Internet content,” Ray-Crichton says. 3G subscription costs will set you back an extra $180 to $360 a year. Given that cost, an iPhone may be a more cost-effective choice for some users, he says.

All of which makes total sense, but for one thing. I really, really suck at waiting.

Comments

[Charles]

Getting a first-gen product that turns out to have a serious bug, for $700-$800, hurts more than waiting. And hell, it involves waiting -- after you send your iPad back to Apple for repairs.

So, six months -- enough time for Apple to fix serious hardware bugs. Added bonus: you won't have to wipe the thing to upgrade the OS when iPhone OS 4.0 is released. And it looks like the new OS will include multi-tasking for all apps, so you'll want to upgrade.

[save_the_rustbelt]

A small indulgence for a prolific scholar.

On other matters, what is your read of the Lehman investigator's report?

[C.E. Petit]

I suggest waiting at least until mid-June, but for an entirely different reason: The catalog of what's available to read on your iThingy is going to be even more unstable than these things usually are until then. Books that you'd think will be available -- and even that have been advertised as available -- won't reliably be. Further, prices won't be stabilized, either... and there's little more frustrating than finding that a necessary accessory for one's new toy has dropped substantially in price a week after purchase.

Remember the beginning of each new iteration of data classes available on iTunes: Apple doesn't do that sort of thing very well (not entirely Apple's fault, as it's as much a dysfunctional entertainment/publishing industry, but Apple is certainly a choke point).

[Cornellian]

I find AT&T's 3G signal strength in Los Angeles to be so weak and so unreliable it's hard to convince myself that a 3G model is worth it. I'd be better off with a WiFi model and one of those portable hotspot devices from another carrier.

[Damien]

Remember, the Ipad has no Java or Flash support (like the Iphone).