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How many of you are just going to tether to a WiFi iPad 2?
- Thread starter troop231
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Ok if you factor in the $130 premium it makes tethering much cheaper. But the reality is that you can't tether when you are outside the USA because you tethering plan doesn't work there. But you can buy a sim and use a local plan if you iPad is G3. so it's smarter to buy the G3 version anyway and then the price difference comes down to $5 a month. Not worth the hassle IMHO but of course others may see it different.
I would rather see an option to use my iPad to provide wifi for my laptop. That would be good.
I bought my wife an iPad 2 32GB WiFi (no 3G). I have an AT&T iPhone 4, and my wife is still on the 3GS. Now she tells me that she really needs/wants to connect to the cell network with the iPad, because she wants to use it at work and they lock things down there. Ugh. So now I've either got to take the iPad 2 for myself (wasn't really wanting to spend the money on two iPads for a while), sell this one as used to get the 3G version, or go with the tethering option. We're both grandfathered in on the unlimited data plan for our iPhones, which is great for me (I use a lot of data), but is currently a waste for her (she's usually under 200MB). So giving up the unlimited data for her phone isn't such a big deal, but here are my main concerns:
1) How big of a hassle is tethering, especially with her 3GS? She's going to need to physicaly tether via a USB cable, right? And will that require spending more money on the USB connection kit? Or can she tether over Bluetooth and, if so, how well does that work? I know that the personal hotspot option doesn't work with the 3GS.
2) The tether plan will cost $15/month more every month. I don't think we're locked into the plan, so I guess we could toggle it between the cheaper 2GB or 250MB plan month-to-month, depending on her needs, but it seems like that would be more of a hassle than having the separate iPad data plan (for the 3G model) and buying it only on the months we need it. Or does that default to staying active unless you consciously drop it at the end of the month?
3) I'm not certain how good her AT&T coverage is inside of her office. If it's bad and Verizon's is better, it might make sense to buy the Verizon iPad instead. I'll need to ask her about that.
My hope is that all of this will be a non-issue and she'll find out that she can indeed connect the iPad to her company's WiFi, but I doubt it.
Anyways, if any of you can answer the questions I posed above in 1 and 2, I would appreciate it.
1) How big of a hassle is tethering, especially with her 3GS? She's going to need to physicaly tether via a USB cable, right? And will that require spending more money on the USB connection kit? Or can she tether over Bluetooth and, if so, how well does that work? I know that the personal hotspot option doesn't work with the 3GS.
2) The tether plan will cost $15/month more every month. I don't think we're locked into the plan, so I guess we could toggle it between the cheaper 2GB or 250MB plan month-to-month, depending on her needs, but it seems like that would be more of a hassle than having the separate iPad data plan (for the 3G model) and buying it only on the months we need it. Or does that default to staying active unless you consciously drop it at the end of the month?
3) I'm not certain how good her AT&T coverage is inside of her office. If it's bad and Verizon's is better, it might make sense to buy the Verizon iPad instead. I'll need to ask her about that.
My hope is that all of this will be a non-issue and she'll find out that she can indeed connect the iPad to her company's WiFi, but I doubt it.
Anyways, if any of you can answer the questions I posed above in 1 and 2, I would appreciate it.
I did a bit more Googling, and it sounds like I can definitely connect the iPad to the iPhone 3GS over Bluetooth, so that's pushing me in that direction. I'm curious how much of a speed hit you get over the Bluetooth leg of the journey, vs using 'mobile hotspot' with an iPhone 4 (which would connect the two devices via WiFi), as well as the speed difference when compared to an iPad 2 with 3G built in. If the Bluetooth connection doesn't hurt performance much, then that may be the way to go. Another possibility might be to upgrade my wife to the iPhone 4 if the WiFi link over 'mobile hotspot' is significantly better.
Without jailbreaking both devices you cannot tether an iPhone and iPad over Bluetooth, only via the hotspot.
This is not correct. iOS 4.3 supports tethering over Bluetooth (with an iPhone 3GS) and over WiFi (with an iPhone 4). No jailbreaking required, but you do have to have the DataPro plan on AT&T ($45/month for 4GB of shared/total data usage).
One more update...I did come across some people complaining about speeds over Bluetooth, but I also found the following YouTube video where someone demos it and he even streams some live video, so it seems like Bluetooth should be fast enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRGdTusWFso
Now I just need to make sure that my wife gets a decent AT&T signal inside of her office building.
You can't tether via Bluetooth iPhone to iPad, it is not supported. The only way to do iPhone to iPad is with the WiFi mobile hotstpot in the iPhone 4.
That's the same thing you said the first time, but it's incorrect. Per AT&T's pop-up window describing the DataPro 4GB plan for the iPhone ($45/month):
I am just not saying it clear then. Your looking to tether from an iPhone to an iPad right?
You can tether an iPhone to a computer via Bluetooth or iPhone 4 mobile hotspot. You can't tether an iPhone connection to and iPad via Bluetooth, the iPad Bluetooth does not accept the iPhone Blueooth.
So yes I know that you can tether an iPhone to most things via Bluetooth, I know you can't tether an iPhone to an iPad via Bluetooth.
Well, if you click on the YouTube link I provided above, you'll see someone doing exactly that (tethering an iPad to an iPhone 3GS over Bluetooth).
I just successfully connected to the internet using BT + Personal Hotspot on my iPhone 4. A casual test using the speedtest.net app yielded 1.45mbps up and about 1.0mbps down. Certainly plenty fast for casual browsing.
Just an anecdote in case it's helpful, I bought the 3G iPad 1 when it first came out. Initially, I had two separate 3G plans for my iPad because I traveled internationally pretty frequently. Quickly realized that (i) anytime I needed the internet in a pinch, it was easier to just use my iPhone and (ii) there was usually a Wi-Fi connection around on the few occasions when I was out and about and had time to browse the web for an extended period. Ended up ditching both 3G plans - and this was before the iPhone got Personal Hotspot. Now that there's Personal Hotspot, really no reason whatsoever to get the 3G iPad if you have a 3G iPhone.
I guess you are not aware that with IOS 4.3 you can tether via Bluetooth from your iPhone to your iPad. I've done it myself.
I'm on Rogers here in Canada and the iOS 4.3 Hotspot feature is supported.
1. Bluetooth iPhone 3Gs / 4 does work fine with an iPad (or any iOS 4.3 device) even iPhone to OSx works great.
2. The GPS doesn't work via Bluetooth (WiFi Hotspot does)
3. Bluetooth uses much less power than WiFi *turn of the WiFi on both to maximize battery life*
4. You can have two devices with a 3Gs (USB + Bluetooth) or five with a iPhone 4 (USB + Bluetooth + 3 WiFi)
1. Bluetooth iPhone 3Gs / 4 does work fine with an iPad (or any iOS 4.3 device) even iPhone to OSx works great.
2. The GPS doesn't work via Bluetooth (WiFi Hotspot does)
3. Bluetooth uses much less power than WiFi *turn of the WiFi on both to maximize battery life*
4. You can have two devices with a 3Gs (USB + Bluetooth) or five with a iPhone 4 (USB + Bluetooth + 3 WiFi)