Following this morning’s comment from Apple CEO Tim Cook that the company is absolutely “thrilled” with its launch weekend sales for the new iPad, AT&T has confirmed record single-day sales and activations for the new tablet.
When your pickup your new iPad today, you need to be sure you choose the right carrier if you’re purchasing a 4G model. That’s because AT&T and Verizon use different cellular bands for their 4G networks, so an AT&T iPad won’t connect to Verizon’s LTE network, and vice-versa.
They will share 3G connections, however. Buy a Verizon iPad and stick an AT&T micro SIM in it and you’ll have no problem connecting to AT&T’s 3G network.
When Apple introduced FaceTime on the iPhone 4 nearly two years ago, many users were disappointed to find out that they could only place video calls while connected to Wi-Fi. That was a disappointing fact, but not entirely surprising given the bandwidth that it takes to pull off a high quality video call and Apple’s penchant for making the user experience perfect at all costs.
Guaranteeing a solid experience might have made a good deal of sense when it comes to the iPhone 4, iPad 2, and iPhone 4S – all of them are 3G devices and 3G data performance often falls short of terrestrial broadband and Wi-Fi. But the Wi-Fi only restriction remains in place on the new iPad models with LTE even though LTE performance can approach that of many home broadband options – begging the question: Why is Apple limiting FaceTime on its new LTE devices?
Obviously, the best way to get the new iPad on launch day was to pre-order it as soon as Apple’s website came back up. That option is now gone and you’re looking at shipping times of 2-3 weeks before you can get a new iPad in your hands.
It’s ok. Despite everything Samsung says, waiting in line for the iPad isn’t that bad. In fact, it can even be a lot of fun. If you’re planning on braving the weather and the crowds Friday morning here is our killer guide on the gear you need to not just survive, but thrive on launch day and walk away with the new iPad model you want.
The new iPad’s LTE option offers a lot of potential for mobile professionals, particularly the Verizon version because it will support the iOS personal hotspot feature. The plans available from both AT&T and Verizon are pretty much in line with the previous iPad 3G plans for individual customers.
While plans for individuals are fairly straightforward, the options for business can be much murkier. Both carriers offer business plans and bundles, but no two businesses have the same needs or mix of devices. If your business is considering new iPads with LTE, you’ll want to sit down with your account rep to get the details about what options you have and possibly negotiate with them to get the best deal – but doing a thorough review of your existing mobile plans first can put you in the driver’s seat during those negotiations and save your company a ton of money.
This shouldn’t take anyone by surprise, but with the new iPad going on sale on Friday at 8 a.m. at Apple Stores around the country, AT&T will also have units that they’ll be selling at their retail outlets on the same day. Don’t count on being able to easily get one, though.
AT&T has announced a dozen new markets set to receive 4G LTE in the coming months. While they didn’t give any specific rollout dates, the following cities are next on the list for an upgrade and should see LTE soon:
At yesterday’s press conference, Apple made a big deal about how you could tether your new iPad to your laptop or other device, “if your carrier supports Personal Hotspot.”
Hey, guys, guess which of the two big U.S. carriers won’t support Personal Hotspot on the new iPad? Yup, the usual bastard: AT&T. But Verizon seemingly will. That means that if you’re an AT&T customer. there’s no way to tether your laptop to your iPad’s blistering LTE speeds… short, of course, of an A5X jailbreak.
Several reports that surfaced during the days preceding Apple’s latest iPad event suggested that while the U.S. would get LTE connectivity in the new device, it would be stripped out for those in Europe, where LTE networks are yet to launch.
To everyone’s surprise, Apple left the LTE chip in for us Europeans. But the problem is it won’t support European LTE networks.
I’m amazed at how well Apple is managing to meet demand for the new iPad so far: 16 hours after the pre-order page went live, you can still order an iPad for March 16th delivery. That’s a herculean feat, given how many people want one, but Tim Cook’s been complaining for the last year that they would “sell more iPads if they could build more”… obviously he’s since gotten his house in order.
Never the less, it looks like Apple is finally starting to run out of pre-order units. Specifcally, as of writing, delivery estimates for the white iPad LTE on AT&T have slipped to March 19th, although you can still get any of the models on March 16th in black, and Verizon and WiFi-only models are still unaffected.
The moral? If you want a new iPad, it’s time to pre-order now. My guess is that before the day has passed, the delivery estimates are going to start slipping across the board.
The new iPad comes equipped with LTE 4G networking on AT&T and Verizon in the United States, and data plan prices for the nation’s largest carriers can now be compared. As you can see, AT&T offers the cheapest option with a $15/month for 250MB option.
Like always, these iPad data plans can be purchased month-to-month on either AT&T or Verizon with no long-term commitment. The new iPad offers Personal Hotspot for creating a WiFi network out of your 4G connection. LTE 4G will get you up to 72Mbps when available, but the iPad also supports HSPDA 3G for speeds up to 42MBps. Regular 3G will be used when nothing else is available.
Our awesome Twitter follower @presstopher was one of the first to get iOS 5.1 downloaded on his iPhone and noticed an odd update – his AT&T iPhone 4S (that runs on the 3G network) is now lying, claiming that it is running on a 4G network. iOS 5.1 changes AT&T iPhone 4S to show that they are using a 4G network. It’s complete malarkey and we’re stunned that Apple and AT&T have made this move.
Remember when we told you earlier today that Verizon was teasing something new and mysterious on the front page of its website? Well, it turns out that AT&T is doing exactly the same thing. If you visit att.com right now, you’ll see the above banner.
“Get ready to see an exciting addition to our line-up.” iPad 3? Probably.
It’s looking more and more likely that the iPad 3 won’t just be getting a Retina Display tomorrow, it’ll be getting LTE. The Verge’s Joshua Topolsky is now reporting that their sources indicate LTE iPad 3s will ship in two flavors for both AT&T and Verizon’s network.
iMore, the same site that correctly predicted the date of Apple’s iPad event on March 7th, has now said that the iPad 3 will “definitely” have LTE 4G. The Wall Street Journal previously predicted this feature with no indication of whether the speed improvements will make their way to the iPhone 5.
There’s also been no indication of whether 4G speeds on the iPad will be available outside of the United States.
Did you know Cult of Mac has a brand new podcast? No lies! We’re calling it The CultCast, and it’s the best 30 minute conversation you’ll hear about Apple all week long.
And wouldn’t you know it, we just released episode two into the wild! Join Leander Kahney, Buster Heine, and me, Erfon Elijah, as we yay and nay our way though all the iPad 3 rumors you’ve been hearing; ponder how Apple’s stock price could make it to $1000 per share; and argue about whether AT&T should be allowed to throttle those of us with unlimited iPhone data plans.
Sound tasty? Well dig in my friend! You can subscribe to The CultCast right now in iTunes and listen to episode two on your way to work!
No one likes to be throttled — just ask Shep Smith — so when AT&T started sending throttling warnings to “unlimited” customers they considered to be the “Top 5%” data hogs, outrage and confusion ensued. After multiple complaints and an online petition, AT&T was forced to clarify their throttling policy and what it means to be in the “Top 5%.”
AT&T has been sending out text messages to those they consider to be among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These messages seem to only pertain to those still on the “unlimited” plan and warn them that they may be subjected to “reduced data speeds.” This throttling of data speeds is a direct attack against the “unlimited” plans and the users grandfathered into them. The worst part about it is most “unlimited” users have not changed the way they use their phones, yet they are now finding themselves to be alienated and penalized as being a part of the 5%. The whole thing is outrageous, and while many customers have been ranting about it for a while, you’re going to want to see what happens when Fox News anchor Shep Smith receives one of these AT&T messages. Let’s just say someone’s not happy.
The Wall Street Journal has published a report confirming that the iPad 3 will feature 4G LTE networking technology for both AT&T and Verizon customers. Apple’s next-generation iPad is expected to be announced on March 7th, and the device is rumored to feature an A6 quad-core processor and Retina display.
Starting Sunday AT&T customers will be faced with a $36 fee for upgrading to a new device. This is a 100% increase from the current fee of $18! You ask yourself why, why would AT&T impose a 100% increase on a fee so outlandish that the majority of carriers wave? I say it’s to make up for the 4 billion dollar loss they took on the failed T-Mobile merger. They say it’s because:
AT&T has begun replacing its existing micro-SIMs with a new card capable of connecting to its LTE network. While you won’t need to replace the micro-SIM you’ve already got in your iPhone, you may need one for your iPad 3 next month.
A big challenge for businesses and organizations is cost management, particularly in the current economic climate. Many companies are trying to maximise their budgets – one of the big factors pushing the BYOD trend. Where BYOD isn’t feasible, however, businesses may still have the need to support mobile professionals – and need to do so as cost effectively as possible.
Despite the common presumption that Apple solutions are more expensive, the iPhone offers companies unique advantages when it comes to keeping costs down – and those advantages aren’t likely to be found in Android devices.
If you’re still boasting a grandfathered-in unlimited iPhone data plan, AT&T’s just effectively said they’re going to stop honoring it. If you use more than 2GB of data per month, AT&T will now throttle your data speeds down to completely unusable levels.
If you think about it, it’s pretty convoluted having a separate data plan for both your iPhone and iPad when you could just pay your carrier a lump sum and share a data allowance between the two. Verizon and AT&T certainly think so: they said as far back as June last year that they were investigating shared data plans.
Now, just a couple months before the iPad 3 is expected to debut, Engadget has gotten a tip that suggests that Verizon is getting ready to roll out shared data plans sometimes soon, allowing one account holder to share a data pool between multiple devices for just a $9.99 fee.
Despite losing its exclusive standing with Apple, AT&T announced selling 7.6 million iPhones, comprising 20 percent of Apple’s 37 million smartphone sales during the fourth quarter of 2011, which ended Dec. 31. Even more impressive: Apple’s handset accounts for 80 percent of all smartphones the carrier sells.