iPad question

[Mickey Fliers]

So, I am getting DH an iPad for Christmas. Not sure which one to get.

Which would you choose?

a) 16g w/3g
b) 32 g WiFi only

DH does have an iPhone 4.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I would go for the larger memory and skip the 3G since you already have an iphone for on the go internet access.

 

[thomas998]

How much music does he plan on putting on it.... Apps don't tend to take up much space, if it were me I would probably just get him the 16gb wifi only... as the other poster said he has internet already. I have about 2100 songs on my Ipad and it they take up about 10gb of space... so do you honestly think he will have more music than that? Or does he plan on putting videos on it... videos do chew up a lot of space... but then I haven't had much luck with the videos because you have to convert them into an friendly format and its more of a pain than its worth in my opinion.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I would go for the larger memory and skip the 3G since you already have an iphone for on the go internet access.

That's the way I was leaning.

How much music does he plan on putting on it.... Apps don't tend to take up much space, if it were me I would probably just get him the 16gb wifi only... as the other poster said he has internet already. I have about 2100 songs on my Ipad and it they take up about 10gb of space... so do you honestly think he will have more music than that? Or does he plan on putting videos on it... videos do chew up a lot of space... but then I haven't had much luck with the videos because you have to convert them into an friendly format and its more of a pain than its worth in my opinion.

My guess is that he probably won't use it much for music but may want to load on digital movies. He can load movies from iTunes just the same way he does to his iPhone, right? Do they need to be converted if they are already in iTunes?

 

[matt and beth]

I have the 3G 32gb IPad and am using it now. My wife has the 64 no 3G. She really really really wishes she had 3G. One solution is using or turning you iPhone into a mobile hotspot and running the iPad off of it. It works just fine and have tried it by turning off my 3G settings to see how fast it is in comparison. I would say it is equal. Secondly if you do go 3G that is another $29 bill for your family every month unless that is not an issue for you. If that were not an issue then you might as well go 64 and 3G.

 

[Swimalie]

I would go for the larger memory and skip the 3G since you already have an iphone for on the go internet access.

I agree with this. I got my husband the 32GB, WiFi for his birthday. He travels a lot and can use the hotel's internet so 3G wasn't needed but the extra space is nice for him to load more movies on there while traveling.

 

[RitaE]

If he's into carrying around movies - get the largest possible.

 

[Kies99]

I have the 3G 32gb IPad and am using it now. My wife has the 64 no 3G. She really really really wishes she had 3G. One solution is using or turning you iPhone into a mobile hotspot and running the iPad off of it. It works just fine and have tried it by turning off my 3G settings to see how fast it is in comparison. I would say it is equal. Secondly if you do go 3G that is another $29 bill for your family every month unless that is not an issue for you. If that were not an issue then you might as well go 64 and 3G.

I have the 32GB WiFi model and really wish I got the 3G version. I just assumed that if I wanted the 3G service then I'd probably have to lock into a 2 year deal at $40 or so month which I didn't want to do. I've since learned that the data plans for the iPad are month-to-month meaning I only would need to pay for months I'd want to use it...no contract, no activation fees and no cancellation fees. That would've been nice to have for taking on trips. Instead I'll probably pick up a mobile hotspot (hoping for a deal for Xmas).

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Thanks everyone for the input.

So, he can use his iphone4 as a mobile hotspot. Is that a month-to-month fee as well?

 

[rcraw45425]

I have a 32 with WiFi and use my phone as a hotspot. Works fine for me. Phone can also handle more than one device so thats better for me. Mobile hotspot is a month to month fee, or it is for me with Sprint.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I have a 32 with WiFi and use my phone as a hotspot. Works fine for me. Phone can also handle more than one device so thats better for me. Mobile hotspot is a month to month fee, or it is for me with Sprint.

Thanks! I need to check with Verizon and find out if the mobile hotspot is month to month. My boys would be thrilled as well to use their Touches on our iPhone data plan!

 

[alice99]

Turning your iphone into a mobile hotspot through Verizon is 20$ per month.

I bought the ipad w/ the 3G and I pay 20$ per month for the service. It is not a contract.
It comes in very handy. It was worth the extra $ to have the ipad with 3G, and when wi-fi is available I can switch over.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I had the iPad 1 64GB WiFi and didn't use most of the space. I now have the iPad 2 16GB 3G and find that the 3G comes in more handy.

 

[Keira1387]

I highly recommend the 3G! As others have said you can turn the 3G on and off as needed.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I highly recommend the 3G! As others have said you can turn the 3G on and off as needed.

But, since I can use my iPhone as a mobile hotspot, and it is $10/month cheaper and will also power the kids Touchs. Will that not be roughly the same thing??

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I run my Wifi only iPad off the mobile hot spot from my phone. The only time I use it is when I'm not home or at work or one of many places with free wifi.

 

[luvdisney00]

Thanks! I need to check with Verizon and find out if the mobile hotspot is month to month. My boys would be thrilled as well to use their Touches on our iPhone data plan!

Verizon hotspot is $20 a month and you can turn it on and off as you need it. Not only that, but they refund your money for the days you didn't have it. In other words we used it for our week in Disney, we called and activated it the day we got it and tuned it off when we left. Verizon charged us $20 but since we only used it 8 days, the next month they refunded it for the 22 days we didn't have it on. Worked out to be less than $1 a day and all of the kids ipod touches and DH's laptop plus my ipad worked with it.

I have the 32g WIFI and I love it. Never really missed the 3G.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Verizon hotspot is $20 a month and you can turn it on and off as you need it. Not only that, but they refund your money for the days you didn't have it. In other words we used it for our week in Disney, we called and activated it the day we got it and tuned it off when we left. Verizon charged us $20 but since we only used it 8 days, the next month they refunded it for the 22 days we didn't have it on. Worked out to be less than $1 a day and all of the kids ipod touches and DH's laptop plus my ipad worked with it.

I have the 32g WIFI and I love it. Never really missed the 3G.

Awesome. I should probably call Verizon for this question...but since I am here Do you know if the $20/month mobile hot spot charge is each iPhone, or does it cover both iPhones on our family share plan?

 

[Keira1387]

But, since I can use my iPhone as a mobile hotspot, and it is $10/month cheaper and will also power the kids Touchs. Will that not be roughly the same thing??

Yes, that should work just fine! There's a lot of places where you can pick up wifi, but it's nice to know that you can use the iPad without it. Having a hot spot should achieve that for you.

 

[newdeal]

Beware, using the iphone as a mobile hotspot will burn through his battery really quickly. Try it with a computer and see...battery will go from full to dead very fast