Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Would iPad users benefit from having cell phone functionality?

Should the cellular iPad offer phone functionality?

  • Yes

    Votes: 28 44.4%

  • No

    Votes: 35 55.6%
  • Total voters
    63
  • Poll closed .
bruinsrme said:
I am tiring of the iphone.
with the shared data plan it makes more sense for me to tote the ipad more and more.
Carrying an ipad/backpack doesn't bother me.

If I could have phone capability on the ipad I would dump the iphone immediately.
Click to expand...

I thought about doing that with my iPad 3 but then decided I didn't want to worry about bringing my iPad everywhere. Now depending on the size and feel of the iPad mini and if it has LTE connection, I might just go for that and dump the iphone as well. My wife will need to have her iPhone but I could live with an iPad mini and a shared data plan with my wife's iphone and just purchase some minutes on Skype.

In 21 days I have used 266 mins. With Skype that would be like $6.12 (at 2.3 cents/minute)
 
This. If you want to use the ipad as a phone, what's wrong with using skype? Do people really want another voice plan where they pay for minutes they don't use? I say this as someone who has at&t's 450 minutes plan and I struggle to use them; needless to say, I have a lot of rollover.
scottw324 said:
My wife will need to have her iPhone but I could live with an iPad mini and a shared data plan with my wife's iphone and just purchase some minutes on Skype.

In 21 days I have used 266 mins. With Skype that would be like $6.12 (at 2.3 cents/minute)
Click to expand...
 
s15119 said:
But there is no problem. I have a phone for making calls.

----------



No, I wouldn't. I would use my phone.

This is like asking why my saw doesn't have a screwdriver on it. Cause it's a saw!
Click to expand...

I would dump the phone, and keep just the ipad.
 
Sure, a cellular modem could be added to the iPad to have it double as a cell phone. One could use a headset, Bluetooth earpiece and/or speakerphone. No problem. Personally I wouldn't because it's huge and there undoubtedly will be times when it rings, you must take the call and you're not in a position to do anything but hold the big tablet up to your head.

Aside from all that, you can bet your bottom dollar that if they were to add cellular call capability, the price for the iPad would go up significantly.

I don't want to hold the iPad to my head, carry extra gear around with me in case I need to use the phone and don't want to hold it up, and I don't want to pay even more money for an iPad.

But hey, that's my opinion and if it ever happens, I am sure I will have a choice to not buy that particular model. :)
 
SandboxGeneral said:
Aside from all that, you can bet your bottom dollar that if they were to add cellular call capability, the price for the iPad would go up significantly.
Click to expand...
Wouldnt adding a cellular antenna make it a subsidized product from a carrier? So the pricing structure would be:

iPad WiFi - $499
iPad LTE - $629
iPad Phone - $299 w 2yr contract

Anyway, my thought isn't that it would be a standalone phone. It would instead work like iMessage where you can accept calls either on your regular phone OR your iPad. Its not for everyone but I wouldn't mind it.
 
eastercat said:
This. If you want to use the ipad as a phone, what's wrong with using skype? Do people really want another voice plan where they pay for minutes they don't use? I say this as someone who has at&t's 450 minutes plan and I struggle to use them; needless to say, I have a lot of rollover.
Click to expand...

My wife actually does a lot more talking on the phone than I do. I despise talking on the phone. I hate holding my phone up to my ear for longer than 3 mins. I typically switch to headphones or a blutooth set if I am going to be on for long for comfort. Plus I can hear a lot better with the headphones in versus the iphone ear speaker. As for the minutes purchased from Skype, you are putting a deposit down with them, say $10. When you go through that $10 it will either recharge, if you have it setup that way I believe, or you will have to deposit more money on it. Basically the same thing as a prepaid plan on a cell. But the money is good for 180 days. All you have to do is make a 1 second phone call in 180 days and you are good to go for another 180 days.

As an example, I went on a trip about 1.5 yrs ago where I didn't have cell coverage, only wifi. I put $10 on skype at that time. I still have $9.26 left on the account. I just got the notification 2 days ago that I was coming up on my 180 mark, again. So I called my cell from skype, waited a second or two and then hung up. Good to go for another 180 days.

Point being, is that I would spend a lot less money on skype than I do in a month/year than I do with AT&T for the same time.

I may try my ipad 3 out in this fashion for a few days to see if i can get by with this method, just as a test run. this way i hold off getting an iPhone 5.
 
Yes - especially when using your iPad for any kind of reservations or restaurants.
 
One reason I would love it.....

I travel a lot in Asia and a pre-paid data SIMs are readily available in many countries. Just after I land, always buy a pre-paid data SIM. Its a hassle to activate the SIM because they always require a code to be sent by a phone to activate. So, I must first put the SIM in my iPhone, activate it, then remove it and put in in the iPad. When I have to top up, I have to repeat the same thing again.

Having a phone built in would make it so much easier!
 
sure why not? i'd use a headset. but this won't happen. one less revenue stream for carriers...as some would ditch their phones and their plans.
 
iDemiurge said:
What doesn't make sense here is the logic that less is better. It's something that can be added without taking anything away. There is no trade-off.
Click to expand...

You could stick a clown nose on the back without losing anything also, but that doesn't make doing so practical, and practicality is the question here.

Would adding phone functionality be practical, not whether "less is better" or "more is worse".
 
ss0.jpg


No.
 
TheWheelMan said:
You could stick a clown nose on the back without losing anything also, but that doesn't make doing so practical, and practicality is the question here.

Would adding phone functionality be practical, not whether "less is better" or "more is worse".
Click to expand...

My whole point is that it would be a lot more practical to those who want to use it and not a tad less practical to those who don't. You could make calls from it while sitting on your desk and checking your calendar/internet/etc, could send and receive SMS directly into it if you want to. And if you don't want to do any of those things, well, it would be like it was never there to start with! Very unlike a red clown's nose jutting out the back!
 
True. I guess my point really was whether enough people will actually want that functionality to make it practical for Apple to add? A corporation like them are not going to go through the trouble of doing it just because they can. If the demand for it is minimal, then the chances of Apple adding it are likely minimal as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back