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Whats a better investment, extra capacity or cellular version?
- Thread starter Gregintosh
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I have said cellular data but it comes with a few conditions:
1. That the cellular data is LTE, not 3G. No point buying old tech.
2. You have a use for it. Even if it is that you commute by train and require entertainment.
3. That bandwidth is priced some what reasonably in your area (highly unlikely based on typical telco experiences)
That being said, if you are simply talking about resales value, neither. Imo (as I discussed in another thread), I believe the base model sells for the highest original price percentage.
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Please don't be referring to tethering?
1. That the cellular data is LTE, not 3G. No point buying old tech.
2. You have a use for it. Even if it is that you commute by train and require entertainment.
3. That bandwidth is priced some what reasonably in your area (highly unlikely based on typical telco experiences)
That being said, if you are simply talking about resales value, neither. Imo (as I discussed in another thread), I believe the base model sells for the highest original price percentage.
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Please don't be referring to tethering?
I would go for the space until the ipad is a 4G device.
If this is still a 3G iPad I'm going to continue to tether off my phone.
If this is still a 3G iPad I'm going to continue to tether off my phone.
Well, narrow if you go by the true and proper use of the word yes. Look it up in a legit dictionary, i.e, not urban dictionary, and you will not see it defined as "spending money on a consumer good to improve ones life." Those are called luxuries, indulgences, niceties, etc. If you want to delude yourself that buying a 32GB iPad vs a 16GB iPad is an "investment" go ahead, but the truth is you are just spending money.
agreed. that is what my phone is for. and it cost enough on it's own with the data junk.
But i am not the kind of user who needs internet on a tablet, i just want one for fun and portability, maybe some movies and music on it. I've never owned an ipad before but I am really considering it when this ipad 3 comes out.
I have a 16gb wifi. I often wish I had 3G, but rarely wish I had more space. Once the 3 is jailbroken, I'm hoping to have the budget to upgrade to a 3G/4g iPad, but will probably still get the smallest storage.
If I had a smartphone, I wouldn't want the 3G, though. But I don't, and so often lose Internet access while traveling.
If I had a smartphone, I wouldn't want the 3G, though. But I don't, and so often lose Internet access while traveling.
Definitely 3G (well for me anyways)
I originally bought a 64gb wifi ipad 1 expecting to use all the storage, i didn't but regretted having not gone for the 3g option, so much so i then went and bought a 3g 32gb ipad 2 when they got released.
I find the 3g useful, and would say if you think it'll be useful go for it.
I also have an iphone 4 but found that tethering just killed the battery on the phone, to the point of having to charge the phone twice a day (make a lot of calls every day).
I originally bought a 64gb wifi ipad 1 expecting to use all the storage, i didn't but regretted having not gone for the 3g option, so much so i then went and bought a 3g 32gb ipad 2 when they got released.
I find the 3g useful, and would say if you think it'll be useful go for it.
I also have an iphone 4 but found that tethering just killed the battery on the phone, to the point of having to charge the phone twice a day (make a lot of calls every day).
Personally I need the 3G much much more than the extra space. I have the 64GB iPhone 4s with all my music, so having it all on the iPad as well isn't a big deal. What is a big deal is carpooling and still being able to get things done on the iPad. Yes, I could turn on the hotspot on my phone, and I've tried that to see if it makes sense, but the reality for me is that the $20 for the 1GB of data on Verizon is less than the $30 for the Sprint hotspot feature (Yes, jailbreaking can do it for free, but in a fair comparison that shouldn't be considered.) I also found that the latency was much higher when using the phone hotspot, so much so that I would sometimes get disconnected from my work remote systems, even while traveling at the LA traffic street speeds of 5-15 mph.
I also like the convenience of not having to fire up the hotspot every single time my wife or a friend wants to check something out on the iPad while on some kind of road trip. And to top it all off, if I need to be on the phone and the iPad at the same time, I would need the iPad 3G service. Sprint and Verizon can't do voice and data at the same time and IMO AT&T has no business operating a cellular network on the West coast until they can do it right. Anybody in the LA area should be able to understand that.
All that being said, I still got myself the 64GB Verizon version simply because it was all that was available from my vendor for a couple weeks after launch day. Best $500 I ever spent.
I also like the convenience of not having to fire up the hotspot every single time my wife or a friend wants to check something out on the iPad while on some kind of road trip. And to top it all off, if I need to be on the phone and the iPad at the same time, I would need the iPad 3G service. Sprint and Verizon can't do voice and data at the same time and IMO AT&T has no business operating a cellular network on the West coast until they can do it right. Anybody in the LA area should be able to understand that.
All that being said, I still got myself the 64GB Verizon version simply because it was all that was available from my vendor for a couple weeks after launch day. Best $500 I ever spent.
WiFi only for me
With the added upfront and recurring costs, to me I'd have to have a pretty good reason to get the 3G/LTE version.
I have a 6GB data plan on my iPhone, of which I barely use 1GB a month due to having wifi everywhere (work, home, hotels, airports etc...). That leaves me with 5GB+ of data monthly that I can allocate to the iPad via tethering (Hotspot feature on my iPhone is free to use - I'm in Canada).
For the few times that I didn't have Wifi available, I've used tethering via my iPhone and it worked great; no added cost and no excessive battery drain that I've noticed on the few occasions that I used it.
So that leaves me with only one reason to have a cellular-data-enabled iPad and plan and that's for GPS. Franky, I have never been in a position where I even considered using my iPad as a GPS. For me the only two places where I use GPS, in a car and on foot, I'd want the smallest/lightest usable device possible; iPad ain't it.
OTOH, extra memory capacity is something I can use. I might be in the minority here but I always transfer my new release movies (that are not yet available via streaming services) from DVD/BR to the iPad (Handbrake is great for that BTW) for when I'm traveling or even when I go to work, so the extra capacity always comes in handy.
With the added upfront and recurring costs, to me I'd have to have a pretty good reason to get the 3G/LTE version.
I have a 6GB data plan on my iPhone, of which I barely use 1GB a month due to having wifi everywhere (work, home, hotels, airports etc...). That leaves me with 5GB+ of data monthly that I can allocate to the iPad via tethering (Hotspot feature on my iPhone is free to use - I'm in Canada).
For the few times that I didn't have Wifi available, I've used tethering via my iPhone and it worked great; no added cost and no excessive battery drain that I've noticed on the few occasions that I used it.
So that leaves me with only one reason to have a cellular-data-enabled iPad and plan and that's for GPS. Franky, I have never been in a position where I even considered using my iPad as a GPS. For me the only two places where I use GPS, in a car and on foot, I'd want the smallest/lightest usable device possible; iPad ain't it.
OTOH, extra memory capacity is something I can use. I might be in the minority here but I always transfer my new release movies (that are not yet available via streaming services) from DVD/BR to the iPad (Handbrake is great for that BTW) for when I'm traveling or even when I go to work, so the extra capacity always comes in handy.
I'll be getting the base 16 GB Wi-Fi for two reasons:
1. I already have an iPhone and can/will tether if needed. However, I am around Wi-Fi 85% of the time
2. Resale value. The base model of anything (MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, etc.) hold the most resale value. I've had both iPads and so far, I've spent maybe $20 in 2 years. Got 95% of my spent money back since they were base models.
1. I already have an iPhone and can/will tether if needed. However, I am around Wi-Fi 85% of the time
2. Resale value. The base model of anything (MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, etc.) hold the most resale value. I've had both iPads and so far, I've spent maybe $20 in 2 years. Got 95% of my spent money back since they were base models.
Interesting point about resale value. I agree, from my observations premiums are rarely recouped. For example, a used iPad 2 16Gb may go for $300, but a 32 GB only goes for $350 (you don't get the full extra $100 back).
I am mostly worried about app sizes growing big, as well as magazine sizes as I am starting to get into newsstand.
I use iTunes match already, so I figure I only need 2-3Gb of music, the rest of the collection can be iTunes match access if needed on a song by song basis.
Right now I'm using 10GB of my available 28 (according to the about screen). I am thinking with retina stuff coming out though maybe the extra $100 isn't a big deal for piece of mind.
What's really interesting is that at first capacity was winning big, but now it's a close race (in the attached poll).
I am mostly worried about app sizes growing big, as well as magazine sizes as I am starting to get into newsstand.
I use iTunes match already, so I figure I only need 2-3Gb of music, the rest of the collection can be iTunes match access if needed on a song by song basis.
Right now I'm using 10GB of my available 28 (according to the about screen). I am thinking with retina stuff coming out though maybe the extra $100 isn't a big deal for piece of mind.
What's really interesting is that at first capacity was winning big, but now it's a close race (in the attached poll).
True about not recouping the full $100 but one could say that $50 lost in the resale was price of ownership in terms if peace of mind or convenience. Having not to manage files as often is a big deal and kinda sucks for my iPhone 16gb bc I need to swap music back and forth and it gets annoying. More space is a good investment for me over 3G.
I look at the cost difference of the ATT/VZW version simply as if I was buying a $129 9.8" GPS. So for that reason it's worth it to me. I've used the GPS feature many times on the "2" but never needed the DATA feature. On resale I figured I got back $50 for the 3G version (I got $550 for my 16GB ATT 2 weeks ago) so net cost was $79 for a nice large GPS that is also an iPad.
Yeah, when iTunes in the cloud arrived, I thought iDevice capacity would become irrelevant. But then AT&T started it's data-throttling tricks - making data-dependency more expensive.
Nobody knows how data prices will rise over the life of an iDevice. I'd spend on capacity first. Data last.
Thoroughly agree with Chupa here. I really do wonder if people know what an investment is. Your education is an investment, your health is an investment, your job is an investment, you don't lose money doing your job as an employee. Your house is not an investment, your car is not an investment, all classic traps of what most people think investments are.
FYI there is no investment in financial products where there is a possibility of losing money, that is called speculation. The most LOL worthy are investments on the stock market. Oh boy, nothing on the stock market is an investment. It is a zero sum game, there are millions of people losing money on the stock market everyday. It's akin to gambling, playing the odds. Most definitely not an investment.
If yo have an iPhone 4/4S then go for the Wi-Fi as you can use your iPhones personal hotspot feature otherwise if you have another brand phone/iphone 3gs or lower then go for the 3g
Considering Verizon is going with shared data plans... I'm going to go whole-hog and get storage AND cellular. I already have the data plan with my phone, and if I can share it with the iPad in the event wifi is unavailable... then it's all good.
Interesting points.
Especially about the shared data plans. If I can get internet on my iPad for just $5 or $10 more it would be a great convenience. Also, since Verizon doesnt let you be on the phone and internet at the same time, having a separate device that is internet connected would be helpful for travels when I may need to be on the phone (with a client) and accessing the internet at the same time.
As far as the INVESTMENT talk, the stock market can be an investment. Because people are losing money on it, doesn't mean its not an investment. There are also tons of people making big money on the stock market today, so it depends how you play. The whole point of an investment is to pay off later, but since theres no such thing as a sure thing, its possible that some investments lose money or value while others gain.
As far as an iPad or iPhone being investments, they certainly can be. It just depends on the pay off you want. If you want to save time, and an iPad can help you get things done quicker, then its an investment that pays off. You spend money for the iPad but then you gain time which has its own value.
Also, if you use the devices for business, they can be an investment because through those tools you are able to do your work better/faster/smarter and therefore generate cash flow.
Here's how an investment works:
1. You pay money or do something that you normally wouldn't do ("make the investment")
2. In return you get a benefit that you place a value on ("the investment pays off")
3. Sometimes, you don't get the benefit you wanted. ("the investment failed/was lost")
Key point about #2 is that the benefit doesn't have to be financial. There's many companies that invest into systems that save them time, improve their customer experiences, etc. Sure, the end result is typically more money in the end, but the investment itself is not always DIRECTLY tied to higher cash flow.
As far as more capacity or data being an investment, think of these scenarios:
1. You run out of space, and now you have to either give up using your iPad for what you wanted (by deleting things you want/need on it) OR sell the iPad at a loss and buy a higher capacity model.
In this case, buying more space is an investment as you are preventing yourself from losing money or functionality in the future
2. You need to access certain data on the go. Without the 3G connection you may have to spend money on a hotspot, better phone, etc. Those choices may cost you more in the end than buying the Cellular iPad to begin with.
In this case, the 3G upgrade is an investment because it prevents you from spending even more money in the long run on 3rd party ways of getting connected.
So yes, both of these upgrades CAN be investments and its not inaccurate to say that they are.
If you only use your iPad for leisure and theres no time/money savings, convenience, and it provides no value to you then in that case your iPad is a cost/expense and not an investment.
Especially about the shared data plans. If I can get internet on my iPad for just $5 or $10 more it would be a great convenience. Also, since Verizon doesnt let you be on the phone and internet at the same time, having a separate device that is internet connected would be helpful for travels when I may need to be on the phone (with a client) and accessing the internet at the same time.
As far as the INVESTMENT talk, the stock market can be an investment. Because people are losing money on it, doesn't mean its not an investment. There are also tons of people making big money on the stock market today, so it depends how you play. The whole point of an investment is to pay off later, but since theres no such thing as a sure thing, its possible that some investments lose money or value while others gain.
As far as an iPad or iPhone being investments, they certainly can be. It just depends on the pay off you want. If you want to save time, and an iPad can help you get things done quicker, then its an investment that pays off. You spend money for the iPad but then you gain time which has its own value.
Also, if you use the devices for business, they can be an investment because through those tools you are able to do your work better/faster/smarter and therefore generate cash flow.
Here's how an investment works:
1. You pay money or do something that you normally wouldn't do ("make the investment")
2. In return you get a benefit that you place a value on ("the investment pays off")
3. Sometimes, you don't get the benefit you wanted. ("the investment failed/was lost")
Key point about #2 is that the benefit doesn't have to be financial. There's many companies that invest into systems that save them time, improve their customer experiences, etc. Sure, the end result is typically more money in the end, but the investment itself is not always DIRECTLY tied to higher cash flow.
As far as more capacity or data being an investment, think of these scenarios:
1. You run out of space, and now you have to either give up using your iPad for what you wanted (by deleting things you want/need on it) OR sell the iPad at a loss and buy a higher capacity model.
In this case, buying more space is an investment as you are preventing yourself from losing money or functionality in the future
2. You need to access certain data on the go. Without the 3G connection you may have to spend money on a hotspot, better phone, etc. Those choices may cost you more in the end than buying the Cellular iPad to begin with.
In this case, the 3G upgrade is an investment because it prevents you from spending even more money in the long run on 3rd party ways of getting connected.
So yes, both of these upgrades CAN be investments and its not inaccurate to say that they are.
If you only use your iPad for leisure and theres no time/money savings, convenience, and it provides no value to you then in that case your iPad is a cost/expense and not an investment.
If you have the 3G version it works like a regular free-standing GPS because it has a dedicated GPS chip in it which the wi-fi version does not. No data needed if you use a program that pre-downloads the maps (Navigon for ex.).