Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
492
78
United Kingdom
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Hi guys n gals, I'm travelling to the states soon and plan on buying an iPad whilst there as the exchange rate makes them about 25% cheaper than buying here, £307 as opposed to 439 for wifi 16gb model!

Ideally tho in want a 3G model so that I can buy a monthly data plan here in the uk.

I have looked at apple and best buy sites but both suggest I cam only buy a 3G model locked to a network? Is this the case or can I buy an unlocked sim free iPad?

Can you advise where is best to buy one from? I'm only looking at 16gb model as I have 32gb ip4 for music and sat nav. iPad will be more a web browser, document tablet for work use.

Many thanks :)
 

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
492
78
United Kingdom
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Superb news thanks. Can I buy it sim free easily?
 

poloponies

Suspended
May 3, 2010
2,661
1,366
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Superb news thanks. Can I buy it sim free easily?

They're sold with AT&T microSIMS by default (at no added cost) which are easily swapped (via pop-out drawer) for whatever service you prefer in the UK.
 

ConnorTurnbull

macrumors 6502
Aug 18, 2010
374
0
United Kingdom
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Superb news thanks. Can I buy it sim free easily?

At any Apple store. Although note that in the UK, you can get an iPad for £99 with an Orange data plan.
 

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
492
78
United Kingdom
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

True the up front cost is lower but the numers are like this

iPad subsidised £99 +24x £25 = £699

iPad in USA £389 + data at £7.50 a month, £576 over two year

The other option is hold out for ipad2 but from what I see it might get cameras and more ram.. I have my iPhone 4 for cameras and (I don't know this), does it need more ram?

I mean, in the uk the 3G 16gb model is £541 up front or 699 over 2 years on contract which I don't want to be locked in to. Buying now whilst in stres saves me £160 up front and means I am not locked in to a monthly plan. Seems a good opportunity.

Unless by some luck ipad2 is available before march 11th when I return to uk. Unlikely!
 

poloponies

Suspended
May 3, 2010
2,661
1,366
I know what you're saying, but I'm sure the current iPad will be officially supported for another year, at least.

Oh, I have no doubt it will continue to be supported (and I have no plans to upgrade to the next iPad) just that we're very close to a new release, so locking into a 2-year contract without seeing what the next iPad is like is probably unwise. Similarly, it's going to be a 2-year-old technology midway through the contract and the competition will be furious then.
 

dave420

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2010
1,426
276
does it need more ram?
Not necessarily, but more ram has benefits. Fast app switching works better with more memory to switch between apps. Currently if you have a large application open it will need to be reopened completely if you switch to another app that takes a lot of memory. Also the lack of ram causes pages to need to be reloaded in Safari more frequently.
 

thunderbunny

macrumors 6502a
Jul 15, 2010
617
0
Cheshire, UK
Not necessarily, but more ram has benefits. Fast app switching works better with more memory to switch between apps. Currently if you have a large application open it will need to be reopened completely if you switch to another app that takes a lot of memory. Also the lack of ram causes pages to need to be reloaded in Safari more frequently.

Certainly doesn't at the moment. Question is how the current model will cope with iOS x.y in the future
 

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
492
78
United Kingdom
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Interesting input. I never had any noticeable problems with my 3GS and safari which I think had the same ram ad the iPad?

Assuming that no ipad2 is out in time, where would the best place be to buy a 16gb 3G iPad with no data plan?
 

covertsurfer

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2007
575
5
I'm about to travel to the USA and hopefully pick up a iPad 2. How does the warranty work if it breaks in the UK. Can I get it fixed ok without any argument that it was bought in a different country?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.