Ipad users

[Jay Jolliffe]

I'm looking into an Ipad that we could use when were travel in the US. We want some thing that we would be able to connect to the internet anywhere we are. So if you know what one would be best let me know.....Some of the ones I'm seeing say they have wi-fi + G3....then the say AT&T....does that mean I have to use AT&T?....

[Matt Meiser]

Yes they are dedicated to that network. They may have roaming partners in some areas. Before you buy, look at each carrier's coverage map and see who has service where you want to go--its definitely not universal.

We pretty much didn't have Sprint service the whole time we were in Maine a few years ago. Now we are on Verizon and I pretty much have service anywhere I go, except for some areas in east-central Missouri. ATT's map shows the least coverage in rural areas. But ironically that's what works in that area in Missouri.

And Wifi is really pretty easy to find anymore unless you are in a small town--even then its not uncommon.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Thanks Matt....

[John McClanahan]

Yes, you will need the G3 (G4, now). Also, take a look at the data plan each carrier offers. While AT&T has a $15 plan, you don't get very much data usage. Verizon has a &20 plan that gives you much more data usage. Keep in mind what Matt said about Verizon's coverage.
My understanding is with Verizon, you get faster connections or nothing. With AT&T, they still use the older technology in rural areas. The connection may be slower, but you have a better chance of getting something.

John

[Ted Calver]

Have you checked into a mobile hot spot? We have Verizon and added a mobile hot spot.... a little device you can plug into your car or a hotel room that gives you your own secure wi-fi connection for up to ten devices. Monthly cost will depend on how much data you use. On our last trip it cost an extra $20 a month and when we returned home we reduced the data to the minimum ...about $10/month? Haven't checked in a while. The wife liked it because she could use her laptop in the car.

[Matt Meiser]

My understanding is with Verizon, you get faster connections or nothing. With AT&T, they still use the older technology in rural areas. The connection may be slower, but you have a better chance of getting something.John

Verizon still has 3G in many areas too. My iPhone rolls to 3G depending on where I am.

I've got a Verizon Mifi and a wifi-only iPad which works better for me because I can use the Mifi to get internet access for my laptop too. The Mifi adds $20/mo to our Share Everything plan. It shares data with the 3 smartphones on our plan.

[Mike Cutler]

Jay

Biggest providers are AT&T and Verizon. It used to be that Verizon and AT&T operated on different protocol standards. I don't know if that's still the case, but something to consider. Do you currently have a Cell Phone Provider? If so it may make the most sense to bundle the iPad with the Cell Service.
You definitely want at least 3G, if not 4G, and the WI-FI. I used to have the mobile Hotspot Ted mentions and when I was travelling it was pretty slick.

Once you travel with an iPad, you'll always want to travel with it. The ability to use Maps, make reservations, reroute yourself, get Hotel rooms on the fly, find gas stations, bathrooms, etc, is just way too convenient. It can be done with a cell phone too, but the bigger screen on the iPad makes it an easier experience if you're a little older;)

I like Verizon, but you'll find that everyone has their own opinion, and it's probably split right down the line, on providers.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Would I get the mobile hot spot through Verizon....Were kinda behind the times. We have Trac Phones & no smart phone....So what would I need to do not having a phone carrier.....

[Dwight Rutherford]

Every hotel I have stayed at has had WiFi service. Never felt the need to be connected all the time.

[Shawn Pixley]

My IPad is wifi only. I travel with is constantly. It has never been a problem. There are usually enough wifi spots to connect readily. If I needed to, I can use my IPhone as a hot spot. I tried that at home, but have not had to use it traveling.

[David Masters]

+1 on Shawn's comments. I travel all over the US with a Wi-Fi only iPad and Wi-Fi access has never been an issue. I have both a Verizon and AT&T phone that supports mobile hotspots, but I only need them occasionally for Internet access for the iPad.

I find very little difference in the quality or availability of the network providers these days. The AT&T LTE network always seems a little faster to me. When traveling through more remote areas of the western US, I find an AT&T signal more often than Verizon, but it's not LTE.

[Lee Reep]

My IPad is wifi only. I travel with is constantly. It has never been a problem. There are usually enough wifi spots to connect readily. If I needed to, I can use my IPhone as a hot spot. I tried that at home, but have not had to use it traveling.

This is our model, too. First got my wife an iPad Christmas before last. She was blown away by how great it is, and easy to use. But I had bought the wi-fi only model, deciding I'd take baby steps on a tablet. Last April we both got iPhones. We vacationed our of state last summer, and never felt that wi-fi only was an issue. All our mapping and lookups on the road we did on the iPhones. We looked at a big road atlas a little, just to see where we wanted to head next, but never relied on the map for directions. I will say, though, that if we wouls have needed a screen to see map locations, an iPad would have helped. But when the phone is barking out all your directions, a small phone is just fine!

[Sam Whit]

Ipad 1 ATT + wifi here. I used the $30 a month plan and have never run out of data. The plan is month-to-month so there is no "contract". If I know I won't be using it within a couple days of the auto renewal, I cancel it. When I need it, I reactivate it.

I take it everywhere with me. One day I may be in my office listening to Pandora all day, and the next I might be 150 miles from the office in the sticks with some downtime. With dropbox and doc2go I can pull up any microsoft documents and work on them in my downtime.

[Matt Meiser]

A few providers offer pay-as-you-go mobile hotspots. Again, check the coverage on the network before buying. As long as you can just activate for the months you want to use it without paying an activation fee, that might be the way to go.

[John McClanahan]

Keep in mind the wi-fi only models lack an internal GPS. The cellular models need the GPS for the data modem. If you want to use it as a GPS on the road, the 3G-4G models are the way to go, and you don't need a data plan for some of the map apps.

John

[Larry Browning]

Are you dead set on an ipad, or are you open to other options? I know that others will disagree with me, but there are other tablets that will get you more features for less money.
Such as a Nexus 7 and various other Android tablets. In my opinion you pay about $200 just to have that Apple with the bite taken out of it plaster on the back. The Nexus 7 and many others have an internal GPS.

[Taylor Jones]

Jay - I have an iPad air and that only has wifi capabilities and I use it all the time. Unless you really need to have internet access all the time I wouldn't get one with 3G. It's not worth the extra money when you can now get wifi nearly everywhere

[Matt Meiser]

Are you dead set on an ipad, or are you open to other options? I know that others will disagree with me, but there are other tablets that will get you more features for less money.
Such as a Nexus 7 and various other Android tablets. In my opinion you pay about $200 just to have that Apple with the bite taken out of it plaster on the back. The Nexus 7 and many others have an internal GPS.

I've gone through this decision twice--once a few years ago and again this past fall. Both have their pros and cons. The iPad tends to have better accessory support just because they dominate the market though that is getting better for the popular Android and Kindle Fire devices. The other devices are more customizable software-wise, but that lack of access to everything is what makes the iPad extremely stable and easy for the even the most computer illiterate set it up. The fact that I can't make it behave exactly the way I want is frustrating at times, but then not as frustrating as my wife asking me to get hers to work. App support between Apple and Android seems pretty much equal these days--not the case when I got my first. I do know there are an app or two that I have that are not available for Android but I'm sure I'd find that to be the case the other way too. In the end, we all have iPads because we all have iPhones. We all have iPhones because we had enough trouble with hardware that we wanted to go to a known-reliable brand name. The iPhone and iPad work together great. Knock on wood, we 3 iPads and 5 iPhones (2 being retired iPhone 4's) and literally the only hardware problem we've had is a switch that broke on my wife's phone. We had a local repair place change that out but their replacement broke too. One of the 4's lived in the care of an 11 year old and an Otterbox case for a year until we did some shuffling and she got an almost new 4S. The 4's are in the drawer just in case we need a backup. Before that I had 2 HTC phones and 3 hardware failures in about 18 months. You do pay more--the price differential on the 7" Nexus vs. the original iPad Mini is about $80. Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16GB is about $100 less.

Also, I've had a 10" iPad 2 and now a mini. Hands down the mini is my favorite. Bought my wife one for Christmas and she loves it too. Daughter gets the 2 as soon as she gets her science grade fixed--maybe they'll get back to school in March :rolleyes: When she starts high school in about 2-1/2 years (:eek::eek::eek::eek:) she has to get an iPad through the school.

Depending on what you end up spending--check into coverage on your homeowner's insurance. We have a special rider for each phone and the iPad 2 for loss/damage coverage with a $100 deductible for WAY less than the insurance racket from the cell carrier. The iPad minis the deductible would be 1/3 the replacement cost and we decided to "self-insure" those. The 2 is probably not worth covering anymore either.

[Larry Browning]

Matt,
I think I have developed a predigest against anything that Apple makes. I don't know why, I just hate Apple products. I think it all started when I tried to use a Mac for the first time, I couldn't navigate around the file system, I couldn't figure out how to do anything on it. It didn't work like a Windows computer and I guess I thought it should and I formed an instant hatred for it. Then I was issued an iphone at work and nobody showed my how to use it. I was told, "oh, it's so easy to use, you won't need any help, it just works" Well not for me, I guess my mind doesn't work like Steve Jobs mind. Anyway I have developed an extreme hatred for anything from Apple, I don't own a single thing from. (I don't own the iphone I was issued at work, but I am forced to use it). So I am probably the wrong person to ask about Apple products. I try to talk people out of them every chance I get. I probably shouldn't do that, but I do.
I just don't understand the attraction, to the i-whatever products.

[Curt Harms]

Matt,
I think I have developed a predigest against anything that Apple makes. I don't know why, I just hate Apple products. I think it all started when I tried to use a Mac for the first time, I couldn't navigate around the file system, I couldn't figure out how to do anything on it. It didn't work like a Windows computer and I guess I thought it should and I formed an instant hatred for it. Then I was issued an iphone at work and nobody showed my how to use it. I was told, "oh, it's so easy to use, you won't need any help, it just works" Well not for me, I guess my mind doesn't work like Steve Jobs mind. Anyway I have developed an extreme hatred for anything from Apple, I don't own a single thing from. (I don't own the iphone I was issued at work, but I am forced to use it). So I am probably the wrong person to ask about Apple products. I try to talk people out of them every chance I get. I probably shouldn't do that, but I do.
I just don't understand the attraction, to the i-whatever products.

I kind of feel the same way, Larry but understand the advantages of Apple. It's a walled garden with relatively few hardware devices to support all engineered by the same people. I guess it'd be pretty easy to avoid the little annoyances found in the Windows/Android world. On the other hand if you want something not blessed by Apple, tough. It's nice to have a choice.

[Prashun Patel]

Ipad and Apple users tend to see the world throw rose-colored glasses. There are just as many 'annoyances' with the Iphone and Ipad as there are with other platforms. I have a wife and a daughter, so I'm forced to keep my Apple prejudices to myself.

For my part, I own a Windows phone, operate a Windows 2012 server (~Windows 8 interface) at work, and have configured a couple Surfaces for my salesmen. I like them all.

It is a myth that Apple's platform is inherently safe. Now that Apple is the same heavy-handed behemoth Microsoft was 20 years ago, it's just a matter of time until we start seeing chinks in the armor.

[Matt Meiser]

Like I said they aren't perfect. The combination of hardware quality, app support, and accessory support is what drove us there initially. The Nexus wasn't out when I got the first iPad. Rumor was Google's developers were using the Motorola Xoom which I strongly considered. HP's Touchpad was in the running too--discontinued 49 days after it launched and 2 weeks after I would have bought it.

This time around I could have been real happy with a Surface Pro 2 with an i5 and 8GB of Ram until I tried the 7" tablet. Now I think 7" is a way better form factor for portable use. Dell has an 8" Windows tablet now--a coworker just got one but I haven't heard an update. The dealbreaker on the Windows phone when I looked briefly was the lack of an app for our bank. Plus, we are so far down the Apple road now that the price differential isn't a compelling reason to switch. Upgrading devices and sharing between them is just too easy.

[Art Mann]

Keep in mind the wi-fi only models lack an internal GPS. The cellular models need the GPS for the data modem. If you want to use it as a GPS on the road, the 3G-4G models are the way to go, and you don't need a data plan for some of the map apps.

John

Those statements are absolutely not correct if you are talking most Android tablets. I have a Google Nexus 7 tablet and it definitely has an internal GPS. I use a navigation app called Copilot (cost $10) that contains a map database of the entire US and it works better than my Garmin stand alone GPS. No phone, 3G, 4G or WiFi data link is required. I can also use Google Maps for navigation on it if I have established a WiFi hotspot on my phone so it can download the map data. Once again, no 3G/4G required.

By the way, Android based cellular phones do not need to have a GPS in order to have a data connection. You can disable the GPS and the internet browser will still work just fine on any of the dozen or so Android phones from 3 different manufacturers I have owned or were furnished to me by my company.

If Apple tablets are as you describe, then I think it is time to look at a different brand of tablet.

I don't mean to be rude but I don't want anyone to be misled either.

[Brian Elfert]

Those statements are absolutely not correct if you are talking most Android tablets. I have a Google Nexus 7 tablet and it definitely has an internal GPS. I use a navigation app called Copilot (cost $10) that contains a map database of the entire US and it works better than my Garmin stand alone GPS. No phone, 3G, 4G or WiFi data link is required. I can also use Google Maps for navigation on it if I have established a WiFi hotspot on my phone so it can download the map data. Once again, no 3G/4G required.


The title of the thread is iPad and the OP was asking about iPads. The wi-fi only iPads do not have GPS.

Of my co-workers who have tablets most have iPads. The reason most of them bought iPads is because they already have iPhones and/or Macs so they have already bought into the Apple ecosystem. I have no desire to get a tablet, but I would look at an Android one mostly due to lower cost than the iPads.

[Matt Meiser]

And a wifi-only iPad paired with an iPhone will get location from a wifi hotspot for mapping.

[Shawn Pixley]

Anyway I have developed an extreme hatred for anything from Apple, I don't own a single thing from. (I don't own the iphone I was issued at work, but I am forced to use it). So I am probably the wrong person to ask about Apple products. I try to talk people out of them every chance I get. I probably shouldn't do that, but I do.
I just don't understand the attraction, to the i-whatever products.

I am in the opposite camp. I try to avoid all Microsoft / Wintel products. I have to use them at work. Typically, my HP laptop will crash 3-10 times per week. I have gone years without my Mac crashing. My iPhone and iPad are workhorses doing what they are designed to do. I wouldn't try to do advanced database spreadsheet work on them (but I would and I do on my Mac).

My suspicion on the issue is that it relates to how you learned. I have no background in computer sciences (mine is Mathematics, Chemistry, and Architecture), and wish to not even think about file structure. I want it to do things simply and intuitively.

I think that Apple is smart to regulate the Apps that can be put on their products. My friends' experience with buggy, non-functional apps is cautionary to me. Apple wants their experience to be positive. It can somewhat limit what is available, but my iPhone / iPad work at the end of the day. Whereas theirs don't.

I any case, given our freedom of choice. We should agree to disagree. You buy what you want, I'll buy what I want.

[Rick Moyer]

just wait 'til the new SawStop tablet comes out!

[Art Mann]

I am in the opposite camp. I try to avoid all Microsoft / Wintel products. I have to use them at work. Typically, my HP laptop will crash 3-10 times per week. I have gone years without my Mac crashing. My iPhone and iPad are workhorses doing what they are designed to do. I wouldn't try to do advanced database spreadsheet work on them (but I would and I do on my Mac).

My suspicion on the issue is that it relates to how you learned. I have no background in computer sciences (mine is Mathematics, Chemistry, and Architecture), and wish to not even think about file structure. I want it to do things simply and intuitively.

I think that Apple is smart to regulate the Apps that can be put on their products. My friends' experience with buggy, non-functional apps is cautionary to me. Apple wants their experience to be positive. It can somewhat limit what is available, but my iPhone / iPad work at the end of the day. Whereas theirs don't.

I any case, given our freedom of choice. We should agree to disagree. You buy what you want, I'll buy what I want.

If your laptop crashes that often, then I suspect there is something wrong with it - perhaps a configuration issue. I am not a big fan of Microsoft products because their user interface is always crudely designed but I have experienced maybe one or two computer lockups where I had to do a hardware reset to recover in recent memory. I have done resource intensive engineering simulations, 3-D modeling, database and spreadsheet work and I have done mundane word processing. I just don't have the problems Apple product owners seem to have with Microsoft operating systems and applications.

I have had a few problems with various Android based smart phones but most of those turned out to be bad hardware.

[John McClanahan]

Those statements are absolutely not correct if you are talking most Android tablets. I have a Google Nexus 7 tablet and it definitely has an internal GPS. I use a navigation app called Copilot (cost $10) that contains a map database of the entire US and it works better than my Garmin stand alone GPS. No phone, 3G, 4G or WiFi data link is required. I can also use Google Maps for navigation on it if I have established a WiFi hotspot on my phone so it can download the map data. Once again, no 3G/4G required.

By the way, Android based cellular phones do not need to have a GPS in order to have a data connection. You can disable the GPS and the internet browser will still work just fine on any of the dozen or so Android phones from 3 different manufacturers I have owned or were furnished to me by my company.

If Apple tablets are as you describe, then I think it is time to look at a different brand of tablet.

I don't mean to be rude but I don't want anyone to be misled either.


If your devise connects to a cellular network, you indeed have an internal GPS in your devise. It is used by the carrier to track your location so the closest cell tower connects to your devise.

John

[Larry Browning]

I am in the opposite camp. I try to avoid all Microsoft / Wintel products. I have to use them at work.

I any case, given our freedom of choice. We should agree to disagree. You buy what you want, I'll buy what I want.

I absolutely agree with your last statement 100% Just because our experiences are different doesn't mean you are right and I am wrong or visa-verse. My background is in IT (I am a software developer) I think the things you like about Apple are the same things I dislike. I have always liked tinkering with computers, for me the computer is what interest me, not what you do with it. It seems like Apple goes out of their way to keep me out, while Windows is not so much. I have dabbled with Linux a bit and find it fun, but it is maybe too much for me. Windows seems to be in the middle and is just right for me.

[Prashun Patel]

10 crashes a week is not reasonable for any hardware or os. Nor is it representative of the quality of the infected hardware or os in general.

[Shawn Pixley]

Prashun,

I concur that it is not reasonable. However, my experience is by no means unique at my firm. I sure part of it is the MS OS, the other half is likely due to how our I.S. Department creates the common environment. But when the OS won't release memory after a program is closed seems unconcionably inept.

One should not need to be an IT professional to use the computer to perform your job. The computer should help you do your work, not inhibit it. Apple gets this, others do not seem to. Apple is by no means perfect. I hate Safari and dilike their office like equivelents. Still, I prefer Apple to anything else I've tried.

[Matt Meiser]

But when the OS won't release memory after a program is closed seems unconcionably inept.

Sounds like iTunes. :D

[Jim Becker]

But when the OS won't release memory after a program is closed seems unconcionably inept.

That may not be the OS; rather, it could also be a bug in the application. I have exactly this issue with an application I must use for work (that application is only reason I have Win7 running in a virtual machine on the MBPr 13" I bought to use for work under our BYOD policy) ... the app often gets "sticky" and will not let go. Not only do I have to reboot the VM sometimes, the app also loads up the log files. I look forward to when they release the "web" version of the application in about a year, which they have already assured me will be browser and OS independent.

[Keith Outten]

Jackie and I have iPhones on Verizon's network. The other day we were in Best Buy and inquired about a MiFi Jetpack so we could drop our iPad cellular account. We got the MiFi for one dollar and got a 150 dollar discount on the purchase of a iPad Mini plus discount coupons Jackie had accumulated the Mini ended up costing us 60 bucks. Our Verizon bill went down by 30 bucks per month as well with unlimited calling, text messaging and 20 gigs per month on the MiFi Jetpack included. The Jetpack runs on batteries, USB or 110 volt power.

As others have said the MiFi works with any WiFi device which means I no longer will need to spend the extra money to purchase an iPad with the cellular option and our notebooks can now use the MiFi when we travel. For once we were in the right place at the right time and were able to take advantage of an affordable discount promotion.
.

[Jeff Erbele]

Would I get the mobile hot spot through Verizon....Were kinda behind the times. We have Trac Phones & no smart phone....So what would I need to do not having a phone carrier.....

We have Android cell phones and have always had Verizon as our cell phone provider and Microsoft computers, operating systems & software. We likely would have those any way, but my wife's employer provides such a super discount on Verizon service and MS software we can't afford to go shopping. Software costing $400 or more is $10 to employees. So I can't address Apple products or other cell carriers.

Yes, Verizon can provide a mobile hot spot. We have Mi-Fi and it works anywhere you can get a Verizon signal. Its been a while since I used it while driving cross country but I think the battery life is a little over 3 hours. We have to recharge it with a 120 volt outlet but we have an inverter that we plug into the vehicles' 12 VDC power port (Cigarette Lighter).

It is so handy. I'm driving while my wife is legitimately working, or mapping, checking road conditions, weather, gas prices on Gas Buddy, email etc.; anything you can do online.

Most years we travel a lot. Hotels use to charge $10, 12, or $15 per night for wi-fi. More recently many provide it free for registered guests, but if they don't we use our Mi-Fi. It's a little box, about the size of a deck of cards.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, and most "free" hotel WiFi is pretty pathetic at performance when everyone is in their rooms...hence I'm glad to have my employer provided LTE hot-spot for much better results. I prefer that over the "hot spot" capability in my iPhone because it's easier to plugin the hot-spot than actually use the iPhone plugged in since hot-spot functionality will have meaningful impact on battery life on a given day.

[Keith Outten]

Jeff,

The new Verizon MiFi Jetpack has a usb connector cable so you can plug it in the 110 volt power supply, a computer or any other usb power source. I have the Milwaukee Power Port which uses the 12V batteries from my portable drills. It has a usb and a typical 12 volt cigarette lighter receptacle. The Power Port can charge cell phones and other devices while you on the go. I don't know how long the MiFi Jetpack will last connected to the Power Port, haven't had the opportunity to use mine but once. I have heard that people have kept their cell phones charged for an entire week on one Power Port battery charge.