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iPad mini My new phone is my new iPad Mini. Replaced my iPhone.
- Thread starter DelMac
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This is really interesting to note, OP. Thanks. I've been wanting to do this with my mini when my contract is up in March with AT&T. I was thinking the next iPad mini purchase would be LTE and I'll go google voice and talkatone while keeping my 4S too. Talkatone was a godsend in Europe last summer. Took out my AT&T sim, and it seriously was like I was still always connected with the free wifi in and around many European cities.
As far as emergencies, remember that all cell phones as long as they power on can make emergency calls in the US. Therefore, if you have any phone on you and are in dire straits or need help, you can always get it. Granted that doesn't help if you're trying to not carry a phone with you at all, but I figure one might as well carry a dumb phone in the bag or the car for that.
This is something I very well may try out in 2013, as there's a great chance I'm not going to re-up with AT&T and upgrade.
As far as emergencies, remember that all cell phones as long as they power on can make emergency calls in the US. Therefore, if you have any phone on you and are in dire straits or need help, you can always get it. Granted that doesn't help if you're trying to not carry a phone with you at all, but I figure one might as well carry a dumb phone in the bag or the car for that.
This is something I very well may try out in 2013, as there's a great chance I'm not going to re-up with AT&T and upgrade.
Really? And how is that? Maybe like this:
http://bgr.com/2012/03/23/google-wants-to-listen-to-your-phone-calls-to-promote-ads/
I would look like a darn fool
"hey what's your number"
"Oh, I'm sorry I don't have a phone anymore, I just use my iPad Mini, do you want my iPad Mini number?"
"Uh, nah that's ok I'll just tell you later"
"hey what's your number"
"Oh, I'm sorry I don't have a phone anymore, I just use my iPad Mini, do you want my iPad Mini number?"
"Uh, nah that's ok I'll just tell you later"
I can't tell if this thread is meant to be a joke or not. We typically have lots of Apple loyalists on this forum bashing anything bigger than 3.5 or 4 inches for a phone and here you are saying you use a 7.9 inch iPad Mini as a phone and carry it around with you everywhere. Do you remember all those pictures of people taking photos with their iPads? What if you are meeting with clients and need to make a call? It's going to be pretty awkward pulling out a huge tablet out of your pants everywhere. You would be committing social faux pas with everything you do.
How is line2 for reliability? I have been using talkatone, but there is a huge delay in receiving texts and calls from my gv accounts. and its a pain to look up messages without accidently calling people (even after i disabled the feature). If they fix the talkatone i may try it again.
I want to try out line 2 and want to know peoples experiences. Especially if you used talaktone before as well?
I want to try out line 2 and want to know peoples experiences. Especially if you used talaktone before as well?
There's no difference in a phone number or an iPad Mini number. It's just a number. At least that's what I call it, regardless of device. Do you say "iPhone number"?
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A joke that long with no punch line?? Nah, it's real. Anyways I have a Bose Series 2 BT that I pair it up with. I carry the Mini like a paperback and ONLY when I need it. I take calls/msgs on my time, not the other way around so postponing a call or two a few minutes isn't a big deal to me. Nowadays the biggest social faux pas is NOT answering someone's call as soon as your phone rings which is rather sad. More importantly I'm not tied down to a contract anymore. If I decide to get an iPhone in the future, I'll pay full price like I did with the Mini instead of subsidized. Although aside from the pocketable form factor, the iPhone really has nothing on the Mini TO ME. As far as taking pics with a Mini goes, I could care less what others may think about seeing me use it as a cam. Too many people care about trivial things such as that (or walking around with a BT ear piece) it's pathetic. I created this thread to help anyone who may want to use their Mini for the same reasons I do. Although I welcome everyone's opinion, my thread's purpose wasn't to seek opinions on whether if what I'm doing is a good or bad idea
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Hey. I haven't used talkatone but I can tell you that line2 has been solid so far in its reliability and performance. I like that line2 allows you to pick a new number or port your old one in. There's no contract, it's fairly cheap, and you can also port your number out. I'd suggest you try it a month. No hassles or commitment. You may like it.
Hey guys. I know a few people have been wondering about replacing their iPhone with a new iPad Mini which is exactly what I did. There aren't many people who've done this so far so I thought I'd give a small account.
I had an iPhone 4S with ATT with 450 min (39.99) grandfathered "unlimited" data (30.00) & grandfathered 200 txt (5.00) = $75+10 tax so about $85 a month. With my iPad Mini, I now pay for a no contract ATT 3GB data plan (30.00) & Line2 which includes unlimited minutes & txts through VOIP (9.99) = about $41 tax included. I'm very happy with the savings and have had no problems with the Line2 service. I wasn't using my phone much for calls anymore and the 200 txts was seriously limiting my txt usage even though I had WhatsApp installed. My data usage hovered around 3GB or less a month, depending on if I worked from home or not so all this made my decision a bit easier.
Now the user experience. It's definitely different carrying the iPad Mini around in my hand at all times like a book especially since I've had some sort of phone in my pocket since 1998. I bought a nice black leather Yoobao Executive case for it so it doesn't even look like I'm carrying a Mini around unless I have my Apple earbuds attached to it while I'm talking. I may purchase a bluetooth headset for it though so then it'll be even less noticeable. As far as carrying it with me everywhere, it does have it's limitations that I can easily work around. Really the only places I don't take my Mini is to a bar/club or Six Flags but I had stopped taking my iPhone to those places anyway for fear of losing the phone. And I'm not into using your phone when out on a date or at a bar/restaurant. I'd rather engage in conversation & making eye contact with a person rather than looking down at my device. So my iPad Mini stays in the car on those occasions. I know you can come up with all kinds of situations where I would need a phone/my iPad Mini in a hurry or to check up on something but really it's not that hard to make it work. I'm 31 so I do remember what life was like before cell phones. I can do without it for an hour when necessary. BUT if I REALLY needed a phone for those times when I couldn't have my Mini with me (like on a jog), I could easily purchase a cheap Tracfone and it would still be nothing compared to what I was paying with my monthly plan.
As far as the iPad Mini's operation goes, all I can say is it works flawlessly like every other Apple product I've bought within the past year. I hate to oversimplify but it really is my iPhone but bigger, making it more efficient for ME. YMMV.
I know there's more I could cover like how great navigation is with it, or the longer battery life, etc.. but I'd like to have other people experimenting with the iPad Mini as their phone to comment (you have to have it to know how nice it works as a main mobile device) or anyone with questions
This is the same set up I have. Except, I suspended att and got a SIM from Straight Talk. I pay $45 a month for unlimited talk, text and data. I also use the 9.99 plan from line2 for talk and text. So all together I pay $55 a month for unlimited access to everything. The mini fits in my pants pocket so I don't have to hand carry it everywhere.
One suggestion for those who still want to have a second cheap small phone. I still have my 4S so I pop in the straight talk SIM and still get the calls from Line2 because it has the app but, if all you have is a dumb phone or a blackberry, use the number that came with your SIM and add it to your "Forwarding" feature if your using line2. That way it rings to any device you may be using at that time.
It's been working great for me on my black iPad Mini. The battery last me about two days on 4G, call quality is great with Line2 and in the long run it saves me a lot of money. I will never again tie myself to a contract.
I fell in love with my iPad Mini (before I returned it) -- I really miss the big screen, I feel really constricted with the size of my iPhone screen butttt I don't think I can replace my iPhone w/ an iPad Mini, it's just not practical for me as a college student
Here's my setup I have $30 tmobile plan (100 min unlimited text and data 5GB) with my iPhone 4S I get hspa + speeds here in NYC I use it as a hot spot for my ipad mini verizon lte. Got the lte because I was planning on using it with talkatone. I was gonna port my number to google voice and use Verizon's share data plan $40 total for 4GB plan. (You have to call for the ipad share plans) if you don't you will get the other rates. I will also use lte service when I need more data which will probably never happen. So I am paying $30 for cell bill and ipad mini Internet. If you choose no cell phone and use ipad mini google voice through talkatone it's $40
It's a daring move, OP, I'll give you that! Hey, if you're happy, then we're happy for you
Personally, I couldn't do it because I bring my phone everywhere - from bars, to clubs, to amusements parks, to movie theaters, to the bathroom, to the beach, etc. and use my phone constantly for phone calls, texts, emails, and FaceTime... but you sacrificing the phone capabilities to be able to gift it to your father was nice
Personally, I couldn't do it because I bring my phone everywhere - from bars, to clubs, to amusements parks, to movie theaters, to the bathroom, to the beach, etc. and use my phone constantly for phone calls, texts, emails, and FaceTime... but you sacrificing the phone capabilities to be able to gift it to your father was nice
Many surveys from a variety of sources all report that telephone use it's very low amongst those with smartphones. Of greater importance to many is internet connectivity, email, IM, and the kind of mobile computing these devices excel at.
Since Apple seems to cling to little displays, I replaced my iPhone 5 with a Mini & a compact inexpensive feature phone. Now I have the pleasure of a highly useful device without having to buy an Android. Since WiFi is present everywhere I go, I enjoy fast, free connectivity. After just three weeks it's become my new normal. An ideal solution. YMMV.
Since Apple seems to cling to little displays, I replaced my iPhone 5 with a Mini & a compact inexpensive feature phone. Now I have the pleasure of a highly useful device without having to buy an Android. Since WiFi is present everywhere I go, I enjoy fast, free connectivity. After just three weeks it's become my new normal. An ideal solution. YMMV.
So the $30 T-mobile plan supports personal hot spot no problem? Or did you have to do something to trick your phone into allowing it? I've seen conflicting info on this....from that it works just fine to that you have to pay $15 extra to that it's not available. Did you have to do anything to get the apn settings for T-mobile or did they load automatically in your phone when you activated with the T-mobile sim? I'm considering doing the exact same thing as you....but the personal hotspot availablity on the $30 plan is my biggest unknown right now.
For me it just works I put in the same apn in the tethering area in settings. I spoke to tmobile and they told me its $15 extra I just tried it before adding the service and it worked so I didn't call back. I have a factory unlocked iPhone 4S
Obviously this is not for everyone.
That said, I personally am with the OP completely! If you don't use the phone to talk on (I don't) then the mini is, in many ways, a better version of the iPhone.
A couple of observations:
1. If you buy a Verizon iPhone 5 (they are all unlocked) you can do the same thing with a data-only iPhone. You just pop your iPad mini LTE sim into the iPhone (sim swapping now ALLOWED on Verizon) and you are set. You can even swap back and forth between the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini depending on your needs. Yes, this is more expensive in terms of hardware outlay than the OP, but you are still paying only $20 to $30 a month for your data, so the extra $650 for the iPhone is still viable. Right now, like the OP, I'm just using the Mini, but I'm considering picking up a verizon iphone5 especially for when it gets warmer and it's harder to carry the ipad when you don't have a jacket.
2. I've found that a VOiP account with a softphone on the iPad yields much more reliability and higher call quality than talkatone, or even skype. I use GV as my main number and I get SMS and VM transcriptions immediately on the GV app. So I have no problem having a phone number. But my experience dialing out with talkatone was not great. So I use the VOiP softphone instead (and I have my VOiP caller ID set to google voice, along with incoming google voice calls sent to the VOiP number so no one needs to have that VOiP number at all).
3. The Tmobile hotspot will work on the $30/month plan, but Tmobile CAN turn it off if they choose to. It's supposed to be an extra fee. You are probably OK if you don't use tons of data, but just to let people know that that plan may not be tenable long term.
That said, I personally am with the OP completely! If you don't use the phone to talk on (I don't) then the mini is, in many ways, a better version of the iPhone.
A couple of observations:
1. If you buy a Verizon iPhone 5 (they are all unlocked) you can do the same thing with a data-only iPhone. You just pop your iPad mini LTE sim into the iPhone (sim swapping now ALLOWED on Verizon) and you are set. You can even swap back and forth between the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini depending on your needs. Yes, this is more expensive in terms of hardware outlay than the OP, but you are still paying only $20 to $30 a month for your data, so the extra $650 for the iPhone is still viable. Right now, like the OP, I'm just using the Mini, but I'm considering picking up a verizon iphone5 especially for when it gets warmer and it's harder to carry the ipad when you don't have a jacket.
2. I've found that a VOiP account with a softphone on the iPad yields much more reliability and higher call quality than talkatone, or even skype. I use GV as my main number and I get SMS and VM transcriptions immediately on the GV app. So I have no problem having a phone number. But my experience dialing out with talkatone was not great. So I use the VOiP softphone instead (and I have my VOiP caller ID set to google voice, along with incoming google voice calls sent to the VOiP number so no one needs to have that VOiP number at all).
3. The Tmobile hotspot will work on the $30/month plan, but Tmobile CAN turn it off if they choose to. It's supposed to be an extra fee. You are probably OK if you don't use tons of data, but just to let people know that that plan may not be tenable long term.
Other than saving a few bucks and not having a contract what is the point of doing this? Now you have to carry a 8" mini everywhere you go that you'll need a phone which is fine for work stuff but can you imaging having to take that mini everywhere you go? This seems silly to me.
Thanks for this post....you are right along the lines of what I'm thinking about doing. I already have an unlocked 4 and was thinking of getting an iPad mini. Have gone back and forth on whether to get a cellular one or not. Being able to tether from my phone would be a reason not to go cellular. But having the GPS capability on the iPad as well as the ability to sim swap and sometimes just carry the mini have me leaning that direction. Also even with tethering it may make more sense to have the sim in the iPad because of the larger battery.....it will last longer as a hotspot. I really wouldn't use more data than now, would just be able to choose which screen to use it on.
Like you, for calling I use Google Voice. At home I have a Magic Jack "land line" and Magig Jack allows you to share the number with a VOIP app on your iOS device. So when I travel internationally for work I just forward my calls to Magic Jack and have Google Voice configured to ring back to the Magic Jack app when making an outgoing call. It works great when I travel and that's what has me thinking I can probably stop paying for a voice plan and use either data only or a low minutes plan like Tmobile has.
I understand the hotspot option might not be long term sustainable so another reason to go with the cellular ipad....could sim swap instead of tethering or just decide to pay the $15 if it comes to that.
Yes
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Isn't saving a few bucks and not having a contract reason enough? What else do u want?