To answer my own questions (as I went ahead and ordered it from the Apple store anyway and received it yesterday):
The adapter works perfectly!
It's just a matter of plugging into the iPad and you're online. No configuration or settings, no downloads, no hassle.
When plugged in for the first time you're asked if you want to download the Belkin app, but this isn't needed (I decided not to download it, just to see if it works without it -which it does. Apparently it's for upgrading the adapter's firmware if/that happens -but for me I'm basically thinking "If it works don't fix it", so I skipped it).
So you just plug it in and you're online!
In the "Settings" app ("General" section) you'll see a new "Ethernet" option next to Airplane mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. As far as I can see tell (and my experience) there's no need to do change/set any settings here. The Ethernet option goes away when you disconnect the adapter and reappears again when you attach it again.
Actually you do get
online access regardless of Airplane mode on or off! But with Airplane mode on, many apps complain (even though they actually do go online), so it's probably an idea to turn Airplane mode OFF, and instead switch Wi-Fi on/off according to need (for instance if you use the Ethernet adapter at home and Wi-Fi when travelling).
Another great thing is that it works both
with or without the iPad charger!
We've used it for a couple of hours straight now just on battery, and didn't get any alert or warning messages about insufficient power etc. so I assume it's designed to work either way.
Regardless it's very practical to go online AND have the iPad's battery charged at the same time
A practical advice about that though: I've heard that today's rechargeable batteries need to be "excercised" (i.e. actually used, not just charged) or else their lives will get drastically shortened over time. I actually had this happen to me with a Mac Powerbook which I mostly used at home, and for practical reasons I just left plugged into the charger all the time. I noticed that the few times I needed to bring the laptop along the batteries didn't last long, and following that I heard about the above advice.
So now I try to use portable devices with both AC power (charging) and on their own (battery) regardless.
I tested the adapter with an iPad Mini (5th generation), iPad Air (not sure about the version but it runs iOS 13) and as an added bonus it
very unexpectedly even worked with my old iPad Mini (1st generation) running iOS 9.3.5! The specs only list compatibility with recent iPads, so that was totally unexpected, but very cool!
Anything negative about it?
Not much except the price (then again you usually get what you pay for) and the rather short cable.
I suppose you can buy Lightning extension cables so you don't risk repeatedly bending the adapter's cable -which I assume will finally make it break or split up. O you can just rotate the iPad in the best position which puts the least strain on the cable, using a suitable stand or an iPad's case to place it in a way it won't cause any bend or strain to the cable.
NOTE: I found a solution to the short cable. I don't know why they're so hard to come by (I couldn't find any locally) so I ordered one
from MeloAudio for US$ 12.99 (free shipping). It's braided, meaning it should last for a while and being 3.3 ft (1m) long you can keep the Ethernet adapter a good distance from the iPad and no longer need to worry if the (very short) cable will weaken and finally break every time you move the iPad around. I'm looking forward to receiving it.
Other than that, not much to complain about. Quality appears top notch (actually indisguisable from any Apple adapter in both colour, design and quality) and what's not to like when stuff just works!
I haven't done any extensive tests, but surfing the web just seemed a lot faster than with the usual Wi-Fi. And for security concerns wired Internet is of course a lot safer than Wi-Fi where someone with the right knowledge and gear can just sit outside your house in their car with a laptop and "snoop" into your passwords etc.
And for those concerned about health issues (prolonged exposure to radio frequency (RF) signals) this adapter is a great solution when using an iPad which otherwise doesn't have an Ethernet connector built-in and isn't widely advertised by Apple as being able to go online with anything but Wi-Fi.
This is my first experience with Ethernet on an iPad, and I know there are other solutions out there like the cheap Ethernet to USB adapters on eBay etc.
But (from what I've read) they all demand a long chain of additional adapters (Lightning to USB3 adapter (Apple camera connection kit) and a USB hub), and you're forced into using the charger as the iPad battery doesn't have enough power for it all.
I'd check the total price first, and compare it with the cost of the Belkin adapter, and also ask myself if I'm OK with having the charger plugged into the (rather messy IMHO) chain of adapters, all the time.
I haven't done the math but for all I know this Belkin Ethernet adapter might come out cheaper or around the same, and at a higher convenience.
Oh, I found a review
here and
here. Alas there's no talk about the charger being essential or not, but as I've already stated -my experience so far is that using the charger is optional in order to make it work.
All in all I'm very happy with my purchase and can thoroughly recommend it! 👍👍👍
