AT&T CEO: IPad Will Be 'Wi-Fi Driven' Device
03.03.10
"My expectation is that there's not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription," Reuters reports him saying .
Apple's 3G iPad won't appear until about a month after the Wi-Fi only versions hit the market, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the device's unveiling in January , due to regulatory hurdles such as FCC approval. But Jobs also said that the iPad would not require users to sign a contract with AT&T, instead letting them sign up for a prepaid $30 per month unlimited data plan or a $15 per month 250MB data plan. The 3G versions will also be more expensive than their Wi-Fi-only counterparts, to the tune of $130.
In fact, there has been no indication so far that a contract option would even be possible with the iPad, though there have been rumors that the wireless provider might flog a subsidized version. So either Stephenson is confused about the matter or he's alluding to something we haven't heard of yet.
This wouldn't be the first time the AT&T CEO has dropped details of formally unannounced plans: Stephenson said in November 2007 that a 3G version of the iPhone would appear the following year, about seven months before the iPhone 3G was announced.
Source: PC World