Ipad 2 3G or not?

[admin_exported]

Hi there my bro lives in America and is going to order me an Ipad 2 (About a 3 week lead time) from his local Apple Store but before i place the order i wanted to know if i should get the 3G or not?

I had always planned to get the 3G as i like picking up emails & surfing the net on my travels as & when needed but i have since been told by a few people that there is no need for 3G as i can just pick up my 3G signal from my Iphone 4 which i always have on me.

Is this correct information and if it is does this system work perfectly & easily? Do i have to set it up everytime i need to access the 3G or do i just set the Ipad to read the Iphone's 3G once & then its set up al the time? Also is it a 100% match on the 3G signal the phone is picking up or will it not be as strong?

Its sounds great with no need to buy 3G but i am worrying it will have to be set up everytime you need it or it may not pick up the full signal?

Any advice would be great!

Thanks

Andy

 

[John Duncan]

Posted from my iMac tethered to my iPhone 4. It just becomes a wireless network which you can join as and when - don't see why an iPad should be any different...

 

[Clare Newsome]

I opted for wi-fi iPad2 as I can - and do - use my IPhone (3GS) as a personal hotspot. Works really well. Between that and having a BT Broadband account (which means I can use any BT Openzone wi-fi point for free) I am sorted,

 

[Andy Clough]

Ditto. I went for the wi-fi only version and use iPhone as a personal hotspot. No regrets.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds great but a few more questions:-

1. Do you have to set it up everytime you require it or just set it up once and then it automatically picks up the signal if your phone is in range?

2. On my current email settings on my phone it uses O2 as the outgoing SMTP so would this also work if i set my email settings to O2 on the Ipad so i can send emails as well as receive them from the Ipad?

Thanks

 

[Paul.]

If you are a heavy data user, you may want to look at one of these dooberies...

http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/MiFi#closeView

I use a MiFi with my iPad and with my laptop (and sometimes even with my iPhone on the rare occasion Three signal is stronger than 02's).

 

[Anonymous]

Do the mobile operators charge you to tether?

I am on O2 contract

 

[bigboss]

Do the mobile operators charge you to tether?

I am on O2 contract

No, not to tether. Of course, you'll be charged for your mobile data.

 

[Anonymous]

I am on unlimited date with my Iphone so does this mean i can tether free of charge onto my Ipad? I have heard from other forums that O2 charge to tether so before i buy an Ipad would be great to know if there are any O2 users out there who tether so i know whether or not its chargable

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'm struggling to know how they'd find out you were tethering? It's a basic Bluetooth connection.

Anyhow, back to how it works: with Bluetooth enabled on both devices, you turn on the Personal Hotspot option in the iPhone's settings menu. You then pair it with the iPad in its Bluetooth settings menu. Once you've paired them, they'll recognise each other in future - but the 3G connectionn still needs to be prompted (via turning on the Personal Hotspot on the phone, and selecting it on the iPad; takes mere seconds)

There's no danger of you forgetting the Hotspot is activated, either - there's a flash running across the IPhone screen telling you it is in active use.

 

[bigboss]

No idea about how O2 can find out about tethering (apart from locking that option on their phones & charging when you want to unlock it), but this news should be useful to you: http://www.fivenines.co.uk/news/o2-scraps-mobile-tethering-surcharges

And this explains mobile tethering: http://www.mobilechoices.co.uk/guides/internet-tethering.html

 

[Paul.]

Sounds like you have the same problem as me, I have free unlimited data from an old 02 account (the original simplicity) and you cant get the free tethering with out changing to a new tariff, loosing the unlimited data. Sucks, hence why I bought the MiFi.

02 enable the tethering option, it is not available on my iPhone 4 menu.

 

[John Duncan]

I'm struggling to know how they'd find out you were tethering? It's a basic Bluetooth connection. Anyhow, back to how it works: with Bluetooth enabled on both devices, you turn on the Personal Hotspot option in the iPhone's settings menu. You then pair it with the iPad in its Bluetooth settings menu. Once you've paired them, they'll recognise each other in future - but the 3G connectionn still needs to be prompted (via turning on the Personal Hotspot on the phone, and selecting it on the iPad; takes mere seconds) There's no danger of you forgetting the Hotspot is activated, either - there's a flash running across the IPhone screen telling you it is in active use.

I think the issue is that mobile providers disable it on the phones they provide and charge for the privilege of enabling it. Obviously not a problem with apple store-bought iPhones like mine or Haymarket ones.

 

[Anonymous]

Surely u tether using wifi - not bluetooth?

Bluetooth is very slow in comparision, and would not give the full benefit of your hspda connection.

 

[Anonymous]

If you have an iPhone 4, then there's really no need for an iPad with 3g.

Plus you may have 3G setup issues in the UK with ordering a US 3G iPad2 as the US iPad 2's are specifically set up to work with either Verizon or AT&T.

 

[Anonymous]

Here in the US, both AT&T and Verizon have issued letters to customers telling them to add data plans for tethering if they don't have them, not sure how they know, but they do!

 

[Paul.]

The AT&T iPad is the same GSM device we get in the UK. The Verizon one is CDMA, you don't want that. You will need to get the carrier details from your chosen network, but they are happy enough to give you that info.

 

[bigboss]

Plus you may have 3G setup issues in the UK with ordering a US 3G iPad2 as the US iPad 2's are specifically set up to work with either Verizon or AT&T.

Not really. Verizon is CDMA which doesn't work in UK. AT&T is GSM. So buy the AT&T model & it will work here.

EDIT: Should've read the thread completely & checked it's not been answered already.

 

[bigboss]

Here in the US, both AT&T and Verizon have issued letters to customers telling them to add data plans for tethering if they don't have them, not sure how they know, but they do!

I think they only mean to say that you can easily exceed your mobile data plan on your iPad 2, & that's why add more data plan. I can't see how they'll come to know about tethering, unless they've (AT&T and Verizon) locked the tethering option in the US.