Well that kinda sucks ass.

It does. No long term commitment though. Can stop and start each month. If you save the video watching for wifi only then you shouldn't have an issue. It would be even better if more tracks offered free wifi.

Oaklawn offered free wi-fi this year. I took my kindle fire with me and used it to place bets, but even as small as it is (I think the screen is about 4 inches by 7 inches), it's still a little cumbersome. Too big to put in your pocket. Still, it was useful especially on a day like Arkansas Derby Day when the lines are long at the live tellers and at the self service machines, but it is totally dependent on wi-fi and you can't download formulator on it either as far as I can tell.

we got verizon at the right time; they had twice the data for the same price last month, so we get 4gb each phone a month for the price of 2gb.

Here's an article on the plans offered by AT&T and Verizon.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1158...ata_plans.html

If I read it right, AT&T offers a post-use plan, which might let you figure out how much you actually need.

The iPad plans are a different thing from the phone plans. The trick with the iPad plans is making sure to use the data network only when you can't access wifi.

:tro:

I have the IPAD 2, 3G version with WIFI and pay for the 1Gig plan. $ 20 per month. Use it to download the form, bet on 4njbets and the equibase yearbook app is great for watching stakes replays. The only issue I've come up with is no flash player. Used it both days of the Breeders Cup on the apron and worked fine once they sorted out an issue on track with cellular networks early Friday.

You have a couple options to get around the flash issue. First is an app called Splashtop remote that will allow you to remote into your desktop where you can use your browser to watch the races. The second is another app called OnLive Desktop which gives you use of a virtual windows 7 machine in the cloud that has wicked fast bandwidth. The virtual machine also has Microsoft Office apps installed so you can use Word/Excel documents. There is a monthly charge for this app a couple bucks I think. I use both and OnLive is the one I prefer for video since it is so fast.

I did find out that I can view the races through my ADW on either flash or WMP. They released an app last week for the iPad, but there were some bugs, so they pulled it and hope to have it fixed in a few days.

The only experience I have with the iPad is with Twinspires. You can watch the "old school" video on Twinspires (click on the little yellow camera in Classic or Express), it's the TwinspiresTV that does not work with the iPad (obviously Flash driven).

The only issue I can't seem to overcome is that the video stops when I click back to the Twinspires Express (or Classic) to place a wager. So, when I go back to the video, I have to refresh to get it going again. It would be nice if it kept running in the background while wagering, but that is a minor issue for me.

That's cool. I go to Parx and/or Chester Downs every week and neither of them have WiFi. I asked them about it and they looked at me like I was crazy.
Maybe they're afraid of people betting through WiFi and not at their windows. I don't know.

so far you guys have convinced me to keep my old netbook, thanks for the savings

I would hope you weren't basing your electronics purchases on this, or any thread on a horseracing message board. This thread wouldn't be what I would categorize as research.

I am completely satisified with the iPad. It does everything I need it to do. I may want more, but that would be icing on the cake. My home track has had free wi fi for years, so I do not have the need to pay for the wireless connectivity.

I'm not going back to a laptop.

By the way, the Equibase app that someone had mentioned earlier is by far the best horseracing app available today. I am amazed at how fast it updates results. It is much faster than the Equibase website. It is also invaluable for scratches and changes that are easy to miss at the track/otb.

Ken McPeek's app has potential, the replay feature is nice, but I have not messed around with it enough to give an opinion on it. I do know that the first thing I had to do was to turn off the notifications. It was driving me nuts.

Can't imagine why any track wouldn't have wi-fi unless the cost is prohibitive. Seems like it would just be more money in their pockets. Also, seems like the more people that use it the better to make the lines to the live tellers and the machines more manageable. Its great to be able to bet that way especially when you have reserve seats and you don't want to have to crawl over a bunch of people every time you place a bet.

wouldnt the track make more money when you are at the track for you to get up and bet at the windows rather than using their wifi and betting with some adw?

I was actually looking for reasons and advantages to go from netbook to ipad

From a horse racing and betting standpoint -- a laptop is wildly superior in all ways.

Also, if you're into piracy...a laptop with a big wide screen is the only way to go. Try watching a cam-made movie like The Hunger Games on an I-pad.

Unless your goal is to win a date with a gay man or you live in one of the nations five largest cities and move a lot ... there is absolutely no need to have an I-Pad.

I-Phones and I-Pads are huge with gays by the way. My girlfriends roommate is a gay man and a couple of the casino employees are gay. They each have different color I-Phones and talk about I-Pad's.

So thanks for the heads up Calzone, so I guess the Ipads are not for me afterall and from what you have mentioned I guess i should now add "not that theres anything wrong with that"

Let's just say that I've enjoyed the IPAD on my commute, at the track, for reading and even for those little dalliances that i've tried to keep private. But to each his own.