- 1. Fast, Stable and a Tool for Fun and Work
- 2. Life in iPad Paradise
1. Fast, Stable and a Tool for Fun and Work
One man's iPad perspective: Barry Gerber gets his hands on the Apple iPad 3G and, for the most part, couldn't be happier. Here's why.
Check out James Pikover’s April 5threview of the WiFi-only iPad for details omitted here.
I’ve had my iPad WiFi + 3G for less than two days and I absolutely love it. The iTablet is fast, stable and a great tool for fun and, very importantly for me, work.
The main external difference between the iPad WiFi and WiFi + 3G is the 3G signal port at the top of the middle image above. Internally, the major differences are the 3G modem and a GPS. Yes, I verified that there is a very effective GPS using two iPhone apps that ported just fine over to my iPad.
Let’s get the speeds and feeds stuff out of the way first. I used an iPhone/iPad app, iNetwork Test 3.0, to check out the performance of my iPhone and iPad on both AT&T’s 3G network and my home 802.11g WiFi network. I did all testing in the span of 10 minutes, under normal conditions. That is, I made no effort to quell activity on my generally already quiet WiFi network. The numbers below are the average of the results of six tests on each network.
| TEST | iPad | iPhone |
|---|---|---|
| 3G | ||
| Download Speed (kbps) | 2278 | 2233 |
| Upload Speed (kbps) | 50 | 47 |
| Latency (ms) | 185 | 235 |
| WiFi | ||
| Download Speed (kbps) | 1432 | 1239 |
| Upload Speed (kbps) | 96 | 91 |
| Latency (ms) | 148 | 149 |
Though most of the test results are fairly close, things generally felt faster on the iPad on 3G than WiFi. And, generally, my experience on the iPad felt significantly faster than on the iPhone. I think the performance of the iPad’s faster CPU is probably more responsible for the iPad’s sense of speed than the networks. Oh yea, before someone comments, my WiFi network isn’t the most modern and, my connection to the Internet, though a highly stable and expensive Verizon business link, isn’t the fastest in the world.
- 1. Fast, Stable and a Tool for Fun and Work
- 2. Life in iPad Paradise
- 3. Doing Real Work on the iPad
Great read. How did you test the speed of the downloads?
I personally can't really see me using the iPad 3G over the standard Wi-Fi model. I do like having the ability to connect anywhere, but as an iPhone owner, why do I need the iPad? My father's been looking mine over, trying to figure out whether it's worth having (he also has an iPhone 3GS), and while he likes it and enjoys typing on it, he's not sure about using it for business.
Also, nice Andy Marken throw-in. Great industry joke.
I'm still not sure what the actual point of this device is. Sure, its sold a lot, but it really doesn't seem to do anything new well enough to make it a must-buy.
How is the 3g faster than wifi? Is something wrong with your wireless network?
I keep reading about this piece of junk looking for the things that sets this apart from all the other gadgets we already have and I honestly cant figure it out. All I see is what it cant do, its overpriced, its locked down, theres nothing here or anywhere else written on this paper weight that overshadows the logo on the back.
Yeah the iPad is a cool device, it is a UMPC after all, but there are just so many better products.
Give me full Windows, Linux, or Android any-day over this closed, castrated UMPC.
Doing Real Work on the iPad?
1. Typing on a virtual keyboard
2. Composing a new message in iPad email
3. Using LogMeIn
yep, sounds like your typical Apple user.
Folks, I am a serious Windows user - MS and Linux. But, until you've used an iPad and compared it with the horrible touch implementations of Windows and Linux, you can't understand the power of the iPad.
As for closed and open systems, I am testing an Android phone (HTC Incredible) right now. It's a fully open system. Half the software I've downloaded simply locks up the phone. Email, both built-in and K9, can't get to my Exchange 2000 server using IMAP. Synching with Outlook calendar and contacts is a hit and miss thing. I will admit that the touch screen is more like the iPad's - fast and sensitive, but the implementation of the icon display screens is maddeningly limiting my productivity, compared to the iPhone/iPad implementation.
I love building and tinkering with PCs. However, for me a portable computing device like a smartphone or iTablet should free you from all the tinkering and just work.
Those who want yet another computer to worry about are welcome to choose Windows slates, though apparently you won't be able to get one from HP, or the current crop of unripe Android devices.
For the record, I compared a WiFi connection out to the Internet with a 3G connection out to the Internet. I did not compare 3G performance to the Internet with local WiFi performance. Obviously, such a local connection would be magnitudes faster. However, it would not provide data for comparison with the 3G network connection.
Doing Real Work on the iPad?1. Typing on a virtual keyboard2. Composing a new message in iPad email3. Using LogMeInyep, sounds like your typical Apple user.
Hi troll.
Folks, I am a serious Windows user - MS and Linux. But, until you've used an iPad and compared it with the horrible touch implementations of Windows and Linux, you can't understand the power of the iPad.As for closed and open systems, I am testing an Android phone (HTC Incredible) right now. It's a fully open system. Half the software I've downloaded simply locks up the phone. Email, both built-in and K9, can't get to my Exchange 2000 server using IMAP. Synching with Outlook calendar and contacts is a hit and miss thing. I will admit that the touch screen is more like the iPad's - fast and sensitive, but the implementation of the icon display screens is maddeningly limiting my productivity, compared to the iPhone/iPad implementation.I love building and tinkering with PCs. However, for me a portable computing device like a smartphone or iTablet should free you from all the tinkering and just work.Those who want yet another computer to worry about are welcome to choose Windows slates, though apparently you won't be able to get one from HP, or the current crop of unripe Android devices.
thankyou for being sensible! I love messing with my tower too but yes a portable device should just work and if it takes a bit of a control freak to make that happen so be it. A good popular product is about the overall package. Its more than a sum of components and specs. It isnt a coincidence that people love these things.
i purchased an ipad wifi from best buy as my 3g model is held up in HK due to backlog.. in playing with it for the few days i kept it before returning it i was absolutely and completely impressed.
i am a hardcore windows guy and do windows system administration as my full time job and grew up using command line interface and keeping the cover off of my PC more than it was on - in other words i am a hacker through and through and in the geek, as well as black/white hat sense. all i can say is that the naysayers and haters just make themselves look stupid when they dis the unit and also make it very clear that they have never handled one themselves.
yes, it is closed (although is already jailbroken). yes it is about $100-$150 too expensive in my opinion, and yes you have to bow down and become one with the apple machine to utilize it, but when the return is as great as it is with the ipad who cares?
i think one thing to also keep in mind is that the device is going to become even better as firmware updates come out and also as developers seize the opportunity to write great software for a device that sold over 1 million units in its first week out.
as much as i love windows 7, or the open idea of android - neither one of them holds a candle in my opinion to apple in the tablet form factor.
*** please note I do not own and never have owned a mac. i am a pc guy through and through.