USING THE 1ST GEN IPAD IN 2020

The Backstory

Due to the recent events involving Covid-19, like everyone else, was forced to do school online and "tele-school". Yes, "tele-school" is EXACTLY what you think. It’s just some teachers, on a TV set somewhere, doing their best. Anyway, before TV classes started, my teachers would just send some assignments to Google Classroom and we used Zoom for the occasional video calls. And just for that, my Ideapad 320-15 AST worked perfectly.

But a little after those short moments in paradise, my school decided to tighten the rules (my dad always told me "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"... I don't think they've heard of that). Because of those rules, we only can communicate with teachers through Google Classroom, and Google Meets for video calls. I have nothing against Zoom (besides the privacy concerns everyone has) or Google Meets (which has good integration with other Google services, obviously), I just don't like that I had to change platforms, but that's beside the point.

But then, with the start of "tele-school", I decided that I wanted to take digital notes. I didn’t want to use my laptop, because it’s a bit slow, big, and I have a hard time typing on the keyboard. So a touchscreen was a must, but I also didn't wanna use my phone because I would just get distracted.

Enters the 1st gen iPad

1st Gen iPad Home Screen

I love this iPad, I've had it forever, but since it isn't since supported since iOS 5.1.1, it's kinda difficult to use. It's slow; apps crashes constantly; it has no cameras (and therefore, no Facetime); you can't download apps, because their not supported (and if you can download an older version of some apps, they're either unusable, or they don't even open). But with all that in mind, here's the stuff you still can do:
   ⤷Use Apple Notes - Of course, it couldn't be simple tho. You CAN use apple notes, but you CAN'T use photos, drawings, etc. To use pictures, just open the note in iCloud on the Web
   ⤷Use the iTunes Store and Podcasts - I'm too sure if you can use Apple Music or not, but movies, series, and podcasts work great.
   ⤷Use Photos and Picture Frame - You can't use iCloud (for photos), but you can sync photos and videos from a PC or Mac (Windows 10   /  OS X Lion)
   ⤷Use Mail - I's just mail. (But if you can get Gmail to get to work, you are a GOD, because my iPad refused to let me log in)
Originally when I got it, it was a hand-me-down, and it was already JailBroken, and it was great! It had a 3rd party app store (VShare). Not all apps worked on the iPad, but still, some is better than none. But somehow, someday, my dumb-ass decided to remove Cydia (Jailbreak) and reinstalled it. And yes, I was able to do it. It wasn't a great experience, but I did it. The only thing that went wrong was that I couldn't for the life of me, reinstall VShare or any other 3rd party store. So I lost all apps.

Conclusion:

You CAN per se, use the 1st Gen iPad in 2020. That doesn't mean you SHOULD. If you want a digital picture frame, get this. If you want an iPad and you are considering the 1st gen: ARE YOU CRAZY? What have you been eating? Baby, to check, because there's something is wrong with you. The only iPads you should be considering should be:
   ⤷ the iPad 7th Gen
   ⤷ the iPad Air 3rd gen
   ⤷ the iPad Mini 5th gen
   ⤷the iPad Pro 2020 and 2018 (refurbished or used. Apple doesn't sell it anymore)