Apple Announces iPad with $30 a month no-contract unlimited 3G

27th Jan 2010 - Apple has just announced their new iPad tablet device, which will be available with GSM 3G connectivity. In an interesting move, this will cost $15 a month for 250MB, or $30 a month for unlimited use, with no long-term contract.

This flies in the face of existing pricing plans for 3G devices. Typically, devices like netbooks and smartphones have been sold with accompanying 2-year contracts, which tied users into a $60 and up plan in return for lowering the cost of the device. The iPad is not tied into a long-term contract: although it comes with a 3G GSM modem, users can buy data in one month blocks from AT&T directly on the device. This no-contract service will cost $15 for up to 250MB of data a month, or $30 for unlimited data. This price also includes unlimited use of AT&T WiFi hot spots in locations such as coffe shops and many airports. Although details of how the plan will work have not been released, Apple did claim that it can be activated from the device itself; there is no need to go to an AT&T store. They also said that the service is pre-paid and can be cancelled at any time.

The 3G modem on the device is unlocked: it will work with any GSM network that supports the 850, 1900 and 2100 Mhz frequencies. This means it will work with AT&T, but not with T-Mobile in the USA. Abroad, it will work with most GSM networks. However, it does use the new micro SIM cards, which are not offered by all phone networks yet. These microSIM cards are smaller than existing SIMs, so you won't be able to just remove the SIM from your iPhone or other phone and use it in an iPad.

The iPad models with 3G will cost from $629 (for the 16GB model) and go up to $829 for the 64GB model. That price does not include any 3G service.

UPDATE: we have had some questions on the compatibility of the iPad with T-Mobile. To clarify: the announced specs of the iPad do not include support for the 1.7Ghz/2.1Ghz AWS standard that T-Mobile uses for their 3G network in the USA. However, it should be compatiable with the (non-3D) GPRS/EDGE network that T-Mobile also offers. So, it appears that you can connect an iPad to the T-Mobile network, but it will not get a 3G connection, and will run much slower than the AT&T or other GSM networks. This is, of course, assuming that the specs of the iPad do not change between now and product availability.