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  1. 4th March 2011, 06:33 PM #1
    applebyte
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    Default iPhone 4 WiFi hotspot... which iPad 2?

    Hey guys,

    Are those of you who have an iphone 4 with data plan, getting an ipad 2 wifi, or wifi+3G?

    I'm on Telstra with 3GB/month (which I don't use anywhere near that), so I have good speeds and enough data. Is tethering just as convenient as just having built in 3G, or is it too much of a hassle, necessitating the purchase of a 3G ipad?

    I don't want to have to connect each time, or wait ages for connections etc...

    Cheers
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  2. 4th March 2011, 06:36 PM #2
    skyhawkmatthew
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    I've been running the 4.3 beta for a while on my iPhone 4 and iPad 1 - the personal hotspot feature works beautifully, and I don't see the necessity in buying a 3G iPad, especially if you aren't going to use the 3G capability all that often. Sure, it involves a few seconds to set it up, and it does use up the phone's battery, but for the frequency with which I need 3G on the iPad (not that often as I have wi-fi at home and school), it's great.
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  3. 4th March 2011, 06:39 PM #3
    applebyte
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    Do you have to set up connection with iphone each time you want to use internet via iphone on ipad?

    Can you just leave it connected with each other so that when you turn on the ipad it automatically connects to the iphone hotspot?
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  4. 4th March 2011, 06:53 PM #4
    skyhawkmatthew
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    Well, I just did a quick unscientific test: connected the iPad to the iPhone's hotspot, slept both devices and came back 8 minutes later - the iPad was still connected and ready to go.
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  5. 4th March 2011, 07:24 PM #5
    benji
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyhawkmatthew View Post
    Well, I just did a quick unscientific test: connected the iPad to the iPhone's hotspot, slept both devices and came back 8 minutes later - the iPad was still connected and ready to go.
    How much battery life had that used?
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  6. 4th March 2011, 07:30 PM #6
    skyhawkmatthew
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    Not sure - but in previous experience when actively using the connection it's something like 10% or an hour?
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  7. 4th March 2011, 10:00 PM #7
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    Yep , I can verify about 10% per hour using the iPhone 4 as hotspot for the ipad (1 of course )
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  8. 4th March 2011, 10:16 PM #8
    hendot
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    Only the 3G iPad has GPS. If the only difference was the 3G, it would be an easy choice.
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  9. 4th March 2011, 10:22 PM #9
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    When I first got my iPad (US import, WiFi only), I actually used a 3G 'MiFi' dongle which was a pain to use - it worked, but the whole setup process took about 30-40 seconds.

    At the end of the day, it's about convenience and battery life saving.

    When I get my iPad 2, I'll just tether it. I can save $150 by not having to purchase another 3G service (Telstra 12GB for 1 year).
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  10. 4th March 2011, 11:19 PM #10
    opilot87
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    What's better about wifi hotspot than bluetooth tethering? I did notice bluetooth tethering chewed through my iPhone battery VERY fast, and this would be my only concern with using it for 3G connection to an iPad. Is the wifi hotspot much more battery efficient? i could easily deal with 10% an hour. I'm sure when I tried with bluetooth it was more like 50% an hour.

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  11. 5th March 2011, 01:30 AM #11
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    Dam....forgot about GPS....looks like 3G version for me then.....I use the gps function a lot
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  12. 5th March 2011, 02:30 AM #12
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    Just purchased my first iPhones (x 2) on Thursday with a Telstra 1Gb plan (used to be a Nokia E63 with 3) and will be buying the iPad2 64Gb WiFi only. The iPhones I share over my iMac's WiFi. Works great (3/3 bars) through out the 50's style flat with double brick walls everywhere.
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  13. 6th March 2011, 12:04 AM #13
    aaronja87
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    3G for me, mainly for resale value and convenience of not having to set up a connection. Most of my use will be on wifi anyway, so the $150 for 1yr telstra plan will be fine.
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  14. 6th March 2011, 12:22 AM #14
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    The hotspot feature looks great, only thing that concerns me is the battery life when it's being used as a hotspot.
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  15. 6th March 2011, 12:42 AM #15
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    I'm somewhat torn...

    One of my main issues with my iPad1 (before I sold it) was that when it was away from WiFi it's usefulness decreased dramatically! For that and a few other reasons I ended up selling it.

    I'm pretty psyched for the iPad 2 as while it's a pretty evolutionary step, it corrects quite a few of the issues I had with the first gen. I just can't work out yet whether the added steps & toll on iPhone battery life is enough to justify the ~$300 extra (extra device cost + telstra 12mo prepaid) to go with a 3G model...
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  16. 6th March 2011, 10:33 PM #16
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    I think I'm going to get the 3G. I like the idea of having GPS and also being able to lend it to my wife who doesn't have a hotspot producing phone.
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  17. 6th March 2011, 11:53 PM #17
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    I'm going for a 3G again as well. I was thinking about wifi only but I'm thinking of moving away from the iPhone when my contracts up in June.
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  18. 7th March 2011, 02:17 PM #18
    hendot
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ecto1 View Post
    I'm going for a 3G again as well. I was thinking about wifi only but I'm thinking of moving away from the iPhone when my contracts up in June.
    Other phones cam act as a wifi hotspot too.
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  19. 7th March 2011, 02:21 PM #19
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    I'm going a 3G this time around as well. I had a Netcomm T1 and have been happily using the internet abroad with my WiFi iPad but i think it's time to have it always on anywhere i go without the need to connect to any other devices. I also really need the GPS for my weekends on the boat fishing
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  20. 7th March 2011, 03:00 PM #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by hendot View Post
    Other phones cam act as a wifi hotspot too.
    I know that. I just want to play it self in case the next phone I get dose not.
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