When AT&T announced new plans the other day, they mentioned that 98% of unlimited plan users never went above 2GB of data. However, this was “smartphone users” and not iPad users. We suspect that the iPad has caught them off guard and that with the increasing availability of streaming applications they are probably getting concerned about how much data is being eaten up by iPad users… hence why they probably only reported on smartphone users keeping the iPad users secret.

What seems to be the main reason for the switch is the growing demand for streaming video content over 3G on the Apple iPad. When using an iPad to check email, browse websites and sync with Exchange you hardly use any data. My own iPad 3G is 9 days old now and I activated the microSIM late Sunday night. So far I’ve used about 40MB of data while on the move to check emails, browse the web and an hour or so of streaming video on YouTube… for my daily usage I probably wont go over the 2GB limit if I had that limit (I’m in the UK with different tariffs). But for many who travel on public transport, travel a lot and work away, streaming video could potentially get used a lot more. [Read more…]

AT&T [T] earlier this week decided it would be fun to scrap the $30 unlimited plan as of June 7 and start offering a 2GB plan for $25/month. For those using mobile phones is might not seem like too much of a bad deal. I use my iPhone quite a bit and have only just racked up 2GB of data in the last couple of months. However, for iPad owners where the data usage is expected to be more this is quite a blow for some.

We know that Apple [AAPL] recently changed the shipping date of the iPad to June 7 which some thought was part of a sneaky plan to stop the $30 unlimited plan being purchased, however, AT&T has now said that anybody pre-ordering an iPad before June 7 will still be allowed to use the unlimited plan even if their iPad doesn’t land until the changes to $25/2GB plans are made. [Read more…]

The CIO of Jetstar believes that the Apple iPad could eventually replace in-flight entertainment systems. By giving passengers an iPad to use (ie, renting it out), it allows them to watch movies, browse the web (internet not confirmed) and interact more with a large screen device.

“A lot of airline customers do this now with iPods [and] MP3 players; however, the usage take-up was limited by size of the screens,” he said.

This interview was first uploaded to the web on January 29 by ZDNet. [Read more…]

Earlier this week AT&T made a few changes to data plans for the iPhone and iPad which take effect starting June 7. For those who currently have a plan you can opt to keep it, ie a $30/month unlimited data plan. However with that plan you cannot use the soon to be launched iPhone tethering that is being made available in iPhone OS 4.0. To make use of that, you need to switch to a new 2GB plan for $25/month.

For those wanting to tether their iPad WiFi and iPhone together to use data that way, you are not in luck as a restriction (first thought to be an AT&T [T] restriction), but then confirmed as an Apple [AAPL] restriction has been put in place that prevents a bluetooth tethering connection between the two devices. [Read more…]

BGR is reporting that Verizon Wireless [VZ] is out and about testing Apple iPad devices on their network.

The Apple iPad being tested is a CDMA compatible device although LTE has also been mentioned by a source who informed BGR.

It isn’t clear if the CDMA and the LTA models are the same or different. [Read more…]

The Lonely Planet 1000 Experiences app has been switched to free for a few days in honour of the All Things Digital Conference.

The 1000 Experiences application normally costs $20 and brings the top 1000 ideas for things to do while out and about around the world. The application is configured like a card deck where you can scroll through the cards and find the best activity/experience to do. [Read more…]

If you want to make your iPad safe from water and other things that might damage it such as kitchen use then the Waterwear case will keep the device protected for you. The Waterwear case is created by Tunewear and completely seals the iPad from water in a plastic casing.

The Waterwear case is transparent and allows you to keep the iPad safe underwater for using in places such as the bath or perhaps in the kitchen where plenty of ingredients could hit the screen. [Read more…]

Apple [AAPL] appears to have responded to the problems found in factories where the Apple iPad is built. Recently there has been a number of suicides and although it’s difficult to judge the exact cause of the suicides, Apple has stepped up to offer 0.7% of iPad profits to those assembling the device. This will bring about a 20% raise to each worker on the line.

A small cut to Apple’s profit margin may make a big difference in workers’ lives

As well as cutting 0.7% of it’s profits for iPad assemblers, it is also believed that iPods and iPhones workers will also get a rise.

Apple has it’s products mainly built by Foxconn where other companies products are also built from the likes of HP, Dell, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to name a small group of them. It isn’t clear if Apple will set a standard here for other companies to follow or if they will be the only company to do this. [Read more…]