Apple tablet must have Web connectivity, but how?

There are so many options for the Apple tablet computer and Internet connectivity that it gets confusing. The only certainty in this mix is that the device must have a constant Web connection to be successful.

There have been many rumors around this somewhat thorny question. Some of them say that the new tablet will be built using CDMA for use by the Verizon network, and that will be the beginning of the Apple-Verizon relationship for devices including the iPhone. Other rumors say that the tablet will be built using GSM and therefore Apple will be staying exclusively with AT&T. Still others say that the new iTablet will be a “world” device, capable of both GSM and CDMA, this from a PCWorld article. Another camp says that Apple will go with both carriers, but will manufacture two different models in order to do so.

All of these are possibilities. The only rumors that are patently untrue are those saying that the Apple tablet computer will not have 3G Web access at all. In order to fulfill its stated objectives, the Apple tablet needs to have access to the Web, and it needs it whether its user is in a Wi-Fi zone or not. It needs constant access, or what good are all of the capabilities that allow Wen surfing on the bigger screen, streaming music and video, or all of the apps that connect the users to the rest of the world. And since free Wi-Fi does not cover much of the planet, that means that the Apple table will need wireless network compatibility to succeed. Who will buy it if it can’t access the Web via 3G? Certainly not me.

With the need for wireless 3G established, it’s just a matter of implementation. It would make more sense from a manufacturing and support standpoint for the new tablet to run in world mode, offering both CDMA and GSM. A distant second best would be separate models for the different flavors of cellular networks. But a tablet without 3G access would be much less than it could be, and it would make no sense for Apple to bring out such a crippled product.

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