Itching to upgrade? I did!

Sometime after the release of iOS7 I noticed my 3rd generation iPad was beginning to behave strangely. Especially when updating apps, the device would sometimes do a sort of ominous curtain-down thing (I imagined a sad noise accompanying this) and shut off of its own accord. It would also reboot itself randomly at other times and lose its desktop background, instead showing a deathly black. It was sending me a message.

My 64G 3rd Gen was almost full anyways (remember that apps are a big part of what I do, I am not recommending that regular users invest in more than the 32-64G devices), and I had been waiting for the more significant announcements in October: a Retina Display iPad Mini and the 5th Gen iPad, which turned out to be named the iPad Air. This post is not meant to cause regret/iPad envy in any way; my iPad 2 has continued to work great with iOS 7. I think it is telling that the 2 is still sold, but the 3 has been off the market since last year. It has become somewhat of a white elephant in the line.

So, a tip that this post is really about: you are not stuck with your old iPad (if it is your personal device) forever. You have a number of options- a) continue to use it as an extra device b) hand it down to a family member c) sell it within your school district and d) use a buying service such as Gazelle. I had a positive experience with Boston-based Gazelle when trading in a couple of iPhone 4s. The process is so simple and pleasant! The Gazelle website lets you select your device model and condition, and you are provided with a quote. You can accept it or not- remember that you probably could get more money for the device if you choose more time-consuming ways to sell it. Once you agree to the price, Gazelle sends you a really cute box with everything you need to simply drop it at the post office:

OK, Maybe I like it just because it is orange.

Another tip- I prefer to back up and set up my devices from iTunes, so I don't run into iCloud storage issues. My process included deleting old backups, since there were so many I couldn't tell which backup was still relevant and these take up space on your computer. I then backed up my iPad 3 to iTunes as it had the most relevant data and folder sets. When I bought my new iPads*, which I bought from the Apple Store app and then did the whole cool "check-in" thing as I approached the store, I set up the new iPad Air by restoring from that old backup through iTunes. That way it kept all my data, apps, and folders. I am keeping the Mini simple for now and just gradually putting apps on it. Now I am ready to send the old ones in to get my cash ($230 for the 3rd gen 64G with Wifi + 3G and $200 for the iPad 2 with WiFi only), though I have a few weeks before I have to do so.

My new guys, fast, glitch-less and beautiful:

*This all may seem extravagant but it's important to emphasize that I make part of my living doing technology consultations, so I consider it my responsibility to have not only updated equipment, but also a backup device. It's also all accounted for at tax time. Maybe one of these could be on your holiday wish list!