September 17, 2011 Wi-Fi Or 3G?

If you are in the tablet market either because you have one or are looking for one, the question on connectivity is one you will have to answer. You have two options either Wi-Fi or 3G services. Wi-Fi comes standard on all the tablets but 3G services are optional and generally cost an extra monthly fee on top of your cell phone and home internet services.

I own the first gen iPad and that one I bought the 16GB 3G model because at the time Wi-Fi was not widely available and I was more mobile and required that flexibility. Over time my corporation improved their mobile Wi-Fi network to be usable and reliable and everywhere I went I found that there was Wi-Fi available. Eventually I cancelled the 3G services and haven't been a position where I needed it the entire Summer on my iPad. In addition to that, with my iPhone that is 3G anyway, whatever I needed to do online I did with the iPhone.

I recently bought an iPad 2 and this time I went with the larger size but Wi-Fi only. First I can't understand how a 3G antenna justifies an almost $200 cost difference and second I don't think I will be in many positions where I will wish I had it. Again, my iPhone will cover for the online needs when I need it.

Obviously it ultimately comes down to the individual user and their specific requirements. As an average user I don't think 3G really has much of a selling point anymore, especially with an ever expanding smart phone growth. How much online connectivity diversity do you really need and how often are you in a situation where you absolutely have to have to get online and do things your phone cannot do?

Looking into the future as well I think that Wi-Fi hot spots will continue to grow and be the primary access on to the Internet, especially in more and remote areas. AT&T, Verizon is showing that their expansion of cell towers as well as bandwidth is not as a high priority as it should be when you look at the adoption rate of these data sucking devices. However, more places I go are having more and more free Wi-Fi hot spots to jump on that is connected to faster connections to the Internet.

If you have the extra dough to get a feature you may use once and a while then so be it. But if you are looking for the max value for your buck, start to really look at how you will be using these devices rather than what bells and whistles are on them.

End of Line
@binaryblogger

Posted in: Apple Inc,Technology