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iPhone Hotspot + iPad wifi = no need for iPad 3G?

N

NeonGreenHermit

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 25, 2010
116
12
UK
Apologies if this has been posted earlier, but I had an obvious thought regarding the iPhone 4 Verizon Hotspot feature - if this feature becomes part of iOS universally, then iPhone owners wouldn't really need an iPad 3G unless they specifically wanted a stand-alone connection (say, on another network).

I had been intending on saving up for a 3G version of the next generation iPad (assuming I still want it after announcement)... but now I really can't see the point, as am never without my iPhone. It would actually be less than pointless - more like counter effective, to have two separate plans, one for each device.

Am I missing something? I live in the UK so no Verizon here, but even if it's limited to the CDMA iPhones, then Verizon users will be in the same position.

Won't this cannibalise a chunk of iPad 3G sales?
 
Yeah this is what I am thinking.

I guess some people may want an iPad 3G to save the iphone's battery (wifi hotspot sounds like it might drain the battery) or because they don't have an iPhone.

I am in the uk too, hoping this does happen in the next iOS update and I can use it free. I have a feeling that the outcome won't be that rosie tho. Either it won't come or O2 will want to charge me for it. I have some hope that they won't charge for it as I'm only gonna be able to use my limited 500mb anyway.
 
I'm really not interested in tethering my iPhone to the iPad. I want something I can pick up and begin using immediately without having extra stuff I have to pull out...
 
mrboult said:
Yeah this is what I am thinking.

I guess some people may want an iPad 3G to save the iphone's battery (wifi hotspot sounds like it might drain the battery) or because they don't have an iPhone.

I am in the uk too, hoping this does happen in the next iOS update and I can use it free. I have a feeling that the outcome won't be that rosie tho. Either it won't come or O2 will want to charge me for it. I have some hope that they won't charge for it as I'm only gonna be able to use my limited 500mb anyway.
Click to expand...

Don't quite count on the "use it free" aspect. In the States, at least, I suspect there will be a tethering premium to be paid.
 
WiFi tethering is fine for a few minutes of browsing. Anything more and your battery will be seriously drained.
 
The 3G model is great for traveling. It's much less expensive to buy a local prepaid data SIM than to pay roaming data charges. When I'm home, I usually tether my 3G iPad to my jailbroken iPhone with MyWi. I use the iPad's 3G mostly when I'm abroad. Then, I turn the tables and tether my phone to my iPad.
 
We bought a WiFi only iPad and I have been tethering to my iPhone using Tetherme and iTether (JB apps). It works fine, but I kind of wish we had gone ahead and gotten the 3G now.

Say we are driving somewhere on a road trip, my wife will be using the iPad to surf or read or whatever then she wants to check the route. It won't work unless you are near WiFi and it can triangulate. So out on teh interstate, you better have your route set ahead of time or you are screwed until you stop somewhere. It may be a little better now since 4.2.1 as hopefully you can go back in and out of maps without starting over. I will have to check to see.

Using Bluetooth to tether is actually not too bad on the iPhone battery, but it still drains it. Plus, it takes a second to pull up and pair them, when it would be nice to just whip the iPad out and go.

Then again, since we use the iPad 95% of the time near WiFi, it sucks to have to pay month to month to have the option. IT would be awesome if they just did a prepaid sim for the iPad as that would be the best of everything, but still, teh gps works even if you are not connected to 3G, so you could think of it as paying an extra $120 for GPS capability.
 
I've been using wifi "tethering" between my Droid X and my iPad wifi for about a month now. It works great. The biggest annoyance is that you have to turn on the "hotspot" and then select it from the wireless networks option. So yes it takes a few extra seconds. However, I already pay for a data plan on my phone and didn't want to pay for a second one for as little as I use it (probably 99% of my ipad use is near a wifi connection).
 
NeonGreenHermit said:
Won't this cannibalise a chunk of iPad 3G sales?
Click to expand...

Some, perhaps, but as some have pointed out already, the GPS chip only exists in the iPad 3G (of course if you have an iPhone, you've already got a GPS).

I bought the 3G version "just in case" and it turns out I use the 3G access every day, so I feel justified in my purchase. That said, I don't have an iPhone (and if I did have an iPhone, you're right, I probably wouldn't have bought the iPad).
 
Sherifftruman said:
We bought a WiFi only iPad and I have been tethering to my iPhone using Tetherme and iTether (JB apps). It works fine, but I kind of wish we had gone ahead and gotten the 3G now.

Say we are driving somewhere on a road trip, my wife will be using the iPad to surf or read or whatever then she wants to check the route. It won't work unless you are near WiFi and it can triangulate. So out on teh interstate, you better have your route set ahead of time or you are screwed until you stop somewhere. It may be a little better now since 4.2.1 as hopefully you can go back in and out of maps without starting over. I will have to check to see.

Using Bluetooth to tether is actually not too bad on the iPhone battery, but it still drains it. Plus, it takes a second to pull up and pair them, when it would be nice to just whip the iPad out and go.

Then again, since we use the iPad 95% of the time near WiFi, it sucks to have to pay month to month to have the option. IT would be awesome if they just did a prepaid sim for the iPad as that would be the best of everything, but still, teh gps works even if you are not connected to 3G, so you could think of it as paying an extra $120 for GPS capability.
Click to expand...

Then again, you can get a TomTom for a $100 bucks and not pay an extra $130 for the iPad, plus extra for data. You will also still have the TomTom if you sell the iPad to buy iPad2 or whatever hemmoriod tablet.
 
As someone who has an iPhone and a 3G iPad, I'm glad I bought the 3G iPad. The ease of use of just being able to whip it out and check something isn't to be taken for granted.

I had a wifi iPad when they came out but upgraded to the 3G and won't look back. I pay £7.50 (that's about $12 for you merkins out there) for 2gb each month which is more than enough.
 
The hotspot won't be free and AT&T will force you onto a tethering plan I'm sure. Your crazy if you think AT&T will throw it into your plan for you to clown around on for free.
 
For me, tethering is completely useless without unlimited data. The few times I would tether would be to my laptop if I were in an area without wifi -- and I'd probably be doing it so I can stream stuff which takes a lot of bandwidth.
 
The hotspot featur is only good if you have a computer with you all the time an can plug your iphone to an external power source.
 
If you want to use Personal Hotspot, I seriously recommend an external battery to keep the iPhone topped up as long as possible. That said, it does work, I use MyWi sometimes and it does do things quite nicely. On Verizon, this might be quite nice indeed.
 
notjustjay said:
Some, perhaps, but as some have pointed out already, the GPS chip only exists in the iPad 3G (of course if you have an iPhone, you've already got a GPS).

I bought the 3G version "just in case" and it turns out I use the 3G access every day, so I feel justified in my purchase. That said, I don't have an iPhone (and if I did have an iPhone, you're right, I probably wouldn't have bought the iPad).
Click to expand...

I honestly think that Apple might just ditch having two models for the iPad. What is the point of having two other than to charge a bit extra to satisfy the carriers that make deals with Apple? Or was it that the 3G modem cost too much extra? I doubt that is the case.

I suspect that it would save Apple a lot of money to just make a single version with different storage options. That cost savings alone could pay off the carriers, though I doubt this is an issue anymore anyway. It would honestly surprise me if Apple didn't do this.

Two models is stupid, and causes customers to think too much about which one to get. With the way the pricing worked out, it was a choice between more storage or 3G capability. It really doesn't make much sense to me.
 
It depends on where you plan to use it imo. I picked up a used 3G iPad for less than than a 16 gig WiFi and have yet to activate it as I use MyWi on the iPhone as my hotspot. Mostly at my office as the office doesn't have wifi access. Those who say it drains the battery clearly haven't used MyWi and an iPhone 4, I can tether to my iPad for a long time and not eat up the battery. I've gone nearly 6 hours and still walked out of the office and used my phone the rest of the day without charging till I ended up at home around 6pm. Granted I'm not streaming video full time, but even then. Mostly use it for web, email, maybe a few ESPN highlight videos etc, still it does rather well, not to mention the amazing speed I get when I do stream video. I am grandfathered in on the ATT unlimited plan and have used well over 5 gigs (via tethering) several months in a row and have never heard a single word from ATT.

This has been over at least the past two years, through Slingboxing the NCAA tourney to running ESPN my iPad on damn near a daily basis. I have the 3G model because someone made an impulse buy and needed quick cash, I doubt I'll ever bother paying twice for my data.
 
I too upgraded a Wifi only Ipad to a 3G. I was using it with a Huawei MiFi, and it turned out I ended up having to worry about two devices instead of one, charging both, for instance. It's frustrating when you want to tether and your MiFi is out of battery. Got a 3G now and I won't go back.

I guess it depends on how much you use the 3G connection. If it's occasional, you can get along with tethering once in a while, but for everyday use I would recommend the 3G version hands down.
 
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