Question regarding 3g network

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I'm impatiently waiting for my 16 gig 3G iPad to arrive. As a lifetime Verizon user, this will be my first experience with AT&T service.

We have the "edge" network in my area, primarily. I know there are going to be upgrades soon, but how efficient is this network. Will I be able to effectively watch netflix, listen to pandora, etc., or will I be stuck with general web surfing until I get to a wifi connection?

Thanks for the assistance!
 
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I travel pretty extensively and I can tell you that it is no where near as fast as wifi. I did an unscientific test against my sons iPhone and his screen loaded faster than the 3G iPad. Maybe because it's a smaller screen? I'm not sure. At the end of the day having 3G is great especially if you travel and if you want 3G there really isn't a choice other than ATT is there. Good luck.
 
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I have a 3g iPad and live in an area where there is 3G everywhere. I've been using (abusing even) the netflix and abc apps at home on my fiber optic WiFi and on 3G when out or at work. At home on WiFi of course the picture is superb. I was watching 24 through netflix at work yesterday and I was really impressed at the streaming quality over 3G. I would go as far as to say that it is almost just as clear as WiFi. Occassionally it will get slightly blurry but there hasnt been a buffering or anything like that. The iPad is amazing and I don't know how I ever lived without it. Im not sure how it would run on edge, but I would assume that it isnt going to be nearly as clear since edge is about 2.5 times slower than 3G. (I work for at&t) Also, where I live in South Florida, we have faster 3G than anywhere else in the country so that could be why also.
 
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Edge will be so-so. I get about 2mbps down when i tether my iPhone to my laptop, so AT&T's 3G is quite good - faster than Verizon.
 
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I would have Loved to get the Iphone but like you I cannot get their 3G. Even though I live on the edge of a Major city. I guess that is why they call it the "edge"? I travel by auto alot and cannot afford to have a signal loss in case of breakdown. Most areas I travel to on business I cannot even get any AT&T coverage. So like you I went to Verizon and on their phones I get full or near full signals even in mountain terrain. So for the past year and a half I've been using a USB plugin of theirs for my laptop and my videos run great. Now they have the MIFI system that you can run a wifi Ipad on (just arrived as I'm typing this). If this works as well as my USB plugin I'll be very happy. As for the Verizon haters remember that in my locations I cannot not get AT&T 3G. For $60.00 I get 5G of data (which I need every month) and even though my contract still had 10 months to go I still got their MIFI for only $49.00 plus free overnite shipping with my new 2 year contract. If you had a new contract I believe the MIFI is free. Yes I had to sign a contract but their are vendors out there that you can buy the MIFI unit for around $225.00 now and not be tied down to a contract. Well I'm off to see how well this works.
 

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