• MOST READ

• LATEST NEWS

AT&T may have surprised the world by snapping up an exclusive deal for the Apple iPad, but it will not have the control over the device that it does with the iPhone. Most users are expected to opt for the cheaper Wi-Fi only version, which ships on April 3 in the US, and even those who take the 3G tablet will probably favor short term, on-demand data deals rather than contracts.

This is only one step from the fully embedded model, Kindle-style, where AT&T provides the data connection entirely invisibly, in return for a fee from Amazon. While the iPad will bring it some marketing profile in the US, its rivals are keen to promote their own options for making the Wi-Fi iPad more attractive.

Verizon Wireless, predictably, is the most aggressive, calling the upcoming tablet "an opportunity for VZW," and working with Novatel, the maker of the MiFi portable hotspot, to lure Apple fans. According to blog Engadget, Verizon Wireless has sent out an internal memo, outlining how it will train sales staff to encourage customers to purchase a Wi-Fi iPad, saving $130 on a 3G version, and then connect it to Verizon's 3G network via the $100 MiFi. This credit card-sized device allows several Wi-Fi enabled products to share a cellular connection, in return for an additional data plan with Verizon.

However, unless the user wanted to share the MiFi between up to five gadgets, the $60 a month, 5Gb data plan that accompanies it would be a deterrent, given that the AT&T unlimited iPad data service is $30 a month.

The pricing may not be right, but the principle is interesting, leveraging new device formats like MiFi to get some carrier revenue from the expected boom in Wi-Fi only mobile internet products. Freescale, for instance, thinks the majority of smartbooks will sell without a cellular connection.

Other operators could emulate this strategy to steal a piece of the iPad action from AT&T on the one side and the open Wi-Fi ISPs on the other, but Verizon has the largest range of portable hotspot options - including the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, which incorporate such capabilities in the handset.

Related Stories

COMMENTS

No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment!

Digital Money: The Convergence of Contactless Card and Mobile Payments

This report examines the emergence of digital money from the perspective of the convergence of card-based proximity payments to the...

Cloudbooks: Market Analysis and Forecasts
This report is based on interviews with device OEMs, retailers and resellers and provides a comprehensive analysis of the new cloudbook...