Verizon MiFi with new iPad

Tamara wrote:
I'm just wondering why people are making such a big deal about such an overpriced device with such a tiny data plan. I feel bad for the person using Mifi that makes the mistake of watching too many Netflix movies because they're stranded in an airport.

As you've discovered,it always pays to be an educated customer.

I'm just wondering why people are making such a big deal about such an overpriced device with such a tiny data plan. I feel bad for the person using Mifi that makes the mistake of watching too many Netflix movies because they're stranded in an airport.

I have to wonder about people who don't research something before they buy it. I've had my Verizon MiFi for a little over a year and wouldn't want to be without it. I don't have to go hunting for hotspots when I travel, I don't have to worry about someone breaking into my computer when I'm on a public hotspot, and I have yet to find any location where it doesn't work flawlessly. I know the limitations of the 5Gb/month cap and plan accordingly. I use a bandwith meter when I use the MiFi and haven't gone over my allotment even once. It's not that hard to keep track of usage. I don't use the MiFi for video at all (I have plenty videos on my iPad) and I don't download huge files with it. For that kind of thing, I use my home network.

I'll also add that the MiFi has been a lifesaver. My cable internet went through a flaky period last winter and was periodically down for a day or two at a time because of storms. With the MiFi, I was able to continue working and stay connected when I needed to. I'm hoping that by the time my contract is up, Verizon will have a widely available 4G version with an unlimited plan. At that point, I'll ditch my cable altogether.

If you are going to use verizon, and not using mifi for all your Internet, you are much better off getting the palm pre. Right now verizon is offering free mobile hotspot with it and you can connect up to 5 devices. Why pay $720 a year for mifi, when with the palm you can get it for free? Same speeds. The phone cost me $100 with a one year contract. Right now, you can get it for $30.

There have been a number of reports of iPods and iPads (though not MacBooks) getting very slow throughput using a Palm Pre. Currently, there doesn't seem to be a good explanation for this. It doesn't seem to be happening to everyone but it's starting to look repeatable. I've used a MiFi with my Touch to stream Slacker with no hitches. With the Palm Pre, constant stutters, drop outs. This was in the same location with full signal strength on both.

The Mobile Hotspot on the Pre is still a great deal.

I think it's more of an iPad problem than a palm problem. If palm was throttling back the speed with the iPad, then everyone with an iPad would have that problem. I get speeds up to 400 Kbs and at work up to 1.6 Mbs with my iPad connected to the palm. But others don't even come close to that speeds, which would point to iPad problems, and since there are other wifi problems associated with the iPad, my bet is that some ipads are defective.

let's see say an average movie is 2GB that means you could watch two movies a month and have a gig left over for your other stuff. I pay say an average of $12 for a DVD so that's $24 for two meaning for $26/mo I could get 1GB of data or for $30 I can be unlimited by AT&T (but not stream movies Edge here is too slow or otherwise throttled). Well ok neither option is perfect, but ATT plus two DVDs a month works out better for me, I'm already up to 650MB and I've only had my iPad for 4 days so 1GB is way to little. Now what happens if I go over the 5 gig limit say by a 2GB movie. That's 2000MB * .05=$100 yikes well forget eating for a week, because I forgot to check a meter, nope sorry unless they get rid of the limit or raise it to a reasonable limit like at least 100GB I'll stick to AT&T unlimited. Of course I'm not even sure if Verizon can do video streaming here, my phone sure cuts out a lot and I'm not sure they have true 3G either. Note my other Internet option here is dialup and at least Edge is giving me about a 4X increase in speed, it's just too bad the app store won't let me get anything larger than 20GB...iTunes music is not a problem since each song of an album is loaded separately I can get large PDFs and other things just no apps I've passed up quite a few due to this and it is annoying, I wonder if it would still detect 3G under the Verizon system? Probably the iPad tells the app store it is connected via 3G.

iCreature, thanks for the breakdown, your estimate is based on the MiFi being the only internet connection. As most have noted when available they use a free WiFi connection. As for movies and other large files, I download them on my iMac via DSL and sync to my iPad.

I would find the MiFi useful between finding the free WiFi and to use with other devices, like a laptop needing an internet connection. So in my case the $60 a month is a good option. But I have to say, I'm also looking at the Palm Pre Plus from Verizon with the MiFi plan.

wxman2003 wrote:
I think it's more of an iPad problem than a palm problem.

I'm seeing the problem with a Touch which has no other WiFi problems (or problems of any kind)at all. The problem is too new and has to few data points to determine what the root cause (or causes) may be. It's worth being aware of, though.