Verizon or AT&T LTE iPad?

[MartyXB]

Found this on GottaBeMobile:

I checked with a rep, and new activations are not eligible for the 1GB/$20. Shame, too, as I'd have been all over it. I may call and try anyway.

1 day ago

Jhgih
verizon 1gb for $20 is for customers who already had this plan with ipad 2 3g


1 day ago

This makes a huge difference!! True or not I don't know !

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/03/07/ipad-att-4g-lte-vs-verizon-4g-lte/

From my read of the table is there any reason to buy AT&T 5GB @$50 w/$10GB overage when one can buy 3GB for $30 w/$10GB overage. Since 2GB overage from the 3GB plan gives you 5GB for $30 + 2*$10 = $50. This makes the AT&T option a simple one, get the 3GB plan.

Verizon you must chose wisely my son, since $30 for the 2gb can get you into trouble with its $15gb overage i.e. 5GB at the 2GB plan nets you with $30 + 3*$15 = $75.

I hate to have to decide up front what my data needs for the NEXT month will be.

 

[baypharm]

In my opinion they both suck. First of all there are no standards that exist for LTE 4G, none at all. Period. That should tell you something right there that the service is going to be wishy washy. I have Verizon and I have more problems with my 4G device than I ever had with my previous 3G one. I also used AT&T and while they have a slightly better month to month plan, their service is not that great either. But obviously, you have to go with one or the other.

I disliked the concept of entering into a 12 or 24 month contract with Verizon, so for me it was an easy choice to use AT&T, even though I can't stand them.

 

[sidgriffey]

i agree. ask yourself how long you plan on keeping this current ipad and then decide based on that.

if you upgrade yearly, makes sense to go with what network gives you lte right now. I wouldn't even consider whats going to come down the line as you are not locked into any contract and you get pick again next year. also, if you have both att and verizon lte right now in your cities, expanded lte coverage isnt important, then it makes all the sense in the world to get att. by the time att will slow down with more users, you will be looking to upgrade and get to pick networks again.

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you can get euro 3g with either device, so you wont have a problem there.

if you go over, nothing happens. you just have to buy more data. ipad data is always prepaid as there is no contract.

currently, tests show ny has faster lte with att as its a new network with limited users. how long are you planning on keeping this ipad and also, is lte in other usa cities important?

What would your answer be for someone who lives in the Los Angeles market and probably won't upgrade again until two years from now (aka, skipping whatever they release next year)? Verizon?

 

[vegastime]

I couldn't decide either....I feel like there just is not enough information right now given how things are still popping up.

I ordered one of both (AT&T and Verizon) and will return the one I don't want in the following week.

Sounds like a lot of us may be doing this. Wonder if they will end up with a bunch of returns.

 

[bidwalj]

What would your answer be for someone who lives in the Los Angeles market and probably won't upgrade again until two years from now (aka, skipping whatever they release next year)? Verizon?

I live in the bay area and travel often down there for work. My verizon lte mifi always has good signal and fast speeds. AT&T is a huge problem down there and in pockets in the bay area too. They never really addressed their capacity issues and I left them for that reason with the 4s. LTE prob will be fine there right now, but i don't know what kind of trust i would put in them once the network is full.

 

[sidgriffey]

I live in the bay area and travel often down there for work. My verizon lte mifi always has good signal and fast speeds. AT&T is a huge problem down there and in pockets in the bay area too. They never really addressed their capacity issues and I left them for that reason with the 4s. LTE prob will be fine there right now, but i don't know what kind of trust i would put in them once the network is full.

Wow, great to know! So you feel confident that I should be find with Verizon LTE for the iPad? I have an AT&T iPad 1st gen and AT&T 4s. Not wedded to them by any means though. What speeds you average with your LTE mifi when you travel to LA if u don't mind my asking? And does the kickback to 3G happen often/cripple your experience?

 

[bidwalj]

Wow, great to know! So you feel confident that I should be find with Verizon LTE for the iPad? I have an AT&T iPad 1st gen and AT&T 4s. Not wedded to them by any means though. What speeds you average with your LTE mifi when you travel to LA if u don't mind my asking? And does the kickback to 3G happen often/cripple your experience?

i have always gotten between 12-18 down. It all depends on your area and how busy it is. I haven't hit any dead spots where it went back to cdma. The network is strong there. Only time i had any issues were deep in hotel hall ways or elevators.

 

[sidgriffey]

i have always gotten between 12-18 down. It all depends on your area and how busy it is. I haven't hit any dead spots where it went back to cdma. The network is strong there. Only time i had any issues were deep in hotel hall ways or elevators.

That's pretty great. What part of town were you in? Just curious as to the crowds/cell traffic. I am mostly in culver city/west la/santa monica.

 

[bidwalj]

That's pretty great. What part of town were you in? Just curious as to the crowds/cell traffic. I am mostly in culver city/west la/santa monica.

I been in the long beach area, burbank and by lax.

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I also travel all around the country and verizon LTE has always been good. I havent had any issues with speed or signal. I also find att to work really well outside of california too though.

 

[kdarling]

Does Verizon LTE fall back to CDMA or EVDO 1x or Rev A.?? Cause I would assume AT&T 4G falls back to HSDPA 3g.

AT&T still has far less 3G coverage than Verizon. AT&T likes to concentrate their better stuff on high population density areas.

So while it's very likely that outside of Verizon LTE coverage you'll fall back to their widespread EVDO 3G coverage, outside of AT&T LTE coverage there's a better change you'll drop back to EDGE 2G in less populous parts of the country.

 

[bossxii]

I went with Verizon for the simple fact I have an AT&T iPhone. If the coverage for one sucks I can either tether or use the built in LTE/3G option. One way or another ill have coverage.

 

[Buildbright]

I think about the fact that At&t has known about the problems with poor service in San Francisco and New York City and has done little to anything to fix it except for now LTE is good in those cities because no one is on there network. lol

 

[imlynxy]

I ordered ATT, couldn't cancel it and ordered VZ 64 in addition. ATT comes 16 March, VZ -22March. If Verizon doesn't allow me to join 20/1GB plan it goes back to Apple. Overwise ATT goes back to Apple.
Att has last chance to offer free tethering now. With poor LTE coverage they have no other option.

The only thing for ATT: you can resell ATT model easier later, since it supports Canadian bands. 33 million plus of population. I sold my iphone to canadian buyer this year. Also I visit Toronto often and I have Fido sim in my wallet.

My contract with ATT is over this summer (I bought iphone 4s at a full price).
I see no difference ATT or VZW. I vote with my level of utility (satisfaction) here.

 

[slippery-pete]

AT&T for me. Great coverage where I live

 

[iLoveMyApple]

I have an iPhone on AT&T and I was going to order a Verizon iPad, because they have better LTE coverage in my area than AT&T, but I decided to go with the AT&T iPad anyway. Now I'm kind of regretting it and wishing I would have gotten the Verizon model, but it's too late now.

 

[ProMod]

Something to think about is when the carriers move to a "shared" data plan, which is supposed to happen as soon as this year. If you have a Verizon iPad and an AT&T iPhone or vice versa, you may be in a bind, whereas if you had both devices on the same network, you could share a data plan between the two.

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I went with Verizon for a few reasons.

1. Better LTE coverage where I live, and in places I travel to often.
2. Tethering is no extra cost.
3. I already have AT&T on my iPhone, so now I can switch back and forth depending on which is faster in a certain area.
4. The cheaper, $20 plan.

 

[yeah]

Exactly. At least AT&T has a $15 plan for the non-heavy users.

One question, if you choose the $15 plan and go over 250MB does it charge you overages right away or does it warn you beforehand? Or does it automatically just give you another 250MB for another $15?

They warn you when you almost reach your data cap. If you go over the cap, they automatically add more data.

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I went with Verizon for a few reasons.

1. Better LTE coverage where I live, and in places I travel to often.
2. Tethering is no extra cost.
3. I already have AT&T on my iPhone, so now I can switch back and forth depending on which is faster in a certain area.
4. The cheaper, $20 plan.

Be careful though: If your not in LTE coverage, you will get slow EV-DO 3G.

 

[Buildbright]

They warn you when you almost reach your data cap. If you go over the cap, they automatically add more data.

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Be careful though: If your not in LTE coverage, you will get slow EV-DO 3G.

They also keep you from tethering. Also slower evdo 3G is better then no network at all. It's not that slow I average just under 2 Meg's down which is faster than most free wifi networks.

 

[nizmoz]

Verified, that Verizon has $20 for 1GB for new and old subscribers on the iPad 3.

 

[nizmoz]

Sadly, due to space 16gb wasn't enough, I returned it to the Apple store today and got a 64gb model, but with AT&T as that is all they had. So works out better for me because my Droid RAZR Maxx has Verizon and I tether on it, and if I have no signal I can still use the ipad on AT&T.

 

[Geckotek]

Verified, that Verizon has $20 for 1GB for new and old subscribers on the iPad 3.

They just told me they couldn't do it. And BB lied to me telling me the 4GB promo would work on the iPad.

Little pissed right now.

 

[deeddawg]

They just told me they couldn't do it.

Isn't the 1GB/$20 plan only available for prepaid and not available for postpaid? That might make the CSRs think it doesn't exist?

 

[MR1324]

Verified, that Verizon has $20 for 1GB for new and old subscribers on the iPad 3.

They just told me they couldn't do it. And BB lied to me telling me the 4GB promo would work on the iPad.

Little pissed right now.

I've also verified that $20/1GB works for new customers. I did everything from my ipad.

 

[panzer06]

snip

I disliked the concept of entering into a 12 or 24 month contract with Verizon, so for me it was an easy choice to use AT&T, even though I can't stand them.

No contract required for iPad data services.

Cheers,

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They just told me they couldn't do it. And BB lied to me telling me the 4GB promo would work on the iPad.

Little pissed right now.

They didn't lie, the commercials are ambiguous (even showing a tablet during the double your data commercial); most likely don't know any better. Double your data is only for Verizon smartphones.

Cheers,