The latest product from Apple called the iPad was announced today by Steve Jobs at an “invite only” news conference. Along with the news of the iPad comes news that Apple will stick with AT&T as the sole provider for 3G data packages.
Apple has apparently worked out a great deal with AT&T. The iPad is unlocked and doesn’t require a long-term contract, which means you don’t have to go with AT&T if you don’t want to. But the mobile carrier’s pricing is hard to resist: $14.99 for 250 megabytes and $29.99 for unlimited data, plus free access at AT&T’s WiFi hotspots.
That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. And I know that since owning my iPhone 3GS that AT&T’s 3G network, and service, has improved exponentially.
I’m excited to see how the iPad performs on the 3G network, and perhaps even more excited to experience it’s functionality as it tries to merge the “mobile” data phone concept with the laptop computer.