do i really need the 3g ipad if i have an iphone?

[sepehrsh]

im going crazy trying to decide if i should spend $130 more to get the ipad 3g. someone talk me out of it

 

[JNHohol]

It's simple, where are you going to use it? Do you have Wi-Fi at home and work? Do you use public transportation for long commutes? If you have Wi-Fi in the places that you will need to use it, go Wi-Fi. I'm planning on using mine at home where I don't have Wi-Fi, so 3G is really tempting.

 

[anaisamy]

I don't see why you would need 3G on the iPad if you tether from the iPhone.

 

[lawls]

Tethering drains your battery quite a bit, so if you don't have a way to charge it during the day I would go with 3G

 

[touchyphone]

Tethering drains your battery quite a bit, so if you don't have a way to charge it during the day I would go with 3G

Not really, bluetooth tethering, which you can officially do now on 4.3 on the iPad actually uses little power.

And OP it comes down if you want GPS or not. With the WiFi there's no true GPS without a 3G chip.

 

[AZMerf]

I don't see why you would need 3G on the iPad if you tether from the iPhone.

With the iPad you don't have to prepay (you can if you want) the data plan. So I turn it on for 30 days when I travel and then don't renew until I travel again. With the hot spots, I don't think you can turn the service off and on as conveniently.

 

[lawls]

Not really, bluetooth tethering, which you can officially do now on 4.3 on the iPad actually uses little power.

And OP it comes down if you want GPS or not. With the WiFi there's no true GPS without a 3G chip.

Really? I'll have to try that instead of using the wifi personal hotspot, my battery on my iPhone 4 dropped really fast when I was using it yesterday.
Down from 110%-20% just from using it at school

 

[j7469]

I have a 3G original iPad and am planning on picking up an iPad 2 soon without 3G. I wish that I could tether with my iPhone on AT&T but I don't want to have to give up Unlimited Data to do so.

Today I decided my best option (since I will get the new iPad and my wife will get the old one) is to purchase a MiFi from AT&T. It's small enough not to be a pain to carry. 4 hours of battery life should do what I need between charges and it was free with free shipping this weekend. I also get 3GB of data for $26.50 with my employee discount.

There is a real convenience having the built in 3G but for me saving the extra $130 it worth carrying another device. Plus with the MiFi I can connect multiple devices. Hopefully one of these options will work for you.