Fourth-gen iPad available now through Telstra, Optus and Vodafone

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have each announced that the fourth generation iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be available on contract plans from today. Telstra and Vodafone are offering 24-month contracts only, while Optus has both 12- and 24-month options available.
Who’s offering the best deals? Vodafone’s plans include the most data at each price point, but this is countered by the fact that it doesn’t have a 4G network up and running yet.
For all around value, Optus is your best pick. The data inclusions are slightly less than Vodafone’s (but more than Telstra’s) once you go past the entry-level plan, but at least you can hop on Optus’ 4G network straight away – provided you’re in a 4G coverage area to begin with.
If you want to spend the least amount of money possible, Vodafone has the cheapest plan. For $47 a month, you’ll get the 16GB iPad 4G and 2GB of data. Spend a dollar extra and you can get the same but on Optus’ network (on a 24-month contract). $49 on Telstra’s network will get you only half the data.
The sweet spot is in the mid-range plans. For the 16GB model, Vodafone’s 12GB plan costs $63 a month, Optus’ 10GB plan costs $63 a month, and Telstra’s ‘Large’ plan comes with 8GB of data and costs $69 a month.
Prefer the iPad mini? Each carrier will start selling the Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad mini sometime in the coming weeks. The plans should be a little cheaper given the smaller iPad costs less to begin with.