Ipad2 3G or not 3G?

JH

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Looking for some advice here, as I have a friend who is off to the states very soon and will be able to pick me up an ipad2, and at present exchange rates would see a very reasonable saving over the UK price.

I currently have an iPhone so am wondering whether it worth the extra for the 3G version. I can tether off the phone using my personal hotspot can I not? This would be using my monthly phone allowance, and I don't anticipate using it much this way anyhow in the UK.

However what has interested me was if I got a 3G version I am sure that I read that I could get a pay as you go sim card for it, from local providers when on holidays, especially in France - making the net access affordable? Is this the case and if so what sort of cost is it for such a card?

Any advice gratefully received.
:thumb
JH
 
My guess is that you've answered your own question, in that tethering your iphone would suffice in he UK on the few occasions you need to do so.

For foreign soil, there are a plethora of wifi hotspots & with numbers increasing almost daily, I'd be inclined to save your money and simply go for a wifi ipad.

90% hotels will have wifi, as does McD's (usually now a green colour scheme in France, for some reason) so even if you just have a coffee, it allows a catch up on wifi.

Save your dosh for fuel! :thumb2
 
If you do buy a 3G in the US, make sure you get an AT&T version, not Verizon.
 
I opted for the non-3G and haven't regretted it yet - anywhere I'm using the unit seems to have wifi ...
Was on holiday in Italy a few weeks ago and there was no shortage of free wifi zones...
David
 
Thank you everyone.

I had thought so, but it never does any harm to check.

- Cookie, I had seen that the AT&T version was the unlocked one, but thanks anyway, it seems it might not be relevant now.

JH :thumb2
 
'JH' said:
Thank you everyone.

I had thought so, but it never does any harm to check.

- Cookie, I had seen that the AT&T version was the unlocked one, but thanks anyway, it seems it might not be relevant now.

JH :thumb2
Click to expand...

it's more to do with verizon being CDMA (mostly only really used in the US) and AT&T being GSM as used in europe and the rest of the civilized world.

TBH i'm not 100% sure if either are unlocked. i think they are :nenau

ps. mine is a 3G, but i don't have a personal hotspot facility on my iphone data tariff. to get one, i think i'd have to give up the unlimited data :D

also, i was unconvinced of the benefit of obtaining an ipad in the US, although i was kindly offered the option by mrs pikey dave :)

according to my calculations, the savings range from £65 to £105, depending on model. that includes the approx. 10% sales tax not shown on the apple.com store.
 
Be aware that the non-3G doesn't have a built in GPS - it has quasi-location finding through getting location info from wifi hotspots, but if you're out of range of a wifi hotspot it'll not know where it is.

I have a 3G iPad 1 for this reason alone - I don't anticipate using a sim card in it, but I'd miss the GPS capacity....
 
siwhite said:
Be aware that the non-3G doesn't have a built in GPS - it has quasi-location finding through getting location info from wifi hotspots, but if you're out of range of a wifi hotspot it'll not know where it is.

I have a 3G iPad 1 for this reason alone - I don't anticipate using a sim card in it, but I'd miss the GPS capacity....
Click to expand...

Exactly why I ended up getting a 3g one as I use the copilot truck sat nav app and Pocketgpsworlds camera alert app in the Motorhome as I have a big enough dash and windscreen you've the iPad on.
 
If tethering your phone is very expensive, consider a 3g wifi router. Plug in a 3g usb dongle with pay as you data sim and off you go.
 
You can get a 3gb sim with a 3 month time limit from ebay for under a tenner - well worth it if you're going to have a summer out and about, for instance...
 
I recently bought an iPad2 but only went for the wifi, the reason being that I bought a mifi (Vodafone) 3G router for a lot less than buying a 3G iPad, another upside is that I can connect unto 5 different devices at the same time for the same data charge. I can now go away with laptop, iPod, iPad and the wife can bring hers too. :thumb2
 
Similar to last post. I did not want yet another monthly sub and thought my out and about use of my Ipad would be minimal. Bought a 3 "My-Fi" dongle on pay as you go. This allows me to connect my Ipad and laptop (at same time) so is more versatile and half the price of the extra for a 3G Ipad.

As most of the time I use free Openzone and Cloud wi-fi in restaurants I rarely need the 3 service so just buy a few quids worth of data on the odd occasions I need it.

OK, so I don't have a GPS in the Ipad but I don't need it anyway. The Ipad still gives a pretty accurate location on the maps by just reading data from nearby wi-fi sources. This can be accurate enough to navigate by in built up areas.
 
Hi
Just to follow on with the question 3G or not, I have had a ipad 1 for over a year and have my daughter nagging me for it so i went and bought the ipad 2 32gb no 3G ...

Is it me or has anyone else had a ipad 1 then a ipad 2 ? i think that the ipad 1 is better?

The ipad 2 resolution although they say its unchanged seems more pixleated, the facetime camera compared with my imac and iphone is no where near the quality its very broke up and the faces all red? The standard viewing screen through safari e.g. tossers site is not as crisp and clear/ in fact viewing photo's and videos too are all not as good as the ipad 1. I watch TV catch up on the ipad 1 it was crisp clear and sharp on the new ipad 2 its pixleated again.....:nenau

and the new ipad roll up cover ( is useless) compared to the last ipad 1 apple case... OK I know you can say well get your ipad 1 back and shut up but I was just wondering if i had a bad one Apple say not?

I have been onto apple support and done all the resets etc etc has anyone else gone from PAD 1 to Pad 2 thoughts?:blagblah
 
I have a Wi-Fi iPad2 and it is a lot cheaper than the 3G version. Get yourself an unlocked Mi-Fi hub from fleabay and buy a data sim card whereever you are on your travels.
 
Guys
After a lot of thinking so much so that my friend had gone and returned from the states, I decided upon an iPad 2 … 3G 64GB.

I have only had it for a couple of days, but I am mightily impressed. As it is the start of the school hols, I have had to 'export' the kids to aunties for a week or so. Got a car holder and loaded up some films and set off yesterday evening from Kent to south Hams in Devon. I made it in one go, no stops required and not a peep from the back of the car. They sat there glued to it, no skips, no DVD jumping, just top quality films for them.

Having got them there I left the car as I had a cheap train ticket to come back on, and have just lost two and a half hours of my life as I played about with it. Some work, but mostly play on the thing. It is so intuitive to use and such a great entertainment tool! So far so good.

The down side was when I went to the Apple Store it was not the only thing that caught my eye! I have a hefty credit card bill to come, and I only managed to get about 6% discount overall..:augie

Thanks for all the advice guys..sent from the 13.28 Totnes to Paddington train :clap:clap
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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