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iPad 32gb in wifi only or wifi+3g, really need advice!!!

W

waltonmark

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 19, 2011
10
0
Hi All

im definitely getting my iPad this weekend (well hopefully if stock in Bham, UK). Im going to get a 32gb and originally intended to get wifi only, however i now am wondering if its worth paying the extra to get the 3g model so i have it incase i ever need it?

I do have an iphone 4 already.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Mark
 
my mum had a 32 wifi and is going to upgrade to a 3G, she has the iPhone but wants a bigger screen for checking emails when not in a Wifi zone... just the experience of one user though
 
Pay the extra and get the 3g one. It will come in handy I like being able to get the internet on my ipad2 the bigger screen size and faster page loading it so much nicer than using my iphone 3gs
 
I went with the wifi only model. I have my phone if I don't have access to wifi so I can pop onto the 3G network if needed, but my tablet usage is generally someplace where wifi is available (mostly home and work). I just didn't want to shell out for another data plan. I guess it just depends on how you will be using the iPad most of the time and whether it's worth additional data plan charges. For me, it's not.
 
Too me that´s a no brainer. Get 3G, being online is what (at least for me) is what makes the iPAd great.
Tethering sucks battery from your phone, and you also get a GPS unit in the 3G iPad
 
Get the 3G you don't have to buy a plan unless you need it. It sure does seem to work better than tethering, in my opinion.
 
I had the same thoughts. I got the wifi+3G and now a little over a year later, I am using the 3G. I love it. The little extra money pays off. It is also nice to have a gps chip in there.
 
If you have a plan that just lets you add tethering whenever you want for about $20 a month like I do with AT&T, I get the WiFi-only version -- UNLESS you are going to use 3G all the time and/or need GPS functionality.

I bought the 64GB WiFi version for the same reason. I didn't want to jack the price up another $130 for something I *might* use. I do all of my GPS stuff on my iPhone, and the only thing I could think of needing GPS on my iPad for is using Star Walk out in the middle of nowhere. But worst case scenario is I just use the iPhone app instead.

I had an "emergency" in which I couldn't connect to a WiFi network on my iPad because it was one of those you had to sign in to through a browser page. It just wasn't working that night, so I activated my tethering access on my iPhone 4. It wasn't much more because I canceled it shortly after when I got the WiFi to work at that location the next time.

As someone mentioned, using tethering will probably drain your battery quicker. But if you are a charging cord/dock freak like me, it's no problem. Keep the cable and wall plug on you and get a car charging plug (make sure you get one that can do the iPad as well).

Do all of that and you'll be fine with a WiFi iPad. I do wish I could afford the 3G service for an iPad all the time, but I just can't. It's bad enough that I pay for texting even though I could really do without the service (don't these people have email?).
 
Since you're in the UK, I'm going to suggest the answer lies with what carrier your iPhone 4 is on. I had a 3G iPad 1, but switched to a wifi iPad 2. My carrier, 3, offer free personal hotspot over wifi and Bluetooth, so I'd save myself £7.50 each month just tethering my iPhone connection, which has performed flawlessly. If your carrier doesn't offer free tethering (so any other network apart from 3), the 3G model is a good buy. When I had my 3G iPad 1, I was on a rolling contract with 3 who offered 1gb for £7.50 a month.
 
i have a 32gb wifi 1st gen and decided this time around to break down and get the 32gb wifi+3g when i got my iPad2, couldn't be happier as i'm on the road much more these days for work and at times it's hard to find wifi where i'm at, and there's not really many Starbucks around where i live...lol
i would probably miss it now if i didn't have it.
 
Go for 3g.

My first iPad that I had for over a year was 16gb and wifi only. No problem with that but I went for 32gb plus 3g when I bought my new one. The best combination in my opinion. The 3g option is used quite a bit more than I expected. it's worth paying the extra for in my opinion.
 
Same here... Go for 3G.

I had 16GB Wifi-only for iPad 1 and wished it had a convenience of 3G (with advantage of GPS feature). Now I have 32GB Wifi+3G iPad 2 and I couldn't be happier. My MBP tends to become my desktop work machine and the iPad is with me everywhere I go. iPad being a very convenient, aesthetic device I would recommend paying a bit more for full iPad experience everywhere you go.

Note that I don't own iPhone and, iPad 3G simply complements my dumb, but rugged phone. Unlike iPhone there is no obligation to pay every month for cellular internet connection with iPad.
 
As an owner of a wifi iPad, I HIGHLY recommend getting a 3G iPad because you never know when it will come in handy. Yes, it's more now but once paid you will never feel it again, but you WILL remember that you don't have any way to use it without wifi or tethering. I learned the hard way last week on vacation when our hotel's wifi was $10/day PER DEVICE - that would have been $70 for the iPad alone, more than half the admission price of 3G. Tethering was, of course, an option, but with draining our iPhone batteries while out, it was a pretty unwieldy option. Bite bullet, get 3G while you can - you don't HAVE to use it, but you will be very happy you have it if you want to.
 
waltonmark said:
Hi All

im definitely getting my iPad this weekend
Click to expand...


The weekend's approaching.... any decisions? :)

I had the same dilemma, but like a few have mentioned in this thread, because of my budget and that I'm not often in a place without wifi, I decided to go with the wifi version and use the iphone for tethering and GPS navigation when I travel. So far I'm not missing the 3G difference at all.

But, if I had the extra money to spend, I'd definitely go with the 3G version just because the one time you really need it it'll probably be worth having. Either way, you'll have a great device.
 
Sonic04GT said:
Do you guys pay for this on a monthly basis or just when you're traveling? I wish we could pay on a day-by-day basis.
Click to expand...

As mentioned above you can get 1Gig of data from 3 for £7.50 which will last you a month. You can do this on a rolling contract or just buy preloaded SIM whenever you need it. I'm using a 3Gig preloaded SIM - £21 and it will last 3 months (or 3Gigs, whichever comes first) - have just bought a new one that's ready when this one runs out. Apparently you can get them even cheaper on Amazon, but they're full size SIMS and you have to cut them down - not tried that yet but tempted....

Oh, and as for wifi or 3G, to me it's a complete no-brainer. Get the 3G - the convenience far outweighs the initial outlay

Hope this helps
 
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