The Aug. 12 and 26 issues of Mac 411 produced a number of questions about the iPad. I’ll try to cover several frequently (or infrequently) asked questions in this and future articles.
Can Bluetooth get me to the Internet?
Both the original iPad and iPad 2 have Bluetooth. Bluetooth has many uses with an iPad, but Internet access isn’t one of them. a primary use has been for those wanting to use a physical keyboard instead of the screen keyboard of the iPad.
Bluetooth is basically a very-near (less than 30 feet), relatively slow (under 1 megabyte per second) data communications capability mainly used for wireless keyboards, mice or track pads, earpieces, printers and audio systems. for example, you can use Bluetooth to connect the audio from the iPad to a home entertainment system or the audio system of your car.
Bluetooth also supports remote control of your TV system.
Each Bluetooth device (for example, a printer) only connects to one source (e.g. iPad) at a time. This matching is called “discovery,” in which the device and the source find each other and stores necessary identification information. use Settings / General / Bluetooth on the iPad to discover a Bluetooth device and link to it. This is also where you break the linkage if you want to assign the device to a different source.
What is Wi-Fi only vs. Wi-Fi plus 3G internet access?
The iPad is a great device that becomes a fantastic device when it can connect to the Internet. This is accomplished via Wi-Fi (perhaps your home network or at a cafe or coffeehouse) or additionally via the data networks of cellular service providers. This latter (3G) connectivity provides access to the Internet when Wi-Fi is not available.
You need the Wi-Fi plus 3G version of the iPad to access the cellular company’s data services. Want to send or receive email messages with your iPad while in the passenger seat of a car on I-75? Want a map to your destination? get the 3G version of the iPad.
Important: You need to decide upon your cellular service provider before purchasing the Wi-Fi plus 3G iPad because AT&T and Verizon use different technology. The iPads are not interchangeable. Both carriers offer similar data plans but there are some differences at large usage rates. unlike cellular’s two-year voice service plans, month-to-month data plans are available. If you are unhappy with your AT&T or Verizon cellular service you may want to consider the competitor, but make your choice before you buy.
Can I use the iPad as a cellular phone?
This is an interesting query. can the iPad be a large iPhone? well, yes, but not over cellular’s voice infrastructure. You have to use Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Internet features of the iPad like many do with voice services from suppliers like Comcast, Vonage or Skype.
There are many Apps for the iPad that offer VOIP capability. it took Apple months to approve the first of these VOIP Apps but they now exist.
If you have a Wi-Fi only iPad, calls can be made only when in the area of your home Wi-Fi network or at a Wi-Fi hotspot. a 3G iPad would use the data services of AT&T or Verizon to handle the voice call, but as a data item and not a normal cellular call. .
Does it work well? Cell phones are tiny. The keys are micro-sized, but the microphone and speaker are dimensionally close to your mouth and ear. The iPad screen keyboard is larger, making dialing easier but the microphone and speaker for the iPad are far apart. Holding the iPad for an effective call can be problematic and not rewarding, but voice telephone calls can be made on an iPad.
Those who have reported to me about using an iPad for voice calls mentioned the challenge of keeping the iPad in a position to capture their voices and hear the responses.
To return to Bluetooth for a moment, the wireless earpiece and microphone can connect to your iPad and carry your VOIP telephone call, making it easier.
A warning: Billing surprises can hurt from extensive use of the VOIP data path for your voice calls; unless you have an unlimited data plan with your cellphone provider, watch your minutes closely.
More information will come in future Mac 411 articles.
Do you have a question about using your Mac? Send your question to Jerry:
An index of prior Mac 411 articles is available here: tinyurl.com/Mac411Index
Jerry King is President of the Naples MacFriends User Group (NMUG), founded to help Macintosh users get the most out of their computers. NMUG is open to area residents and seasonal visitors. for membership information visit: naplesmug.com