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For anyone interested in buying the new iPad or iPad mini who would like to use them on 4G: good news! Unlike the model released earlier in the year, both of the ones announced tonight support 4G. That means you’ll be able to put a SIM from newly launched 4G network EE and browse the web at whatever speeds that network ends up offering. Providing you’re in one of the small number of cities with 4G coverage, of course.
One thing to bear in mind though is it will be very hard to switch to a different 4G network in the future. Neither the new iPad or iPad mini supports the 800MHz or 2,600MHz bands, according to Apple’s website, which means it will probably never work on the 4G networks from Vodafone or O2, whenever they launch. It may, however, work on Three’s 4G network, which is due to use the same band as EE.
That’s the same position as with the iPhone 5, which also suffers from the same 4G limitations. In the iPhone 5’s case, it’s facing stiff competition from the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, which supports all the 4G bands the UK will get. But in tablets, the iPad and iPad mini has less competition — neither Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD or Google’s Nexus 7 support 3G here, let alone 4G. But it’s something to be aware of before you hand over your money.
What do you think of the new iPads? Do its locked-down 4G capabilities here matter to you, or are you simply interested in the Wi-Fi version? Let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook wall.
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