Let me tell you: I’m already bound and determined to get an iPad, but the question remains – which one? Will it have 3G or be Wi-Fi only? This is the question I suspect many early adopters are trying to answer as they wait for Apple to tell them when they’ll be able to place pre-orders for their iPads.
You may ask why I’m determined to get an iPad – because it fits a very specific need I’ve been hoping that Apple would fill for a while. More than a year ago I got my hands on a netbook, and I loved the portability of it, though I didn’t like the restrictions. The idea of shedding that much more weight when I travel, even compared to my four-pound MacBook, is very appealing, especially if it’s something I will be able to work from, typing articles, doing Keynote presentations, and so on. Anyway, that’s not what I’m ruminating about now. It’s about which iPad I’m going to get.
The iPad will ship in six models at prices ranging from $499 to $869. Each model sports either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash storage capacity; base models include 802.11n Wi-Fi alone, while $130 nets you models that come equipped with a SIM card.
So for $499, I can get a base-model iPad that I’ll be able to use wherever I have Wi-Fi access – from home, the office, McDonald’s, Barnes & Noble, Borders, the airport, many hotels I’ve stayed at over the past two years. An iPad that is, in many ways, functionally similar, at least in networking capability, to the MacBook and MacBook Pro I’ve relied on for portable computing.
But for $629, I would have the freedom to work anywhere I can get a data connection through AT&T Wireless, regardless of whether I have Wi-Fi access. From underneath a tree in a park somewhere. From my auto mechanic’s waiting room. From coffee shops, some airports, hotels and fast food chains that may offer Wi-Fi for a fee.
And that’s certainly appealing, especially since that micro SIM card isn’t something that I can add on later – it’s a specific hardware difference between the two models.
Now, that price doesn’t actually include the data access charge. For that, I’ll be paying an extra $15 or $30 per month, depending on how much I use it. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it adds up over the course of the year.
Fortunately, AT&T and Apple seem to have reached a compromise – that charge doesn’t incur a contractual obligation. So perhaps I can just pay for it during periods when I know I’ll be traveling or using the iPad in remote locations, then cancel the service otherwise. That sounds like extra work, though.
My suspicion is that I’ll buy the SIM card-equipped iPad but that I won’t actually get 3G service on it. I’d rather get the better-equipped system and not use the feature, rather than buy the less-equipped system, discover that I need or want the 3G capability, then regret not getting it.
I guess this is what they mean by “first world problems.“
Anyway, I’m curious to hear from other people who plan on jumping early on the iPad bandwagon – which model do you plan to get? Will it be Wi-Fi only, or will it have 3G? How much storage capacity do you think you’ll need?