Signing up for the data service was pretty easy, with the iPad asking if I wanted to sign up the first time I opened Safari. It pops up a smaller window to pick a plan, and to provide a credit card number. A little over a minute after completing the form, a new popup indicated everything was activated and ready for use.
Sounds like they really have things down, and that's great. Is the 3G version different in that you don't need a computer to activate it? I think things will get extremely interesting when/if Apple can get the iPad to the point where you don't need to have another computer in the house. For example, if grandma only needs the 3G iPad and no computer/home internet connection, that would be really cool.
Would someone explain a usage scenario for the $15 250MB plan? It seems to me that you couldn't really do anything on that. Furthermore, I wonder how accurate the bandwidth monitor they're using actually is. I remember Leo Laporte getting pretty upset when he was overcharged for international data roaming because AT&T said he went over and his iPhone said he didn't.
Once again, I'm not criticizing Apple here. If anyone, I criticize AT&T and all carriers and ISPs who have bandwidth caps and consistently refuse to give their customers reliable ways to monitor them.
I'd be very surprised if the ratio of $30 plans to $15 plans weren't extremely lopsided toward the former. $30 is actually pretty reasonable. In fact, what annoys me about that is how the carriers gouge you for a USB adapter plan for like $60/month, when the iPad is so targeted towards media consumption. I do wonder, though, if 3G can handle these high bandwidth streams like Youtube effectively. Perhaps I'll wait for the 4G iPad?
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