Rich from Alcante, Spain

[richrocks]

Greetings iPad lovers

My name is Rich and I love the iPad

I'm a Tour Guide in Spain, so I am always on the road travelling. My iPad has been a fantastic tool for my work and for play. I can't imagine not having one. Needless to say, because I require connectivity on the go, I have a wifi and 3G model which gives me more or less 100% connection.

I was lucky to get my hands on iPad 1 on the day it was launched in Europe, and I just knew it would become my new best companion. I knew it would be a huge hit too. As the OS has developed, and with App Developers creating ingenious apps, it has just got better and better.

So, to get iPad 2 on launch day was a real joy. I was very lucky. I decided not to order online at 2am Spanish time at launch but to risk visiting a store at 5pm. I visited El Corte Ingles which is a huge chain of department stores in Spain. I was number 55 in the queue and I guessed my chances were slim. So, I was overjoyed, when I was lucky enough to walk away with my iPad 2 !!!

I'm looking forward to reading and participating in the forums.

Rich

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Good to hear from you. You’ll find a whole bunch of iPad enthusiasts in this Forum who are only too willing to help other iPad owners and to hear of their experiences. Don’t be afraid to post any questions you may have or use the ‘Search’ button near the top of the Forum web page. I usually find I discover one new interesting and useful piece of information about my iPad every day - and often not even what I was looking for!!

I'm glad that you were able to get your iPad - you're a lucky guy!!

Hope to hear from you soon with your thoughts about the iPad.

Have fun and enjoy your iPad


If you don’t already have it you can download a copy of the iPad manual for free.

Apple - Support - Manuals

It’s free too.

Tim
Scotland

I bet the weather is better in Spain than in Scotland

 

[richrocks]

Thanks For the reply Tim. I'm looking forward to participating!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[richrocks]

Ps yes the weather is about 22c at the moment. However, I'm actually in England right now having a "holiday"!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

It's 22C in Spain and you come to the UK for a holiday!!!!!!

If I was lucky enough to live in Spain I'd never want to leave. I've spent many fantastic holidays there - can't wait to go back..

Anyway, have a great time in the UK..

Tim

 

[richrocks]

Thanks Tim

Holiday was great. Weather remarkably kind. I put my O2 sim in my iPad 2 so had uninterrupted internet and email for my entire break. Technology eh!? I could not live without an iPad now.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[nanowiz]

Hi Rich,

I will be vacationing in Mardid, Malaga and Alicante for 2 1/2 weeks driving along the southern coast. I would like to bring my US 3G iPad1. Can you tell me who would be the best provider in Spain for a local microSIM and how much it would be? Also, the car rental company wanted US$186 for GPS rental. Would the 3G reception be good enough in most places to use the iPad's GPS instead?

One more thing....I am wondering if my iPad is locked and need to be unlocked before I can use a non-AT&T SIM.

 

[richrocks]

Hi there!

There's good news and not so good news really.

Firstly, GPS here is great on iPhones and iPads so I wouldn't bother paying for extras!

Secondly, choice is not Spain's best quality. There are a lot of monopolies out here so consumers suffer with lack of choice and lack of deals :-((

When I go back to the UK and I amazed by the sheer amount of deals, cheap prices and flexibility.

Now, there are choices with:

Www.Movistar.es
Www.Vodafone.es
Www.orange.es

I will try and do some research for you to see if they do any sort of pay as you go option. I just get the feeling it is all contractual. But leave it with me.

I pay 17€ a month for 2GB

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[nanowiz]

Thanks Rich. I searched the 3 links you provided and got the following. Looks like Vodafone has the best prepaid deal. Guess I'll look for a Vodafone shop when I get to Madrid. BTW, I have not heard of 3G having a bandwidth of >2Mbps in the US. Is it really that fast in Europe?

Moviestar Rates

Up / down traffic cost
Prepaid Internet Daily Rate 1 Mbps / 384 Kbps 30 Mb* 3 € per day
Internet Weekly Bonus 1 Mbps / 384 Kbps 1 GB over 7 days** 19 €
Internet Monthly Bonus 1 Mbps / 384 Kbps 1 GB over 30 days** 49 €
Internet Quarterly Bonus 1 Mbps / 384 Kbps 1 GB over 90 days** 59 €
* Over 30 MB is 3 € / 30 MB to a maximum of 12 € / day after which will be flat for the day total.
** 1 GB over limit be at a cost according to the daily rate purchased.
_________________________________________________________________
Vodafone

Mobile Internet Express:
Mobile Internet Express 32 € / month (€ 37.76 / month inc VAT.). Maximum speed up to 21.6 Mbps for the initial 2GB / month after which the maximum speed to 128Kbps. This fee does not allow the use of voice over IP. If P2P use this speed will be reduced. In case you are interested in enjoying these services, see other applicable rates or call 123. This fee does not apply to access the Internet on a mobile phone. Prices shown valid for Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Roaming not include traffic or SMS.

Mobile Web Basic:
Basic Mobile Internet 15 € / month (17.70 € / month inc VAT.). Maximum speed up to 7.2 Mbps for the initial 500 MB / month after which the maximum speed to 128Kbps. This fee does not allow the use of voice over IP. If P2P use his speed will be reduced. In case you are interested in enjoying these services, see other applicable rates or call 123. This fee does not apply to access the Internet on a mobile phone. Prices shown valid for Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Roaming not include traffic or SMS.

________________________________________________________________
Orange

35 € / 30 consecutive days
cruising speed: up to 7.2 Mbps for the initial 2GB, after which speed is reduced to 64 kbps

 

[Smartiepants]

Hi I will be traveling to southern Spain in the summer from the UK what are the chances of picking up a PAYG Vodafone sim in the airport or even buying one online before I leave? is it just as simple as putting it in he iPad when you get there or do you have to connect to iTunes before it will work??

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[richrocks]

Hi there

As you know I am based in Spain when I went to the UK I ordered a UK sim, I put it in and it just worked so I would imagine it would be the same here in Spain.

The only thing is I ordered the SIM to be delivered to my friend's house in the UK. If you could do the same I guess that's the best. If not, get yourself to a Movistar or Vodafone shop when you arrive.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Smartiepants]

Thanks top advice

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[nanowiz]

My experience in Spain

I arrived in Madrid last week and there were no phone stores at the airport. Walked all over the city center and none of the phone stores carry the prepay micro SIM. This includes Moviestar, Vodaphone and Orange. Finally, the hotel front desk advised me to go to El Corte Ingles, a big department store. The one in old town Madrid is in several buildings. The electronics department is in the smaller building 2nd floor. Here, they carry every brand. The SIM was 20€ which has a 10€ credit. I was told that it has 2GB good for up to 10 months. Well that was not correct because the connection died 2 days later on my way to Malaga. The connection icon shows full bars and the word Orange. But I kept getting the error message the I have no connection to the Internet.

It wasn't till another 2 days later (Sunday and holiday on Monday) that I found an Orange store in a shopping mall in Marbella. Took them a very long time to figure out that it was not working because my credit have ran out. It was 3.50€ per day. I had to pay another 35 € for 30 days with 2GB.

When I crossed over to Gilbrata, the connection died again despite good connection to Orange. After I returned to Spain, I had to reboot the iPad to get the connection back. The way you tell you have connection is the 3G icon next to the signal bars. In some locations, there is no 3G and you just get an o. Connection speed is very slow in general for anything with images. Forget using YouTube. I used it mainly as my GPS for driving and it worked very well everywhere..

 

[Smartiepants]

Oh orange is what I use for my iPhone and I have to say I find them completely useless in the UK let alone abroad their coverage is poor for phone signal and I find quite often I Get the o instead of 3G which is not good as soon as I see the o I put my phone back in my pocket . I can honestly say that orange would be last on my list of providers for a data plan for my iPad but it looks like in Spain I will not have much choice.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[morgm1]

Thanks for the info Rich. We've hired a car for 10 days driving around, and would like to be connected. I found this on another site - but it's difficult for me to check as it's in Spainish....can you have a look and let us know your thoughts. (sorry, I'm new to forum and it won't let me post links!)

www[dot]yoigo[dot]com - without any doubt. 1.20 EUR per day unlimited data plan. Prepaid lines for foregin with passport. You can get one on Phone House stores.