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Mobile Data Plans

September 2, 2010 12:47:57.000

I turned on a month of mobile data for my iPad, and - much to my surprise - I find I'm using it beyond my vacation last week. Now I'm pondering what to do about it going forward - and this story in PC World popped up:

To be clear, jumping on the portable hotspot bandwagon won't relieve you of the obligation to have a data plan for smartphones with the major wireless providers. However, rather than paying $25 for 2Gb of data on the iPhone, plus $20 for the privilege of tethering a laptop to that connection, and an additional $25 for 2Gb of data on the iPad, AT&T subscribers can opt for the minimal $15 data plan for 200Mb on the iPhone, and instead spend $40 per month with Virgin Mobile for unlimited data on a portable hotspot that can be shared among all three platforms--and then some.

Portable hotspots have been around for awhile, but I've never really felt the need for one. Now that I'm considering how I use the iPad, I have to start thinking about it. IT would be another thing to carry, but honestly - when I travel, I carry a lot of stuff anyway. Far from liberating me from my laptop, the iPad has simply become another thing I bring. It's not a laptop replacement - in device terms, it's kind of analogous to a "third place".

Anyway, I'm going to have to consider the whole data plan thing.

posted by James Robertson

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