Today, only half of all iPads sold are those with a corresponding radio that now only lends users a new connectivity option, but also requires more cash up front for the hardware.
But in a new interview with Macworld, Glenn Lurie – president of emerging devices at AT&T – says that cell radios should – and probably will – soon be standard features on a tablet that won’t require users to pay more up front.
All devices should have all capabilities built in from the beginning,” he says.
But this reality may still be a ways off.
After all, as the industry rapidly moves toward 4G LTE as the new standard, the radios making this super-speed connection possible are substantially more important than their 3G-ready radio counterparts.
From Macworld:
One tablet sold by AT&T has already gone that way, Lurie said: The Pantech Element, a combination Wi-Fi and LTE product that AT&T offered for $399, and which has already sold out, according to Lurie. But there are other such products in the planning stages, he said.
But until greater parity is seen between the old and new radios, don’t expect a new tablet standard across the board.
