✔ Wi-Fi is what you use to connect to a wireless network at home, at work, or at public locations such as your local coffee shop or an airport. This type of network uses short-range radio to connect devices to the Internet; its range is reasonably limited – so if you leave home or walk out of the coffee shop, you can’t use it.
✔ 3G and 4G cellphone technologies allow an iPad to connect to the Internet via a cellular network that’s widespread. You use it in much the same way that you make calls from just about anywhere using your cellphone. 3G is available as of iPad 2 and all later models. As the latest cellular connection technology, it may not be available in every location. You’ll still connect to the Internet when 4G service isn’t available, but without the advantage of the superfast 4G technology.
You can buy an iPad with only Wi-Fi or one with both Wi-Fi and 3G (or 3G and 4G) capabilities. Getting a 3G/4G iPad costs an additional $130, but it also includes GPS so that you can get more accurate driving directions. You have to buy an iPad model for your preferred data connection provider – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon in the United States, as of this writing.
Also, to use your 3G/4G network, you have to pay AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon a monthly fee. The good news is that none of these carriers requires a long-term contract, as you probably had to commit to with your cellphone and its data connection – you can pay for a connection the month you travel to Hong Kong and then get rid of it when you return home.
Features, data allowance (which relates to accessing email or downloading items from the Internet, for example), and prices vary by carrier and could change at any time, so visit each carrier’s website to see what each offers. Note that if you intend to stream videos (watch them on your iPad from the Internet), you can eat through your data plan allowance quickly.
So how do you choose? If you want to wander around the woods or town – or take long drives with your iPad continually connected to the Internet – get 3G/4G and pay the price. But if you’ll use your iPad mainly at home or using a Wi-Fi hotspot (a location where Wi-Fi access to the Internet is available, such as at an Internet cafe, an office, or a library), don’t bother with 3G/4G. And frankly, you can now find lots of hotspots out there, including restaurants, hotels, airports, and more.
Knowing what you need to use your iPad
Before you head off to buy your iPad, you should know what other devices, connections, and accounts you’ll need to work with it optimally. At a bare minimum, you need to be able to connect to the Internet to take advantage of most of iPad’s features. You can open an iCloud account (Apple’s online storage and synchronization service) to store and share content online, or you can use a computer to download photos, music, or applications from non-Apple online sources such as stores or sharing sites like your local library, and then transfer them to your iPad through a process called syncing. You can also use a computer or iCloud to register your iPad the first time you start it, although if you have an Apple Store nearby, you can have it handle the registration for you.
Can you use iPad without owning a computer and just use public Wi-Fi hotspots to go online (or a 3G/4G connection if you have one of those models)? Yes. However, to be able to go online using a Wi-Fi–only iPad and to use many of its built-in features at home, you need to have a home Wi-Fi network available or be lucky enough to live in a town that offers town-wide Wi-Fi (or at least Wi-Fi in your neighborhood). You also need to use iCloud or sync to your computer to get updates for the iPad operating system.
For syncing with a computer, Apple’s iPad User Guide recommends that you have
✔ A Mac or PC with a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port and one of the following operating systems:
• Mac OS X version 10.6.8 or later
• Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
✔ iTunes 11.0 or later, available at www.itunes.com/download
✔ An Apple ID and iTunes Store account
✔ Internet access
✔ An iCloud account
Apple has set up its iTunes software and the iCloud service to give you two ways to manage content for your iPad – including movies, music, or photos you’ve downloaded – and specify how to sync your calendar and contact information. Chapter 4 in this minibook covers those settings in more detail.
Getting Your Hands on an iPad
As of this writing, you can buy an iPad at the Apple Store and from several brick-and-mortar stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Target, and at online sites such as MacMall. You can also buy 3G/4G models, which require an account with a phone service provider, from the data providers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, as well as from Apple.
If you get your iPad from Apple, either at one of its retail stores or through its online store, here’s the difference in the buying experience.
The brick-and-mortar Apple Store advantage is that the sales staff will help you unpack your iPad and make sure it’s working properly, register the device (which you have to do before you can use it), and help you learn the basics. There are also occasional workshops offered to help people learn about how to use iPads, and Apple employees are famous for being helpful to customers.
However, Apple Stores aren’t on every corner, so if visiting one isn’t an option (or you just prefer to go it alone), you can go to the Apple Store website (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad),