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irock818

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 9, 2011
1
0
Best Apple iPad 2 data plan, Verizon or AT&T? Which one would you recommend?
 
Choose which ever one provides the best service in the area(s) you are frequently in. It does you no good to save a few bucks only to have crappy service.
 
If you don't travel overseas then the best plan is the one that has the best coverage in the places you do go in the US. If you do travel or have plans then you may want to give ATT greater weight since the ATT version is unlocked. Also ATT iPads are easier to sell than VZW ones, precisely for this reason. Note, easier to sell does not mean they are worth more, just easier to unload when you are ready to sell.

The ATT and VZW pricing is fairly similar so I would not let pricing be a determining factor. It has to simply be based on practicality.
 
Data Plan

Verizon is $30 for 2 gigs and AT&T is 25 for two gigs. really does depend on where you live. I got the Verizon version and decided it was too slow. I could only get three bars. Took it back and got the AT&T and it would only do three bars. SpeedTest showed both barely go about 1 to 1.5 mbs download. Hopefully when I travel AT&T will be faster as all the reports indicate. It just depends where you live.
 
Well if buying a 3G ipad 2, I recommend AT&T bc it can be used worldwide via SIM card. But since I am a VZ member, I would go the other route.
 
Unlimited until they took it away...

But it really depends on whose service you like more, I like Att. And coverage
 
Assuming you are in the US, as others have said, it's about coverage. Check to see which carrier has a stronger and more reliable signal in your region.
 
Something to note, is that Verizon's 3G sucks when it comes to speed. It's a limit to their technology, so it'll pretty much be bad wherever you are (unless you have really bad AT&T coverage in your area or something)

My AT&T iPhone typically got 4x the data speed of my Verizon iPad 2.
 
Just so I'm clear, one would just buy the ipad wifi (without the 3G) then tether to a sprint smartphone running on Boostmobile, to set up a wifi hotspot anywhere?

Yeah, pretty much. Plus, your plan isn't limited to just your iPad then too, you could use it for your iPod on the go, your laptop on a train/bus/in the car, whatever.
 
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