iPad LTE Makes it Far Easier to Use Up Bandwidth Allotments

[Skidudettocs]

Something I could never quite understand: Why don't cell companies tier plans according to speed (like ISPs) instead of total amount of data? The capacity of a network is how much data it can handle at a particular time. It never made sense to me the way they do it.

Offer unlimited amounts of data, but tier the plans based on speed offered! The economics should sort itself out. The whole fight about throttling would go out the window.

 

[garylapointe]

LTE will always been pointless until carriers make it affordable.

Some people, many people, won't do any more than usual with LTE vs. 3G.

I would be surprised if my mother consumes more data than she normally uses if she ditched her PC.

I only see photos, she might looks at other people's e-mailed photos more since the iPad will scale them better than the gMail web interface. And sending them, since it will be actually easier to use. NOT because it's faster.

Yes, my mother is at the opposite end of the spectrum as you folks (and me) but we are the 1%

Gary

 

[deeddawg]

Heh. This is all really funny.

Before iPad 3rd gen launched: endless clamor for LTE, we need the speed, we want LTE, 3G is too slow, LTE won't make anyone use more data than they use today, yada yada yada....

After launch: OMG I used up all my data in three days! LTE burns up too much data too fast! yada yada yada...

 

[Archer1440]

So if you have an old unlimited ipad plan, you can use it in your new LTE ipad and not just get 4G, but you can get unlimited LTE, is that what your saying?

Yep that's what he's saying. Better still, after transferring unlimited to my new iPad, I still also have it on the old one. Probably a temporary glitch of course, but it's been this way since Friday last week.

 

[Carlanga]

I don't think it's quite as obvious as people seem to think.

Bandwidth for 1 hour of HD video over LTE >> 1 hour of SD video over 3G.

To the end user, they are still watching 1 hour of video. I think it's intuitive for people that 5 hours of video is more bandwidth than 1 hour of video. But not as obvious that you may be getting a larger stream on LTE.

In other words, a user who is used to watching X hours of video on their iPad 3G might be surprised that the same X hours of video on the iPad LTE will use up much more bandwidth.

arn

Sorry arn, but I have to disagree on this one. You can always choose what quality you want on your videos. HD always takes more bandwidth but that is still the choice of the person selecting the video; you can keep watching SD or eat more bandwidth and go HD even in lowers speeds.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

iPad LTE Makes it Far Easier to Use Up Bandwidth Allotments

Nooo!
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Really?
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...

 

[DNAppleGold]

Heh. This is all really funny.

Before iPad 3rd gen launched: endless clamor for LTE, we need the speed, we want LTE, 3G is too slow, LTE won't make anyone use more data than they use today, yada yada yada....

After launch: OMG I used up all my data in three days! LTE burns up too much data too fast! yada yada yada...

I had the exact same thought. 4g phones/tablets have been out, what, about a year. And all we heard was "why doesn't apple have 4g yet" without any mention of this quite obvious downside. All those Android 4g phones and no one noticed they use bandwidth more quickly until the new Ipad?? Do Android users not actually use their data?

 

[trfjason]

Wanna talk data use. Since i got my iPad on Friday. Telus LTE in Canada.

Image

That's why they have the $5/month for the first 2 months, unlimited data (well technically they cap you at 5GB). Once you have the habit of using lots of data, it's hard for you to stop

I burnt 100MB within 10 minutes of using LTE..

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

And higher wattage backlights produce higher heat.

Not necessarily. Efficient systems emit less heat and more light. Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I managed 500mb in a day. Now I'm pretty much just using wifi to preserve the rest.

 

[terraphantm]

Sorry arn, but I have to disagree on this one. You can always choose what quality you want on your videos. HD always takes more bandwidth but that is still the choice of the person selecting the video; you can keep watching SD or eat more bandwidth and go HD even in lowers speeds.

Many streaming apps having video quality dependent on available bandwidth. I'm not even sure if it's possible to manually specify streaming quality in many apps

 

[Chupa Chupa]

LTE will always been pointless until carriers make it affordable.

When has innovation not been hideously expensive for the early adopter? That doesn't make it "pointless." Indoor plumbing, gas heated stoves, electric lights, telephones, electric windshield wipers, etc. were all once the toys of the very wealthy because of their high price tags. Were those pointless too?

 

[biyaaatci]

27 Seconds

If you were able to hit the advertised max speed and bought the cheapest AT&T Plan, you'd be hit with overage charges in 27 seconds.

 

[thebeave]

Wirelessly posted

4G LTE is NOT 10x faster. Stop the lies

It's max 40% faster than 3G HSPA, as research has shown for several years , and as the AT&T CEO admitted on the Q4 2011 conference call. As a consumer you should be upset at any company claiming 10x gains

 

[Amazing Iceman]

The latest and greatest always comes in at the highest price. It's not for everyone.

The original iPhone was $600 + $80/month = $2520 over two years. I didn't get it; that was above what I could afford to pay for a phone, regardless of whether I wanted it (I did) or not.

My current iPhone is $300 + $35/month = $1140 over two years. I got it because I checked and determined I could afford it.

Right now, the iPad is out of my budget, so I haven't bought it yet, even though I want it. Maybe next year I'll be making more and the iPad will be cheaper and I'll be able to afford it. (Although I think it's more likely that I'll decide to upgrade from my used 2007 Mac Book Air to a new Mac Book Pro, first.)

Remember when landline phone service costed about $100/month? Now you can get it for under $30/month or even less using VoIP Service.
Prices tend to drop over time as demand increases. I just hope this happens soon enough.

 

[joelvega125]

Wirelessly posted

I think anyone who purchases a capped LTE plan is a fool. People are going to burn right through their caps and do nothing but complain.

Why even purchase the LTE version of the iPad unless you have an unlimited plan??? It's funny because most of the people who bought the LTE version of the iPad have a smartphone and really don't need it.

Agreed. I'll stick with my wifi version tethered to my JB iPhone. Thank you cydia.

 

[bushido]

well you should think before using it. Just because i have 100 mbit/s cable internet at home doesnt mean im gonna stream every video at 1080p either

 

[slicecom]

Not necessarily. Efficient systems emit less heat and more light. Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy

There's nothing more efficient about the new iPad's backlight, it needs 2.5x the wattage as the iPad 2 to light the retina display. Read more here: http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm#Backlight_Power

 

[applefanDrew]

Wirelessly posted

Wirelessly posted

4G LTE is NOT 10x faster. Stop the lies

It's max 40% faster than 3G HSPA, as research has shown for several years , and as the AT&T CEO admitted on the Q4 2011 conference call. As a consumer you should be upset at any company claiming 10x gains

What about from Verizon? 1.5 max to now 12 and up.

 

[SockRolid]

Siri will make it even easier

The Wall Street Journal notes that some early 3rd Generation iPad owners are finding it a bit too easy to burn through their monthly bandwidth allotments when on the faster LTE network. [...]

And that's without Siri. Siri will help people burn through their artificially low "allotments" even faster, since it speeds up things like internet searching. No typing needed.

It's amazing how much cell carrier BS the American consumer will put up with. It's an oligopoly. A few very strong companies controlling the market through silent collusion.

Imagine if the oil companies, another oligopoly, charged you more for gas after your first 20 gallons per month. Americans would storm the Chevron and Shell boardrooms with sharp sticks and pitchforks. Because we're somehow entitled to cheap gas while the rest of the world isn't.

It must be a cultural thing. Europeans get cheap cell plans and expensive gas. We get cheap gas and expensive cell plans. Go figure.

 

[blackhand1001]

There's nothing more efficient about the new iPad's backlight, it needs 2.5x the wattage as the iPad 2 to light the retina display. Read more here: http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm#Backlight_Power

Apple should have went with a VA matrix (great view angles as well with much better pasthrough rates of the backlight hence the better contrast and the ability to use a less powerful backlight) vs an IPS/ps display.

 

[bushido]

And that's without Siri. Siri will help people burn through their artificially low "allotments" even faster, since it speeds up things like internet searching. No typing needed.

It's amazing how much cell carrier BS the American consumer will put up with. It's an oligopoly. A few very strong companies controlling the market through silent collusion.

Imagine if the oil companies, another oligopoly, charged you more for gas after your first 20 gallons per month. Americans would storm the Chevron and Shell boardrooms with sharp sticks and pitchforks. Because we're somehow entitled to cheap gas while the rest of the world isn't.

It must be a cultural thing. Europeans get cheap cell plans and expensive gas. We get cheap gas and expensive cell plans. Go figure.

good thing the new iPad has no siri

 

[bpfesq]

Does anyone have any experience with iPad plans through their work? I'm changing jobs at the end of the month and will use their Verizon data plan for my iPad 3. I'm wondering if they combine the data with everyone or if they still have individual limits.

 

[DTphonehome]

Wirelessly posted

Wirelessly posted

I feel really lucky to have unlimited LTE from an old AT&T iPad. I did 800mb in 4 days, pretty much just downloading some small apps, web browsing, and watching a couple of YouTube clips. It's amazingly fast. If I wasn't unlimited, I'd only download apps and watch video if I was on wifi.

So if you have an old unlimited ipad plan, you can use it in your new LTE ipad and not just get 4G, but you can get unlimited LTE, is that what your saying?

Correct. There are old unlimited SIM cards floating around on eBay that you can buy and the seller will transfer service to you, but they're very pricey.

 

[romjet]

Faster network = more usage, but also more wasted buffered bandwidth. Suppose you're a youtube channel surfer and you often only watch the beginning 20-30% before switching. On 3G you mostly pay for what you actually watched, but LTE buffers faster so even if you stop a bad video early, you've probably still buffered/paid for the whole thing.