I have wanted a new iPad, but due to expenses (like a wedding for my daughter) I figured it would be a while before I could get one.
Lo and behold, I get an email from a vendor from a large trade show I was at two weeks ago, telling me congratulations, you won one of the two iPad 3s were were giving away. It is shipping to me now.
I never win anything so this is very cool. But a question or two (I have a lot but I’ll stick to these for now: )
If I had purchased one, I would have purchased a 64 Gig Verizon 3g version. I am sure this one is either a 16 or 32 gig wireless only version. You can’t upgrade the memory can you? Is the only way to get from a 32 gig, e.g., to a 64 gig to sell the brand new 32 gig one and then use the money to buy a 64 gig version?
Also - can I use the tethering on my iPhone as a substitute for the lack of 3G/cellular for those times (such as in the car) when I want connectivity but there is no wireless available?
I don’t know about tethering but my wife recently went nutmeg at a charity auction and we ended up with a wifi iPad 3, when she really wanted a LTE version (“there’s a difference?”).
Anyway, I went down to the Apple store and even though they said it wasn’t purchased at an Apple store, they still let me exchange it and I just paid the difference.
Ah. So - potentially if I found an Apple store I could just do an upgrade there. I may need to call and see if that’s an individual manager decision, etc.
I don’t know that I NEED the cellular, and I’d want to go with Verizon’s no-obligation plan, but I think it would be handy to have the option.
In a similar situation a few years back, my boss got an original iPad as a gift from a supplier, in addition to the one they were donating to the company golf tournament. It was a wifi 16 GB, and he exchanged it at the Apple store and paid the difference for a 64 GB 3G version. Call 'em to be sure, but I’d imagine you can do an exchange no problem.
I have an app on my Samsung phone called FoxFi. When I turn that on it creates a WiFi with the phone as a wireless router. The iPad recognizes the WiFi and I can then surf on my iPad using the phones dataplan. Please don’t tell my employer. :)
It uses quite a lot of the phones battery, so keep a charger handy if you do that.
Yeah I will just echo what everyone else is saying about the going to the Apple store. You’d be surprised what they are willing to do. Also I can see wanting the LTE version but you might not need to spend the extra money on a 64. Depends on your uses though.
There’s an Apple store a couple of hours from here, so I think I’ll just go there on the weekend when I get it and see what they’ll do.
Still can’t believe I won this. I kidded someone at the show, that if they had 9,999 iPad 3s for the 10,000 that were there, I’d be the one who didn’t win. My best estimate was that about 10 were actually given out.
Tethering the iPad to the iPhone is incredibly simple, as long as you’re with a wireless provider that permits this. I believe AT&T charges for the privilege. Rogers (my provider) offers it for free. It’s as simple as going into your iPhone’s Settings and turning on the Personal Hotspot, which is right there in the top level menu. Once you turn it on, the phone will auto-generate a simple password which you will use to connect to your phone’s WiFi network, which is named after your iPhone.
Apple’s even nice enough to include a special kind of icon, two interlinked circles, in the WiFi indicator area of your iPad, to show that you’re linked-up with an iPhone’s Personal Hotspot. In the future, to join the network, you just need to go back into the Personal Hotspot menu, because even if you leave it on all the time (which I don’t recommend for battery life reasons), your “JeffL’s iPhone” network won’t be visible unless you’re inside the Personal Hotspot setting screen.
Congrats! And even if the exchange thing doesn’t work out, you’re still going to be very happy.
Verizon generally charges another $20 monthly for the “Mobile Hotspot” wireless tethering, going from $30 to $50 monthly, but also bumps your soft cap from 2GB to 4GB. I read somewhere that they were going to start including wireless tethering as part of all data packages on high-end devices (iPhones, iPads, expensive Androids).
Way back when I bought an original iPad with 3G, and loved it, especially the no-commitment 3G plan. But when I got my iPhone4 I decided to scrap the 3G and use tethering on my phone, and it’s easy as pie to use (I think that’s what Nellie was saying when he said “it’s a doddle to get up and running”!). So you shouldn’t have any issues whether you stick with the one you got and use tethering, or if you decide to upgrade it to an LTE one.
Nope, GPS works without the 4G activated. I’ve only activated the 4G once on my iPad 3 so far, but I use location-based apps on it frequently.
BTW, if you’re going to try the Apple store exchange, do not break the shrink wrap on the iPad. Much better chance they’ll take it that way.
Also, when you get it, download Uniwar. And play with us. (Unless you already have an iPhone. In which case, don’t wait for the iPad to arrive to do that.)
yeah but it won’t work on a wifi only ipad. i had already bought navigon for my iphone and was pleasantly surprised that i could use my 3g/4g ipad (since the app is universal) as a giant screen gps. but no, you don’t have to subscribe to 3g/4g access. it’s just the wifi ipad doesn’t have the receiver.
I guess this is a good place to ask, as opposed to starting a separate thread. How the hell does the iPad know where I am, if it doesn’t have GPS? When I’m at my girlfriend’s house, it knows the location, down to the correct house. I’m currently at work, tethered through my phone, and it still knows exactly where I am. It even has me on the correct side of the building.
Denny, will you still buy me a beer when I’m in your area if I tell you I tried Uniwar on the iPhone and it didn’t do a lot for me? If you vouch for it, I’ll try it again…
And yeah, it will be tough not opening it up for the week or two before I’ll get a chance to get to an Apple store.
