pay as you go for iPad?

[Homerboy]

I'm looking for a pay-as-you-go option for an iPad.

My wife would like to use one as he POS register for her business, but she'd only need it a couple weekends a month with minimal data.

I thought of getting just a WiFi iPad and then the Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/mobile-broadband/broadband-2-go/) but the devide only has ~4hr usage time -- not enough for most her shows which can last 8hrs+

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Homerboy]

Hmm maybe Sprint is my option at $15 for 300MB of data:

http://community.sprint.com/baw/com...10/24/sprint-introduces-new-tablet-rate-plans

 

[vi edit]

What are your current phones/carrier? Can you do hotspotting from them?

 

[ImDonly1]

http://slickdeals.net/f/5273826-Fre...e-Internet-500MB-per-month-with-49-99-deposit

Might want to read people's experiences with the service. At first, they rounded up unfairly and charged overages. It was easy to get charged overages. It got awful reviews. I think they may have changed things now since people complained? Read the latest reviews and see if it is any better.

It runs on Clear's wimax service/sprint's.

 

[Homerboy]

What are your current phones/carrier? Can you do hotspotting from them?

I don't have a "smart phone" and she has a iPhone on AT&T, but its part of her parent's family plan thing.

 

[Homerboy]

http://slickdeals.net/f/5273826-Fre...e-Internet-500MB-per-month-with-49-99-deposit

Might want to read people's experiences with the service. At first, they rounded up unfairly and charged overages. It was easy to get charged overages. It got awful reviews. I think they may have changed things now since people complained? Read the latest reviews and see if it is any better.

It runs on Clear's wimax service/sprint's.

Interesting. My hesitation with a hub though is that the battery life is never going to last for a 8hr+ day.
I could buy a 3rd party battery I guess....

 

[ImDonly1]

I don't have a "smart phone" and she has a iPhone on AT&T, but its part of her parent's family plan thing.

If jailbroken, you could maybe run a hotspot on the iPhone.

 

[vi edit]

I don't have a "smart phone" and she has a iPhone on AT&T, but its part of her parent's family plan thing.

If it's on one of the new shared data plans then it probably has free hotspotting included. Or you could add the iPad to that account for $10 a month.

 

[Homerboy]

If it's on one of the new shared data plans then it probably has free hotspotting included. Or you could add the iPad to that account for $10 a month.

I'll have to have her look into that.
I'd rather use WiFi as those iPads are WAY cheaper to find it seems.

My other thought is that I plan on getting a Virgin Mobile phone for myself soon. Push comes to shove, she can just take my phone for the day and use it's hotspot

 

[bearxor]

If it were me, I'd do Verizon. 1GB for $20.

But yes, I added my iPad to my shared data package for $10 and it's incredibly handy sometimes.

 

[gsaldivar]

Most trade show venues have plenty of outlets within reach, or at least within range of an extension cord. If this is not an option, then you have to think about battery options:

If no power outlets are available, I recommend against using your cell phone as a hotspot, because it will drain the battery very quickly. A standalone hotspot device like the Virgin Mobile one you linked, are usually much more efficient because they are simpler devices that are designed to perform only a single task. As a result, the battery will last much longer than a phone trying to do the same thing. However you will probably still reach hotspot's battery limit during a 8+ hour day, especially if you make frequent use of the network connection.

I think this situation is perfect for a fuel cell charger. For this, you buy a starter kit for about $35 + about $10 for each fuel cell. Each cell is good for one use only. Just plug your Hotspot into the charger, and it should keep you running all day long with no problem.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Medis-24-7-...277?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b32b1f55

http://www.amazon.com/Medis-Power-Un...ment+Fuel+Cell

http://www.amazon.com/Medis-Power-Un..._sim_sbs_cps_2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDAv-UuhFe4&list=UUI_Rv3uaXNgqAOQaAOA7gFA&index=2

Good luck.

 

[Homerboy]

Most trade show venues have plenty of outlets within reach, or at least within range of an extension cord. If this is not an option, then you have to think about battery options:

If no power outlets are available, I recommend against using your cell phone as a hotspot, because it will drain the battery very quickly. A standalone hotspot device like the Virgin Mobile one you linked, are usually much more efficient because they are simpler devices that are designed to perform only a single task. As a result, the battery will last much longer than a phone trying to do the same thing. However you will probably still reach hotspot's battery limit during a 8+ hour day, especially if you make frequent use of the network connection.

I think this situation is perfect for a fuel cell charger. For this, you buy a starter kit for about $35 + about $10 for each fuel cell. Each cell is good for one use only. Just plug your Hotspot into the charger, and it should keep you running all day long with no problem.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Medis-24-7-...277?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b32b1f55

http://www.amazon.com/Medis-Power-Un...ment+Fuel+Cell

http://www.amazon.com/Medis-Power-Un..._sim_sbs_cps_2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDAv-UuhFe4&list=UUI_Rv3uaXNgqAOQaAOA7gFA&index=2

Good luck.

thanks for the info.
Lots of shows are outside, so very few have access to an outlet -- battery life is a concern.

Why not something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882021228

 

[gsaldivar]

Why not something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882021228

1. Fuel cell will likely last longer than this device
2. Battery performance will degrade over time
3. Once depleted, a large battery like this takes a long time to recharge (fast charging is an option, but will generate extra heat that will cause the battery to degrade faster)
4. Toxic to the environment

Drawbacks to the fuel cell:
1. Refills are single use only, and harder to find
2. Using refills costs more than recharging

 

[Homerboy]

If it were me, I'd do Verizon. 1GB for $20.

But yes, I added my iPad to my shared data package for $10 and it's incredibly handy sometimes.

what $20 plan from Verizon?

 

[bearxor]

what $20 plan from Verizon?

Rereading, I might have misunderstood. I thought you were looking to buy an iPad and were trying to base your buying decision on the cellular data costs. It look like what you might actually be saying is that you already have an iPad and you need cellular data for it.

In that case, a mobile hotspot on your phone and a couple of eternal battery packs for it would probably be the best solution. Or you could buy a Galaxy Nexus and go with TMobile's $30/5GB plan and use the hotspot feature on it. Might give you more bang for the buck.

Unless I'm reading this totally wrong and you don't have an iPad. In that case I'd spend the extra $130 on one with cellular and if 1GB is plenty, then Verizon has the best iPad plan at $20/1GB. If you need more than that, I'd consider AT&T for the $30/3GB plan. It is also possible to buy a Verizon iPad and use it on AT&T, but you won't get LTE service that way.

 

[Homerboy]

Rereading, I might have misunderstood. I thought you were looking to buy an iPad and were trying to base your buying decision on the cellular data costs. It look like what you might actually be saying is that you already have an iPad and you need cellular data for it.

In that case, a mobile hotspot on your phone and a couple of eternal battery packs for it would probably be the best solution. Or you could buy a Galaxy Nexus and go with TMobile's $30/5GB plan and use the hotspot feature on it. Might give you more bang for the buck.

Unless I'm reading this totally wrong and you don't have an iPad. In that case I'd spend the extra $130 on one with cellular and if 1GB is plenty, then Verizon has the best iPad plan at $20/1GB. If you need more than that, I'd consider AT&T for the $30/3GB plan. It is also possible to buy a Verizon iPad and use it on AT&T, but you won't get LTE service that way.

Actually I DON'T have an ipad yet at all. So the Verizon option is more than viable. I'm not seeing that 1G/$20 plan though.... do I have to do a term contact or something?

I'm trying to get a price from AT&T (my home provider for inet. phone and TV) but they apparently have no idea WTF I am talking about

 

[bearxor]

Look at this page:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/s...2012-4GEN_MAIN

Towards the bottom, it breaks out what AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge for iPad data access. That's if you sign up directly on the iPad. It's no contract, you can cancel at anytime, but it is recurring. So they keep charging you unless you tell them to stop.

 

[TheStu]

Look at this page:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/s...2012-4GEN_MAIN

Towards the bottom, it breaks out what AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge for iPad data access. That's if you sign up directly on the iPad. It's no contract, you can cancel at anytime, but it is recurring. So they keep charging you unless you tell them to stop.

Does the iPad 4/Mini support all the bands on one chip? Because then you can just carry additional mini-SIMs depending on who has signal.

 

[Homerboy]

Look at this page:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/s...2012-4GEN_MAIN

Towards the bottom, it breaks out what AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge for iPad data access. That's if you sign up directly on the iPad. It's no contract, you can cancel at anytime, but it is recurring. So they keep charging you unless you tell them to stop.

Awesome.
Now who has a iPad for sale?

 

[bearxor]

Does the iPad 4/Mini support all the bands on one chip? Because then you can just carry additional mini-SIMs depending on who has signal.

All the iPad's support WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100, even the Verizon and Sprint ones.

I'm actually using a Verizon iPad 3 on my AT&T Mobile Share account right now. Went to the AT&T store and asked them for a SIM card (which I got a little resistance on, actually), popped it in my VZW iPad, waited for signal, then went in to cellular setup and was able to add it to my Mobile Share account directly from the iPad.

The downside, as mentioned, is that I would get LTE if I was with Verizon. But I'm stuck with HSPA on AT&T, which isn't that bad. Still get 6-10Mbps on it.

Awesome.
Now who has a iPad for sale?

Don't forget to check out the Apple refurb store:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad

Right now I see you can get a iPad 2 with AT&T for $349 and a Verizon or AT&T iPad 3 for $409. 4th gen iPads with cellular are $580, which is like $50 off retail.

Between an iPad 2 or 3, I could go either way. The 3 gets you the retina screen and 1GB of RAM and a better rear camera. Honestly, I'd still go with the 2 unless the screen is super important.

The iPad 4, OTOH, is a significant processor upgrade over the 2 or 3.

If your primary use is going to be as a payment terminal, then I don't think you could really go wrong with an iPad 2 with cellular for $349. The AT&T plan would run you $30/3GB though.

 

[Homerboy]

Just to confirm, I don't have to buy a iPad directly from Apple to get these rates do I? I mean if I find a iPad in FS/T, or newegg or (god forbid) ebay or something, I can still get these rates from the applicable carrier?

 

[Homerboy]

I'll be honest too, and say that I bet she could get away with 250MB of data. We're talking a couple of hundred card swipes a month at shows and the like.

 

[bearxor]

Just to confirm, I don't have to buy a iPad directly from Apple to get these rates do I? I mean if I find a iPad in FS/T, or newegg or (god forbid) ebay or something, I can still get these rates from the applicable carrier?

Yes, it's the standard data rate in the US for iPads. It doesn't matter where the iPad comes from.

I'll be honest too, and say that I bet she could get away with 250MB of data. We're talking a couple of hundred card swipes a month at shows and the like.

That's cool if its possible. It's just that the AT&T data rates are just so unbalanced. It's only $15/mo more for 2.7GB of data. If you go over 250MB, it's $15 for another 250MB. I might subscribe to the 3GB plan for a month and then check your usage and adjust appropriately if needed. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

 

[Homerboy]

Yes, it's the standard data rate in the US for iPads. It doesn't matter where the iPad comes from.


That's cool if its possible. It's just that the AT&T data rates are just so unbalanced. It's only $15/mo more for 2.7GB of data. If you go over 250MB, it's $15 for another 250MB. I might subscribe to the 3GB plan for a month and then check your usage and adjust appropriately if needed. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

Yeah. I think I may give this a go. I just worry about getting an iPad 2 too... two, soon to be three generations old. No issues with whatever iOS version on it I assume?

I guess all that really has changed is processing power and the retina display.

 

[bearxor]

Yeah. I think I may give this a go. I just worry about getting an iPad 2 too... two, soon to be three generations old. No issues with whatever iOS version on it I assume?

I guess all that really has changed is processing power and the retina display.

The iPad 2 is in kind of a unique situation. Apple is using the chip that powers the iPad 2 in a lot of things. The iPhone 4S, which will likely receive the next two major iOS versions, and the iPad Mini use the exact same chip and specs. I don't see Apple giving up support for the iPad Mini for at least a few more iOS versions. It will probably hit 9. If it does, the iPad 2 should be able to get it as well.

Of course, nothing is certain, but if you bought an iPad 2 at launch, that is looking like the best purchase you could have probably ever made of an Apple product. It's got some legs. Another couple of years at least.