Apple's exclusive partnership with AT&T is driving me further away. I have no AT&T reception at my house. Granted I live in a rural area but there is a Verizon tower in sight of my street. So no iPhone and no 3G iPad. My phone contract ends in November. If Apple doesn't open up the iPhone it will be 2 more years without one.
If Verizon would allow me to tether the iPad, via wifi, to my Droid for $29 with no contract for tethering then they would have something to talk about but wanting me to get a mifi is just plain nuts.
Apple's exclusive partnership with AT&T is driving me further away. I have no AT&T reception at my house. Granted I live in a rural area but there is a Verizon tower in sight of my street. So no iPhone and no 3G iPad. My phone contract ends in November. If Apple doesn't open up the iPhone it will be 2 more years without one.
The iPhone isn't opening up to anyting, because the best experience is already in place.
You say yourself, granted I'm in a rural area. We have no idea what that means. Rural areas should have coverage, but not all do yet. This is common sense.
If Verizon's service is excellent in your area, then get yourself an iPod Touch, and a Verizon MyWi unit. You'd pay $60 a mon, and if you hack the iPod Touch can then use Skype or other VOIP for all of your connection to the outer world.
Seems like a GREAT option for those in a difficult geographic spot.
I love how people are "excited" by the no-contract data plan for the iPad.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
I love how people are "excited" by the no-contract data plan for the iPad.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
Perhaps you should. They will change the plans, eventually, to be even more competitive.
Pardon my ignorance but does anyone know if the 3G iPad will work over EDGE if no 3G is available? The few times I've traveled out into the boondocks with my iPhone, I've struggled to get a reliable EDGE signal even, and would hope that the iPad might be able to at least do that in the absence of 3G.
The fact that they are offering it with no contract is a "flag" indicator that this is maybe a short term offering.
Since it is contract free AT&T can always alter the price, which is something to consider.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmz
All of the "more than likely profiling" nonsense has got to go. There is no small group of power users bringing down any network. AT&T has the bandwidth to support an insane amount of traffic, but they routinely govern people's usage. I fully believe they actively slow down your personal connection when your megabyte-per-hour ratio exceeds a certain preset. This is so you cannot spend 5 or 10 hours a day downloading a 4 gb torrents, even with an unlimited plan which guarantees your right to do that, by law, by definition of the word.
Cannot wait for this to be proven in court. I'll be the first name to sign that Class Action law suit, just as my dad was among the first to sign the last one against AT&T (re: illegal ETFs).
Everything you've stated is false. I've been using 20-30GB per month via my iPhone without any slowdown. There is nothing in your contract that states unlimited refers to using your connection as a hub to unlimited devices. No, AT&T doesn't have an unlimited or insane amount of bandwidth per tower. This is very finite and has been a problem for AT&T since the iPhone launched.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eh270
Pardon my ignorance but does anyone know if the 3G iPad will work over EDGE if no 3G is available?
Read the Tech Specs for the iPad, it states the '3G' and '2G''(GPRS/EDGE) radios in the iPad. This also means you can use T-Mobile for data on a 2G network.
I love how people are "excited" by the no-contract data plan for the iPad.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
You really think that contracts are there for the benefit of the customer? They virtually require you to sign a contract for most devices because they want to protect you from themselves?
If they raise prices, you can simply choose to not pay for the service anymore if you are not locked in with a contract.
My beef with a lot of the AT&T/Apple pricing is that they make you keep paying for the same service over and over. They REALLY can't see their way to at least giving an "iPhone customer discount" for any of this? The real potential for MiFi to me seems to be this - you pay once for your connection, and can use whatever devices you want on it. What I would REALLY like to do is ditch my phone plan entirely - AT&T forces you to take that ripoff voice plan if you want an iPhone, and I barely use it (as I am sure is becoming more and more common in text world).
Here is my real cost:
$85/month for iPhone plan ($50 voice, $30 data, $5 text).
$30/month for iPad
$30 - 60/month for laptop tethering (whenever we actually get it).
Total = $145 - 175/month
Here is what it could be with MiFi using VOIP:
$60/month for iPod Touch(data/text/phone), iPad and laptop tethering.
$10/month for VOIP over the Touch
Total = $70/month.
Seems like a bargain to me - and that doesn't even count the fact you don't have to deal with the awful iPhone batterly life.
I'd love to buy a MiFi if it was available contract-free. I'm planning to buy the WiFi only iPad, but I'd love to have something like the MiFi with it, although I won't buy a MiFi if it requires a contract.
You can purchase a Mi-Fi contract free, I did. Ask for a month to month contract.
Except for benefit of using the MiFi as a hub for 5 devices and the potential for get '3G' speeds in more areas than AT&T, the 5GB hardcap for 2x the cost of the AT&T unlimited data and slower '3G' speeds aren't much of a selling point. Good luck with that Verizon.
You should really read a little more and stop buying into what AT&T and Luke Wilson are telling you. Click the link and expand your mind :-)
PS: You should also look up the technological limitations between EV-DO Rev A and HSDPA/HSUPA.
Here's a reality check for you: would you rather have uber high speeds that you can only use less then half of the time or would you rather havehigh speeds you can use almost all of the time? That's why I support Verizon.
Comments
Apple's exclusive partnership with AT&T is driving me further away. I have no AT&T reception at my house. Granted I live in a rural area but there is a Verizon tower in sight of my street. So no iPhone and no 3G iPad. My phone contract ends in November. If Apple doesn't open up the iPhone it will be 2 more years without one.
The iPhone isn't opening up to anyting, because the best experience is already in place.
You say yourself, granted I'm in a rural area. We have no idea what that means. Rural areas should have coverage, but not all do yet. This is common sense.
If Verizon's service is excellent in your area, then get yourself an iPod Touch, and a Verizon MyWi unit. You'd pay $60 a mon, and if you hack the iPod Touch can then use Skype or other VOIP for all of your connection to the outer world.
Seems like a GREAT option for those in a difficult geographic spot.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
I love how people are "excited" by the no-contract data plan for the iPad.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
Perhaps you should. They will change the plans, eventually, to be even more competitive.
At $30/month, month-to-month, maybe. At $60/month tied into a 2-year contract, no way in hell.
The fact that they are offering it with no contract is a "flag" indicator that this is maybe a short term offering.
Since it is contract free AT&T can always alter the price, which is something to consider.
All of the "more than likely profiling" nonsense has got to go. There is no small group of power users bringing down any network. AT&T has the bandwidth to support an insane amount of traffic, but they routinely govern people's usage. I fully believe they actively slow down your personal connection when your megabyte-per-hour ratio exceeds a certain preset. This is so you cannot spend 5 or 10 hours a day downloading a 4 gb torrents, even with an unlimited plan which guarantees your right to do that, by law, by definition of the word.
Cannot wait for this to be proven in court. I'll be the first name to sign that Class Action law suit, just as my dad was among the first to sign the last one against AT&T (re: illegal ETFs).
Everything you've stated is false. I've been using 20-30GB per month via my iPhone without any slowdown. There is nothing in your contract that states unlimited refers to using your connection as a hub to unlimited devices. No, AT&T doesn't have an unlimited or insane amount of bandwidth per tower. This is very finite and has been a problem for AT&T since the iPhone launched.
Pardon my ignorance but does anyone know if the 3G iPad will work over EDGE if no 3G is available?
Read the Tech Specs for the iPad, it states the '3G' and '2G''(GPRS/EDGE) radios in the iPad. This also means you can use T-Mobile for data on a 2G network.
I love how people are "excited" by the no-contract data plan for the iPad.
But all it means is that they can jack up the price after a year, because you don't have a contract.
Remember all of AT&T's hullabaloo over the summer about users using too much bandwidth and that they'd need to raise rates? Well, they can't raise rates on iPhone users because they have contracts. They can raise rates for iPad users because they have no contract.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
You really think that contracts are there for the benefit of the customer? They virtually require you to sign a contract for most devices because they want to protect you from themselves?
If they raise prices, you can simply choose to not pay for the service anymore if you are not locked in with a contract.
Here is my real cost:
$85/month for iPhone plan ($50 voice, $30 data, $5 text).
$30/month for iPad
$30 - 60/month for laptop tethering (whenever we actually get it).
Total = $145 - 175/month
Here is what it could be with MiFi using VOIP:
$60/month for iPod Touch(data/text/phone), iPad and laptop tethering.
$10/month for VOIP over the Touch
Total = $70/month.
Seems like a bargain to me - and that doesn't even count the fact you don't have to deal with the awful iPhone batterly life.
I'd love to buy a MiFi if it was available contract-free. I'm planning to buy the WiFi only iPad, but I'd love to have something like the MiFi with it, although I won't buy a MiFi if it requires a contract.
You can purchase a Mi-Fi contract free, I did. Ask for a month to month contract.
Except for benefit of using the MiFi as a hub for 5 devices and the potential for get '3G' speeds in more areas than AT&T, the 5GB hardcap for 2x the cost of the AT&T unlimited data and slower '3G' speeds aren't much of a selling point. Good luck with that Verizon.
You should really read a little more and stop buying into what AT&T and Luke Wilson are telling you. Click the link and expand your mind :-)
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/3g-speed-test/
You should really read a little more and stop buying into what AT&T and Luke Wilson are telling you. Click the link and expand your mind :-)
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/3g-speed-test/
Maybe next time you'll use something more up-to-date. Choosing the current year is always a good starting point. PS: You should also look up the technological limitations between EV-DO Rev A and HSDPA/HSUPA.
Maybe next time you'll use something more up-to-date. Choosing the current year is always a good starting point. PS: You should also look up the technological limitations between EV-DO Rev A and HSDPA/HSUPA.
Here's a reality check for you: would you rather have uber high speeds that you can only use less then half of the time or would you rather havehigh speeds you can use almost all of the time? That's why I support Verizon.