When the iPad 1 arrived, one of the biggest selling points was the "no contract $30/mo unlimited 3G". Only took about 30 days for AT&T to realize that wasn't going to work out. As one of the few who got and still has that plan, I can assure you the very same reason it's awesome is the reason the "cloud tablet" won't happen (at least to the degree pundits expect) without a major breakthrough in wireless bandwidth: data traffic will be enormous.
I'm sure someone could better run the numbers than I, and I expect it would quantify the intuition. Upshot is: to get thru the cloud computing barrier requires bandwidth not just available, but in use, to an astounding degree. Oh, I'd like a real cloud experience, as my 64GB iPad is getting a bit cramped for want of instant access to my entire music, movie, book, photo, and video collection, along with remote desktops to four computers, high res videophone the norm, and at some point real 3D teleconferencing. All this demands a user experience buttery smooth, which requires significant buffering orders of magnitude more data than anyone will in fact use (it's just there if they want it). Times millions of users, you don't run this over 3G, what passes for 4G, and maybe not even what most assume 5G will be.
Now, Apple is smart folks with lots of connections and clout and cash. Maybe they can do it. They almost had it with the iPad 1 launch, but then the unlimited plan was capped at 2GB - and that makes all the difference. I'm thankful I can throw around gigabytes of data without worry ... and then remind myself most tablet users can't. I wish this freedom was available to all, but it's not and I don't see it showing up by 2012.
So? Apple hasn't been shy about making bandwidth-intensive features Wifi-only. Not having to sync with a computer would be a huge improvement to both iPhones and iPads.
They can "solve" the bandwidth problem by having the cloud services only enabled if the user is on WiFi. Kinda defeats the purpose of the "cloud", but it is a start.
Since, the US, they are now on two carriers, they just need either Verizon or AT&T to start touting they are the carrier of choice to provide the cloud for iPhone that the other carrier will have to increase their data usage tier. Now, this is a long shot scenario, but Apple has shown a history of doing things without consulting the carriers before.
When the iPad 1 arrived, one of the biggest selling points was the "no contract $30/mo unlimited 3G". Only took about 30 days for AT&T to realize that wasn't going to work out. As one of the few who got and still has that plan, I can assure you the very same reason it's awesome is the reason the "cloud tablet" won't happen (at least to the degree pundits expect) without a major breakthrough in wireless bandwidth: data traffic will be enormous.
I'm sure someone could better run the numbers than I, and I expect it would quantify the intuition. Upshot is: to get thru the cloud computing barrier requires bandwidth not just available, but in use, to an astounding degree. Oh, I'd like a real cloud experience, as my 64GB iPad is getting a bit cramped for want of instant access to my entire music, movie, book, photo, and video collection, along with remote desktops to four computers, high res videophone the norm, and at some point real 3D teleconferencing. All this demands a user experience buttery smooth, which requires significant buffering orders of magnitude more data than anyone will in fact use (it's just there if they want it). Times millions of users, you don't run this over 3G, what passes for 4G, and maybe not even what most assume 5G will be.
Now, Apple is smart folks with lots of connections and clout and cash. Maybe they can do it. They almost had it with the iPad 1 launch, but then the unlimited plan was capped at 2GB - and that makes all the difference. I'm thankful I can throw around gigabytes of data without worry ... and then remind myself most tablet users can't. I wish this freedom was available to all, but it's not and I don't see it showing up by 2012.