Reaction to AT&T’s new data plans has been harsh, to say the least. People who use little bandwidth are looking forward to saving money, but heavy data users are up in arms. BGR points out that if you’re on the AT&T 200MB plan, they won’t automatically upgrade you if you go over, meaning that you will pay up to $150 for 2GB of bandwidth.
Clicker breaks down how much video streaming you can get done if you have the 2GB account on the iPad. With nothing else, you could get 17 hours of YouTube, or 13.65 hours of Netflix, or 10.24 hours of ABC. That’s all it takes to completely drain your bandwidth, over the course of an entire month. Their own conclusions are:
1. If you don’t have the unlimited plan, get it before June 7. Run don’t walk! (And yes, from experience, the 3G iPad is completely the right call. It’s awesomely convenient.)2. If you don’t get the unlimited plan, and plan to stream via apps on your iPad, go WiFi as much as possible. Otherwise it’s going to cost you.
I have to agree with them on the iPad 3G front. If you’re planning on streaming much media over the device, it’s in your best interest to get grandfathered in as soon as possible.
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A more useful post above would have been appreciated.
How do you go about getting a plan without the ipad in hand?
Well….you don’t…that’s like getting a phone plan with no phone.