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Want a 3G/4G iPad now?

M

mbell75

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
489
0
Buy a wifi model, head over to Sprint and buy the new 3G/4G overdrive mobile hotspot! $60 a month. I have one and been running my iPad on 3G. My friend has one in Vegas and they have 4G out there. He says his iPad is blazing fast on it, almost as fast as his turbo Roadrunner connection at home. Sprint has 4G in 27 cities and are adding more every month. Oh yea, it can power 5 devices at the same time too. Only downside in until Apple releases a fix for the iPad forgetting network passwords, you may have to disable your password protection as I did mine. Other than that, its awesome :D
 
mbell75 said:
Buy a wifi model, head over to Sprint and buy the new 3G/4G overdrive mobile hotspot! $60 a month. I have one and been running my iPad on 3G. My friend has one in Vegas and they have 4G out there. He says his iPad is blazing fast on it, almost as fast as his turbo Roadrunner connection at home. Sprint has 4G in 27 cities and are adding more every month. Oh yea, it can power 5 devices at the same time too. Only downside in until Apple releases a fix for the iPad forgetting network passwords, you may have to disable your password protection as I did mine. Other than that, its awesome :D
Click to expand...

I'm sure there will be a price drop. I will ask my Nextel rep, he was showing one off at the office the other day.
 
I am using a VZ MIFI and have no issues. I think getting the 3G specifically on the pad is way to limiting. I like the flexability to interchage with my iPhone and Laptop when needed. Also a lot eaiser when we travel. At a minumum my wife and I would need to pony up $30 and for $60 I get the flexability I need.
 
pugnut said:
I am using a VZ MIFI and have no issues. I think getting the 3G specifically on the pad is way to limiting.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Since I already have an Overdrive to run my Macbook, buying the 3G iPad didnt make sense. Why limit it when it can run on 4G speeds :)
 
jessica. said:
$60 a month? No thanks.
Click to expand...

People spending $500-$850 on what is essentially a larger iPhone probably have an extra $60 a month laying around :) Especially if its going to make their iPad alot faster.
 
mbell75 said:
Buy a wifi model, head over to Sprint and buy the new 3G/4G overdrive mobile hotspot! $60 a month. I have one and been running my iPad on 3G. My friend has one in Vegas and they have 4G out there. He says his iPad is blazing fast on it, almost as fast as his turbo Roadrunner connection at home. Sprint has 4G in 27 cities and are adding more every month. Oh yea, it can power 5 devices at the same time too. Only downside in until Apple releases a fix for the iPad forgetting network passwords, you may have to disable your password protection as I did mine. Other than that, its awesome :D
Click to expand...

I am in Vegas and I have Clear it is 4G and in my opinion it is better than sprint. Plus it is only $35 a month. But it is only 4G in a clear coverage area anywhere else it is only 3G but it is nationwide. Just picked my iPad up at the Apple Store and typing on it now

:apple:Posted from my iPad
 
Drop the iPhone and get the HTC Evo 4G this summer, then install wifi tether. You will be cruising at 4g speed for FREE.
 
shadrap said:
Drop the iPhone and get the HTC Evo 4G this summer, then install wifi tether. You will be cruising at 4g speed for FREE.
Click to expand...

This was part of my plan too. I have the Hero right now but I am getting the Evo for sure!
 
bsblvnv said:
I am in Vegas and I have Clear it is 4G and in my opinion it is better than sprint. Plus it is only $35 a month. But it is only 4G in a clear coverage area anywhere else it is only 3G but it is nationwide. Just picked my iPad up at the Apple Store and typing on it now

:apple:Posted from my iPad
Click to expand...

Nice. How is the iPad running on your 4G? Fast?
 
If I had Sprint, I'd get an Evo for sure. I have (and love) a Nexus One on T-Mobile. There are things I think I like more about the Nexus One (judging by pictures and reviews), but the mobile hotspot feature plus the possibility of 4g looks compelling.

However - to answer the original question - yes, I'll most likely get the 3g version. The reason is that the iPad has a 10+ hour battery life. If I remembered to charge my cellphone before I leave the house, it probably has two or three hours of life while actively handling data, and it might be less than that while both exchanging data with cell towers, and exchanging data via wifi with a device like the iPad. The whole point of an iPad is simplicity - with strong battery life a huge selling point in my mind.

I'll be interested to know how 3g affects battery life - I'm sure it'll cut into it, but I'm also sure it will still easily have more battery life than a smartphone.

4g would be nice, but I can wait a while ... I am not all that enamored with Sprint's approach, which I think is rushing an inferior technology to the market in order to grab attention ... Sprint's 4g is wimax that has a max speed of 10Mbps. The other carriers are mostly working toward deploying LTE, which has a max speed of at least 100Mbps. But then, Sprint's service is available today, and the others are not.
 
How about 4G for $12 per month?

The Sprint 4G Overdrive portable hotspot supports up to 5 devices.
Sixty / five = $12/mo. Even if your family or work group has only 2 iPads, the cost is $30/mo or the same as you would pay for unlimited 3G with the 3G iPad.

BTW, "unlimited" with AT&T means 5G/mo. With Sprint's 4G, unlimited means exactly that.

Also remember that the Overdrive will give you average download speeds at least twice as fast as 3G. How much is speed worth to you?
 
barefeats said:
The Sprint 4G Overdrive portable hotspot supports up to 5 devices.
Sixty / five = $12/mo. Even if your family or work group has only 2 iPads, the cost is $30/mo or the same as you would pay for unlimited 3G with the 3G iPad.
Click to expand...

Assuming you travel in tandem at all times you want to use the devices ... the 5GB limit is annoying, though, thanks for mentioning that - first I'd heard of that limitation with the AT&T plan.
 
Sprint also has a 5GB limit with 3G, the 4G is unlimited. However, unless you are uploading or downloading huge files, 5GB is alot just surfing the web, emails, messenger and downloading apps. Oh, and Sprint has said just a few weeks ago they fully intend to move into LTE. They are using Wimax as a way to "dip their toe" into the 4G market and test it out.
 
mbell75 said:
Nice. How is the iPad running on your 4G? Fast?
Click to expand...


If I compare it to the wifi at the Apple Store or Starbucks, you know public access it absolutely crushes them. But it is still a little slower than the cable I get through cox. But seriously if you have clear in your area I can't say enough good about it. It is absolutely amazing and the best part there is no contract.
 
I am going with Sprint HTC EVO for data. I want to get the iPad but not having flash is turning me off.
Wish HTC would make an EVO Pad. That would be awesome!
 
gigadigit said:
I am going with Sprint HTC EVO for data. I want to get the iPad but not having flash is turning me off.
Wish HTC would make an EVO Pad. That would be awesome!
Click to expand...


I think its only a matter of time before HTC puts out an Android based tablet. That will be awesome.
 
The next thing

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/26/apple.job.post.mentions.lte.and.21mbps.hspa/

Apple in a job listing has signaled its plans to get advanced 3G and 4G. A sport for a Cellular Technology Software Manager would implement mobile data protocols that include the existing UMTS/WCDMA and HSPA already used by the iPhone but also HSPA+ 3G and LTE 4G, standards that have yet to reach any Apple device. The technology could give future iPhones 21Mbps 3G on networks that support it as well as 100Mbps 4G.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/23/dell.netbook.and.wide.area.to.get.21mbps.3g/

T-Mobile bolstered its webConnect data access with the first-ever HSPA+ netbook and details of its coverage. A new variant of the Dell Mini 10 will come with built-in HSPA+ and should reach up to 21Mbps in any area where the faster speeds are active,

AT&T has hinted it may use selective HSPA+ deployments in the near future, but it has previously said that its main network would leap directly from 7.2Mbps 3G to 4G in 2011.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/13/atts.de.la.vega.still.expects.21mbps.3g/

Using HSPA+ would also give AT&T a way of getting phones with very fast cellular connections sooner than it would otherwise. Where the first 4G phones won't be ready in earnest until 2011, companies like Infineon and Qualcomm should have HSPA+ chips ready for smartphones this year.

The today thing:

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones...Product=webConnect%99+Rocket+USB+Laptop+Stick

Rocketman
 
bsblvnv said:
I am in Vegas and I have Clear it is 4G and in my opinion it is better than sprint. Plus it is only $35 a month. But it is only 4G in a clear coverage area anywhere else it is only 3G but it is nationwide. Just picked my iPad up at the Apple Store and typing on it now

:apple:Posted from my iPad
Click to expand...


I also live in Las Vegas (in Summerlin) and I too have Clear. I curse the day I made the switch from Cox cable internet service, which is more reliable. I am not far from a Clear transmitter station and have been on the phone with Support 3 or 4 times to try to improve my connection, which is about 90% reliable. That may sound good to some, but the 10% of the time when it is not reliable is a real pisser. I'll be switching back to cable as soon as my contract is up, or sooner--I dislike it that much.

Question: Are you using your home Wifi to run your iPad or are you using a Clear USB modem and if you are using a Clear USB modem how are you doing that if the iPad doesn't have a USB port?
 
mbell75 said:
Sprint's 3G is faster than AT&Ts, not to mention AT&T doesnt even have 4G.
Click to expand...

I understand its faster but how often do you need the speed while on the go? I mean you can't really be downloading from bittorrent or anything that requires that much bandwidth.

The only times you might need that speed is at home in a non work environment where you can sit down and enjoy streaming high quality videos. But i guess if you have that time while on the go then you must have a really good job so you can afford the $60 a month, as for me, the 3G is fine.
 
skafia said:
I understand its faster but how often do you need the speed while on the go? I mean you can't really be downloading from bittorrent or anything that requires that much bandwidth.

The only times you might need that speed is at home in a non work environment where you can sit down and enjoy streaming high quality videos. But i guess if you have that time while on the go then you must have a really good job so you can afford the $60 a month, as for me, the 3G is fine.
Click to expand...

Of course you want as much speed as you can get. The AT&T wifi at Starbucks wouldnt even load up Youtube videos. I know that probably isnt the same as AT&T's 3G but I had to sit there and wait a good 2 minutes to load up a 1:25 clip. Same with Verizon's wifi at Borders. I could never imagine trying to stream an HD movie to it. I want speed on the go too. Whats the point of having a great portable device like this if your internet connection is slow?
 
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