iPad 3 Requires Wi-Fi for FaceTime, LTE Not Compatible

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, March 15, 2012

Even though Apple's new iPad will be making the jump to 4G LTE, it will not support FaceTime over the network that is ten times faster than 3G, according to the Verge.

The online tech show recently released an image that shows the new iPad attempting to use FaceTime with Verizon's LTE and a notification pops up that says "connect to a Wi-Fi network to use FaceTime."

This is extremely disappointing since the speeds on LTE would make the face to face call experience a much more efficient feature on the device. However, it seems that Apple has not found a way to make it compatible with the network.

"Sure, there might be some latency issues with LTE over Wi-Fi, but- come on- throw us a bone," wrote 9to5Mac. "We had a fine time using FaceTime over 3G almost two years ago."

The third generation iPad will become available to customers in the U.S. starting at 8 a.m. on Friday morning in all Apple retail locations.

"Apple today announced the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive at Apple's retail stores and the Apple Online Store on Friday March 16 at 8:00 a.m. local time in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK; along with Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands," said the company in a press release.

The new iPad will feature a new high-definition Retina display along with Apple's new A5X chip that includes a quad-core graphics processor for gaming. It also will have a 5-megapixel iSight camera that captures stunning photos and videos.

The new iPad will be Apple's first 4G LTE device with the next generation iPhone sure to follow.

As of now, 4G LTE service is only available on AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. and on Bell Rogers and Telus networks in Canada. Data plans are sold separately.