Hi Brian, You have correctly identified the two independent questions when choosing an iPad model.
a) 3G or WiFi only? b) How much memory? By the way, a number of articles have touted how children with Autism benefited from an iPad. That will probably require that you choose software relevant to your son's needs but that is a whole other question and possibly one that dedicated groups are already addressing. a) So 3G or Wifi only? If you intend to used the internet from you iPad mainly from home, work or a WiFi enabled public place, such as many cafes and libraries you can get by with the Wifi only model. You will need 3G only if you make significant use of the iPad while outside (say the map application) or in areas where you do not have access to WiFi -- perhaps customer sites if you are in the service industry. To use 3G you would need a data plan either prepay or postpay. It is true that iOS 4.3 will have a personal hotspot feature, the current version of iOS already has a tethering feature. You can only use this if your carrier allows it. Internode, for one, currently allows tethering but they could choose to charge extra for this feature at any time. AT&T in the US, for instance, charges $20 a month for 1GB of data using tethering. b) How much memory? If you want the iPad mainly to run apps for yourself and your family, then the 16GB is probably sufficient. Once you start to store media on the iPad such as films or photo's they you may find that you need more memory (32GB or 64GB). I, personally, went for the 3G / 32GB model. I have not to this point used the 3G feature apart from some tests of tethering and once at a cafe with friends to show them some features of the iPad. :-}. The 32GB has been way more than enough memory for me because I keep my main iTunes collection on my MacBook Pro and only transfer a small number of films and photos to the iPad on an as needed basis. My main video consumption on the iPad is the iView feature of the ABC. iView programs can be viewed with either a dedicated iView app on the iPad, which uses no storage, or by streaming the programs from my MacBook Pro with a app called Video Server -- this also uses no storage. I went for a slightly cheaper iPad because I was planning even at the time to get and iPad 2 as well. This time I will likely get WiFi only / 16 GB as that will meet my needs. Cheers, Carlo On 2011-03-09, at 20:58, Brian Risbey wrote: > > Hi everyone, about to lash out on an iPad2 but which model? > I believe that the next iPad/ iPhone software update will include a data > hotspot enabling both our iPhone4s to allow data and Internet access- if so I > would only need a wifi version, correct? > Apparently iPads are great for children with Autism, my son has one available > to him at school hence the interest. > Brian > Sent from my iPhone > > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Unsubscribe - <mailto:wamug-unsubscr...@wamug.org.au> > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:wamug-unsubscr...@wamug.org.au>
