Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tether your iPad, do not bother buying the 3G version
I have used an iPad for a while now. At home, in the office, up and down a few planes (tip: you do not have to take it out of the bag at security, which is nice), at conferences. My iPad is Wi-Fi only. It does not have the 3G option.
Many people have asked me if I will upgrade to the 3G version. My answer? Nope.
First of all, let me ask you this: do you have a smartphone? Do you have a data plan on it? If the answer is no, then it is a different story. But if you are an early adopter (and only early adopters get a device that has been released less then a month ago), you already have a smartphone with a data plan.
Now, the next question is: are you paying for your smartphone data plan? If the answer is no and your daddy is paying for it (or your company), then you might not care. But if you pay for it, what Apple is asking to do is to pay twice. It is $14.99/month for 250MB or $29.99/month for unlimited. On top of your data plan, which - if you have an iPhone on AT&T - is $30/month.
Granted, the iPad data plan is prepaid, so you do not have to buy it every month. You can decide not to pay when you are home and pay when you go on vacation. But does it make sense? Only an idiot goes on vacation with an iPad (guilty as charged :-) And when you taste 3G... you won't live without it, and you will pay every month.
Ok, let me ask another question: when do you think you are going to use the iPad with 3G? Not at home or in the office. Not at the coffee place (they have wi-fi). Not at the airport (same as before). Not on the plane (you have to turn it off anyway, and if they allow you to connect, that will be wi-fi).
So, when do you need 3G? When you walk down the street? With a thing that does not fit in your pocket?? Taking it out of your bag to check maps and walk around with the device in your hands (it is heavy after a while, even if it is light...)? Didn't you say you had a smartphone and you could do that with it?
Ok, I get it. On the train! Unless they have wi-fi, of course. And unless you are in the US (and you know how to drive :-))
Honestly, if you are like me and you have a smartphone, the need for 3G on the iPad is limited. In a month of use, I had the need only once: I was in an airport that charged a fortune for wi-fi, and my daughter really wanted to buy a stable on WeRule (very addictive online game...). I could have paid for wi-fi, though...
Or maybe one day I will need to buy a book online on the bus to the airport. Or on a cab. Or in a bar with no wi-fi. Or at the stadium (not where the Giants play, there is wi-fi there...).
My answer for these extreme cases? Tether it to your smartphone. It has 3G already, and you are paying for a data plan. Make them talk and you are good to go.
The issue is that the iPad has only wi-fi. So you need your smartphone to create a wi-fi hotspot the iPad can use, you connect to it and your phone bridges the network to 3G. BTW, this works also for your laptop, so it is an added benefit, in case you are traveling with your laptop and the iPad.
The problem is that the carriers do not like it... It sucks too much data off their network. They will prevent this from happening as much as they can.
What are your options? It depends on your device. In any case, using any of the solutions below means breaking the contract you have signed with your carrier... I am not giving you advice to do this, do it at your own risk and peril. If they catch you, they could make you pay or, most likely, shut you down.
iPhone: I use mywi. It works like a charm. It is $9.99 and it requires you to jailbreak your iPhone (I told you, AT&T does not like it). There are other ways to do it, but this is the simplest.
Android: you have to root your phone (same as jailbreaking for the iPhone), then get the Barnacle Wifi Tether app from the Market. Also, there are some mods that have tethering installed. One that I would like to try out, when I find some time to do it, is putting the HTC Sense UI on my Nexus One.
Symbian: I haven't tried it personally, but I am told that JoikuSpot works well.
Palm: WebOS is the only OS I know that allows you to do it legally, simply because Verizon is nice. Actually, they might just be desperate (Palm) or not believe they will sell many (Verizon), but since the beginning of April you can now get Mobile Hotspot for free (it was $40/month...). On Sprint, you are out of luck (sorry...) since they are pushing MiFi (see below).
BlackBerry: I looked around but I could not find anything. And my Curve does not even have wi-fi, so I cannot try it anyway... If you have a solution, feel free to add it in the comments.
Windows Mobile: I do not care anymore, I use mine only for demos. I am waiting for WinMo 7, so should you.
What if you do not want to root, jailbreak, or do anything illegal? You can always buy a MiFi from Sprint. It is free with rebates, but you still need a data plan... If you are not planning to tether your laptop as well (or your wife's iPad), you are back to square zero.
And, BTW, it is only for emergencies, so you can actually survive without tethering...
Posted by Fabrizio Capobianco at 18:32
10 Comments:
MyTether works on WebOS. It's slow and somewhat flakey, but it works fine. I use it in the usb mode (though the WiFi mode works fine) as it seems faster.
Comment Posted at 19:38
Aaron said...
Not sure I agree with all your points. Just recently went on a trip. Wished I had 3G while waiting at the airport, both ways, b/c they charge money. Caribou coffee doesn't charge for wifi, but Starbucks does. Holiday Inn Express has free wifi in rooms, but the nice Hilton I stayed at charged $15/day unless you were in the cafe. I wanted it in my room, so I forked over $30 for a crappy connection during the weekend - enough to pay for a month of 3G. My office doesn't have wifi either, so I'm guessing you'd say that in my circumstance 3G may be worth it, but on just that one trip I had several times that I wanted to use it - I'm also the kind of dork who wants to show it off while sitting at a restaurant or outside, or at someone else's home who doesn't have wifi, and 3G comes in handy in all those occasions.
Comment Posted at 10:59
Kari Mattsson said...
On Symbian you can also do tethering via Bluetooth. Eats less battery.
Using USB cable eats even less battery. That way you may even charge your mobile from laptop/computer while using 3G.
Easy, hassle-free, and totally legal :-)
iPad? Who really cares? It is just another hype.
Comment Posted at 12:17
Fabrizio said...
Hi Kari,
I disagree on the iPad being just hype, we'll see.
In any case, it does not support BlueTooth for tethering, so you would be out of luck with that. You really need your device to create a wi-fi hotspot.
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 12:27
Fabrizio said...
Hi Aaron,
yes, if you are in an office with no wi-fi, it could make sense. Not sure about the showing-off goal, but that's just me :-))
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 12:42
iPad Case said...
I kind of agree with your points that's why I just bought an iPad WiFi. Most locations have already WiFi hotspots anyway.
Comment Posted at 13:49
Guy Cortesi said...
Good article. A few other suggestions. You can use Virgin Mobile's MiFi for $25 for 300MB for 30 days. Other terms are available such as 100MB for 10 days for $9.99. The unit costs $149, but you can get it from Walmart online for $119. It uses the Sprint network and there is no contract. I also have tried and use PDANet. It costs $29 and works with many devices. Barnacle works great too. I have set that up with my Android phone, though it does require root access.
Comment Posted at 20:07
Hello, I just recently rooted my android T-Mobile G1. And I can do Bluetooth, USB, and wifi tethering anfd they work perfectly. And now jailbreaking and rooting phones is 100% legal now. But it does void your warranty unless you unroot your Android phone.
Comment Posted at 23:48
Well now, tmobile just blocked all tethering and wifi without paying another fee for tethering. Another $15 on top of the already $30 data plan. was using the tether on my computer, and recieved a text from Tmobile and it said tethering and wifi have been blocked and if i wanted to contiue to use it, i would have to add a tethering plan to my phone bill. not sure how it works with other cell companys though.
Comment Posted at 21:05
Mike said...
I disagree with the author's point of view, which i thought its a little too extreme. If you think you can trust the connectivity of public WiFi, then by all means go the WiFI only route. But ask yourself this: how many times have you met with unbearable connections when they were too many people hogging the public wifi? I hate hassle and the fact that I can just whip out my iPad 3G and WiFi is a blessed. Why should bother myself with connecting this and that? I don't even need bother if this or that place has WiFi. If they have then great, I use it if it doesn't, I am not bother I can use it anyway. You can't deny the convenience. Can you? 3G on iPad is like a fire extinguisher, it's good to have it on standby for those just in case situation. Btw, my iPad and iPhone shares the same data plan. Another reason it doesn't hurt me at all. I am working at a place where phones aren't allow but a camera-less iPad is allows and it's a savior cos I have 3G.
Post a Comment