AT&T to ship LTE-enabled Modio iPad mini case on March 20
AT&T has announced that its Modio case for the iPad mini, which adds LTE support to otherwise Wi-Fi-only models, will ship on March 20 and cost $50 with a two-year data plan.
Buyers can also pick it up on an installment plan, costing $10 per month for 20 months; under any circumstance, adding it to a new or existing Mobile Share Value plan is $10 per month.
The case can also be bought outright for $200. That is, however, $70 more than the difference between Wi-Fi- and cellular versions of the iPad mini 3.
The Modio sports a folio design, and in addition to enabling LTE support, includes a microSD slot accepting cards up to 32GB in size. A built-in 4,600 mAh battery should provide up to 16 hours of connectivity.
All three generations of the Mini are supported. A separate case for the iPad Air and Air 2 — first teased during January's Consumer Electronics Show — is promised "in the coming months."
To help manage the Modio's connection, AT&T has already released a free iOS app. The title tracks estimated data usage, triggering push notifications if a user approaches their data cap, and can additionally manage and stream content stored on microSD.
20 Comments
This is actually not a bad idea. I can't imagine Apple is happy with this, because I imagine they have a good margin on LTE models.
How does it connect? Bluetooth, WiFi? If the iPad doesn't know it is on cellular it may download huge app and OS updates automatically.
How does the sd slot work? How do you access it to store things?
This is actually not a bad idea. I can't imagine Apple is happy with this, because I imagine they have a good margin on LTE models.
You did read the part that this (plus the WiFi iPad mini) is $70 MORE than the LTE enabled mini is out door?
[quote name="chadbag" url="/t/185031/at-t-to-ship-lte-enabled-modio-ipad-mini-case-on-march-20#post_2685038"] You did read the part that this (plus the WiFi iPad mini) is $70 MORE than the LTE enabled mini is out door? [/quote] I wonder if the battery mostly accounts for the differential.
I use my phone as a hotspot for my iPad and laptop. What does this thing bring to the table?