iPad
 

I can't seem to work out the difference between a iPad with wi-fi
and one that has wi-fi and cellular

there is a hundred bucks difference, but I don't want to buy cheap and then regret it either.

Can someone explain the difference please?

You might want to discuss it with your dealer but according to my daughter, with just wi fi you are going through wi fi like at Starbucks and your system at home. With cellular you are going thru the data available with your cel phone provider. So if you have limited data on your cel phone - it would eat into that available data.

We started out with just wifi, but quickly decided we needed the 4G. Not everyplace you go to has free wifi. It's also a great GPS, I like it much better than the GPS in our car. There's lots of advantages if you can afford the difference. Remember, there's also a monthly charge that goes along with the iPad if you get the 4G.

I realized the difference when I took my wi-fi only iPad to a restaurant. Could not look up anything on the Internet. However, I could look up info on the net using my iPhone. If my iPad had cellular and I hooked it up to my T-Mobile cell phone account, I would be able to access the Internet anywhere my iPhone can access the Internet because I would have cellular data available to me when wi-fi isn't available. If I wanted to, I could use a cable to connect my iPad to my iPhone to allow my iPad to access my cellular network, but nobody (except college students on a budget) wants to do it that way. If I had it to do over again, I would have paid $100 more for cellular. It's not something I would use often, but would be very nice to have. iPads last for many, many years so the investment is amortized over time.

I have a Galaxy and didn't realize I was tied into a contract with the monthly fee for the 4G. I rarely use the tablet so I am giving Verizon $10 a month for nothing!

Wifi is a wireless network that connects to the internet. Although a few places charge for WiFi, it is usually free, but not always available. Cellular service is usually available, but it always comes at a price, and the price usually depends on the amount of data you are transmitting. Using cellular for voice and texting is low volume and therefore relatively cheap, but the rates for data can be quite high depending on the volume. I would definitely pay the extra $100 for the ability to use cellular, even if I didn't need it right now, because as Prism pointed out there may be times when WiFi is not available and you want to use your iPad to connect to the internet. However, be sure to look for a cellular service that fits your needs. You may want a pay-as-you-go plan rather than a contract. And if free WiFi is available, you will probably want to connect to it rather than to cellular.

i use my cell phone with unlimited data as a wireless network router and hook up my wifi devices to it when free wifi is unavailable. works great

I also use my cellphone as a hotspot to connect my husband's WiFi -only
tablet to the internet when WiFi is unavailable. Done wirelessly. However does use up some data on my plan so he uses it sparingly. I don't have unlimited data. I think both devices use up data that way also.

Thank you. Thank you!

Now that we are retired we are on the road more and just cannot read the phone screens well at all and pecking out search words is like something from a TV comedy. Hence the Ipad because we have Iphones and the service would be bundled.
We are buying the iPad outright at costco so we don't have that as part of our cell phone/internet payment, adding the owned ipad will add $10.00 a month to our service fees. I can live with that.

Thank you all for so clearly saying what I didn't understand in person ;)

Yes, you definitely want cellular on the iPad if you will be using it on the road! :thumbup: