iPad vs. iPhone: what does 3G cost you?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 27th 2010 3:25PM
posted January 27th 2010 3:25PM
 iPad |
 iPhone |
| Upfront cost | $629 / $729 / $829 | $99 / $199 / $299 |
| WiFi-only version available | Yes ($499 / $599 / $699) | Yes (iPod touch - $199 / $299 / $399) |
| Voice calling capability | No | Yes |
| Contract required | No | Yes |
| Device unlocked | Yes | No |
| SIM standard | microSIM | SIM |
| Monthly cost for unlimited data | $29.99 |
$29.99 |
| Minimum cash outlay per month | $14.99 | $69.99 |
| Minimum data cost over two years | $359.76 | $720 |
| Maximum data cost over two years | $719.76 | $720 |
| Minimum cash outlay over two years | $988.76 | $1,778.76 |
| Maximum cash outlay over two years | $1,548.76 | $3,178.76 |
Will the headphone microphone that comes with an iTouch work with this thing for Skype?
I think I may have just found the data only cell phone I've always wanted.
Well, to this individual, the iPad fills the bill for what I've been looking for.
I want something to enable me to read the NY Times in the morning with my breakfast without fooling around with large pages, and with the ability to dig into the internet. I want something that enables me to watch my movies on the treadmill at my health club.I want something that's smaller and lighter than my laptop to carry on a weekend trip for emailing, web surfing, and movie watching. I want something that I can use to share my digital pictures with friends at home that's larger than my iPhone but not as bulky as a laptop.
It looks like the iPad should fill the bill, where nothing else I have will. For serious computing, I'll use my computer or laptop. For taking pictures or phoning, I'll use my iPhone.
@lawsmith and that is exactly why I will be purchasing this. I have laptops, desktops and iPhones. This will join the family nicely.
IMO this device blows...giant ipod touch...however, it sure would be nice if this caused carriers to drop their mobile broadband rates or at the very least make them unlimited.
also the name, Horrible!
IMO this device blows...giant ipod touch...however, it sure would be nice if this caused carriers to drop their mobile broadband rates or at the very least make them unlimited.
also the name, Horrible!
I expect someone has already said this, but with this article there's now 10 in a row containing the word "iPad". Seriously.
I guess we have to wait for the iPad 3GS oer something before it smashes everything like the iPhone 3GS. I mean if they never released it i and other friends would've never brought it lol. :D
Shame it doesn't have a camera. I could really see some sort of web video chat with this thing :( or something like that video showing what MS thinks of the future (you know the tablet where you press a button and it captures the information on camera) :D
These are two completely different devices in their own category, comparison?
Still buying one. With 3G!
For those who don't like it....Vote with your dollars and maybe you'll get what you want.
iPad: oh hello Mr Android Tablet, let me hold the door open for you.. come right in
Atab: thanks ...loser...
32GB iPhone is only $299 in the US?! How can it be cheaper than a touch which is $399?!?
@cashclientel that's with the carrier subsidy and 2 year contract. It's something like $899 without the contract, if you can find it. AT&T has to pay $500 or so for each iPhone, then they sell it at a loss and sign you up for a huge contract with a $4000 Early Termination Fee, so you can't get away. That's how they make their money back.
i have an N900 i can do more then the iphone and ipad and i have an Ereader as an app and it's pocket ready and 5 times lighter then the iphone and still have more features with bult in flash in brower thanks to mozilla
and it's not overpriced
heck i can deal with no flash. give me 16:9 and some sort of multitasking, and a 500 dollar model with 32 gig and 3g ill b on that like white on rice.
YouTube is moving away from flash and it may be outmoded within a year or two, but for now it's going to impact sales. But not that much probably. I think that Apple did well by it not impacting MacBook or iPhone sales because it can't do what the others do. That's probably important because this might have a much smaller margin than the other two products do and without the volume of sales that the others have, so I don't think this is a get rich process for them as much as a move to capture that portion of the market: people who just want to consume Farmville games, mp3s, youtube vids, Facebook posts, TV shows, and ebo... okay they hit a wall with the ebooks, because everyone will think its a good idea till they sit on the couch and try to read 300 pages. After your eyes start burning, reading isn't fun.
I repeat, the iPad is a piece of junk:
-You cannot multitask. You can only do one task at a time. If you want to surf the web and type into a document, you can’t. Listen to music while you surf the web? Nope. You need to exit one and then open the other.
-No flash support. Enjoy the web without much of its content!
-Doesn’t use a real operating system, like Windows or Mac OSX. It runs like an iPhone, not a laptop. If you want to install a program, a special iPhone app needs to exist.
-It doesn’t have an SD card slot or USB slot. You want to load all your photos and music on it? You need to buy a special dongle and attach it to the iPad. Ah yes, that’s convenient and cost-effective.
-Apple wants to say it will be great for reading books and magazines, but it has a bright, glossy LCD screen. Meanwhile, electronic book reader devices use an electronic ink technology that doesn’t strain the eyes and can be used in the sun. Electronic book readers can run on battery for days, whereas the iPad claims up to 10 hours, but probably has much less.
-You need to lay it flat and look straight down at it to type on it. It’s not like a netbook or laptop where the keyboard is flat and the screen is in front of your face.
-You can buy a keyboard accessory — you can spend extra money to turn a low-power netbook-type tablet into a non-portable desktop computer. Meanwhile there are products like Lenovo U1 Hybrid where you can slip the tablet into a netbook shell and turn it into a portable, foldable laptop.
-It costs $500, minimum, and has a 1 ghz processor. You’re paying $500 for something that has about the same capabilities as an iPod Touch, but is huge. Products with similar specs and abilities as the iPad cost less than that. If you want the model with enough disk space and 3G to make it worth your while, it’s $800.
My netbook has a 1.6 ghz Atom processor and cost me $200. And my netbook has an SD slot so I can make the hard drive space as large as I want. And my netbook has USB ports. And I can do multiple tasks on my netbook.
Fact is, tablets have been around forever and the mainstream market didn’t want them. Just because they’ve slapped an Apple logo on it, should people suddenly want it?
The flash argument is lame for several reason;
1. Ipad supports Youtube and the tube has high definition videos on there. Hulu sucks monkey genitals if you're talking about the vid player itself. I watched Hell's Kitchen Episodes on Youtube Season 1 and it worked fine. Hulu just has more archival shows. The Grammy highlights will be on there before it gets to Hulu. Believe that. You think Apple wants to give you lil snot-nosed geeks everything in the first iteration and lose out on his itunes .99 cent episode deals? Grow up.
"for anyone who uses an iPhone primarily for browsing and gaming"
Yes, let us invent a mythical group of users for which the iPad (aka iPon) is a great tool they've been waiting for all those years.
I Currently Don't have a Iphone. But i would buy a Ipad. i dont need my ipad to have built in wifi. i would prefer to go out and buy one of those mifi thingies, or tether through my smart phone. but i can see why a non technical person or even a some kid would want it built in.
@Alexandertron Sorry i meant to say 3g. ^_^
I dont want a iphone never have. I always thought the screen was too small. with a poor resolution. But i really like the Ipad. Its every thing i always wanted a iphone to be. this is what i plan to do. i will buy a 32 gb ipad. and then just go out and buy one of those mifi personal wifi routers. then i can use it for any wifi device i might ever end up buying.
i can live without a camera or sd card. im going for it. i cant wait. and when the software starts coming out. ooooohweeee the ipad might piss of iphone users. but for me its great. i never like the iphone. this thing is going to change a lot of peoples minds about iphone OS. the price is awesome. when you see these idiots selling there iphones for 800 bucks on craigslist and ebay. 500 i will gladly do that.
trust me i would always hate on apple but this time around im happy with this product.
Please, once and for all, here is a quote from Morgan Adams, an interactive content developer who knows a lot about building Flash and what he had to say:
Current Flash sites could never be made work well on any touchscreen device, and this cannot be solved by Apple, Adobe, or magical new hardware.
That’s not because of slow mobile performance, battery drain or crashes. It’s because of the hover or mouseover problem.
Many (if not most) current Flash games, menus, and even video players require a visible mouse pointer. They are coded to rely on the difference between hovering over something (mouseover) vs. actually clicking. This distinction is not rare. It’s pervasive, fundamental to interactive design, and vital to the basic use of Flash content. New Flash content designed just for touchscreens can be done, but people want existing Flash sites to work. All of them—not just some here and there—and in a usable manner. That’s impossible no matter what.
All that Apple and Adobe could ever do is make current Flash content visible. It would be seen, but very often would not work. Users would hate that broken promise much more than they hate gaps in pages, missing banner ads, and the need to download a game once from the App Store instead of re-downloading it every time they visit a Flash game page.
Nuff said!