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Buy a 3G iPad 2 even without a data plan?

R

rspec7

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 23, 2010
44
6
After using a 3G iPad 1 with a data plan last year, I feel that I don't need to sign up for it this time around.

BUT I'm considering spending the extra money to get a 3G iPad 2 for 2 reasons:
1) Better resale value later on
2) Can use my iPhone 4 sim in it if I need to

So, would it be worth it? Or should I just save the money and use my phone as a hotspot with MyWi from Cydia? What would you do?
 
rspec7 said:
After using a 3G iPad 1 with a data plan last year, I feel that I don't need to sign up for it this time around.

BUT I'm considering spending the extra money to get a 3G iPad 2 for 2 reasons:
1) Better resale value later on
2) Can use my iPhone 4 sim in it if I need to

So, would it be worth it? Or should I just save the money and use my phone as a hotspot with MyWi from Cydia? What would you do?
Click to expand...

Save the money and use MyWi from Cydia.
 
rspec7 said:
After using a 3G iPad 1 with a data plan last year, I feel that I don't need to sign up for it this time around.

BUT I'm considering spending the extra money to get a 3G iPad 2 for 2 reasons:
1) Better resale value later on
2) Can use my iPhone 4 sim in it if I need to

So, would it be worth it? Or should I just save the money and use my phone as a hotspot with MyWi from Cydia? What would you do?
Click to expand...
My opinion on the matter is that the Wifi models have just as good a resell value as the 3g models do. If you just buy the Wifi version and jailbreak your iP4, you can get MyWi via Cydia and use your iPhone data for tethering if and when you need it. That's the best solution imho.
 
Thanks for the input. How's MyWi on the iPhone's battery?
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I would just do the MyWi route but for me AT&T doesnt have 3G in my area so I'm going to have to go with the Verizon iPad.
 
rspec7 said:
Thanks for the input. How's MyWi on the iPhone's battery?
Click to expand...

The first time I Jail Break my 32GB 3GS, it bricked on me. :( LOL MyWi is the only reason I wanted to try it.

Also, $15 is more convenient than dealing with having my iPhone 4/Battery Life.
 
The WiFi-only version of iPad 2, just like its predecessor, does not have any form of GPS. The 3G+WiFi version has Assisted GPS that works with or without a cellular data connection. If you want GPS, you have no choice but to buy the 3G version.
 
How safe is a jailbreak? I've always been hesitant to do it to my iphone4, but now that I'm thinking about wifi vs. 3g ipad, I'm tempted...
 
joecatz said:
How safe is a jailbreak? I've always been hesitant to do it to my iphone4, but now that I'm thinking about wifi vs. 3g ipad, I'm tempted...
Click to expand...

As long as you stick to the trusted sources in Cydia (the default ones that come pre installed) you should run into too many problems.

It is nearly impossible to screw up your phone by jailbreaking it as you can always restore to factory default settings using iTunes.
 
bembol said:
The first time I Jail Break my 32GB 3GS, it bricked on me. :( LOL MyWi is the only reason I wanted to try it.

Also, $15 is more convenient than dealing with having my iPhone 4/Battery Life.
Click to expand...

I'm also about convenience sometimes. I have this feeling in the back of my head that I might want to sign up for the data plan again down the road.

I must be crazy to be thinking about spending more money now for the option to spend more money later, all just to get dedicated data on the iPad lol
 
rspec7 said:
I'm also about convenience sometimes. I have this feeling in the back of my head that I might want to sign up for the data plan again down the road.

I must be crazy to be thinking about spending more money now for the option to spend more money later, all just to get dedicated data on the iPad lol
Click to expand...
People always spend money for convenience. Nothing crazy about that. Simply do what you think would be easiest and financially viable.
 
rspec7 said:
I'm also about convenience sometimes. I have this feeling in the back of my head that I might want to sign up for the data plan again down the road.

I must be crazy to be thinking about spending more money now for the option to spend more money later, all just to get dedicated data on the iPad lol
Click to expand...

I hear you. But you do also get GPS for your money.
 
I didn't pay retail on my new iPad 64GB 3G, so spending the $15 month isn't so bad. Not only that my Voice/Data that I got from Rogers is great compared to some people I talked too.

Time/Convenience is more important to me.
 
I plan to buy the Verizon 3G version to go along with my ATT iPhone 4. I'll use ATT Hotspot most of the time, but if I'm in an area where I can get Verizon 3G and not ATT, I will always have that option.
 
Very good points about the GPS, convenience, options.

But I did just think of something else.

What if you were grandfathered on the Unlimited Data plan from AT&T? Would that change things?

I think that might seal the deal for me to go with the Wifi only version and tether using MyWi. I like the convenience of the dedicated data plan, but the cap bugs me.
 
To summarize the reasons for going with the 3G version:

1) Resale value. I would not consider this a reason to buy the 3G version. Sure, you'll get more out of your 3G iPad when you sell it, but you're also paying $130 more up front, so it's really a wash.

2) Unlimited AT&T data plan. If you have the Unlimited data plan on the iPad 1, you will be able to transfer your plan to the new iPad. If you plan on using more than 2GB of data per month, then this would definitely be the way to go. Note, however, that you MUST keep your Unlimited data plan EVERY month - you cannot cancel at any time or you lose it. So for those who only need 3G data occasionally, this would not be worth it.

3) GPS. The 3G versions have a dedicated GPS chip, which is mainly useful for navigation. If you plan on using your iPad for navigation fairly often, then you'd definitely want the 3G. Now of course, if you tether your iPad to your iPhone, it will still have a general idea of your location from the WIFI connection, but a dedicated GPS chip is needed for pinpoint location.

4) Convenience. You pay $130 more up front for the convenience of turning 3G data on or off whenever you want. If you're not worried about keeping your unlimited iPad data plan, then you can enable 3G data at times when it's convenient for you (trips, etc). Tethering to your iPhone is certainly a viable solution, but it also drains your iPhone battery pretty quickly. So if you're just going to tether in small spurts, then it will be just fine. But I certainly wouldn't want to rely on my phone's hotspot connection for long periods of data connectivity. If you need that, then the 3G version would be a much more viable solution.

5) Cosmetic. While not a big deal to most people, the 3G version has that extra bar at the top for the 3G antenna.

Personally, I'm on a Jailbroken iPhone with MyWi and will use that as my primary iPad connection. HOWEVER, I still plan on getting the 3G iPad 2 because of the reasons I gave above. I don't mind spending the extra money up front for the added convenience when I go on trips and for the GPS chip.
 
So you'll still be able to use your iPhone 4 SIM in the iPad 2 3G without having to pay extra for data?

I don't know if it's significant or not, but I was only figuring to buy the iPad 2 3G because of its larger antenna (and if you can use your iPhone 4 SIM in it for data). I figured that the larger iPad antenna would have better reception in my home vs the antenna in my iPhone 4 if I were to tether instead with MyWi.

So then I'm only draining the battery on one device instead of two. We lose power a lot in my area.

rspec7 said:
After using a 3G iPad 1 with a data plan last year, I feel that I don't need to sign up for it this time around.

BUT I'm considering spending the extra money to get a 3G iPad 2 for 2 reasons:
1) Better resale value later on
2) Can use my iPhone 4 sim in it if I need to

So, would it be worth it? Or should I just save the money and use my phone as a hotspot with MyWi from Cydia? What would you do?
Click to expand...
 
I'll get the 3G even though I have a Virgin Mobile MyFi which works great. It's always good to have an option in case one doesn't work. If you decide to use the 3G you can pay for it when you want it and don't have to have a contract. I found out how nice 3G was when my power went out for a few hours and I could still get on the internet and get email.
 
unimatrixzer0 said:
I don't know if it's significant or not, but I was only figuring to buy the iPad 2 3G because of its larger antenna (and if you can use your iPhone 4 SIM in it for data).
Click to expand...

Learn something new everyday. I did not even know you could swap sim cards from the iPhone 4 to the iPad so you would only need the one iPhone 4 data plan. I am sure Apple/AT&T/Verizon know about this "loophole", right? Maybe they don't care -- figuring if you are that savvy to accomplish that, so be it. Or maybe they are trying to figure out a way to prevent it. However, it does make an iPhone 4 owner consider a 3G just a little bit more, in case this is still available on the iPad 2 / iOS 4.3.
 
Definitely right about getting a 3G AT&T version to have the option of popping the iPhone 4 sim in there for dedicated internet. I think I'm going to spend the extra money for this reason.
 
mozartwon said:
Does this apply to the Iphone 3gs also?
Click to expand...

you would have to buy a sim adapter because the sim slot in the ipads are micro sims, while in the 3GS its a regular size sim

you can cut your 3gs sim + then when putting it back into the 3gs after use in the ipad you can use the adapter to make it the correct size again
 
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