iPad owners... opinions/advice needed!

W

whites19

New member
Hey Everyone! My hubs' birthday is coming up, and he's been hinting at wanting an iPad for a while now (ever since we finally switched to smart phones a few months back, and he does everything in the world on his iPhone now... addicted!).

I've saved up some money, and am considering getting him one for his birthday. I'm wondering how many of you have one that's 4G enabled -- and whether it's worth the additional cost. I am guessing that the majority of his use would take place here in our house, on our couch... :D ...and b/c we have WIFI, he wouldn't need the 4G connection. I could see how it would be desirable when we travel, but that wouldn't be the norm. Thus -- we wouldn't pay for a monthly plan for it, if I did get the 4G enabled version -- but I also know it would be nice to have the option, if needed.

Any thoughts/opinions? I'm going back and forth a lot on this. On one hand, it seems really silly to spend an extra $100+ for a feature we won't use a lot... but it also seems silly to spend a lot on a device and later look back and think, "aw man, we should have spent the extra money to be able to have all features on the device for the future," etc.

So... the question is... is it worth it? How many of you have that feature? Use it? Don't have it, but wish you did? etc... please weigh in!

:thumbup: Thanks in advance for any info/advice!
 
We have two ipads with 3G: we got the Verizon enabled one because their data plan would have been less expensive per month than AT&T's data plan- for what we needed. However, we ended up not activating the 3G feature on the ipad. It was much less expensive to pay a monthly fee to turn my cell phone into a wi-fi hotspot for 8 wi-fi enabled devices than to pay for the Verizon data plan monthly. I travel a lot with my ipad and have to admit I love being able to connect to the internet with it when we are traveling. Truthfully, I probably would have broken down and paid for the 3G connectivity if I hadn't figured out how to use my phone as a hotspot. But knowing what I know now, I am going to purchase the wifi only ipad the next time, not the data plan enabled ipad.
 
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I have the wifi only version and I'm happy with it, when we take it with us and there's no wifi available I just use my iphone's personal hotspot feature and connect from there.
 
I have wi-fi only and it's not really a big deal to not have connectivity on the iPad when I'm not at home. It's a minor annoyance sometimes, but not worth the extra cost for the 3G/4G version. Especially if he has a phone with internet. I think many of the newer phones have the capability to be a wi-fi hotspot. If his has that option then I wouldn't think twice about just getting the wi-fi only iPad.
 
Yep I'm with everyone else. The first iPad we got we only got wifi. DH gave me that one when the newer ones came out & when he got his he got the one with only wifi again. Most places we go to have free wifi and if they don't, we just use our phones if we're that desperate.
 
only wifi here. so many places have wifi available now that i'm fine without it. my phone can also be used as a hotspot!
 
Wifi only for me as well. Haven't regretted it one bit. I take mine on all of our vacations, short or long, and not once has it made me regret having wifi only. Every time I have been able to get connection, and when Im out and about while on vacation and my ipad is left back at the motorhome or hotel, then I just use my 4G android to connect online and find what Im looking for.
 
My sister works for Verizon and she says she always recommends to her customers that they go with wireless over 4G. (I guess she's not really supposed to but she's going to be honest with them lol) Like others have said you're going to have wireless available almost anywhere you go these days and if not you can always access stuff in a pinch on your phone or use it as a hotspot..we did that when we went on vacation last year with our laptop and it worked just fine and we didn't have to pay for the wireless at our condo.
 
Wifi only here too....when the need arises...we will change my phone over to a wireless hotspot....haven't had the need yet though and I don't want to lose my unlimited data plan on my phone.
 
Wifi only here. Haven't enabled the iPhone hotspot feature. If I need connectivity when we're out and about, it's usually for directions or email and I can check those on the iPhone itself.
 
I have the 3G enabled one and have had it on for the last 3 or 4 months. I've spent a lot of time with my husband and father in the hospital... And here at the hospital my husbands in right now...they have Facebook blocked from their wifi as well as some other features. Granted, I could just turn the wifi off my phone and use that too. I'm glad I got it, but would've made due with just the wifi one. Ive used my phone as a hotspot before, but for me, I've found that to be more of a pain.
 
Add us to the wifi ipad users. We got first generation ipads back when. We had free hot spot usage in Korea, and it seemed silly to pay more for the ipads when we could link them. We got the largest storage size and have been happy since. When we upgrade we will get Wifi again. I just can't seem myself spending the money on that. I'd save that money for the case/stand/screen protector. :)
 
We have 2 iPads, one with wifi only and one with 3G capability. We have never used the 3G feature on our first iPad. We added that option because we do travel quite a bit and spend so much time away from home, but it has never been an issue. We have wifi in our other home and when we visit family we use theirs. I would save the money and buy the accessories.
 
My brother went with a 3 or 4G because he doesn't have a wifi network at home anymore (NYC apartment with lots of interference) and I don't think he's allowed to connect personal devices to the network at work. I know wifi would be enough for me if I got one.
 
my first iPad had 3G and I never activated it. The plans are expensive, especially if we are already paying to have wifi on our iPhones. We have a 10 hour drive from here to visit family, so it would be nice to have Wifi during that drive, but I just get on my phone. So many places have wifi now, so I've never regretted not having 3G. When we upgraded to the iPad 2, we decided to not get the 3G and we haven't regretted it!
 
Thanks for all of the feedback, ladies! I think I agree w/ most of you, and will probably get him the WiFi-enabled (but not 4G-enabled) version, thinking that if/when we're traveling and don't have WiFi, we can just use our phones. Thanks for the advice! :)
 
We have the 4G and I wouldn't be without it. Even with my phone. It's really nice to see a bigger screen than my tiny little phone screen.
 
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