Is the Verizon Mini the ultimate traveler?

[Hafbakt]

Noticed that the Verizon version is capable of receiving more cell frequencies than the AT&T version. It is supposedly unlocked, has a sim card tray, and requires no contract. Does this mean I could buy Verizon Mini and use an AT&T sim in it in the US? Is there any advantage to the Verizon version for travel out of country?

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[laserguy007]

Noticed that the Verizon version is capable of receiving more cell frequencies than the AT&T version. It is supposedly unlocked, has a sim card tray, and requires no contract. Does this mean I could buy Verizon Mini and use an AT&T sim in it in the US? Is there any advantage to the Verizon version for travel out of country?

Are you sure it's a Verizon iPad? CDMA carriers usually doesn't use SIM cards. That's more of an AT&T/T-Mobile deal due to the fact those carriers use GSM.

Sent from my AT&T iPad Mini 16gb

[laserguy007]

Noticed that the Verizon version is capable of receiving more cell frequencies than the AT&T version. It is supposedly unlocked, has a sim card tray, and requires no contract. Does this mean I could buy Verizon Mini and use an AT&T sim in it in the US? Is there any advantage to the Verizon version for travel out of country?

Verizon does not support GSM, it's in fact a CDMA company. If you want to travel outside of the USA you need to be on a GSM carrier. My iPad (2nd Gen) was a Verizon and had no SIM tray.

Sent from my AT&T iPad Mini 16gb

[twerppoet]

Verizon does not support GSM, it's in fact a CDMA company. If you want to travel outside of the USA you need to be on a GSM carrier. My iPad (2nd Gen) was a Verizon and had no SIM tray.

Sent from my AT&T iPad Mini 16gb

Any Verizson device that supports LTE will have a SIM. That would include any wi-fi + cellular model, including the iPad Mini. The iPad 2 and iPhone 4S were the last models to not include a SIM tray.

Having the SIM tray is not necessarily enough to make it world compatible. Unlike GSM, LTE frequencies vary widely and there is no all frequency iOS device at this time. I understand that the hardware for this is still under development.

Since all tablets are unlocked, you should be able to use the iPad Mini wi-fi + cellular on any GSM network, provided you can get a SIM for it. You can even use a Verizon iPad on AT&T, if you have the SIM and are willing to settle for GSM.

I'm not certain about LTE in other countries. You'll need to research what bands they use and whether you can get SIM cards. There are members here that should know a lot more about LTE availability overseas than I do. Europe has only started widespread implementation of LTE over the last several months.

Here are the iPad Mini specs for reference. Apple - iPad mini - Technical specifications