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All iPads WiFi vs Cellular... My personal observations

I'll chime in, I have a cellular iPad 1 (no unlimited anymore, I was broke for awhile :( ), and we just ordered my tmo Air last night.

I'm not a fan of using public wifi at all -who is bored and packet sniffing? I can't tether on my phone unless I pay $20/mo (because I have a 4 and Verizon unlimited, will jump to $30/mo when I go to LTE). I'm in places many hours a week with no access to wifi (kid related waiting rooms, 5+ hours each week currently).

Basically a cellular iPad is a no brainier for me. It has probably been the best purchase (tech wise) I have ever made. My iPad will get handed down when the Air arrives, so no worries about resale (I did trade the wifi only ones in to target, and now we have a mini).

The best part is we all have choices though.... do what works for you!
 
Picking up an old thread here.

I have an aesthetic question for you all.

I own a space gray 128gb Air cell model. is it just me or does anyone else find this version to have a very ugly backside because of the matte black plastic of the cell version? I just find the wifi version to look much more slick with it's all aluminum backside.

Just wanted your thoughts on this.
 
I've only had wifi models up until I purchased my Air. Now I wouldn't dream of buying a wifi only model. I don't use a lot of data but it's there when I need it. Tethering was an option but I didn't want the inconvenience of it. I don't worry about resale value as I buy my toys for my use now. Most of my iPads have been passed down anyway. The only one I ever sold was the iPad Mini.
 
TheSwede said:
Picking up an old thread here.

I have an aesthetic question for you all.

I own a space gray 128gb Air cell model. is it just me or does anyone else find this version to have a very ugly backside because of the matte black plastic of the cell version? I just find the wifi version to look much more slick with it's all aluminum backside.

Just wanted your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...

It's not just you, I found it really ugly and I hope they bring back the slate color like on my first gen iPad Mini so I don't have to deal with it when I eventually upgrade. The black plastic against the slate is less of a contrast, much better aesthetically.

As for cellular it's worth it for me. I've found that I can get by on the free 200mb from T-Mobile without much trouble. Nothing beats guanteed internet service wherever you go for free. For people that never leave the house with their iPad I can see the appeal of a WIFi only version. That's not me though.
 
KeepCalmPeople said:
I'm sitting in a Starbucks typing this on my AT&T iPhone, which cannot connect to AT&T's wifi hotspot here...

My observations really concern the US, for iPad users who cannot tether:

1) Cellular iPads do not hold their value. You pay $130 extra for cellular capability but you'll be lucky to recover $30 of that selling used.
Click to expand...

If we're going to split hairs about resale value, any iPad loses value the second the plastic comes off. Really, picking cellular over WiFi shouldn't be about how much money you get back for it; you're paying for whether or not you want to be connected in additional places.


KeepCalmPeople said:
2) Cellular iPad data is relatively cheap IF you have a shared data plan or can get away with using 200MB a month or less on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...

$30 a month for 2GB on Verizon isn't THAT bad. It's not great, but seeing as, streaming uses aside, that's more than enough data for one month, I'd say that's not horrible. Also, bear in mind that's contract-free.


KeepCalmPeople said:
3) If you NEED a reliable, high-speed data connection while out and about, free public wif-fi hotspots just don't cut it. The bandwidth isn't there. The fastest I have found is at Target (I downloaded an HD movie while shopping there once, in less that an hour).
Click to expand...

On my iPad mini, I use the data primarily for GPS and as a "oh crap, my cellphone battery just died and I need to look something up really quick and/or iMessage someone.



KeepCalmPeople said:
4) Public wi-fi can be difficult to connect to. If you cannot connect, you have no recourse.
Click to expand...

This is another reason why I, after doing so with my iPad mini, went with an iPad Air with cellular. Much much nicer to not deal with that hassle.
 
For all those who don't want to deal with the "hassle" of tethering, keep in mind that in iOS 8 it will literally be nearly hassle-free to tether to your phone. You won't have to turn on any settings on your phone to tether. Of course, there's still that pesky battery life issue......
 
Fattytail said:
For all those who don't want to deal with the "hassle" of tethering, keep in mind that in iOS 8 it will literally be nearly hassle-free to tether to your phone. You won't have to turn on any settings on your phone to tether. Of course, there's still that pesky battery life issue......
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm anxiously awaiting to hear how easy this will be in ios8.. I sheepishly admit I'm in the crowd of people who are considering an LTE ipad because I find setting up tethering to be annoying..
 
Fattytail said:
For all those who don't want to deal with the "hassle" of tethering, keep in mind that in iOS 8 it will literally be nearly hassle-free to tether to your phone. You won't have to turn on any settings on your phone to tether. Of course, there's still that pesky battery life issue......
Click to expand...


No this isn't true. You need a tethering plan from you carrier.
 
Last Year I went on vacation to a regular vacation spot in Key West Florida. The resort I stayed at has free WiFi for guests and I have stayed there many times and the WiFi was great. On this trip though, the WiFi was out. Verizon was there everyday trying to get things up and running. They would get it going and then it would be out again. Turned out to be something on their end, and finally on the second to last day things were up and running. In the end I was unable to connect to the internet for 5 days unless I walked to the nearby Starbucks which was 6 blocks away. Not a big deal but a hassle.

Prior to the trip I was also having issues where there was free public WiFi (Starbucks, McDonald's, The Mall, My workplace) as more people got iPads or other tablets things seemed to slow to a crawl. It was getting annoying. I even tried the tethering bit and was not overly impressed.

At the time AT&T was advertising their new "Next" program so I took advantage of it and upgraded from an iPad 3 32GB WiFi only model to a 64GB iPad 4 with WifI and Cellular. All it did was add $10 to my phone bill (plus a $41.50 monthly payment for the iPad for 20 months) and now I can access the internet whenever I want with no issues. My phone plan allows for 10GB data which is far more than I need. with the next payment I will be able to trade that iPad in and get a brand new iPad Air and the remaining payments will be waived and I just start over if I decide to upgrade to an iPad Air or wait until the iPad Air 2 comes out, which is what I will probably do, this time upgrading to the 128GB model.

This past February, I upgraded my iPad mini to an iPad mini with Retina Display 128GB with WiFi Cellular and so now both my iPads have WiFi and Cellular and I couldn't be happier. I will never buy a WiFi only iPad again.

As for the Matte Black panel on the iPad, my iPad mini has one of the Apple iPad cases on it do the entire iPad mini is covered and the panel isn't seen at all. My iPad 4 has a very nice apple case as well covering the whole iPad. If the black matte strip on the back is ugly, simply cover it up with a case.
 
ScottNWDW said:
Last Year I went on vacation to a regular vacation spot in Key West Florida. The resort I stayed at has free WiFi for guests and I have stayed there many times and the WiFi was great. On this trip though, the WiFi was out. Verizon was there everyday trying to get things up and running. They would get it going and then it would be out again. Turned out to be something on their end, and finally on the second to last day things were up and running. In the end I was unable to connect to the internet for 5 days unless I walked to the nearby Starbucks which was 6 blocks away. Not a big deal but a hassle.

Prior to the trip I was also having issues where there was free public WiFi (Starbucks, McDonald's, The Mall, My workplace) as more people got iPads or other tablets things seemed to slow to a crawl. It was getting annoying. I even tried the tethering bit and was not overly impressed.

At the time AT&T was advertising their new "Next" program so I took advantage of it and upgraded from an iPad 3 32GB WiFi only model to a 64GB iPad 4 with WifI and Cellular. All it did was add $10 to my phone bill (plus a $41.50 monthly payment for the iPad for 20 months) and now I can access the internet whenever I want with no issues. My phone plan allows for 10GB data which is far more than I need. with the next payment I will be able to trade that iPad in and get a brand new iPad Air and the remaining payments will be waived and I just start over if I decide to upgrade to an iPad Air or wait until the iPad Air 2 comes out, which is what I will probably do, this time upgrading to the 128GB model.

This past February, I upgraded my iPad mini to an iPad mini with Retina Display 128GB with WiFi Cellular and so now both my iPads have WiFi and Cellular and I couldn't be happier. I will never buy a WiFi only iPad again.

As for the Matte Black panel on the iPad, my iPad mini has one of the Apple iPad cases on it do the entire iPad mini is covered and the panel isn't seen at all. My iPad 4 has a very nice apple case as well covering the whole iPad. If the black matte strip on the back is ugly, simply cover it up with a case.
Click to expand...

You weren't able to get internet on your iphone during this time?
 
Infinitewisdom said:
You weren't able to get internet on your iphone during this time?
Click to expand...

I was able to get internet on my iPhone at the time. I don't surf the web on my iPhone and tethering it to my iPad was a pain.

Not having the WiFi I was unable to surf the web when needed, iCloud photos did not sync to the iPad which prevented me from doing other things like sharing the photos and editing them.

The vacation was not the only reason I switched, it was just the last straw in a growing issue that was going on at the time. Why buy an iPad if trying to get on WiFi is going to an issue in many places due to lower bandwidth. With Cellular I am always able to access the internet, it's more secure, and more reliable. I have not been anywhere yet where I haven't been able to get cell service. In my opinion the $10 extra a month on my phone bill is worth it.
 
KeepCalmPeople said:
I...

1) Cellular iPads do not hold their value. You pay $130 extra for cellular capability but you'll be lucky to recover $30 of that selling used.

...
Click to expand...

My take on this is - unless you are a reseller; you buy the device to use it primarily. If your usage pattern/ location requires you to have a cellular connection, then go for it. I don't think it wise to compromise on ~2 years of ducking into coffee shops/ hanging out at random stores to save $70 bucks on resale down the road. The resale value is a bonus, but the primary function of the iPad is to provide you with adequate connectivity while you own and use it.

If you are in an area with sufficiently dense public WiFi networks; then you don't need cellular. However, those who don't have that ability, know the value that extra $130 brings to the table.
 
I'd say when owning a iPhone 5 or 5s and you have a decent data plan I'd personally go for the wifi only version.
Currently tethering can be a lot of pain, like it looses connection from time to time, but I am looking forward tot iOS 8, which make it looks seem much easier and better to handle.

I am also someone who has a data plan of 4gb currently. I heard today it will be 5gb per July the first for free. And as a bonus the 5gb will get doubled next month so it'll be 10gb on LTE.
 
Wifi only IMO.

I have a note 3 w/ unlimited data, that tethers to my ipad quite nicely.

How expensive are the ipad data plans anyways?
 
I just cancelled a iPad Air contract i had for $60 a month and am selling it for a bit more than what was owing, was hardly using the 4Gb a month it came with. My carrier now does data shared plans, so my wife and i have 2.5gb on iPhones to share plus a extra data sim for her iPad 4 included for extra $10 a month. I have a wifi retina mini so will tether to my iPhone for now when needed.
Saved $50 a month. I prefer the mini too.
 
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