Verizon iPad 4G vs AT&T iPad 4G – Which to buy? - Shelly Palmer

Some say the glass is half empty ATampampT has only 28 LTE markets some say the glass is half full Verizon has 203 LTE markets amp8211 a physicist would say the glass is 100 full half liquid half air 4G is a marketing term not a technical standard Let39s reviewUnlike 3G which is a technical standard the definition of 4G is for all practical purposes anything you want it to be as long as it39s quotfaster than 3Gquot How much faster Well Verizon says 610 times faster and it proudly calls its LTE Long Term Evolution network quot4Gquot And by the way that39s what everyone else calls 4G tooATampampT has a slightly different definition It has only 28 LTE markets where its service is basically speed equivalent with Verizon39s LTE service But and it39s a big but ATampampT has also deployed a technology known as HSPA ATampampT calls this quotfaster than 3Gquot service quot4Gquot and if you look at the ATampampT coverage map it looks like ATampampT has the quotlargest 4G network in the USquot But does it It depends upon how you define 4GTom DeVito Vice President and General Manger for ATampampT in New York and New Jersey says quotIt39s important to us that our customers have a consistently fast mobile Internet experience Our customers will have the benefit of access to both our 4G LTE coverage where available and our HSPA network which will provide a much more consistent speed experience as they move in and out of 4G LTE coverage areasquotOK so now you are faced with today39s most pressing question quotNew Verizon iPad or new ATampampT iPad which to buyquotIf you live in one of the 28 ATampampT LTE markets buy an ATampampT iPad You will get awesome LTE speeds plus you will get HSPA speeds when you39re on the road This is the best possible solution for 2012 However by the end of 2013 you will be wondering why everyone else39s quotNewquot iPad is so much faster than yours I don39t know why Apple didn39t call this new device the iPad 2S it would have made this article so much easier to write To be fair ATampampT is adding LTE markets all the time and it expects its quotLTE rollout to be largely complete by yearend 2013quot but I39m not sure that ATampampT39s LTE deployment will catch up to Verizon39s by yearend 2013 amp8211 that39s a lot of ground to coverIf you live in one of the 203 Verizon LTE markets and don39t travel much buy a Verizon iPad You will get awesome LTE speeds when you are at home and good ol39 fashioned 3G speed when you39re on the road This may not seem like a great solution for right now but Verizon39s LTE network will cover most of the US by the end of 2013 BTW Verizon 4G is also in 200 major airportsIf you live in a Verizon LTE market but you do travel extensively you may want to purchase an ATampampT iPad because for the 18month lifespan of this device ATampampT may offer better average connectivity speed for you on a nationwide basis as the unit falls back to HSPA when 4G is not available again check the coverage mapsInternational travelers amp8211 you have to buy an ATampampT iPad if you can afford the international data roaming charges Verizon iPads are not international travelerfriendly nor are its phonesIf you almost never travel and use your iPad with a WiFi network at home or in the office why are you reading this articleThe thing that I find most disturbing about this issue is the remarkable amount of consumer confusion it is causing A confused consumer is always bad for business LTE is just a bunch of letters and with ATampampT39s latest marketing trick calling HSPA 4G no one can really say what 4G is ATampampT isn39t wrong amp8211 you can call HSPA 4G But who does it help Consumers will not have a consistent experience across the ATampampT network so how will they know when ATampampT is bit throttling traffic shaping or they39re just in an HSPA coverage area The indicator on the device will say 4G in every case This is just badOn Verizon 4G means LTE This is comforting because LTE is a technical standard with a welldefined range of speeds And you can always count on it to be 610 times faster than a connection on Verizon39s 3G networkShould you punish ATampampT for telling you that a 35G technology is 4G I guess it depends if the glass is half empty or half fullShelly Palmer is the host of NBC Universalamp8216s Live Digital with Shelly Palmer a weekly halfhour television show about living and working in a digital world He is Fox 5 New Yorkamp8216s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Televisionamp8217s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Livingamp160 He also hosts United Stations Radio Networkamp8216s MediaBytes a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and the President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything and the upcoming Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Verizon iPad 4G vs AT&T iPad 4G – Which to buy? - Shelly Palmer

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