Some key points raised in the article
It turns out that if you're one of the millions of people who own an Android phone or an iPhone, you don't need a 3G model, which will save you a big chunk of cash. Here's why.
Smartphone hotspots
The most recent U.S. iPhones (the 3GS and the iPhone 4, when upgraded to the latest version of iOS) and the vast majority of Android smartphones now officially support wireless-hotspot capability, which turns the handset into a Wi-Fi connection that can be shared with multiple devices, including the iPad
So if you go with a Wi-Fi-only model and you want to hop on a cellular connection, you can activate the hotspot option on your smartphone through your carrier, pay $20 per month and connect the iPad to that.
That's not as seamless as having 3G built into the iPad, but it will save you the extra $130 you'd plunk down on a 3G model. Plus, you'd have to pay at least $15 a month just to use an iPad's 3G connection anyway.
GPS transplant
The Wi-Fi iPad doesn't have built-in GPS, but if you want to use that beautiful Maps app for navigation, you still don't need a 3G iPad, so long as you have an iPhone. It turns out that if you hotspot with an iPhone, the connection transfers the GPS to the iPad.
Just connect the iPad to the iPhone's hotspot, then launch the Maps app, and you'll see the blue dot tracking your location.
(We're not sure if this works when hotspotting with an Android phone -- if you can confirm, let us know in the comments.)
3G FaceTime
Another surprise is that if you turn your smartphone into a wireless hotspot, you can connect to it with your iPad 2 and use FaceTime videoconferencing.
That's interesting because typically you can't use FaceTime over a 3G connection; it's supposed to only work on a Wi-Fi connection. Because a hotspot shows up as a Wi-Fi connection, you're basically tricking the iPad 2 into using a 3G connection for FaceTime.
Article link
It turns out that if you're one of the millions of people who own an Android phone or an iPhone, you don't need a 3G model, which will save you a big chunk of cash. Here's why.
Smartphone hotspots
The most recent U.S. iPhones (the 3GS and the iPhone 4, when upgraded to the latest version of iOS) and the vast majority of Android smartphones now officially support wireless-hotspot capability, which turns the handset into a Wi-Fi connection that can be shared with multiple devices, including the iPad
So if you go with a Wi-Fi-only model and you want to hop on a cellular connection, you can activate the hotspot option on your smartphone through your carrier, pay $20 per month and connect the iPad to that.
That's not as seamless as having 3G built into the iPad, but it will save you the extra $130 you'd plunk down on a 3G model. Plus, you'd have to pay at least $15 a month just to use an iPad's 3G connection anyway.
GPS transplant
The Wi-Fi iPad doesn't have built-in GPS, but if you want to use that beautiful Maps app for navigation, you still don't need a 3G iPad, so long as you have an iPhone. It turns out that if you hotspot with an iPhone, the connection transfers the GPS to the iPad.
Just connect the iPad to the iPhone's hotspot, then launch the Maps app, and you'll see the blue dot tracking your location.
(We're not sure if this works when hotspotting with an Android phone -- if you can confirm, let us know in the comments.)
3G FaceTime
Another surprise is that if you turn your smartphone into a wireless hotspot, you can connect to it with your iPad 2 and use FaceTime videoconferencing.
That's interesting because typically you can't use FaceTime over a 3G connection; it's supposed to only work on a Wi-Fi connection. Because a hotspot shows up as a Wi-Fi connection, you're basically tricking the iPad 2 into using a 3G connection for FaceTime.
Article link
