iPad Available in US on April 3
Posted: March 6th, 2010 | Author: Joakim Andersson | Filed under: apple | 2 Comments »iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.
iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year.
iPad Available in US on April 3
Unfortunately it looks like we have to wait a bit longer for the good stuff here in Sweden.
So, should I get one with WIFI, or one with WIFI and 3G? Will I ever need the 3G? Will I regret not having it?
Interesting question and a hard one to answer. I belive that the iPad without an internet connection will be seriously crippled. Of course you could still play most of the games, read the books you’ve previously bought and watch videos and so on, but internet media consumption, which is what the device is all about, won’t be possible.
So an internet connection is preferable. If it’s provided by the built-in 3G or a nearby WIFI-hotspot doesn’t matter. If you want to buy an iPad and don’t know whether to get the one with 3G or not, you have to think about the different situations and locations where you will be using the device.
If you will only be using it at home and you have a WIFI network at home, then the WIFI-only version will do fine. However if you plan to bring the iPad with you on trips or daily commutes, you need to consider if you want a network connection on the device when you do that and if the network connection can be provided by some other means than with the built-in 3G. For example, JoikuSpot for Nokia S60 phones makes a WIFI-hotspot out of your 3G mobile phone. There might be other solutions similar to that piece of software.
Naturally it also comes down to the price difference. It would be plenty convenient to get the 3G version and always have internet available, but if the price for that convenience is too high, I’m thinking I’ll get the WIFI-only version and go through the extra trouble of going via my mobile phone when I’m out and about with my iPad and need to access the internet.