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Funny how this was a non-issue until Apple's iPad offered LTE.

Up until the launch of the new iPad, Apple was criticized for not supporting LTE. Now that the iPad does support LTE, many article headlines blame Apple for the fact that higher bandwidth means one can download data much more rapidly.

I guess it shows, once again, that nothing is relevant enough to warrant criticism until Apple is involved.

42n81, on 23 March 2012 - 05:54 AM, said:

I've always had a problem with data usage and bandwidth limitations... UBB is bullshit!

Actually, data consumption was an issue for people who were using LTE (as stated in the article by its reference to Android users) prior to the LTE enabled iPads and customer complaints were numerous by those who owned LTE capable devices.

Frankly I find it interesting that people expect someone else to monitor their activity ("People aren't going to stand around forever and just deal with limitations on data usage, and it's not incumbent on the user to monitor his own bandwidth consumption," wrote Erik Fecher in a comment on Computerworld . "It's completely the responsibility of the service provider to accommodate it."). I wonder if Erik Fecher expects Mobile or Exxon to monitor his fuel usage and to be responsible when he runs out of gas because he didn't have enough sense to fuel up before he was empty?

If you buy a device and use a service you, the user, are responsible for the things you do with that device and service. If you want to consume HD video, you need to have a big enough brain to realize how much data is being pulled across the Internet into your device.

I'm a heavy data user--at home. Away from home, I use my wireless connection when there is no other option and I don't use it for recreational purposes. Why? Because I don't want to pay the cost of sucking down gigabytes upon gigabytes of data.

I have a (grandfathered) unlimited plan with my carrier. Even so, I've never used more than a hundred or so megabytes of data in a given plan-month. I understand different people have different data needs. However, many seem to confuse needs with wants. "Wants" traditionally cost more than needs and that paradigm is equally true with cell data use as it is with anything else.

Genuine question: do people feel the benefit of LTE while feelng they need to be conservative about its use? I mean if the advice is to use wifi for downloading/streaming anything substantial, is whatever remains sufficiently improved as to be worth it? If not, I wonder whether it wouldn't have been better to work on increasing available bandwidth rather than making it blazingly fast.

But of course I know very little about how cellular networks work.

42n81, on 23 March 2012 - 05:54 AM, said:

Here we go again.... What is it with you? At first, I made the mistake of grouping Nonseq in with you, but no, he has the ability to be reasonable. YOU however, have to grab apples asscheecks and pucker up every chance you get.

WHY is this such an issue now with the iPad? This is easy - name another device capable of streaming 1080P video, complete with a display capable of such. Go on. I will wait.

waldojim, on 23 March 2012 - 11:13 PM, said:

As you pointed out, that was your mistake. There was no need to insult nonseq to take a stab at me.

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Sigh! I can only dream that I might be so lucky.

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I'm not an expert, but that's a good thing, right? You know, that streaming 1080p stuff.

Are you saying that the iPad can actually do something an Android device can't do better?

42n81, on 24 March 2012 - 05:54 AM, said:

You completely missed the point. While you are yammering on about how the Android market isn't there, thus people don't care, the reality is that the Android market doesn't have this problem (as badly) as their devices are only 720P devices. Capable of high def content, but not 1080P. There is a marked difference in data consumed. This isnt an Android VS Apple debate at all - even though you seem to want to make it out to be some great Apple win.

waldojim, on 24 March 2012 - 11:32 AM, said:

No, YOU said that Apple alone can stream 1080p. I didn't even know there weren't ANY Android devices which could do that and I still don't care that there aren't.

Is it an Apple win? You tell me. Only a month or so ago, numerous commenters were bemoaning the fact that the iPad could not stream full HD at 16:9 whereas their beloved Android tablets could. Now the iPad can and, according to you, does it better than any Android tablet.

I wasn't even considering it a "win" until you mentioned it.

crosswordbob, on 23 March 2012 - 07:48 PM, said:

Last month my Verizon bill was $315. I own three devices on Verizon. And iPhone 4S, an iPad 3rd Gen, and a 4G MiFi. Last month I went over the 5 GBs of data allotted me on my MiFi account. Instead of keeping within the 5 GBs, I went to a just a hair under 20 GBs. At the 50% of my allotment I got a warning. Another at 75%, one more and 90% and then of course another telling me the cost I am paying per GB above the allotment. Which was exactly the same price I pay now; $10 per GB. No one throttled me or stopped me, which is good. They just warned me a lot through email and SMS messages so I wouldn't be surprised and call to complain later.

I have a small 2 GB data plan on both my iPhone and my iPad. On the phone I don't stream anything. I don't even use a quarter of the bandwidth I pay for. But 2 GBs is a healthy buffer so I keep that plan. On the iPad I predict I will use more data now that the speed is there. And I will adjust the plan based on my overages, if any, over the next few months. The issue for me is that at my office, which is located in such an area that getting bandwidth is very difficult. The closest CO is 5x the distance for reliable DSL. Not a single cable company is in the area. So the only choices I have are Microwave, Cellular or T1, fractional T1 or T3. The T1 cost several times what I pay for my 50 GB connection via cable in my home and the T1 is 1.54Mb. It's the speed of DSL of ten years ago. And through that T1 we have email clients gaining access to Exchange from outside host. We have an FTP server running inside. And our phones, 6 lines are channelized dynamically from that single T1. So basically our Broadband is anything but broad. Much of the time it doesn't do a darn thing. And this is why I have the Verizon MiFi. If I wish to get anything done, like retrieve large files from my YouSendIt account that clients are sending me, I'm much better off just using my MiFi. If I stay within the 5 GBs, great, but if not, I like having that speed available and ready at the same price per GB I pay in the 5GB plan.

I often switch from my indoor WiFi to the MiFi when I want to get something large over the internet. I just leave the MiFi plugged in all day. When I travel I of course have taken the MiFi with me. I use it all the time, hence using 20 GBs of data last month. But as I use the iPad more and more, and as apps like iStorage HD and Good Reader allow me to work with large files I will almost certainly use the iPad more and more to quickly and easily grab big files. I can send those large files to my MacMini server. I can grab these files where ever I am without opening my Air and turning on my MiFi. It's simply more convenient for me. I dropped my iMac in favor of using either the Air or the Pro, my choice on a day to day basis and I carry the iPad either way.

Very glad they offered LTE in this new iPad. That and the high res screen made this a no-brainer for me. And I hope they do the same with the next MacBook Air. I'll buy it all over again just to get the higher DPI. For anyone in the graphics world, a higher DPI screen is everything to us. Apple could have charged me double and I'd have paid every penny.

42n81, on 24 March 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

No, we were commenting that it couldn't display ANY type of HD - 720P or otherwise. Nearly every Android variant can display 720P. It is also formatted correctly. Yes, your beloved iPad can finally handle 1080P. I am so happy for you. No, the display still isn't formatted for it, and you still end up with more wasted screen space than any Android tablet.

As for your last line... you are a terrible liar.

waldojim, on 24 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

Yeah, but I can waste that space while enjoying glorious 1080p on a superb display.

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Awwwww, now you huwt my feewings...

42n81, on 24 March 2012 - 04:16 PM, said:

You sure can. Enjoy it.

I'll bet that Android devices catch up again this year, and provide more CPU/GPU power as well. Along with optional microSD card support, HDMI output support, and other fine things that Apple doesn't offer.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 24 March 2012 - 05:41 PM

waldojim, on 24 March 2012 - 05:41 PM, said:

Android device makers are going to have to do something soon or they might as well start folding up their tents and go home ... and take their micro SD slots with them.

42n81, on 24 March 2012 - 06:15 PM, said:

Drop the price $100. They will sell.