Extra data plan equals FAIL
I know tethering hasn't come to the US yet. But we have it in Canada, so for work and pleasure trips I can currently take my laptop with me and, where there is no wifi or paid wifi only, I can just link up to my iPhone and off I go on 3g. And I doubt we can count on the carriers to say "sure, we can register your iPad as a second device on your iPhone data account".
Today we're inundated with devices...PDA, cell phone, smart phone, mp3 player, netbook, laptop, portable dvd player, e-reader, digital camera, camcorder, etc etc, and costs to use each of them (accounts, communications, etc etc). Most people look for convergence devices to lessen the number they carry and the stack of bills they pay but still be able to do most of these things. For example, I was happy to get my iPhone because it gave me casual camera use, business and personal voice connection, MP3, email, e-reader, and internet. Tethered to my netbook, it gives me ereader, internet, hard drive storage, computer, etc on the run when I needed something bigger than my iPhone screen and keyboard. No need to use paid wifi spots. And I'm down to two devices.
Now I'm not a heavy netbook user for business and an iPad may work very well for my business and pleasure travel needs (jury still out till we see it in operation). And while I don't tether to 3g often, at the same time rarely does my travel lead me to an area where wifi is available for free. So do I buy an iPad, pay for the 3g option, and then pay another $30 for a 3g data plan on top of my iPhnone one? Or do I keep on with netbook (which I admit is nowhere near as nice as an iPad) and iPhone and no extra cost on the wallet?
There are people that will need the 3g, no doubt. And people that will be happy with wifi only and keeping their iPad at home. But for a lot of us convergence and flexibility is the way to go. PDAs were all the rage until smartphones showed they could do the same thing and more. PDAs for the most part have disappeared. E-readers face the same risk of falling into irrelevance as convergence devices offer e-reading and more. Will the iPad be a PDA or a PDA killer?
Hopefully Apple will look at this and think about that flexibility and its benefits. Otherwise it might be a long time before some of us get iPads as it falls to "merely" another e-reader/mp3 player/internet browser. I don't need another internet browser at home if it doesn't' compellingly replace what I already use (desktop, laptop, netbook, and/or iphone). I can order a newspaper to be delivered to my doorstep as easy as buying an iPad just to read the news. And it certainly isn't a replacement for my iPhone (too big to hold to head for calls). And I can't carry it on my hip for music while jogging.
So if the iPad isn't compelling enough to replace or fit nicely in between devices, its classified to many as a luxury purchase, not a must. And its going to be these little things, like tethering if you already have a 3g data device, ability to hold and work on files multitasking, etc that will be the decision maker for many with their infinite variety of needs as to where it sits between 'fits in' and 'just another'. The way SJ was talking at his launch promo, they intend this to be a "fit in between" and "replace" type device. So come on Apple, you're all about lifestyle...so how about thinking it through?
