I was reading Engadget.com today and I came across this tidbit about AT&T deciding to allow iPad orders before July 7th to continue to have the unlimited data plan. For those of you that read my iPad vs. AT&T blog post it highlights all of the points that AT&T seems to have forgotten when they first decided to change how they are going to handle their data plans. The facts are simple – most iPhone users consume between 200-500MB worth of data, and (from AT&T’s metrics) the 98% of all iPhone subscribers use less than 2GB of data per month. But what they did not include is the metrics from the month long usage of the iPad. Due to streaming applications such as Netflix the iPad itself is absolutely going to use more data.
The major data consumption on the Internet is audio and video, both of which applications on the iPad are designed specifically for, whether it be watching a movie streaming from Netflix, a baseball game through the MLB application or television through your Slingplayer – it is very clear that this device is going to overall trump the usage of a standard iPhone. You can bet your wallet that the widely popular service Hulu.com will be eyeing up developing an application for the iPad as well.
With all of these data heavy applications that 2GB cap is going to be quickly approached. Of course the AT&T suggestion is to use WiFi as often as you can, but why should you have to? This device was designed to run on battery for roughly ten hours, so why should I be tethered to my apartment, office or coffee shop? Most people purchased this device because they planned on reading, listening to music or watching movies on their daily commute into the office. Others may have picked it up to placate their children on long car rides. You’re telling us now, after we purchased the device, to not use it for what we purchased it for?
I am still on the edge about whether or not I will purchase a 3G iPad before July 7th. Part of me cannot justify spending this much money on a device that I do not see myself using all too often, but the other part of me, the commuter, sees all the ways that I can use this thing to keep my mind busy on the train into work. Yet still another half of me wants to develop some cool games for this beast. So the real question is, do I wait until later or purchase it now to take advantage of the unlimited 3G data offer? I think the answer is pretty obvious, how about you?