Currently, there are separate new iPad models, one each for AT&T's version of LTE, and for Verizon ' version. Where it's available, LTE performance is impressive. Almost as important, the new iPad supports more recent 3G upgrades that give a big boost to non-LTE cellular connections.

Macworld's Snell found the new iPad smoothly transitioned between the two. "While riding through the city, I was able to get speeds that were roughly as fast as my office Wi-Fi," he says. "When I turned off LTE (there's an "Enable LTE" option in the Cellular Data section of Settings), the iPad fell back to AT&T's "4G" HSPA+ network, and speeds dropped precipitously."

As always, location created big differences. "When I used the iPad at my home in suburban Mill Valley, which doesn't yet have AT&T LTE coverage, the HSPA+ download speed was more than twice what I had experienced in downtown San Francisco — but still half the speed I saw on the LTE network," Snell says.

Gruber's review of the iPad was with an AT&T model with 64GB of storage. "In downtown San Francisco I saw remarkable performance on LTE — easily as fast, perceptually, as a rock-solid Wi-Fi connection," he says.

"As for speeds, we tested the new iPad LTE on Verizon with remarkable results averaging 14Mbps+ down and 2.5Mbps up while 3G speeds averaging 1.8Mbps down and 0.5Mbps up," writes Slashgear's Nguyen.