Chapter 4. Get Online

You’ll learn to:
Get online by a WiFi or cellular network
Sign up for a data plan
Use your iPad as a hotspot
Use your iPad internationally
Make Skype calls
YOU GET CONTENT ONTO your iPad two ways: by pulling it down from the Internet or by copying music, videos, books, apps, and other media from your computer to your tablet via iTunes. This chapter shows you how to get your iPad set up for that first option. (And if you just can’t wait to read up on syncing your media through iTunes, jump ahead to Chapter 12.)
Every iPad can tap into the Internet over a WiFi connection. For example, you can get online from your home wireless network or from a WiFi hotspot at a local tech-friendly coffee shop. But some iPads don’t need to be anchored to a stationary network. Wi-Fi + Cellular iPads and their Wi-Fi + 3G predecessors can reach out and connect to the Web not only through the air, but also through the same network you use to make mobile phone calls—the cellular network. Whether that’s AT&T or Verizon’s cellular-data service depends on which iPad you bought.
This chapter explains the difference between WiFi and 4G LTE, 4G, and 3G cellular networks; the difference between AT&T and Verizon’s offerings; and how to set up each type of connection. So if you’re ready to fire up that wireless chip and get your iPad on the Internet, read on.
WiFi Versus Cellular Networks
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