How do I Buy or Choose an iPad?
If you are thinking of buying an iPad when it releases this Saturday, you may choose with discretion. Unlike the iPhone, there are six different versions of the iPad, ranging in price from $ 500 to $ 830.
The three models shipping this weekend with Wi-Fi only, while three others – shipping in late April – include both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. our first decision is between these two basic differences: Wi-Fi only, or 3G and Wi-Fi? After deciding which way to go, from there you need to choose a storage capacity: 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB. For many of us, the decision may be tougher because of the fact that we already possess an iPhone or iPod Touch – or other smartphone, for that matter.
So let’s break it for you.
Wi-Fi or 3G?
Let’s be realistic: in its current state, the iPad is primarily a device used to veg out on the couch to watch movies, listen to music and play games.
Many of these media related activities are going to work out great offline, so even in places where you do not get Wi-Fi connectivity, you should not feel completely deprived.
AT & T seems to think that the iPad is mostly going to be a Wi-Fi based device. This is because for most users, Wi-Fi will probably be enough, assuming you have created a wireless network at home.
But nevertheless, there is a strong argument for choosing one of the 3G-equipped models. If you travel often, inevitably you may be in the lobby of a hotel or restaurant that does not offer Wi-Fi connectivity, and at that time the lack of 3G could be dispairing
Also, if you travel for work, you may enjoy a 3G connection for those times when you’re commuting – assuming you can get a signal from AT & T in those places. Moreover, the model of the iPad 3G includes GPS, while the Wi-Fi-only version does not, making it a travel friendly device
3G will be high priced, of course. The price of each model 3G is $ 130 more than in the Wi-Fi counterpart with the same storage.
What makes the option of 3G for the iPad particularly interesting is that there is no contract. It all month to month,you only buy a plan when you need it: $ 15 per month for 250 MB or $ 30 a month for unlimited data. During the months when not traveling, you can simply turn off the 3G service.
In short, if you are a very mobile, the 3G model is probably best for you. If you are a homebody, you’re happy with the version of Wi-Fi.
Storage
If you take the route of Wi-Fi, you’re probably going to use iPad especially in your living room for media consumption, such as movies, music and graphic oriented games – all of which will be stored on a flash drive the iPad. For that reason, greater storage capacity should be more important for Wi-Fi loving customers only. We recommend you to go well with the 32 GB or 64 GB for the model with Wi-Fi only models, such as 16 concerts will fill quickly.
If you choose the 3G model of ipad, you will have the freedom to access your digital life through the cloud, in addition to the iPad unit wherever you go. Thus, for the path to 3G, storage is a little less important. If you do not have a lot of music or movies, a 16GB model with cloud-based applications, such as Dropbox or Pandora, may well be sufficient.
(One could argue that you can access your data through the cloud with a Wi-Fi device only so, but I would say is a disadvantage of living in the cloud, without a constant internet connection.)
With all that said, we are strongly in favor of the 32GB model for 3G, as its feature set matches the interest of those who want a balance between work and play.
We would argue that the 64 GB 3G iPad is a bit too expensive ($ 830) and impractical. 64-GB 3G iPad is the best model designed for the media obsession workaholics – a very small group of users.
The iPhone / iPod Touch factor
If you already have an iPhone or iPod Touch, a good question to ask is whether an iPad compliments your life at all. The truth is the iPad is so new it has not proved to be a needy device for anyone, and if you’re using an iPhone, you might find that meets most of the possible roles of tablets already.
Also unclear is the degree to which the iPad will play nicely with your iPhone – in particular whether it will be possible to tie the iPhone to iPad, which would eliminate the need to spend more money on a 3G model and its associated monthly fees.
Steve Jobs said in an e-mail to a customer that binding an iPhone to a iPad would not be feasible, but we doubt that it is quite true, if you’re willing to take some risks. There’s a good chance the iPad is hacked as soon as it is released, so a tethering workaround seems apt- although be aware that Jailbreaking may void the warranty.
If you have an iPhone, our advice would be to wait a couple of weeks to see if a tethering answer betweenbetween the model 3G or Wi-Fi emerges or not.
And if you own an iPod Touch, which was ably demonstrated by Jobs as an iPhone “with wheels”, then the 3G iPad is a good opportunity to move to the cloud. The best part is you do not have to commit to a monthly big-time contact as you would with an iPhone, so a iPad 3G is much more attractive.
credit:wired.com
Related posts:
- iPhone 4 to Release This Summer
- HP Tablet Discontinued; Apple iPad Wins
- Wanna Buy Google Nexus One? Google Phone Review
- IPhone 3.0 features and IPhone 3.0 upgrades over IPhone 2.0
- Most Downloaded Video Game
- How do I choose the Best B-School?
- Top Technologies in 2010: Prediction of Top Tech Products in 2010
- Why Android is better than iPhone?
- iphone 4s Battery Life- Issues, Causes
- Top Technologies of 2009
Tags:
Posted by Starwin on 30th March, 2010
Comments
