Re: [iPad] 3g data plans?

 

But technically then, shouldn't any cell-phone service which uses GSM (I believe that's what T-mobile uses) be able to accomodate an iPad?

The answer to your question is "No".

Here's what Gismodo wrote a year or more ago:
We're excited that the iPad's data plans won't lock you down in a 2-year contract and that the device's 3G modem isn't carrier-locked. But you still won't get 3G speeds on an iPad if you decide to use T-Mobile.

Why? The iPad's 3G modem supports UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz). T-Mobile's 3G runs on 1700 Mhz. See the trouble? You could of course still get EDGE data service using T-Mobile, but that's just not as great as the theoretically blazing 3G speeds, is it?

Some of you are remarking that T-Mobile also runs on 2100 MHz, but here's what our friend and wise man Richard Baguley says:
UMTS2100 is the european version, not the US one. I don't think they are compatible. So, the iPad would just not see the T-Mobile 3G on either frequency.



Why not make the iPad able to access any/all cell phone services and let the end-user decide which service to use?  After all, I can buy an unlocked cell phone and use it with any carrier which uses the same technology.

Until recently, different systems required different chipsets. Think about how crowded the inside of an iPad2 is, and now try to put a second or third, or more, cellular chipset and supporting electronics in there.

Perhaps as soon as iPhone 5, or maybe sometime in 2012, these products will be routinely including new cellular chipsets -- ones that can deal with multiple cellular systems, and more frequencies.

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 Jim Saklad                                        mailto:jimdoc@me.com

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