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Taking my Ipad 2 3g wifi to Europe

alucard76

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Hey guys
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has been discussed to death.
I'm in Canada and going to Italy, Germany and London for 15 days. I want to take my ipad with me but I'm unsure how to go about being able to use it without paying a fortune.
Any help would be appreciated.
 

slothead

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Hey guys
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has been discussed to death.
I'm in Canada and going to Italy, Germany and London for 15 days. I want to take my ipad with me but I'm unsure how to go about being able to use it without paying a fortune.
Any help would be appreciated.
Alucard. I did that too in the UK, and it was a piece of cake when I was in the hotels. Some of them (very few however) offered free wifi ("weefee" as they say in other parts of Europe). In most of the hotels you paid about 10 pounds sterling per day (which in my opinion is exorbitant, so I found free wifi sources). In London we stayed at the Copthorne hotel at the Stamford Bridge Chelsea Football Club. For some reason even though they offered the typical 10 lb-sterl (I don't know how to make the pounds sterling sign), I was able to connect to some other ISP that was free - don't know why. But they also have free wifi cafes there (although I never used one). In some cases the wifi was free in the lobby and common areas in the hotels, but you paid if you were in your room.

Good luck with it.
 

scudder

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You will find free WiFi all over London, most large chain coffee shops such as Starbucks and MacDonalds are free. Germany, similar situation. Italy, not so easy but many hotels offer it free in common areas as slothead mentioned. 3G using Pay as You Go SIMs would not really be worth your while if you are only there for a few days in each country. Pre-pay in hotels will cost a few £ a day, some are £5 and others £10 but most also offer the service on hourly rates if you only need it for light use.
 

slothead

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Hi Scudder,
We loved Edinburgh while we were there! We saw the "military" (it wasn't very military, but still great) Tattoo and the people and pubs were fantastic!
DSC_8359_633.jpg
 

giradman

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Well, I've not been to Europe since 1996, but concerning your iPad 10W power adapter - the device can use either 110 or 220 volts, so not an issue there; however, make sure that you have the right adapters to plug into the wall - hopefully those that live in the countries you plan to visit will chime in or a universal adapter kit would be fine (use to carry one to Europe myself). Good luck and have a great time! :)
 
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alucard76

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Can anyone expand on how I would be able to let's say buy a iPad compatible sim for the entire trip and just pay one fee and toss it out when I'm done.
 

parcas1

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You probably won't be able to, as the networks work by country and you're going to different countries. Roaming will bankrupt you! Some deals in different countries might be cheap enough to make it worth taking a month's deal for a few days, go in and haggle with the phone shops.
Don't neglect the free wifi. There will be a lot more than you think. Starbucks and many chains have free wifi in the UK. We're quite civilised. Many towns have paved roads these days. Can't speak for Italy!
 

giradman

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Well, if I were going back to Europe w/ my iPad, then Wi-Fi access would be my first choice, and preferably free - :D

Go ahead and google 'European Wi-Fi hotspots' - there are plenty of hits and locators; see what might already be available in the areas you plan to stay?

Another option is a mobile Mi-Fi device which can bring in a satellite signal and then be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot allowing multiple gadgets to attach - not sure what the options in Europe might be or the cost if a limited plan could be obtained - but take a look at Verison's Option HERE; of course, other companies offer Mi-Fi - these devices have been suggested in the forum before so a search might help. Again good luck in you selection(s) - :)
 

Kricke

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Hi,

I am German and live in Germany. We do have Starbucks and McDonalds which offer free wifi - sometimes or most often here called WLAN. Many cafés and restaurants do have wifi as well, simply ask the waitress for the WLAN key. That should work, at least that is what I do.

I have no idea about Italy as far as SIM cards are concerned.
Here in Germany you could easily buy a prepaid sim card and use it in mi-fii device. But it might happen that you cannot activate the card yourself because you need a residential address. If you go to a t-mobile store they might do it for you if you buy their card.

My advice would be - if you do not want to rely on open wifi hotspots alone - get a mi-fi device and buy local sim cards.
Should you happen to come to Berlin, I could help you out with one of my devices and assistance, if you need this.

Hope this helps.

Knut
 

scotland66

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slothead said:
Hi Scudder,
We loved Edinburgh while we were there! We saw the "military" (it wasn't very military, but still great) Tattoo and the people and pubs were fantastic!
<img src="http://www.ipadforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=6003"/>

Edinborgh is great! Welcome to my town!!!!!!!
 

Zappadongo

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alway choose etap-hotels: wifi is free, they're friendly and ... CHEAP ! Try it !
 
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alucard76

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I thought I could walk into any mobile store in Italy, buy a sim card compatible with the iPad, pay a fee for 1 month of unlimited usage, and that's that. I wouldn't be roaming and I would have to worry about finding wifi hotspots whenever I need to go online.
 

scotland66

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alucard76 said:
I thought I could walk into any mobile store in Italy, buy a sim card compatible with the iPad, pay a fee for 1 month of unlimited usage, and that's that. I wouldn't be roaming and I would have to worry about finding wifi hotspots whenever I need to go online.

You can, I've done it quite a few times, when I'm away in foreign countries
 
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alucard76

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scotland66 said:
You can, I've done it quite a few times, when I'm away in foreign countries

So, do I have it right? Is that all I need to do? Can I buy one in Italy and have it work throughout Europe?
 

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