I made the decision largely based on the plan I would use with the iPad (maintaining a free data deal I already had, which is useful when away from WiFi or if I need to access anything private when WiFi is public. It’s also nice when there is a power outage/WiFi failure as I wouldn’t want to buy a monthly package only for the problem to be over quickly.) I could tether and have done so to try it out during the iPad’s return period, but kept the Cellular. I don’t have a phone bundle every month, but when I did, it was enough that I would end up having to ensure that portable battery chargers were ready as my phone isn’t known for having a great battery life at the best of times. That said, I would not pay for data every month and would go non-cellular in that event. If I go over my free data I can purchase some with the activation credit that was required for the account, so it works for me.
I have had my Cellular Mini for 2 months or so and have probably used it more than I used Cellular on the iPad 3 in a year. The smaller the iPad, the more I’d consider cellular as with the portability, you may find yourself taking the iPad with you when you may not otherwise have done. I would also be less likely to go Cellular on an iPad I wasn’t planning to keep for a number of years.
