iPad mini Cellular or wifi only

[deeddawg]

Much of my iPad cellular data usage has come when I've been traveling and WiFi access is not reliable nor readily available. Heck, a lot of airports don't have free WiFi.

Very true. Or if the wifi is free, it's a often a pain in the arse to enable. Plus there's always the question of who's sniffing what packets.

As I've said before, cellular is a nice convenience on an ipad. I can afford it and enjoy just having connectivity anywhere anytime without futzing around with tethering or finding/logging into wifi if it's even available. (And for me tether plus mean losing unlimited data and paying paying a bunch extra per month for a tethering plan)

Why the vitriol in some of the opinions voiced here? Can people not comprehend that the right choice for them isn't necessarily the right choice for others?

 

[ukchris]

I'm on the fence on this one, 3 of the 4 iPads I've owned have been wifi only and have been fine as a supplemental device to my iPhone which I use for GPS, email etc.

However... one thing that may sway my choice next time around is that the cellular iPads are not locked to a carrier. When I travel to Europe (from the US) it's nice to get a pay as you go SIM to use while I'm there. I did so last year with my old unlocked iPhone 4, next trip I may do so with a cellular iPad instead.

So my 2 cents... if money is tight then stick with wifi (as you have an iPhone too) but if it isn't going to hurt you too much then step up to cellular for the GPS and the options to pay as you go when it suits you, especially if you travel internationally.

 

[macfacts]

I choose wifi because my note 3 has crazy battery life so tethering is no problem, my carrier doesn't charge extra for tethering feature, I can enable hot spot feature from my phone in the notifications pull down menu so it is quick to enable.

 

[gatearray]

Lame reasons. Wifi only iPad is useless without GPS. Unless it never leaves the house.

It's a little extreme to say it's "useless" without GPS of all things. Personally, I rarely need to consult a map when I leave the house, and I live in NYC.

And someone else here said they love their cellular iPad, yet they don't own a smartphone! If that's the case, then yes, of course, get the LTE model, but most folks have an iPhone in their pocket 24/7 so a wifi-only iPad is not a deal breaker by any means.

 

[JackieInCo]

I have an iPhone and still went with the cellular mini. Nothing more convenient then just turning it on and being able to do what I want without having to dig out my phone and turn on tethering. My phone plan includes 2.5GB but I rarely use it.

 

[eastercat]

Here's why I got the cellular-enabled mini.

-I have unlimited data, grandfathered with AT&T. This means I can't tether, without JBing my phone.
-I like traveling. When I travel, it's hard to find wifi hot spots when you've stopped for the night in BFE.
-My phone is locked to AT&T. When I travel to another country, it'd be nice to have one device that can accept a foreign SIM card.
-T-mobile's 200 MB/month. I blow through that streaming some music; in a situation where my phone's battery is down to a nub, it could prove useful.

When I had my old iPad, I ran into the top three scenarios where a wifi iPad was not good enough.
Ultimately, you have to pick what's right for you.