+1 I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and while I like my Samsung Galaxy tab s 10.5 it doesn't have apps I want and weird to use in portrait mode for reading. The Ipad air 2 is amazing for those reasons. I have T-Mobile and with 3gb of Hotspot I preferred to spend $100 more for the 128gb model wifi vs 64gb + cellular. If I had AT&T still with my old plan I would of opted for the cellular model instead
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All iPads Cellular iPads obsolete
- Thread starter DivergenceZero
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I don't think they're "obsolete", but neither do I think they're the be-all-and-end-all-for-everyone that this forum seems to believe. Like 16 GB devices, Mini vs Air sizes, and whether or not a 6+ can replace an iPad of either size, it's all about your individual use case.
Choice is a good thing. For me, it's not worth paying the extra for cellular capability as I almost never need it (maybe 3x a year) and can tether from my iPhone on the rare occasions it's necessary. (I always have a battery pack on me anyway, and Bluetooth tethering seems to take less battery than wifi tether does.) Everywhere I take the iPad has wifi nowadays, and it's not something I use in the car. I also don't need the GPS function--again, that's what my iPhone is for.
But that's my individual usage scenario, and it's not going to be the same as everyone's. I'm glad the option is there for those who require it.
Choice is a good thing. For me, it's not worth paying the extra for cellular capability as I almost never need it (maybe 3x a year) and can tether from my iPhone on the rare occasions it's necessary. (I always have a battery pack on me anyway, and Bluetooth tethering seems to take less battery than wifi tether does.) Everywhere I take the iPad has wifi nowadays, and it's not something I use in the car. I also don't need the GPS function--again, that's what my iPhone is for.
But that's my individual usage scenario, and it's not going to be the same as everyone's. I'm glad the option is there for those who require it.
Speak for yourself.
I have a cellular iPad which I use for texting and even calling when necessary. Plus a lot of other great things on a nice large screen. Why would I want a smart phone and the accompanying high data costs? No thanks.
Don't you have to have an iPhone for this to work ? You know, not everyone has an iPhone.
No you don't. My iPad2 tethers very well with my Android phone via wifi tethering.
Wi-Fi yes, but using Bluetooth tethering works well and doesn't drain either device's batteries nearly as much.
Nope.
I choose to use Android on phone and ios on my tablet, so to me the cellular ipad is not redundant, and I wouldn't want the two always paring. I enjoy using my iPad on LTE when I'm out and about, it must work as its own device and not depend on another.
Yep.
Way to,kill,your phones battery in no time flat.
And with T-Mobiels deal of giving you the same Amit of data for your ipad as you have for your phone for and extra $10 a month, it's a no brainer.
So you disagree with the OP, not agree.
Only because they are more expensive. Given the option, anyone would take a cellular over just wifi, everything else being equal. I love not being tethered. All my friends are always asking about hotel wifi and complaining about connectivity and speed issues when we travel, whereas I couldn't care less.
My iPhone is primarily used for work and the bill is paid by my employer. (Although I own the phone personally). My iPad is mostly for personal use, and I have my own prepay data SIM for it.
Sure there is cross over in usage. I often make personal calls on my iPhone, or check work emails on my iPad. But I wouldn't feel right doing all my personal mobile web browsing and the like on my work mobile plan.
That's why I have a 4G iPad, and when I get around to replacing it I will buy another cellular model.
Sure there is cross over in usage. I often make personal calls on my iPhone, or check work emails on my iPad. But I wouldn't feel right doing all my personal mobile web browsing and the like on my work mobile plan.
That's why I have a 4G iPad, and when I get around to replacing it I will buy another cellular model.
This is why I use a cellular iPad Air. I tired the teacher thing and it sucked my 5S battery to dead in just a few hours. Nope, I would not own an iPad with out cellular.
I guess one of the reasons the cellular version is less popular for the iPad is Apple's lockdown on the otherwise really useful feature - actually making phone calls or sending text messages with it. I believe the hardware is actually capable of these, but Apple has disabled these features to prevent cannibalising the iPhone sales.
I don't live in the US, and I have a pre-paid SIM that I use with my cellular iPad. Problem is that I need to "activate" it every time I want data on that SIM. And to do that, I need to transfer that SIM onto my iPhone, dial some codes to activate the 1-day internet, then put that SIM back into the iPad to use. I actually believe that the iPad has the hardware capability to do that, and this restriction is irking me enough to just tether my iPhone's data plan to the iPad.
I don't live in the US, and I have a pre-paid SIM that I use with my cellular iPad. Problem is that I need to "activate" it every time I want data on that SIM. And to do that, I need to transfer that SIM onto my iPhone, dial some codes to activate the 1-day internet, then put that SIM back into the iPad to use. I actually believe that the iPad has the hardware capability to do that, and this restriction is irking me enough to just tether my iPhone's data plan to the iPad.
I currently have a cellular Rmini, i love the convenience of having connection everywhere. It means I can use cloud storage more, freeing up my storage some.
However with the ease of connecting to my iPhone hotspot on the new iOS i would potentially get a wifi one and use my iPhone 5 when needed for hotspot. Will decide when my iPad contract is up...... In a year and a half
However with the ease of connecting to my iPhone hotspot on the new iOS i would potentially get a wifi one and use my iPhone 5 when needed for hotspot. Will decide when my iPad contract is up...... In a year and a half
I have had some sort of wifi hotspot for a bunch of years (the current is a Netgear Zing triband LTE), so a wifi only iPad is all that I have bought (waiting for Air2 to ship). The hotspot has a 10 hour battery (and I've gotten pretty close to that with general surfing/emailing/some streaming), so that's definitely a bonus.
As a Sprint customer (yes laugh), they recently offered new family data share plans to include tablets and wifi hotspots (and all my phones can now tether too without an extra cost under the data plan), so by moving to that plan last month, it's a big cost savings since I don't need to pay for a separate data plan for the Zing. I did originally have my original GT 7" on cellular and recently upgraded to a GT4 7", moving the cellular line to that, and it too is covered under the data share plan without needing a separate data plan.
As a Sprint customer (yes laugh
), they recently offered new family data share plans to include tablets and wifi hotspots (and all my phones can now tether too without an extra cost under the data plan), so by moving to that plan last month, it's a big cost savings since I don't need to pay for a separate data plan for the Zing. I did originally have my original GT 7" on cellular and recently upgraded to a GT4 7", moving the cellular line to that, and it too is covered under the data share plan without needing a separate data plan.
Obsolete?
In other words, "I don't want one, therefore no one does."
That post is right up there with:
"Their review doesn't agree with my opinion, therefore they must be paid."
and
"I don't like the news story I just read, therefore they are biased."
In other words, "I don't want one, therefore no one does."
That post is right up there with:
"Their review doesn't agree with my opinion, therefore they must be paid."
and
"I don't like the news story I just read, therefore they are biased."
Seems like people aren't really thinking through what OP is pointing out.
Tethering via modern Bluetooth is not going to kill your battery use for the day and Apple has just made it so when you check for Wi-Fi and see none, you tap on your iPhone and have LTE. That's so easy that it indeed will convince some people to drop the LTE model.
Tethering is becoming an included feature of mobile data plans and it is both efficient and useful for those who are not spending most of their time away from Wi-Fi. If you are like most people who use iPad at home or in the hotel most of the time, you don't need LTE on it's own to get signal when you are a car passenger or, heck, I can't even think of other cases where you would use iPad without Wi-Fi.
Is it obsolete? No, especially not for businesses or those who don't have the larger data plans that include tethering at no added cost. But is it taking the biggest hit yet and likely going to continue in that direction as tethering becomes a standard feature for plans? Yes.
Tethering via modern Bluetooth is not going to kill your battery use for the day and Apple has just made it so when you check for Wi-Fi and see none, you tap on your iPhone and have LTE. That's so easy that it indeed will convince some people to drop the LTE model.
Tethering is becoming an included feature of mobile data plans and it is both efficient and useful for those who are not spending most of their time away from Wi-Fi. If you are like most people who use iPad at home or in the hotel most of the time, you don't need LTE on it's own to get signal when you are a car passenger or, heck, I can't even think of other cases where you would use iPad without Wi-Fi.
Is it obsolete? No, especially not for businesses or those who don't have the larger data plans that include tethering at no added cost. But is it taking the biggest hit yet and likely going to continue in that direction as tethering becomes a standard feature for plans? Yes.
I guess it really depends. When I bought my iPad Air last year I opted to go with non cellular because I had a smartphone I could tether to. Some folks use theirs all day so that may make more sense for them. I only use it pretty much at home or in range of wifi most of the time so tethering on the occasion that I need to use it out of range of wifi is fine for me.
I agree with this. I dont care about the phone calls part but there is NO reason they couldn't open iMessage to allow sending texts directly to users on other services. Ya know, I should be able to use iMessage to send a text to a friend with a windows phone or whatever.
I got excited when I heard about the new SMS feature in 8.1 but that requires a phone and isn't really what I had hoped for.
Re: your final 'yes', um, no. Just because one can tether doesn't mean it's an optimal method of connecting.
I travel a lot. Yes, tethering ears phone battery. But the biggest plus in my opinion is the ease of use. I don't have to tether, don't have to set up a hotspot on my iPad. All I have to do is press the Home button and go. I don't need to dig my phone out of my purse, don't have to make sure it's within a certain distance for BT to work, don't have to worry about the connection dropping, etc.
Some people may decide that their usage is low enough that tethering is the best option. But there will always be people who have reasons not to go that route. Personally I think eventually wifi-only models will go away and all tablets will be cellular-capable. Will Apple do it? Don't know because it's hits their margins. But I do believe they will eventually get there. If for no other reason than to streamline their production/ordering process. I guarentee they have already run the numbers.
Nope, I still need LTE, For instance, I don't want to deal with setting up a hotspot on my iPhone, so how will I surf the web, get emails, or have my kids watch their youtube videos, while I drive somewhere?
It certainly won't happen until they figure out how to get rid of the huge plastic cutout for LTE antennas, I would think. Marketing is strictly Wi-Fi models now. And nobody is saying LTE will never be cheap enough to just build in, just that it is not adding $130 value for a lot of people, and that number who won't need it just grew with Instant Hotspot. You don't pull out your phone. You can connect as easy as when you find an open Wi-Fi network (unless y'all are savages who never use your Wi-Fi). No passwords, no pulling out your phone.
It really just is so easy now and Wi-Fi is in many places you'd be with something as large as an iPad as a consumer.