The iPad: To 3G or not 3G?

by Ed McKell on Mar 1, 2010 at 08:34 AM - 1970 Views - 1970 this month

 8 Comments

We are just past halfway through the 60 day waiting period that Apple announced for the release of the WiFi iPad. While we don’t know everything about the device, we do know there are six different models split in half by a single feature: a GSM 3G cellular radio for data only. In the last 30 days, the first question many people have asked is “Are you going to get an iPad?” But if the answer is yes, the second question is almost always “Are you going to get the 3G?”

3G ...

The choice to get 3G is tough. First off, the 3G radio will cost you an additional $130. It will also cost you some time if you have already decided to buy an iPad as soon as it is available; the 3G iPad is expected to be available about 30 days after the WiFi only version. This will likely mean you will have to wait until the end of April. It’s not a big deal, but it is something to consider if you aren’t the patient type.

But for that $130 you will get the ability to purchase a micro-SIM card you can use to connect to a 3G or Edge network much like an iPhone does today, but you can only use it for a data connection. One big advantage is that it is currently being offered contract free in the U.S. on AT&T’s network. Apple has also leveraged their relationship with AT&T to get some pretty good rates. They are offering a $14.99/month for up to 250MB of usage and $29.99/month for unlimited usage. Again, this is contract free so you can buy it for a month and then skip several if you want to before you turn it back on.

At this point, it is assumed that since you are buying the device contract free, that it will also be an unlocked device. This would mean that as other companies all over the world announce their plans, you should be able to also purchase micro-SIMs for networks all over the world, and hopefully they will also have monthly plans. This is potentially a great asset for those who travel a lot in the states or globally. In fact, if you only travel internationally once or twice a year, it could still pay off quickly. Currently, international data roaming plans on the iPhone are very expensive. AT&T’s highest available global roaming package for data will only get you 200MB/month and that amount will cost you $199.99. We will have to see what other service providers are going to offer around the world, but Apple and AT&T are off to a great start for the iPad.

Data is not the only advantage you will get for your $130. The GSM radio also comes equipped with a GPS chip. This GPS chip will work much like the GPS in the iPhone, and will be able to use the cell towers as well as satellites so it can more quickly pinpoint your location. This means that the myriad navigation and location apps for the iPhone would also work just as well on the 3G version of the iPad. With the right kind of car mount, the iPad could become the ultimate car navigation system. It would have a nice big screen, and you wouldn’t have to worry about being interrupted by a phone call while you are at a critical intersection. But other location aware social apps or even augmented reality systems would all be able to work well on the 3G iPad. All of this should work just fine without needing to purchase any kind of a monthly package from a service provider.

... or not 3G?

But what do you get if you choose WiFi only? First off, you can save yourself $130. But beyond that, you will still get a WiFi radio that is 802.11 a/b/g/n capable, a step up from the 802.11 b/g radio that come in today’s iPhones and iPod touches. Adding 802.11 a/n means the iPad will be able to connect at faster speeds to a newer WiFi router. This will be especially useful if you are streaming video or moving large files on your local network. The WiFi radio will also allow you to use basic location services based on nearby networks. It’s not always the most accurate way to use location services, but it can be good enough for some social networking apps or to help with finding out what your local weather is. However, it is nowhere nearly good enough to allow you to use navigation apps.

That is the question.

So which should you get? This will depend on several things. The first question is when and how do you plan to use an iPad? If it will be a device that you use mostly at home or work where you have an accessible WiFi network, and if you don’t plan to travel with it a lot, then maybe the WiFi is enough for you. Even if you travel a lot, if you already have an iPhone or some other smartphone with a data plan, you may still want to save yourself $130 and opt out of the 3G. However, if you travel a lot without a smartphone data plan, especially internationally, the 3G data option could actually save you a lot of money and frustration. Plus, the 3G option gives you the ability to use some of the iPhone’s great navigation applications.

The next question is whether you can afford it? If $130 is no big deal, then you may want to go for it. It will make the iPad a very flexible device without locking you into anything that might cost you more money. It will also add a similar amount of resale value to the iPad when you are ready to move on someday. But if money is tight, the WiFi iPad is very usable without that 3G option that many will not use much anyway.

And this is the my answer.

In the end, the 3G decision is a lot like the iPhone vs. iPod touch decision. This time, there is no monthly contract to make the cost difference as big, but the comparison is very similar. To answer this question myself, I will buy an iPad but I am currently planning to do the WiFi only version. I plan to use the iPad primarily at home, or, when I travel, it will be used in hotel rooms or other places that I might use my MacBook Pro today. I already have an iPhone for my domestic travel, and although I do travel internationally, I have found that WiFi is usually available. But the 3G option is still tempting, and it’s possible I could change my mind. I will almost certainly get the 3G version if I upgrade to a newer iPad someday. I especially like the idea of being able to use the 3G without a contract and on any provider available.

March is here and the first iPads should roll out this month. Hopefully we will find out more about it in the coming weeks. I suspect the we will read some reviews from folks like Walt Mossberg and David Pogue as we get closer.

Are you planning to buy an iPad and, if so, will you add the 3G to it? Feel free to discuss your thoughts in the comments below.

The mystery of the five missing iPad apps

by Ed McKell on Feb 22, 2010 at 06:19 AM

We are living in that fun time between the announcement of a big Apple product and its actual release. We’ve been here many times before, but it’s always interesting. During this period, we all get to spend a lot of time discussing, evaluating and speculating about a product that most of us have never touched. The iPad is in the unique spot of only having a two month waiting period, which is relatively short as far as Apple products go. The original iPhone had nearly a six month waiting period from announcement to launch.

Over the last week or so, there has been some simmering speculation about the iPad’s missing apps. If you look at the home screen of the iPad both in the marketing materials and the launch presentation, it seems a little empty. There is a lot of empty space there, and much of it can be attributed to the much larger screen size. But if you are really paying attention, you will realize that there are some apps missing. When compared to the iPod touch, it is missing five apps: Weather, Stocks, Clock, Calculator and Voice Memos. So, where did the apps go? Let’s take a look at a few theories.

The not ready yet theory

Some have speculated that they are not on the home screen because Apple didn’t have them updated yet for the iPad. This is based on the theory that Apple has spent a lot of time optimizing several of the other built-in apps to take advantage of the larger screen size and more capable hardware. It goes on to say that they are still preparing the other five apps and didn’t put them on the home screen so that the lucky few who got to try out the iPad wouldn’t play with apps that aren’t yet ready for prime time.

The problem with this theory is that Apple would then have to drastically alter their marketing materials and even make big changes to the way they present the iPad and its features on their website. Apple is fairly obsessive about their marketing, and I would doubt they would want that much of a drastic change from the original announcement in late January to the actual release in late March. Maybe the inclusion of one or even two apps, but give more on the front would drastically change the look of the images they are producing. I would say that since they are not there now, it’s unlikely we’ll find them there in the future.

The widget theory

This theory is built around the idea that four of the give missing apps are essentially utilities that could be easily put into a Mac Dashboard like environment. Usually, this theory is accompanied by various ideas of how this dashboard would be activated, but all seem to agree that this environment would be running in the background and might be called up from various combinations of pressing the home button in certain ways—much the same way that a double tap on the home button can be assigned to a few choice options on the iPhone and iPod Touch now.

As nice as this might be, it is pure speculation and mirrors things that those who really love the dashboard concept would like to see. In some ways, I like the idea, but I think it is unlikely for a couple of reasons. First off, if they were going to make a change like this, it would make a lot more sense for it to be in a 4.0 release of the operating system and not a point release like 3.2. I know there has been additional speculation that the iPad will actually ship with 4.0, but they have already shown it running with 3.2 so I find it much more likely that 4.0 will be saved for a new iPhone this summer. The second problem with this theory is that it ignores the fact that the Voice Memo app is once of the missing apps and doesn’t really fit well into this scenario. Third, I think it’s too complicated. As much as many want to see more sophistication to the iPhone OS, Apple has proven that they like the theory of simplicity that they are following today.

This simplicity is built around the idea that an app is easily launched with a single touch from the home screen, and that after the app is opened, the entire screen is transformed into whatever that app needs it to be. This kind of simplicity is what has kept the iPhone OS so easy to use for many that have found even the Mac interface a difficult one to master. Even my three-year-old has figured out how to launch an app, go to the home screen when she is tired of that one and then launch another. A dashboard concept that is launched in a manner other than with a button on the home screen would break this model. On top of that, it would also mean that the interface would change as you moved around the dashboard, which is not as big of a change as the other, but still doesn’t play well with Apple’s current interface designs.

Finally, some have speculated that the dashboard environment would be extensible so that you could install other “widgets” into it. This would also not play well with how software on the OS is currently installed, and could be extremely confusing to users who download a widget and expect to to just install itself on the home screen like every other app they download. Apple’s current model is built around consistency and simplicity. The OS is a transformative OS. Every time you launch an app, the entire device transforms into an interface that is unique to that app and its demands. A dashboard concept would not fit well with being simple or transformative, and is also not consistent with the rest of the OS.

A good example of Apple breaking their own simplicity model is the Voice Control function that is built into the 3GS. You access Voice Control by holding down the home button for several seconds. I tend to not use the Voice Control because I forget it is there. It’s a nice feature, but I don’t really think about holding down the home button like that, and it doesn’t present itself as an app to remind me. Several times I have showed this to other iPhone 3GS owners who never knew Voice Control existed because they never read any kind of instructions for the phone; it is so easy to use that they didn’t have to. Many also don’t know about the double tap to the home button for ipod controls or other assignable functions. Another complicated button pressing sequence or gesture would be unlikely to be any more successful than these examples.

The downloadable theory

My theory is that these apps will no longer be included as stock apps on the iPad, and likely in future releases of the iPhone and iPod Touch as well. But they would still be provided for free as apps through the App Store so they could become optional apps on the iPad. This is built around the “keep it simple” concept. It may be disappointing that it’s as simple as that, but as I stated above, I think it’s unlikely Apple will drastically change the image of the iPad they have marketed so far. That means that those apps will not be installed by default. The most obvious solution to this is that they will now become optional downloads just like Apple’s Mobile Me Gallery and iDisk apps are today, and just like the iBooks app is expected to be at launch.

This is actually something that customers have been asking for. Many people don’t use all five of the apps that are missing and would like to remove them, but they cannot. These apps made sense when the iPhone first came out because there was no way to add apps besides what shipped with the iPhone. But today there are many other choices, and none of these apps have any core functionality that is important to the OS itself. Every single app that is left is important because they serve a core function, sync back to iTunes or interface with other apps in some way. None of the missing five have any APIs or other ways to interact with other apps. They are truly optional functions of the device that could be fully removed without affecting the basic functions of the devices.

I think this is where Occam’s Razor comes in to play. The simplest explanation is the most likely. I could be wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong because I love it when Apple surprises us with something we don’t expect.

What is your theory on this? Am I spot on or dead wrong? Maybe you have heard or developed another theory. Let us know what you think in the comments. It will give us all something to do while we wait.

-------------------------------------------------

This was originally posted on Appletell.com:  The mystery of the five missing iPad apps

 2 Comments

Macworld 2010 show specials

by Ed McKell on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:28 PM - 288 Views - 288 this month

 Add a Comment

It’s a wonderful Macworld tradition that each year many exhibitors will have show specials where you can receive additional discounts during and after the show. Some are only available on the show floor, but many are open to any with the inside track. So, each day we will try to find deals we can publish so those of you at home can play along and enjoy a few of the benefits of being at Macworld. This is what we have found so far:

• Eye-Fi: The maker of Wi-Fi enabled SD cards is offering free ground shipping in the USA. Just enter the code “eyefiatmacworld” during checkout from their web store.
• Scosche: This award winning maker of all sorts of iPod and iPhone accessories is offering 25% off plus free shipping for all orders over $50 until March 1. Simply enter the promo code “mac10” upon checkout from their site.
• HyperMac: To celebrate the introduction of their new line of iPhone and iPod line of batteries, HyperMac has placed their Nano, Micro and Mini batteries on sale for $20 off. The sale prices are currently available on their site.
• VMware (new): VMware is offering a 15% discount on Fusion 3, their Windows emulation product for the Mac. Just use the code “MACWORLD2010” when checking out from their store
• Bill Atkinson (new): Bill is offering his amazing Bill Atkinson PhotoCard iphone app for free on Tuesday, February 16, for 1 day only. This high quality postcard app is normally $4.99 but if you check the iTunes store this coming Tuesday the price will be reduced to free.

We will continue to update this article as we find new deals during the show, so check back daily.

Original Post on Appletell

Macworld 2010: HyperMac Introduces Three New iPhone/iPod batteries

by Ed McKell on Feb 11, 2010 at 10:06 PM - 235 Views - 235 this month

 Add a Comment

HyperMac, the award winning maker of external batteries for your MacBook, has introduced three new external battery options aimed at the iPhone and iPod line of devices: the HyperMac Nano, Micro and Mini.

The Nano has a built-in flexible iPod/iPhone dock connector to reduce your clutter and also includes a cap to make it look a little less battery like. The Micro and Mini both use standard USB out so that you can charge a variety of gadgets.

The nano is a 1800mAh battery that should charge your iPhone 1.5 times. The Micro and Mini are 3600mAh and 7200mAh so they should charge your iPhone three or six times over.

All three models are available in the nine iPod Nano colors and show a much more stylish flair than HyperMacs MacBook battery line. They are $69.95, $89.95 and $119.95 respectively, but if you head over to their online store, they are currently on sale for $20 off. According to their store, the black and silver are available now and the other colors will ship in 4 to 6 weeks.

Original Post on Appletell