Apple iPad Air MD786LL/A 9.7-Inch 32 GB Touchscreen Tablet (Black/Space Gray)

Alright so I know if you are reading this then you already have your mind set on a new iPad and hey you know what? That's great. I'm a dual user. I love my PC products and Android and I love my mobile Apple products as well. I don't take sides or at least only when it concerns the best bang for the money at least. I've been using iPad's since I bought my mother her first one at release (she is disabled and iPad's (or tablets in general) are wonderful tools for those less than capable of using a keyboard and mouse. I also fell in love with it , the design was just amazing , the feel was great and the capability was very impressive when you consider at that time tablet's were barely around at the consumer level. Seeing the look on her face made it worth every single penny. Prior to getting the iPad she suffered a horrible infection and was hospitalized for 4 months fighting it , nearly losing her life in the process. She lost the capability to stand and only has use of her left hand now (with about 80 percent capability) and couple that with MS and you get someone who can't really use a mouse and keyboard setup easily.I wanted to state that before what I'm sure I will be accused of being a critical troll about the latest iPad version compared to a recent Android tablet I bought.Now onto the experience thus far with this new iPad , here is a list of what I like :1. LIGHT. Seriously , incredibly light. I can hold it in one hand very comfortably and its not meant to be held in such a way for the regular Joe ( I got big hamhocks for hands). I love it when technology trims up as it shows that its forward march is continuing without pause.2. FAST. Even over the iPad 4th generation this lean machine is even faster at multitasking which is good because it will help versus the recent Android tablet I bought which is a multitasking god.3. THIN BEZEL. If there is one complaint I have for the consumer electronics of the world in general its that we haven't done enough to remove overly large bezels from products. I hate them. I find they are a waste of real estate but I also realize that this is part of the technical limitation and the need for space for various reasons (board hardware , batteries and so on). The iPad Air's bezel is at least half of all previous iPad's. Very much appreciated Apple.Those are the biggest reasons to buy an iPad Air and they are really good ones in my mind. If you already own an iPad 4th gen though I don't think they are enough to justify the upgrade unless you really want the reduced weight (the iPad 4th gen is a pound and half while the iPad Air is only a pound flat).Now to the cons. And there are some that are very concerning and especially so if you tend to treat your products poorly (many people do..) :1. THIN PIECE OF GLASS. So while I realize that Gorilla Glass 3 is very impressive and amazing tough for its extremely thin profile .. I also feel its wildly out of place with a product like the iPad. People who buy iPad's and especially families tend to treat them pretty rough. I've seen children as young as 4 drop a 3rd gen iPad like a brick onto hardwood and it remained intact without a mark to bare. This new iPad Air has a very thin piece of GG3 that helps reduce the weight (and I would imagine the cost of manufacturing for Apple) but its recently been shown in several Youtube videos that when it comes to endurance its actually pretty fragile. Its very easy to crack it and especially so if it lands on its side. So while all the previous generation iPad's had a nice thick piece of glass to help protect the product this new one .. does not. It also sounds hollow when you tap it. And for some that drives them crazy. I don't mind this as I know its glass and not plastic like some "claim".2.COST. Since Apple did so much to slim down the cost of this new iPad and they used the EXACT same guts as the iPhone 5 (with a different layout and power profile) and yet they also trimmed down the battery size then how come this isn't any cheaper? The iPad mini is supposedly Apple's response to critics about the fact that its always the same price in each iteration. Apple , Android has fantastic alternatives now and the Google Play marketplace is becoming quite a fleshed out competitor , its time to start taking Android more seriously as a competitor and stop living inside your own eco bubble.3.SUB PAR HARDWARE VERSUS PRICE. Even with a new 64-bit chip (which isn't supported very well but that will change) the iPad is quite a puny product in terms of hardware specs. NOW BEFORE YOU FREAK OUT.. I know that Apple has optimized it heavily and that living in a very closed ecosystem (versus Android) gives it this advantage HOWEVER.. for what you are paying for you should be getting more. 1GB of RAM for instance? That's what I expect in a mid to low end smartphone these days. I can imagine those who complain (and have for a while now) about the random crashes because of running of memory would really love an extra 1GB of RAM for the iPad. I would also imagine it would do wonders for those who love to open programs by the truckload and not have to worry about random crashing errors due to running out of memory.Could you imagine a quad core A7 chip with 2 GB's of RAM? That beast would sing and you could do even more with an iPad that powerful. I would bet that when Apple moves towards 4k resolution that we will be getting those exact specs to run at that monster resolution but still I would have loved that right now.So my remarks about a recent Android tablet purchase.. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and I just have to say its a real beast and outshines Apple's best in many ways. The resolution is higher (2500x1600) and it comes with the S-Pen and S-Pen software plus an office suite of apps. Now the Note Pro 12.2 is made for business applications the price of it versus 64GB iPad is about a hundred more. But for that hundred more you get massive hardware support , with an OTG USB cable you can connect external hard drives to it , you can also add memory through SDXC cards (up to 128GB's) and Samsung's Touch Wiz is getting quite mature and really offers a very set of apps. Not to mention the screen size of 12.2 inches versus 9.7. However the iPad beats it in terms of weight , the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 has a massive battery (but it lasts about 11 hours with heavy use) and the weight puts it into a class that speaks more towards laptop replacement that competitor to the iPad. However you can buy the non-pro versus for $100 less (you won't get the S-Pen) and still a get a monster solution.Android's tablet app market is getting better and better each week and there are plenty of apps that support landscape mode without issue. One thing I always thought Android did better was application scaling , something Apple could learn from frankly. The Galaxy Note 3 Pro in my mind is a Android finally getting its ducks in a row and Apple is going to have pick the pace to keep with Android's MASSIVE market share which is over double what Apple's is now.THAT BEING SAID.. I'm keeping the iPad Air. I love the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and its just a great tablet but I don't really have need of its business level features. But if I were going to recommend a tablet for a business minded individual I would recommend they go for it because it blows the iPad away for business use. The free office app it comes with is more fleshed out than MS Office for the iPad and the extra screen real estate is a big bonus for anyone attempting real work on it. But for a guy like me the iPad has an easier to consume profile and that's what I really love about it.If you intend to buy this product however (the iPad Air) I HIGHLY recommend you buy the Apple care warranty. You will be extremely glad you did with this powerful but more fragile new version of the iPad.

I was going back and forth over which tablet to purchase for about 3.5 weeks. I was a previous Iphone user that moved on to Android because I didnt like the size of the 5. I have two kids so consumer level usability is high on my list especially with a son that has autism.My choice came down to a samsung or the ipad since the nexus 10 2 is still MIA. :) The samsung had several things going for it. MicroSD, customization and control, mutliple user profiles but to be honest their overlay is a huge turn off and the plether backing with fake stitching just looks horrid. I would say that the plastics are fine but why bother with fake stitching? I spent time in a B&M and the feel was good, but visually as a whole it felt less...high end even with the price being in the same range as the IPad. With several cloud storage options and knowing that I would be using it for light work related items and sharing it with my kids to some extent the MicroSD while nice was not compelling. I do wish apple would realize that multiple user accounts would be helpful because that is one of the things that almost moved me to the samsung. Both screens of course are amazing and I have to give it to the samsung on using a better aspect ratio for media, but the samsung felt klugy when trying to use it in portrait. So with all this being debated in my head for a few weeks back and forth I decided on the IPad. As an aside, I love the build quality and would have seriously considers a Kindle Fire HDX but the lack of the google play store put it out of contention. It is one thing to have a walled garden like apple where just about any app you can think of is available, but it is quite another to have a walled garden like Amazon where you either have to root or sideload to simply get some basic useful apps. If the Kindle Fire HDX had google play store, this might have been an entirely different review. :)Two things have stood out as I have delved back into the walled garden that is Apple...One, It may be a walled garden, but it is a gorgeous garden. The app quality and availability is outstanding. If they allowed Google Play Music I would not have any issues at all with the app store. I think that the tighter development control that apple institutes on its apps is a double edged sword in some respects but I have not had anywhere near the amount of bugs that I find in the android store apps so in that respect I appreciate that 98.7% of the time when I download an app it just works. I use it with several google services including chromecast and have been very happy with the results. On a side note, the hardware and build quality is meticulous and the IPad itself is even more impressive after prolonged use, but that has been discussed and beaten like the proverbial dead horse.Two, battery life. Apple seems to know how to eek out the battery life with more finesse than some competitors.Overall I like the IPad Air much more than I thought I would. I bought it knowing from a techie nerd stand point what I was giving up with the ecosystem and I have had no regrets at this point. I can use it for work emails and presentations and come home to play netflix or games with the kids. An outstanding product that I am sure I will use for the next year or two without issue.And my non-verbal autistic son can run this thing like a beast ;)

As a 70 year old lady I had ever used an IPad in my life, although I have used laptops and computers for about ten years.I LOVE my iPad it is so light to use,and within a couple of days, I wouldn't go back to my laptop, except I believe you are unable to use word on it.Brilliant price, brilliant iPad So easy to take anywhere with you, I purchased a lovely bag to hold it for £5.99 !

The Apple iPad air (329$) that i receive, it's seem an original product. Work very well, speed processor very good, i can make a recovery of my old iPad 2 to this new iPad in a very easy way with iTunes install on my old Vista Window PC. The only negative point is the price that i think is a little to expensive because i can buy a new iPad last generation at Costco for (419$) including 2 years of guarantee.

I am a senior and I had the previous model iPad which I loved but when I got the new iPad Air I loved it even more. It is faster, lighter and colors brighter but think anyone buying it needs to buy a cover along with it as I dropped the first one and it cracked. Even better would be a cover that is included with the whole deal at the time of purchase.

The iPad Air arrived brand new, in the retail box, with cable, charger, SIM holder pin, and all specs as listed. It activated on iCloud, iTunes, and the App store without any issues. Great deal for a price that already included the HST! (I bought from seller JLY, and cannot vouch for other sellers.)

Works great. Some markings in burgundy on plastic piece on backside near the top, but once u put the ipad in a case, you don't see it. To save $ with this being a refurb was a good idea.