Joe Johaneman
07-12-2010, 03:30 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tipb.com/2010/07/11/ipad-3g-speed-test-builtin-3g-google-android-palm-pre-mobile-hotspot/' target='_blank'>http://www.tipb.com/2010/07/11/ipad...mobile-hotspot/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"One of the questions we get all the time is whether or not it’s better to get an iPad with built-in 3G (which costs $130 more for the device, $15 or $30 for the service), or to get an iPad Wi-Fi and tether is via Mi-Fi or to a Google Android or Palm webOS device running Mobile HotSpot software (which costs 0 to $30 for the option)."</em></p><p><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/YGqGa-rrPSI&feature=player_embedded#!&ap=%26fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YGqGa-rrPSI&feature=player_embedded#!&ap=%26fmt=18" /></object></p><p>These tests were done on Rogers and Bell in Canada, but it's an interesting comparison nonetheless. I can say from personal experience that I've tethered my Wi-Fi iPad to my Nexus One running Froyo while a passenger in a car in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre PA area, and had perfectly usable speeds. I've seen a 3g iPad demonstrated at the Allentown Apple Store, and it didn't seem any different from my tethering experience. So if you already have a 3g phone or a Mi-Fi you can tether to, you can probably save a few dollars and go with the WiFi iPad instead of the 3g. It would be interesting to see data on this from various countries. Has anybody else tried this? </p>