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So indecisive about 3G or WiFi only

M

melman101

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
2,751
295
If they were both coming out the same day, the answer is obvious for me, 3G. But can I really wait / is it worth it? I already have an iPhone. Uggghhh this is so much torture. I also have a trip to san francisco in the beginning of April, so that also plays with the torture. Oh how I would love to bring the iPad instead of my insanely big 13" Macbook Pro (LMAO!).

I think I will wait for the 3G, cause I don't want to miss out on the 3G and the GPS, yet I wish it was released at the same time as the WiFi model.

How do you guys feel about this? Are you indecisive about this as well?
 
your problem is my problem....

im getting wifi just because i want it in my hands so bad....


maybe ill get a 3g later...for now its either a 32 or 64 wifi version.
 
I think a lot of people are in the same boat. I don't want to wait, but I think if I get the WiFi only I will be sorry. The GPS and 3G options are important for me. The data plans are really cheap. I was considering getting a Verizon MiFi, and the WiFi model, but the rate are expensive, $39.99 for 250Mb, $59.99 for 5Gb with a two year contract, and the pay as you go is terrible 75Mb for $15 and only a day, 250Mb for $30 and it is a week, and $50 for 500Mb for a month. So yeah the at&t rates are great. Those factors will make me wait. Of course I am not headed out on a trip between the time the WiFi and 3G are released. That would make it tough.
 
You get the wifi, you'll be wishing you got the 3G when it hits the streets a month later. "I'm using the old addage, get the most computer you can afford" in regard to the iPad. I too want it in my hands NOW, but I also realize if I get the wifi only model, I'll be wishing I had waited.
 
I've no desire to take the iPad away from home, so WiFi only will do me.
I plan to use it to sofa surf, and maybe read a little in bed.
 
If you feel like you'll find 3G useful I would counsel patience.

I travel a lot and when I'm at work I can't use the corporate wi-fi so 3G is really appealing to me. Also, I find that many of the apps that interest me in the app store rely on GPS.
 
zapp said:
I think a lot of people are in the same boat. I don't want to wait, but I think if I get the WiFi only I will be sorry. The GPS and 3G options are important for me. The data plans are really cheap. I was considering getting a Verizon MiFi, and the WiFi model, but the rate are expensive, $39.99 for 250Mb, $59.99 for 5Gb with a two year contract, and the pay as you go is terrible 75Mb for $15 and only a day, 250Mb for $30 and it is a week, and $50 for 500Mb for a month. So yeah the at&t rates are great. Those factors will make me wait. Of course I am not headed out on a trip between the time the WiFi and 3G are released. That would make it tough.
Click to expand...

You *should* be able to do the MIFI with the same plans as the contract device - just you have to pay for the hardware in full, and pay monthly. If you go into the store you can choose no contract, 1 year or 2 year pricing.

But it's still not close to the deal Apple cut.... i still would prefer the MIFI so that i could use it for anything i wanted too - or on multiple devices. I'm mulling it over.... I was hoping the Palm Pre/Pixi wifi plans weren't going to be the typical "tethering" priced crap. Alas... that wasn't to be. I'm not paying for data on a phone I wouldn't use.
 
Personally, going for the 32GB WiFi model. 3G would be nice, but I have an iPhone, and honestly, I can't see myself using the 3G much to justify the xtra $150 + WiFi hot spots are everywhere if I do need connectivity in a pinch.
 
I have a Pre, so I can tether my iPad to it if need be.

I'd just tether your iPhone to your iPad, be it by jailbreak or not, and don't worry about waiting for the 3G version.

You're already paying AT&T for 3G, why pay them twice?
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Personally, going for the 32GB WiFi model. 3G would be nice, but I have an iPhone, and honestly, I can't see myself using the 3G much to justify the xtra $150 + WiFi hot spots are everywhere if I do need connectivity in a pinch.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't that really read "everywhere I go"?

I honestly do not encounter ONE hotspot in the places I go on a weekly basis. Right now it is 7 hours a week that I spend "waiting" in places for kids to do their thing. 2 of it varies if i'm participating in the therapy or not. And, i'm adding another 2-3 hours for 2 other kids.

Gee, I guess i SHOULD be getting one with the 3G huh? LOL!!

I don't have a phone with data at the moment, and i certainly don't *need* it. I have a Touch that I use in those times for music, books or games. But really, I have difficulty finding hotspots to use, I know where Panera & McD's are if i have to read an email.

Wifi coverage seems to really vary in certain areas, which leads to the indecision.
 
Wow. What a dilemma. You can't wait 30 more days for a device you didn't even see in existence until last week? You've lived how long without an iPad but 30 days is going to be torture. Patience and Perspective are things you really need to learn and understand.
 
I'm having the same problem. I keep going back and forth between the 32GB iPad Wi-FI + 3G or 64GB Wi-Fi only.

I'm afraid that I'm going to buy the Wi-Fi only version and discover that I should have went 3G. I have the 1st generation iPhone so it's edge only which makes the 3G all the more tempting.
 
samcraig said:
Wow. What a dilemma. You can't wait 30 more days for a device you didn't even see in existence until last week? You've lived how long without an iPad but 30 days is going to be torture. Patience and Perspective are things you really need to learn and understand.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. Thank you for your perspective. You've been a big help.

-----------------------

Otherwise, yeah, I'm tempted between the 16GB 3G and the 32GB Wifi only. I know that I can tether, and all that jazz, but the GPS and just having it available will be clutch. I'd rather not rely on my iPhone battery to power the internet connection.

I guess we will have to see as the time comes closer.
 
I want the 3g version.

Thinking about it there will be some nice referb deals 45ish days after the wifi goes on sale.
 
I think waiting would be good for a couple of reasons. 1) If the 3G is what you want, it makes more sense to pay for that. 2) It will give you some time to see reviews and maybe even get your hands on one to try it out. If there happen to be an major issues that pop up, a month or so is plenty of time to see it. If, on the other hand, you just have plenty of money to dump then what the heck - get em both. :D
 
I've decided upon the 32GB model without 3G. I have a MiFi on the UK Three network which works pretty well. I have a work Vodafone USB modem, I don't particularly want another 3G device on another network.

I think the 16GB one will be too small, and as I travel too and from the US so often, having a more than a couple of movies would no doubt fill the space.

pac
 
Gymgenius said:
I've no desire to take the iPad away from home, so WiFi only will do me.
I plan to use it to sofa surf, and maybe read a little in bed.
Click to expand...

I have a huge urge to take the iPad all over the place but I don't even really take my MBP anywhere. In reality I'll probably sofa surf and use it all night at the fire station (wifi installed) I'm torn, I could put that extra $130 towards more space 32GB or 64GB...

I think I'll flip a coin instead of trying to logically figure this out, I suggest you all do the same.:eek:
 
I think I am also going to go with the Wifi only model.

1. Comes out before my trip.
2. Have an iPhone and any GPS app will probably be on iPhone. I am sure I can live without this feature.
3. Probably can use jailbroken iPhone to tether with it.


Ahhhhh so indecisive.
 
I was struggling with this myself, but I'm going with the WiFi version for a few reasons.

I mostly plan to use the iPad for reading technical .pdf's, so I can get away without 3G there.

I'm really not sure how often I'd want to take it out of the house. It's more like lugging a laptop around than slipping an iPhone into my pocket, so I doubt I'd actually bother taking it with me as much as I think I will when I watch the marketing videos. I love having my MB for trips, but I almost never take it out for quick errands (where 3g would be needed).

The data plan is pretty good, but not THAT great. I'm really happy that Apple negotiated a contract-free plan with AT&T, and when comparing it to Verison's offerings it looks pretty amazing. I would get the unlimited plan even though I probably would never even hit the $250MB cap simply because it's worth the extra expense to have the peace of mind not to worry about keeping track of my data usage. But then you're paying $30/month for less data usage than the iPhone--which I'm sure will pull more data over the course of a month due to being with me at all times.

Lastly, I expect AT&T to allow tethering for the iPhone sometime in the near future (I hope). With this possibility, and my usage patterns, tethering an iPad to my iPhone on the infrequent occasions where it's necessary is probably the wisest, most cost-effective strategy.

The biggest reason in favor of the 3g for me is that it's a permanent decision that I might later come to regret if my situation changes down the road. I have this mental image of myself having to by a second iPad to replace my WiFi model because I was too cheap to spend the extra $130 (pennywise, pound foolish).

Ultimately, I think I'm going to go with the WiFi because it's the best fit for my needs, and if things change I can always give my parents the WiFi model and pick up the 2.0 version or the pro model whenever that comes out with the 3g support then. Hopefully this was helpful to someone other than myself.
 
Unless you're definitely only using it at home/next to a wifi spot, it'd be madness to buy the wifi only for the sake of a month. Utter, utter madness.

I'm slightly torn between 32 or 64gb. Normally, I always plump for max capacity but I won't be putting any music on there, purely using it for video, apps and podcasts to listen too around the house. I'll be upgrading my old 3G to the inevitable 64gb iPhone mk IV, so that's music covered.

That said...I'm a sucker for max capacity!
 
People who love gadgets wont really need the 3g version. Most of use probably already own a mifi, Also I dont see how that would work since it creates a wifi network..the Ipad wont have an idea thats its 3g. Also if ur on iphone 3g JB "$10 pda net" to tether and save urself $30. As far as the GPS goes, I dont see the need. I for one am not going add my Navigon app this thing and mount it on the dash. Maybe im wrong but i dont know of many other app the "requre" GPS.

Also how many of us bring our macbooks outside and rely on Wifi/Mifi/tethering... If your like me and are used doing that/paying for that why pay extra $30.
 
Ozzhead said:
People who love gadgets wont really need the 3g version. Most of use probably already own a mifi, Also I dont see how that would work since it creates a wifi network..the Ipad wont have an idea thats its 3g. Also if ur on iphone 3g JB "$10 pda net" to tether and save urself $30. As far as the GPS goes, I dont see the need. I for one am not going add my Navigon app this thing and mount it on the dash. Maybe im wrong but i dont know of many other app the "requre" GPS.
Click to expand...

Devil's advocate.

GPS on an iPad - esp if you're traveling would come in handy to find local restaurants without having to enter zip code, etc. In short - anything with "location services" would benefit from having GPS. Could you survive without it if you're not intending to use it for navigation - sure.
 
If the 3G model has a camera for the YELP apps like monocile which uses GPS and Compass...this is an easy decision.

There are some questions for you guys who use Mifi: If the battery life is rated at 10 hours for the ipad and your Mifi is only ...3 or 5,doesn't that make your ipad only half capable? I understand the logic, why pay twice for the data plan? Well thats simple, it's not the same product. You are holding device A and device B. Even if you have unlimited, but thats pretty much doubling an already capped bandwidth. ATT would be a fool to let that happen, they will cripple their network even more which causes the whine force to come out. But if I had a Mifi, i would use it.

Considering it cost 60 bucks per month!!!! OUCH!!! (for verizon).
 
I'm leaning towards wifi but the fact that there is no contract for 3G is interesting. During the summer I have no school so I lose on campus wifi, I could see myself perhaps getting a 3G plan for 3-4 months and then canceling once school starts back. I think it really depends how much I take my iPad with me outside the house during the summer.
 
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