New to the ipad. I turned off cellular data in settings while driving, and received a message that the map could not update due to no cell service. The gps was working fine, but it could not draw the maps beyond my immediate area. Does the map function use cell data to continuously update the maps as u drive? If yes, is it going to be a drain on my measly 250mb plan?

It depends on which app you are using... Apps like TomTom and Navigon store the map data locally on the iPad but most navigation apps like AT&T navigator and maps(aka google maps) pull data in realtime from the network. Either way... Any nav app will require a data connection for full functionality.

Yes - as the last poster commented, the iPad's native Maps app uses 3G to update the on-screen map display as you're driving. Having said that though, the volume of data that this uses is relatively small, so your 250 MB monthly plan should be OK.

Tim
Scotland