Wi-fi Only iPad, will I regret it?

My iPad 1 was Wi-Fi only. It was fine, but I travel a lot and Wi-Fi is spotty at best on the road. I got 3G on my iPad 2 and love it. It effectively frees the device to be used more or less anywhere. I used it on the beach on Maui in January.

My take? If you use your iPad on the go, get the LTE model.

Lawyer said:

It really just depends on your use! I got the Wi-fi only because my primary use of it will be at my house or at work, where there is Wi-fi. I pretty much won't carry my iPad anywhere that I don't have Wi-fi, but in the event that I am, that's what the trusty iPhone is for!

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bingo....NEW 32gb white wifi only here too

I have the iPad 1 wifi only. I use a VM mifi @ $40/month. My job doesn't have wifi and thats where I use my iPad the majority of the time. I'm thinking of going with the 32 gig LTE and AT&T because my mom has a 3g iPad 1 with them I'm already paying for.
I have Verizon for cell service. Hate their rates and looking to lose the mifi device.

The deliemma is that the new iphone will have LTE. That will make LTE on the ipad useless for most people who have both.

Its a tough call but I figured for an additional $139 I can get LTE if I need it. The new iphone is probably 7+ months away.

The irony is that I never used the 3G on my ipad 1, and that has made the decision difficult as I dont like wasting $$$'s

I debated this for a long time myself and ended up just getting the WiFi model. I will mainly use it at home or work which both are wifi. When it comes to traveling, I will pre download movies or books or whatever before I leave. That works for me, but everyone's needs are different. I still have my 4s. Besides, it still beats carrying my heavy MBP which is WiFi only.

This is my first iPad so if I find myself needing 3G service, I will get that model the next go round.

You can also look at it this way: if you find yourself wishing you wanted 4G, in about a year from now you can sell the iPad 3rd Gen via eBay or Craigslist. Take the money from that and put it toward a new iPad 4th Gen with 4G at that time.

Yes you will miss it, all the time!

bwrairen said:

I ordered my first wifi only too. I can hotspot my phone, so I'm not really worried about that aspect, but I will miss the iPad being able to find my location. Not sure how well that works in a wifi only model with no gps. I use maps quite a bit, but never for navigation. Always for reference from a stationary position.

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FWIW I have a Nook Tablet with CM7, no GPS - and Google Maps located me perfectly which was a pleasant surprise. I assume it'll be the same on the wifi only iPad.

Depends on how you use it and what your expectations are.

I am coming from the iPad 1 with 3G. So, by getting rid of the cellular access would be very limiting to how I use my iPad and what I use it for.

I use my iPad as my GPS in my car when I travel. I also use my iPad all the time and in many places I do not have access to wifi. I love to look up facts, browse the web, download iTunes Match files, etc. If I had to wait until I got to a wifi place, it may be too late or not applicable any longer for the moment. Also, I am on the unlimited data plan. I have been advised that my plan should transfer over without a problem, so there is another reason I do not plan on getting rid of the cellualr plan.

However, it goes back to my original statement. how do YOU plan on using the iPad and where do you plan on using it.

This is my first Ipad and I preordered the wi-fi only version. I plan on using my Ipad mostly at home and school. I also live in an area where wi-fi is prevalent and can easily be accessed anywhere so I didn't find it necessary to purchase the version with 4G. For the times when I don't have wi-fi (like while I'm traveling), I can use my phone as a hotspot.

This will be my first iPad, and I've pre-ordered the 32GB Wi-Fi only. I too, was debating (and still am!) about getting the 4G version. Even though I may never use it the 4G capabilities, it would be nice to have in a pinch, plus the GPS feature is a plus, not necessarily for navigation, but for location services.

I currently have an iPhone 4 with grandfathered unlimited data plan that I would like to keep, even though my data usage is only about 1 GB / month,which probably says a lot about my usage (heavy) and the availability of Wi-Fi where I use it (abundant).

How accurate are the wi-fi location services on a non-GPS iPad? Does the assisted GPS do an adequate job of finding your position?

Since I am not always near wi-fi, I went with the 4G model. I also have a 3G iPad 2, so I decided to go with what works for me. I did up my capacity to a 32GB though.

I made that mistake on ipad gen one and returned it and bought the 3G version. Best decision I made regarding electronics. I can buy 3G service at will.

DotCom2 said:

I made that mistake on ipad gen one and returned it and bought the 3G version. Best decision I made regarding electronics. I can buy 3G service at will.

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I agree. I'm going with the 32GB 4G LTE because...1. I can afford the extra $130 and 2. I want the option of being able to turn 4G on and off at will accordingly. The option of being able to turn 4G on and off from month to month and not being tied down to a yearly contract is what sold me.

When I bought the original iPad I opted for WiFi only, since I had an iPhone on unlimited data and would use that in non-wifi areas. However there were times where it would have been more convenient to have the 3G version.

I skipped the iPad 2 but have put in a pre-order for The New iPad, this time the 4G version. I want the flexibility, convenience and more importantly the option of using cellular data in addition to WiFi.

Like others have said, it really depends on how you will use the device. Only you can really know if you will regret it or not.

I can see having it but I went another way. My wife and I sold our ipad2s. Then I went nuts not having an iPad. So on Craigslist I found a 16gb 3G ip2 . I got it for only $350 mint with case. Still had warrant so I registered it and will probably get AppleCare. Friday will get two new iPads. But keep the 3G if we need one on the road.

Nope

davenz said:

Anyone?

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Nope. I'm writing this reply on a tethered iPad, wifi only. Cannot determine location in Maps.

DurfDiggler said:

Nope. I'm writing this reply on a tethered iPad, wifi only. Cannot determine location in Maps.

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Mine can tethered to my 4S. Think it depends on the phone

wifi is good enough if you are near wifi hotspots most of the time.

When I got the iPad 2 I opted for 16 GB of storage and wifi only. But when the retina model came around, I had a choice: get the 16 GB with LTE or get the the 32 GB wi fi only. I chose the higher storage.

Because I have wifi everywhere I go (except the train I ride into work) I do have to do a couple of things in the morning before I leave and in the afternoon before I go home. I like to read and watch my TV shows on the train, so when I get up in the morning, I make sure I update all three of the newspapers I read and I also download new episodes of any shows I'm following on iTunes. (We're cord cutters, so there are a handful that I watch regularly.) Before my train ride home, I quickly update everything again, and I'm on my way.

I guess my point is, if you're not going to get one with cellular access, you will have to make some sacrifices as far as access to new data. In my situation, it works out fine. In yours it may not.

The 3G/4G/LTE option is a luxury but makes your device more flexible/accessible/usable in a variety of circumstances. I personally think it is worth it if you can afford it. Yes, you can use a tethered smartphone when wifi signal is absent but it is less convenient. My advice is that if it is a luxury you can afford and there is even a remote possibility you will be using your iPad on the go, it is more than worth the $130 difference and monthly service charge, especially since you don't have to have a contract and can go month to month on the data service.

You can always tether from your iPhone either by jail breaking your iPhone or paying your service provider for the legit method. Honestly, I've only tethered 5 times in the past 3 months. I'm near wifi pretty much all day and when I am not, the iPhone is convenient enough.

If you don't mind paying extra, both upfront and month to month for the data plan, by all means get the LTE. I would have just to have a more accurate GPS, but there were none is stock and it didn't matter too much to me.

Same here, I don't want to pay Verizon or AT&T more than I already do.

So, iPad with Wi-Fi only is fine if you are usually at places with Wi-Fi networks available, or you have an iPhone with you to back you up for places when you don't have Wi-Fi.

For me, it's either at home, work, train or class. Home, work and college, I have Wi-Fi available. And train, I'm underground for 95% of my journey. So, if I need anything that requires data, I just use my phone.

If you are really concerned with needing some sort of connection on your iPad, (If no one's said this already..) one thing you can do is jail break your phone and make it a hotspot and connect to it from your iPad. =)

Edit: JMG already said about jail breaking. My bad! xD

Get the LTE connection

if you're out and about.

our company just got us new IP3's and this time went WIFI only and most all of us are bummed. we have 4g LTE MIFI cards but honestly they are a PIA to use and IMO we should have gone LTE inside the iPad and just tethered those and ditched the MIFI card.

Dumb call on their part for a $130 per unit especially considering many of the reps will now just forgo using the iPads as intended. I know I won't be carrying mine around as much simply because I will just wait until I get back to the hotel or where ever to do email that I don't do from my iPhone 4s.

I think its a personal decision.

In my case, I have not missed the 3G/LTE because I mostly use the iPad at work or at home and in both places I have WIFI. For the times when I'm out and about I have my iPhone.

I also cant imagine having LTE with a data cap, if it was unlimited, that would be a different story.