No - it's no joke. The removed material is simply excess plastic so it's no big deal really. The advantage of purchasing a commercial SIM cutter - rather than simply using scissors (and care!) is that you get an adaptor with the cutter that allows you to put the newly cut SIM into a holder that's compatible with the regular SIM size.

Tim

We're on a European tour that includes five countries, and I went with the prepaid SIM for my 3G iPad, which meant a new carrier for each country. I never used the data roaming option because I didn't know how quickly it would eat up my outlay.

For the record:

Germany A1
Czech Republic O2
Austria T-Mobile
(used only wi-fi in Hungary)
Italy TIM

Had good results with all of the above, but I don't recall offhand what I paid, except that it seemed reasonable. Orange in Austria offered only one year@40€, which I passed on, but it might be worthwhile for someone spending more time there - our typical stay is about two weeks per country.

Tried not to use hotspots because of their relative insecurity, and I wanted to keep tabs on my (dwindling) bank account. ATM charges are a whole 'nother story.

I am thoroughly confused. We have just purchased an Australian iPad 3G Wifi ...where can I get advise as to the best way to use it overseas. We are having a few days in France then the bulk of 8 weeks in Spain & Portugal & 10 days at the end in UK.
I just read of insecurity at hotspots. Why ???
How do we turn of the 3G so that we are only using wifi where available ?
Sorry to sound so dumb but perhaps someone can help please .

Originally Posted by woolshed1

I am thoroughly confused. We have just purchased an Australian iPad 3G Wifi ...where can I get advise as to the best way to use it overseas. We are having a few days in France then the bulk of 8 weeks in Spain & Portugal & 10 days at the end in UK.
I just read of insecurity at hotspots. Why ???
How do we turn of the 3G so that we are only using wifi where available ?
Sorry to sound so dumb but perhaps someone can help please .

The good thing about hotspots is that they are (usually) free. The bad things are that
1) software is available to listen in on wifi traffic, and you can't count on it to be encrypted, and
2) you won't always be in the vicinity of a hotspot.

If you don't do anything that requires a password, you should be OK with wifi.

If you use 3G, you'll have connectivity wherever there is cell phone service from the carrier you choose (see below). If you stick to cities, OK, but more rural areas may not hook you up.

Every country in Europe has its own phone carriers, so unless you want to pay roaming charges, you'll needd a new microSIM card and carrier access every time you cross borders. This can be gotten at the offices of the carrier in question, and also usually at places that sell cell phones. (Much of what I say about the iPad also applies to cell phones.)

Based on what previous posters have to say about France, perhaps you should just use wifi there, with the caveats I mentioned earlier. I can't say anything about the other countries on your itinerary, but you can Google "3G carriers in [country]".

To turn on/off 3G, tap the Cellular Data panel in the Settings screen.

Hi , I live in Croatia, and I have couple of questions. If I order online Ipad 3, you know white, 64gb, and take At&t would it work in Croatia? And what exactly is At&t? Thank you

Today, the iPad frenzy begins in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, ... Watch out for one service that markets pan-Europe iPad 3G roaming

thank you brother, appreciated and keep ti up