Verizon or AT&T LTE iPad?

[bidwalj]

Lte in other cities is not important to me. I dont travel frequently and when i do i occassionally, 3g will suffice. Since both devices will work overseas it all comes down to coverage in the NYC area and price for data usage.

if you plan on keeping your iPad for only a year, makes sense to enjoy the faster att speeds you will have while it has less users than the verizon network.

after a year, with the new iPhone and other lte phones, both networks should have similar speeds. verizon does have plans however to complete their buildout by the end of next year (they are converting all their 3g into lte). att at this time is only starting to get rid of their edge network.

 

[sekazi]

The ultimate plan to me would be

Pay As You Go with Rollover Data lasting 3 to 6 months
1GB = $10
2GB = $20
3GB = $30
and so on. Include free tethering and have a option to start or stop your service anytime. If you stop once you data is used up or expired you can no longer use the service.

To activate the service you will be charged a $10 fee and this would be to help lock someone in from not wanting to stop paying as you go as if they stop the service and run out of data they would have to pay $20 to get 1GB or $30 to get 2GB of data.

This way you would not be locked down to a $10 a month payment but instead you will be paying what you use instead of loosing all of that data you paid for each month.

 

[Buildbright]

Is that legit?

Yes.

That is blazing. Verizon is covering their entire network with LTE in the next two years. AT&T will still have Edge only areas for at least the next five. No comparison IMO. LTE on AT&T will be limited to big cities for a while and buy the time its any good we will have the 5th or 6th iPad and we be throwing the "new" iPad in the trash. The 250 mb data plan is a joke.

It is fast now its not always that fast but it has never been slow ever! You are very correct.

_________________________________________________________________

Its all realitive At&t maybe faster someplaces Verizon others. Buy what works for you, plan and network coverage. But i hate when some At&t fanboy gets up here and says well our network is Magical now and we will be the best. Based on some article they read or what a phone sales guy told them.

First Rule of Wireless Club is you do not believe everything the salesman tells you. Second Rule of Wireless Club is you do not believe everything the salesman tells you. Third Rule is ...Well you get it.

Not all salesman (Verizon and At&t) are bad I have met some great ones but the good ones tend to be promoted or fired. Also it does not matter if there badge and shirt or blue or red its all relative.

BTW: Just found out on Verizon you can swap 4g LTE sims. So if you have unlimited data on your phone it works on your tablet. Or if you have mulitple 4g LTE tablets you can swap!.

 

[catalyst6]

if Verizon matched the 3GB for $30 plan that AT&T is offering, it would be a no brainer, but because of that I went with AT&T.

AT&T just installed LTE in my entire part of the state (Raleigh, Durham, CH), so surely the speeds will be awesome and it won't be that congested....coupled with more data for the same price and I feel like AT&T makes more sense.

It's a hard choice though...

 

[bidwalj]

Yes.



It is fast now its not always that fast but it has never been slow ever! You are very correct.

_________________________________________________________________

Its all realitive At&t maybe faster someplaces Verizon others. Buy what works for you, plan and network coverage. But i hate when some At&t fanboy gets up here and says well our network is Magical now and we will be the best. Based on some article they read or what a phone sales guy told them.

First Rule of Wireless Club is you do not believe everything the salesman tells you. Second Rule of Wireless Club is you do not believe everything the salesman tells you. Third Rule is ...Well you get it.

Not all salesman (Verizon and At&t) are bad I have met some great ones but the good ones tend to be promoted or fired. Also it does not matter if there badge and shirt or blue or red its all relative.

BTW: Just found out on Verizon you can swap 4g LTE sims. So if you have unlimited data on your phone it works on your tablet. Or if you have mulitple 4g LTE tablets you can swap!.

i agree with what you said. to be fair, the cellular world is not easy to understand and most don't realize what lte really is. the main thing to understand is the technology behind lte is the same on every network at the moment. there isn't a faster type of lte deployed by any carrier.

 

[drb1992]

For an iPad, I would go with AT&T if your area has AT&T LTE. You get 3gb as apposed to 2gb that Verizon offers (if your going with the $30 plan). Plus, AT&Ts 3g is faster than Verizon's. Unless coverage is just bad in your area, I would go with AT&T with an iPAd. iPhone on the other hand, that is a completely different story.

 

[MartyXB]

Im thinking of switching my order from the at&t to the verizon version but i have a couple of things i need to be sure about first. With the verizon version, will i be able to stick a european 3G sim card when i travel overseas? If i sign up for 1gb but occasionally go over by 1 or 2gb what would be the penalty? How does verizon 4g lte compare to at&t in NYC?

If you look beyond NYC, like Long Island you will note half of LI has only 3G under Verizon. To me the NYC vicinity is more fuly covered with AT&T.

I at times go to Atlantic city NJ for some R&R and Verizon only appears to have 3G while AT&T appears to have 4G.

 

[Buildbright]

If I made you a map to a pot of gold would you believe it?

Seriously if you are happy with AT&T in New York get it. I have a friend there and he says AT&T is horrible not to mention a bunch of reporters but go by your usage.

 

[mkthunder21]

If you look beyond NYC, like Long Island you will note half of LI has only 3G under Verizon. To me the NYC vicinity is more fuly covered with AT&T.

I at times go to Atlantic city NJ for some R&R and Verizon only appears to have 3G while AT&T appears to have 4G.

The '4G' AT&T appears to have is not all 4G LTE. No provider has 4G LTE in Atlantic City.

See here (dark blue is AT&T 4G LTE):

People should read this if they're uncertain about which one to get (esp if your leaning Verizon):
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/0...erizon-4g-ipad-to-use-with-atts-hspa-service/

Basically on a Verizon iPad you CAN use AT&T 3G/3.5G but NOT 4G LTE. On an AT&T iPad you CAN NOT use VZW 3G OR 4G LTE. Also Verizon allows sim swapping and data sharing. Some things to think about.

 

[MartyXB]

The 4G AT&T 'appears' to have is not all 4G LTE.

See here (dark blue is AT&T 4G LTE):
Image

Also AT&T has no 4G LTE in Atlantic City.

I see, AT&T defines 4G in their map as:

4G: The areas shown in darkest blue represent AT&T owned HSPA+ network with enhanced backhaul.

How do I get to see their 4g LTE coverage?

 

[mkthunder21]

Go to http://www.att.com/network/, then click on the Coverage tab on the lower part of the page, and you will see the markets that have 4G LTE coverage, click on those and you will get a map detailing coverage.

 

[MartyXB]

Go to http://www.att.com/network/, then click on the Coverage tab on the lower part of the page, and you will see the markets that have 4G LTE coverage, click on those and you will get a map detailing coverage.

Thanks, so I now see why they say Verizon has more LTE than AT&T. So again one must look locally as to making their decision because if you are are out of LTE for both AT&T may still offer HSPA+.

In my case, I am within LTE for both AT&T and Verizon, Atlantic City is in 3G for Verizon and HSPA+ for AT&T. However in my case getting Unlimited, unthrottled (at the moment) AT&T for $29.95/month makes my decision a no-brainer

 

[nizmoz]

If you look beyond NYC, like Long Island you will note half of LI has only 3G under Verizon. To me the NYC vicinity is more fuly covered with AT&T.

I at times go to Atlantic city NJ for some R&R and Verizon only appears to have 3G while AT&T appears to have 4G.

4g is not LTE

 

[imlynxy]

Never had ipad, but have had ATT iphone since almost day one
I'm not sure which one to choose so I ordered both 64 ATT and Verizon. One of them goes back to Apple.
I live on the border of ATT and Verizon LTE and I hope one of them works at my place. ATTVZW don't give too much info, let's play "hide-and-seek", buy-and-return game

 

[JoJoCal19]

Interesting quote from the Anandtech pre-review of the new iPad:

"Apple offers carrier specific iPad 4G models on AT&T and Verizon, although both versions can roam on 3G networks around the world. Apparently the iPad 4G isn't SIM locked, so you'll be able to toss in a SIM from other carriers with compatible networks."

That is what I was hoping for. To get the Verizon LTE version and have the SIM slot unlocked to work with any GSM SIM. Being able to pop in a AT&T SIM and use AT&T HSPA+ would be awesome.

 

[pavvento]

I'm really surprised at how many people plan to use the hotspot feature. This will be my first iPad but I never really thought of buying an iPad to only continue carrying my laptop around with me- I figured the iPad to be a replacement for bringing my laptop to parks/coffee shops, etc and then using the laptop more at home which made AT&T's extra GB at $30 more attractive.

Do many of you with iPads now continue bringing your laptops with you? Can someone explain the reasoning?

Thanks!

 

[ebika]

I'm really surprised at how many people plan to use the hotspot feature. This will be my first iPad but I never really thought of buying an iPad to only continue carrying my laptop around with me- I figured the iPad to be a replacement for bringing my laptop to parks/coffee shops, etc and then using the laptop more at home which made AT&T's extra GB at $30 more attractive.

Do many of you with iPads now continue bringing your laptops with you? Can someone explain the reasoning?

Thanks!

At work I'll use my laptop for coding, word processing, full-computer-task stuff. I like to take my iPad to meetings. My client does not allow my laptop on their network, so cellular data is a nice-to-have feature for which I currently use a Verizon SCH-LC11 hotspot. It'll be awesome to eliminate one gadget I carry every day. (I can't use the iPhone hotspot feature because the 3G network is saturated in the area I work and gets ~0.1KB/s typically)

 

[superflush]

When they said the LTE ones have "worldwide 3G" I was wondering if that means the SIM part is unlocked to any GSM sim.

It should be the case. Especially considering Apple's wording on the website: "if you want a local connection when you’re traveling, just pop in a local SIM card."
And this sounds like the case for the Verizon model as well.

My other main question is whether there are any 4G networks outside of the US that are compatible with the AT&T model that wouldn't be on the Verizon model. Meaning, if you take a Verizon model outside of the US, you will be able to get 3G with a local microSIM, but you won't seem to be able to get any 4G. If you take an AT&T model outside of the US, however, are their any countries where you would be able to get 4G?

 

[balamw]

My other main question is whether there are any 4G networks outside of the US that are compatible with the AT&T model that wouldn't be on the Verizon model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks

Looks like Rogers (Canada) may be the only one today.

B

 

[Wide opeN]

I just switched from an AT&T 32GB to a Wi-Fi only 32GB. I will use my iPhone as the hotspot for my iPad and/or MacBook Pro. Once the new iPhone is released in the coming months, I will upgrade to it and presumably get my 4G data connection that way. One bill, no hassle. Savings up front on the iPad itself, a bit of savings by having only one data plan, and avoiding the dilemma of which carrier to choose at this point in time.

If you think about it, buying a maxed out iPad at almost $900 after tax is a bit much when you can get an actual computer, a MacBook Air, for around $100 more. To me, the iPad is getting a bit expensive at that point for what amounts to a "big iPhone", entertainment/email/web browsing device. A 32 GB Wi-Fi only model at $599 seems to hit a nice sweet spot.

Just my point of view, yours may vary.

This is EXACTLY what I'll be doing. Thanx for playing!!!

 

[HuRR]

Still can't decide on what to do. Guess I'll keep the AT&T order for now and pray that they offer tethering. If they made that intro plan 1GB for $14.99, this would be an easier decision. One can dream

 

[catalyst6]

I couldn't decide either....I feel like there just is not enough information right now given how things are still popping up.

I ordered one of both (AT&T and Verizon) and will return the one I don't want in the following week.

 

[rkdiddy]

It is frustrating that AT&T doesn't have it's tethering plan worked out prior to pre-ordering. I ended up ordering both in hopes everything will be worked out by launch, so I can make an informed/educated decision on which carrier to choose.

I wonder how all of this will pan out in the future, with (the rumored) shared data plans?

 

[jmann]

I picked the Verizon model because the 1GB plan sounds like the sweetspot for the amount of data that I will probably be using. I don't plan on activating the 4G until I actually need it anyway.

 

[patricem]

Verizon 1GB plan is for established customers only?

Found this on GottaBeMobile:

I checked with a rep, and new activations are not eligible for the 1GB/$20. Shame, too, as I'd have been all over it. I may call and try anyway.

1 day ago

Jhgih
verizon 1gb for $20 is for customers who already had this plan with ipad 2 3g


1 day ago

This makes a huge difference!! True or not I don't know !

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/03/07/ipad-att-4g-lte-vs-verizon-4g-lte/