Early Battery Tests Between Wi-Fi and 3G iPad

[4nNtt]

Funny, I get unlimited internet on my iPhone and connect my MacBook Pro to it via either bluetooth or wifi.

The only reason I will get getting the 3G model is the GPS and I will not be activating the cellular portion of the device.

The iPad has AGPS (Assisted GPS). I think that means that the cell tower has to do some of the processing to make it work. It can usually get a signal lock faster then a traditional GPS, but depends on the cell tower. I'm no expert here, but you may want to ask around before following this plan.

One thing if interest I noticed, my Wifi iPad seems to track my location with Wifi signals just fine when I'm away from known access points. I have no idea how that works without internet connectivity... but maybe it caches a database of these access point locations.

 

[dagamer34]

the iPad achieved 8 hours and 38 minutes of continuous reloading and displaying -- 22 minutes shy of Apple’s estimate.​

No one continuously reloads for nearly 9 hours. I wish these tests were more realistically applied and resembled what 9 hours of use might actually entail.

It's a torture test that represents the near minimum amount of battery life one can get. "Reasonable use" is too hard to define when you consider the fact that everyone will use an iPad differently.

 

[japasneezemonk]

Considering my iPhone rarely last more than a couple of hours after heavy use i'm happy with 8+ hours.

 

[CFreymarc]

Eight and a half hours is still impressive...

I have to agree here. I wouldn't be surprised if the use of the iPad takes off on lifetime between charges alone. Do not underestimate the appeal of a simple to you and long lasting device in any market.

 

[om1]

The iPad has AGPS (Assisted GPS). I think that means that the cell tower has to do some of the processing to make it work. It can usually get a signal lock faster then a traditional GPS, but depends on the cell tower. I'm no expert here, but you may want to ask around before following this plan.

Not true. The GPS can function without cell towers. IF cell tower(s) are available, it can get the initial position fix quicker in some cases, but that's the only difference. You should read up on what assisted GPS actually is.

 

[Surklyn]

AT&T has over 14,000 hot spot zones in their network for Wifi.

http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540

Other than being stuck in a Park or off a highway I sure as hell don't expect anyone driving and using their iPad at the same time, but someone will eventually do it.

I'd never bother with the 3G model. Wifi for me all the way.

I've got a phone for 3G.

I drive with my ipad 3G. It works great as a navigation system, and media player (music only). Now if i could devise a stand to prop it up so i could see the maps easier while driving then it would perfect. Car manufacturers should build apps that would sync with the cars systems and be controlled by iPad.. "car automation"..

 

[Digitalclips]

As usual Apple don't stretch the truth and deliver on promise.

 

[manu chao]

My iPhone last noticeably longer on 3G than on WiFi. Ok, longer than on WiFi+3G. But I'd guess it even would last longer on 3G than on WiFi+Edge.

Thus the question, can you switch off WiFi on the iPad 3G when using the 3G connection?

 

[E.Lizardo]

the iPad achieved 8 hours and 38 minutes of continuous reloading and displaying -- 22 minutes shy of Apple’s estimate.​

No one continuously reloads for nearly 9 hours. I wish these tests were more realistically applied and resembled what 9 hours of use might actually entail.

They try to get the shortest battery life possible.That way you can be pretty confident that yours will do better.

 

[pmz]

The idea of an always connected iPad is great, but the 3G iPad has nothing going for it.

Ridiculously more expensive upfront.
Poor quality streaming.
Reduced battery life.
Ugly black band.
Extra $15-30 / mon

As long as there is another option for portable WiFi (cough*miwi*cough), the iPad 3G won't have any real value over the wifi model.

 

[pmz]

My iPhone last noticeably longer on 3G than on WiFi. Ok, longer than on WiFi+3G. But I'd guess it even would last longer on 3G than on WiFi+Edge.

Thus the question, can you switch off WiFi on the iPad 3G when using the 3G connection?

?

There is nothing to prevent turning off WiFi on any of the devices, under any circumstance.

 

[till]

As long as there is another option for portable WiFi (cough*miwi*cough), the iPad 3G won't have any real value over the wifi model.

Yeah. The fact that apps are artificially degrading their performance (not, say, intelligently adapting to the real network speed) is pretty absurd. Will they behave that way on all 3G networks, or just AT&T's?

And if you're carrying around a phone to tether to, you've also got a device with GPS.

 

[E.Lizardo]

Not true. The GPS can function without cell towers. IF cell tower(s) are available, it can get the initial position fix quicker in some cases, but that's the only difference. You should read up on what assisted GPS actually is.

From what I see on these boards,Apple needs a massive ad campaign to explain it.Tons of people think it's not"real"GPS,whatever that means,or that it won't work without a cell signal.
I don't get it.
"Assisted GPS"to me indicates"better than plain GPS"
But that's just me.

 

[Robbadore64]

The idea of an always connected iPad is great, but the 3G iPad has nothing going for it.

Ridiculously more expensive upfront.
Poor quality streaming.
Reduced battery life.
Ugly black band.
Extra $15-30 / mon

As long as there is another option for portable WiFi (cough*miwi*cough), the iPad 3G won't have any real value over the wifi model.

I agree and really like being able to download quality video via MyWi. But some people don't have iPhones and others cringe at the thought of JB.

For instance, the iPad 3G would be PERFECT for my mother under the $30 month plan. No more need for cable Internet (wireless they set her with rarely works) and no more need for that crappy Toshiba laptop that takes forever to boot. Oh, and she could could take it with her and have Internet everywhere. Too bad all she uses it for is stupid farmville and zooville and whatever ville crap is on Facebook that runs on flash

 

[lileoj]

As much as I've been using my iPad 3G with the wifi on and the bluetooth on all day sat since 5am and it was 11pm sat and I still had 49%!!! this battery life is insane! I love this thing!

 

[smilinmonki666]

Oh no... shy of 22mins...

because when I get the iPad I’m going to be using it for 9hrs straight, so with this news, I’m not going to bother....

As if... Why comment on the “compared to what apple released, the actual battery life is shy of 22 mins...” like thats worth commenting on... It’s not going to be perfectly smack on the time Apple released.

 

[E.Lizardo]

The idea of an always connected iPad is great, but the 3G iPad has nothing going for it.

Ridiculously more expensive upfront.
Poor quality streaming.
Reduced battery life.
Ugly black band.
Extra $15-30 / mon

As long as there is another option for portable WiFi (cough*miwi*cough), the iPad 3G won't have any real value over the wifi model.

On the other hand
Yes it costs more,but:
I don't jailbreak.
I don't stream much video,especially when away from a hotspot.
Still huge battery life,and even better when 3G is off.
I bought it for the front,not the back and couldn't care less.
No contract,and I'll just be buying a month or two for travel.
GPS

So it may have nothing going for it to you,however I love mine.

Luckily they make models that meet both our needs!

 

[rdlink]

eh hem..... for those who do not have an iphone


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All Apple iPhone customers include AT&T Wi-Fi Basic service.

And how does this attain my goal of death to AT&T?

Seriously, Couldn't Apple have put the 1700 band in this thing, so I could use a decent phone company? They cost themselves another $130 of my money.

 

[shervieux]

?

There is nothing to prevent turning off WiFi on any of the devices, under any circumstance.

I would find that hard to believe considering it has the same OS as my iphone. My iphone, under settings, I can just go to wi-fi and turn it off. To me that would be dumb if you could not do that. Even laptops (Apple, software driven through Airport; PC's physical radio switch) have a way to turn on/off wifi

 

[E.Lizardo]

I would find that hard to believe considering it has the same OS as my iphone. My iphone, under settings, I can just go to wi-fi and turn it off. To me that would be dumb if you could not do that. Even laptops (Apple, software driven through Airport; PC's physical radio switch) have a way to turn on/off wifi

I think you need to read what you responded to again.

 

[twoodcc]

well i guess that's an advantage to the wifi version (which i have)

 

[BeyondtheTech]

The idea of an always connected iPad is great, but the 3G iPad has nothing going for it.

Ridiculously more expensive upfront.
Poor quality streaming.
Reduced battery life.
Ugly black band.
Extra $15-30 / mon

As long as there is another option for portable WiFi (cough*miwi*cough), the iPad 3G won't have any real value over the wifi model.

Ridiculously more expensive upfront? No contract, so therefore no subsidized price. You definitely get more usage (or "enhanced" or "useful" usage), and lest most people forget, we paid just about this price for an 8GB iPhone 2G back in 2007. Now, look what you get - 16GB, 3G, 3x faster processor, larger resolution, among other things!

Poor quality streaming? Nothing worse than the iPhone 3G/3GS. Can't complain when I'm enjoying SpongeBob on the road via Netflix on 3G.

Reduced batter life? 22 minutes shy of 9 hours on a straight run-through test? Not a practical situation, and it's still way more than the iPhone 3GS could dream of doing.

Ugly black band? Seriously?!

Extra $15-30 / mon? This is assuming you're an individual locked into an AT&T contract with an iPhone and already paying your imposed $30 data plan... I sold my iPhone 3GS, killed the data plan, got myself a simple flip phone (which I forwarded to my work-issued BlackBerry), and use the 3G at will on the iPad.

As a tech, I'm able to remote full-screen into desktops and work with nearly all iPhone apps, while enjoying the iPad-specific apps and extra resolution.

I could go so far as getting a jailbroken or data-disabled iPhone 2G for simple tasks and when I'm on Wi-Fi only. With the iPhone 2G, I can take pictures, then plug it into my iPad 3G with the Camera Connection Kit, download the pics, and do as I please. Perfect combo and no forced data plan.

 

[3goldens]

"we put the Wi-Fi model through a web torture test with repeated 1-minute refreshes of a large, completely loaded page for 10 hours and 21 minutes on 50% brightness over 802.11n. Repeating the exact same test on the Wi-Fi + 3G model with 3G turned on and Wi-Fi turned off, the iPad achieved 8 hours and 38 minutes of continuous reloading and displaying—22 minutes shy of Apple’s estimate."

Some folks have just a little too much time on their hands!

 

[kernkraft]

Six months ago no one would have predicted this kind of battery life.

There is nothing magical or revolutionary about the battery. Put a large battery into a low-energy mobile device and it will go on and on. Some cheap netbooks with significantly more processing power can provide similar battery life.

I'm more impressed about the claimed 10% difference between the 3G and the wifi versions. 3G can be hard on the battery, we'll see real life stories later on.

 

[manu chao]

?

There is nothing to prevent turning off WiFi on any of the devices, under any circumstance.

I would find that hard to believe considering it has the same OS as my iphone. My iphone, under settings, I can just go to wi-fi and turn it off. To me that would be dumb if you could not do that. Even laptops (Apple, software driven through Airport; PC's physical radio switch) have a way to turn on/off wifi

Well, you cannot switch off cell network access on the iPhone while keeping WiFi running (in case you want to save battery while using a wireless access point and not caring about phone calls at the moment or if you want to use the iPhone with a prepaid card and want to ensure that only phone calls go over that card and no data connection). Thus the iPhone is either Airplane, 2/3G, 2/3G+WiFi mode, there is no WiFi-only mode. And there is no 2/3G-only for voice mode either.
In the same way, the iPad could have been Airplane, WiFi, or WiFi+3g as the only three modes. As for example there is no 2G-only mode on it. But as I have found out myself since, 3G-only is also possible.

My original point was that on my iPhone, I switch off WiFi to save battery. Would switching of WiFi also save battery on the iPad? I guess that depends a bit on the usage, in idle state, WiFi might need more juice, per MB transferred 3G might need more juice.