3G or Wifi + Tethering?

[WoodrowCall]

I can't get out of work today, so I'll be heading to the Apple Store to get my iPad 2 tomorrow morning. I'm torn between getting a 3G AT&T model, or the Wifi version. I have AT&T service and an iPhone 4, so I'm leaning toward going with the wifi and then just paying for the 2G tethering service. What is everyone else doing?

 

[Saberj]

I'm going with 3G. I have a Wifi version now that I tether. However, it pretty quickly kills a phone's battery. So I'd rather just have it all included together this time around. I'm leaning toward AT&T just because if you go over, then you get to start a whole new month, rather than having extra data for the remainder of the month. With that said, if I get there, and they only have Verizon, I'll take it.

 

[phobic99]

Same thing I did with the first iPad. I'm buying a 32GB wifi + 3G iPad 2 with AT&T and will be tethering with my Verizon Droid X. Overkill indeed.

 

[camelsnot]

Same thing I did with the first iPad. I'm buying a 32GB wifi + 3G iPad 2 with AT&T and will be tethering with my Verizon Droid X. Overkill indeed.

thinking the same. wifi/vzw 3g/att 3g are all covered.

 

[George Knighton]

I bought the 3G model of the first iPad, and have never regretted it.

There are many occasions in the field where I'll be served well by being able to reply to a mail quickly, or use some other services right where I am in the field instead of having to wait until I am in an office or working to tether the iPhone to the iPad.

That's just me, though. It's convenient for me, and affordable.

And this assumes that either AT&T or Verizon has coverage where you live, work and travel, and that it would be a real benefit to you and your workmates for you to be able to connect everywhere.

Don't believe any of the marketing hype about 3G, 4G, HSPA+ or anything else, though. Connectivity is damned slow. Resolution of certain Web pages is better now with iOS 4.3, but it's still going to be damned slow when you are only getting an average of, say, 1.5 megs when you're used to 25 megs at home and work.

For me, personally, it is very, very rare to be on an array that is faster than that, and that includes in the parking lot at the Pentagon, or anywhere else that you'd think we'd have the very fastest arrays and good backhaul.

It really *does* help your work to be connected, if you need that kind of connectivity. But it'll be slow.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

When I switched up from the WiFi to 3G last year my rationalization was for $129 I get real GPS + the option to have Internet in any half way decent populated area in the world at the flick of a virtual button or drop of a microsim (and microsims are a lot more common now than last year).

I don't like tethering b/c I don't want to waste my iPhone battery -- it drains quick enough w/o any help. I also don't like using public WiFi b/c its not secure.

 

[Jimnicoloff]

Planning on getting wifi and using the hotspot on my AT&T iPhone. Battery life of the phone is the only concern. It will be cheaper to tether via wifi. Plus AT&T now gives you 4GB instead of the usual 2GB if you have hotspot enabled. And to top it off you can bring a laptop or a friend can share your connection if you go with the hotspot.

Edit - If you will be traveling out of the country then you should go with the AT&T 3G iPad since it is unlocked and your phone most likely is not.

 

[Zcott]

My carrier (3 UK) gives me free hotspot and 2gb each month, so I'm downgrading from a 3G model to a wifi model and using hotspot. I'm also hoping that not having 24/7 internet access on it will make me read more books on it.

 

[einmusiker]

only reason I'm gettin the vzw version is because I have a line with them I'm not using. Although I'll probably return it and get the att version later and use my iphone sim

 

[gostan]

I plan on going 3G, but I am still deciding between ATT & Verizon. I will likely choose ATT, since ATT service on my IPhone has been very good. But, another side of me is suggesting Verizon. That way, I would have the option to tether with my phone on ATT or go direct with Verizon. Best of both worlds depending upon available service while traveling; albeit, an expensive choice.

 

[walterwhite]

It's been a long thought but I'd like larger space, and if I need 3G, I'll use my iPhone 4 during those times. Thanks to the info I gathered here, I also wont be using tethering since I dont want to lose my unlimited data.

 

[blevins321]

It's been a long thought but I'd like larger space, and if I need 3G, I'll use my iPhone 4 during those times. Thanks to the info I gathered here, I also wont be using tethering since I dont want to lose my unlimited data.

Thought about doing a jailbreak and getting MyWi?

 

[Scarpad]

I also added tethering it makes sense I can use it on the ipad and then on my macbook

 

[WoodrowCall]

I wonder why so few people are seeming to go with the Verizon 3G?

 

[xraydoc]

Getting a 3G model. Probably AT&T since it's faster than VZW and I don't have to worry about dropped calls. But if they're out of AT&T 64GB models when I get to the front of the line I'll take a Verizon model. I have a VZW iPhone and I'm quite happy with it.

 

[edk99]

Order the 3g version even though I will tether to my iphone4/5. I just wanted the option to go to 3g on the iPad if I needed down the road. Plus the GPS chip will be a nice to have too.