Was planning to purchase 32gb wifi iPad...

[hed1117]

but the more I've read and thought about 3G capability, the more I think I may want to have it.

What I need help with is understanding whether or not 250MB (AT&T-$15 per mo.) is adequate for checking email, gps maps, and other such non-downloading functions - or does everything one does on 3g accumulate "units" (kw? kb?).

Pardon my ignorance.

Came here to learn https://forums.macrumors.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

[leomac08]

250MB is enough for all of that...... I was a constant unlimited data user till July.....then I switched to 250MB, last month I wasted 130MB out of 250MB!

be aware I was using wifi too.....

But 250MB is a lot! Just don't use YouTube too much!

 

[hed1117]

250MB is enough for all of that...... I was a constant unlimited data user till July.....then I switched to 250MB, last month I wasted 130MB out of 250MB!

be aware I was using wifi too.....

But 250MB is a lot! Just don't use YouTube too much!

Thank you for clarifying how far 250MB can go.

Why does watching youtube cost more?

Is it because videos are larger than emails and we "pay" according to the size of each thing we view? If so, then how do we pay for consulting maps while traveling?

 

[Capt T]

Basically 100mb = about 5hrs of basic surfing or 10,000 emails with no attachments. Videos are larger so if you plan to stream video (such as YouTube or the ABC app) you will use up however large the video file is. If you limit the times you stream video to when you are on wifi then most likely for what you say you will be doing you should be fine with the 250mb. You can always start with that and then change to the larger plan if needed. You are not locked into a monthly contract with the 3G iPad.

 

[Night Spring]

Is it because videos are larger than emails and we "pay" according to the size of each thing we view? If so, then how do we pay for consulting maps while traveling?

Yes, you pay for things according to how "big" they are. So you'll pay for maps too, if you use the Maps app while you are on 3G. However, maps are much smaller than videos. A video is basically many still pictures that are shown in rapid succession to give the illusion of movement. I think at the rate of something like 30 pictures per second. A map is basically one picture for each frame, and a low resolution picture at that. So simplistically speaking, for each second of video, you can use maps for at least 30 different locations.

But as another poster already pointed out, you can buy more MB if you run out. But really, if you don't watch videos or download huge apps or visit too many photo-intensive websites, 250 a month should be enough.

 

[Thrifty1]

250mb is not a lot for a month, but you can learn some tricks to keep the use down. For example, you can download maps vs. using your data plan for maps. I purchased the MotionX GPS app as it allows you to download maps into the iPhone / iPad memory. They work well for me around the Chicago suburbs. I'm not sure if the maps they use are as up to date as the Google maps, but has not been a problem for me. I am going overseas next year so I downloaded the maps for the cities I am going to. I can still use GPS (does not count as data download) along with the maps downloaded into the memory.

It also depends if you have any other device with a wireless data plan you can use with the iPad. I have an iPhone 4 with unlimited data. If I purchase a 3G iPad, I would only get the 250mb data plan for the iPad as I can use the iPhone for a lot of the daily tasks.

Good luck,

 

[saberahul]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9550/5.0.0.713 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Wait for Oct 28. Vzw may have better prices. Emphasis on the "may have"

 

[leomac08]

Thank you for clarifying how far 250MB can go.

Why does watching youtube cost more?

Is it because videos are larger than emails and we "pay" according to the size of each thing we view? If so, then how do we pay for consulting maps while traveling?

it's not that the youtube cost more, it's a free app, lol (no fees, if you're thinking that!)

i meant, logically video files burn up a lot of KB's or MB's in minutes or even seconds.

Watching a 5 minutes video on youtube may be the equivalent of you surfing a dozen websites, downloading 20 e-mails, and downloading 2-3 apps.

That's why im saying be careful using youtube or any video stream on 3G.

(I'm currently out of wi-fi right now at home and i'm using my iPad 3G as my main source of internet at home for the moment and i have watched several videos and it did burn a lot of MB's out of my data plan....i currently have 180MB out of 250MB.....-more than last month (130MB)-)

About maps...... i recommend you buy a pre-loaded map app or GPS app like tom-tom or garmin for the iPad or iPhone.....

google maps is fun but can also burn a lot of MB's if you use it to navigate yourself around town since it will constantly update the map if you pinch to zoom or out, or change it into satellite view or hybrid view, it will burn MB's out of your data plan..

Overall: i recommend you use the 3G for your occasional web-surfing and e-mail, while you buy a pre-loaded map app for maps and use the GPS in your iPad 3G..... then use wi-fi at home to look at videos or download huge files or view maps in a more precise way.

 

[tekchic]

How much are you around wifi? I have wifi both at work and home, so my 3G is switched off most of the time (plus it saves battery life). Only time the 3G comes on is if I'm mobile and someone wants a demo, or if I need to get data from some app.

I bought 3G for traveling as well as mapping during hot air balloon chasing/flying, so it was mostly for the GPS. But it's nice to be able to switch it on and get data when you absolutely need it. I am on the 250mb/mo plan and probably use about 75mb a month.

I've heard that you can pretty much blow your 250mb if you stream an hour of Netflix over 3G, but I only stream over wifi, otherwise I just load up movies into CineXPlayer when traveling w/o wifi.

250mb is fine if you have reliable wifi everywhere and aren't hanging out on YouTube all day over 3G. If you're a heavy videophile and don't have access to wifi, you might want to bump to a higher plan. The good news is, AT&T will notify you if you're getting close to your bandwidth limit so you can go in and purchase more.

Still wish I could've gotten the unlimited plan though, but I bought an iPad too late. So if it's a bandwidth hoggy app, I try to use my iPhone 4 (that still has the unlimited plan).