What do you get when you combine the fastest launching consumer electronic device of all time with a choice in data providers and a low-cost cloud of sharable wifi everywhere you go? A whole lot of awesome, that’s what.
Verizon and Apple announced this morning that the iPad will be sold by Verizon starting Oct. 28 and the offer will include an optional Mi-Fi device – a pocket sized re-broadcaster of a cloud of Wi-Fi sharable by up to four other devices. On the lowest end the Mi-Fi will cost an extra $130 at time of purchase and come with a subscription of 1GB of data for $20 per month. Imagine the iPad parties you’re going to have!
Getting Apple wireless devices out of the shadow of terrible AT&T coverage is something people have long waited for. Hopefully a Verizon iPad foreshadows a Verizon iPhone, but even if that somehow weren’t the case this iPad news alone is a big deal.
Verizon said last week that the first half of 2011 will bring a massive 4G network and a half-dozen smartphones and tablets to its offerings. The company has also begun to take strides to overcome its un-cool image, launching scores of innovative location and network APIs for developers to build new kinds of apps on top of.
Speculation about the long-term, big picture aside, today’s news means one thing: If you’ve got five friends with iPads, only one of them is going to need Verizon Mi-Fi and you’ll all be rocking your WiFi iPads together all over town. Perhaps more likely, you’ll be able to roll into a place with laptops and no Wi-Fi and say, “Never fear – I have a magic tablet, with Mi-Fi!“
