iPad Networking and Security

By Glenn Fleishman
TidBITS Publishing Inc. | English | 152 pages | PDF | 4.600 KB | Download | Password: ipad

An argument against the iPad before its introduction was that it was just “a big iPod touch.” In reality, it is not: the bigger screen makes it possible to use it in a different way altogether. But from the standpoint of networking and other communications, the iPad is like a giant iPod touch with some iPhone features thrown in, too.

Like the iPod touch, the iPad cannot place phone calls via a cellular network, and it has Wi-Fi built in; like the iPhone, Apple offers an iPad model that sends and receives data over a 3G cellular network but which can’t handle cell phone calls. This combination of options and the likelihood that you probably don’t own both a Wi-Fi only and a 3G iPad has implications for the choices you make about how you connect and the security of those connections.

One of the most important on going decisions you’ll make about your iPad is how to obtain a network connection. If you have a 3G iPad, you may choose each month whether to enable cellular data connectivity or not. Those with Wi-Fi only iPads may spend a fair amount of time finding, connecting to, and interacting with Wi-Fi networks all over. There’s plenty of advice in this title on both 3G and Wi-Fi connections and networks.

In this book, I guide you through how to make consistent and secure network connections, whether over Wi-Fi or 3G, and how to best protect your data and your iPad. If you bought a 3G iPad, you have already made the decision that ubiquitous Internet access is useful enough to warrant paying a higher price for the device. Or, perhaps, you wanted the GPS receiver that’s in the 3G iPad and thought you might occasionally want mobile broadband access.

The primary reason to pay extra for a 3G iPad is flexibility. If you believe you’ll use the iPad mainly within range of free Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi you’ve subscribed to, then you likely don’t need the 3G iPad. But if you will travel with the iPad, and prefer to have access everywhere, whether in a park, hotel, and conference center, airport, or restaurant, or as a passenger in a car, the 3G option makes sense. Using 3G, the iPad can transfer data at a raw rate up to 7.2 Mbps from the Internet and up to 384 Kbps to the Internet.

The 3G iPad comes with Wi-Fi turned on, like an iPod touch, but 3G data service is inactive. In most countries where the 3G iPad is sold, you can sign up for 3G service at any time by choosing among multiple service plans from one or more carriers. Plans can range from 1 day to 31 days. The 30- and 31-day plans include an automatic renewal.

In the UK, for instance, three carriers offer iPad service. You can buy a 3G iPad from Apple, and then activate on one of the three networks, and later swap to another network. You must change out the micro-SIM card to change carriers, but you’re not otherwise tied to a carrier, except in Japan. You can cancel at any time without penalty, with the cancellation taking effect when you hit your data limit or at the end of the current billing period, whichever comes first. The one exception so far is SoftBank in Japan, which offers either a 1 GB plan for a 30-day period, or a 2-year contract for “unlimited” usage with cancellation fees.