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nlr

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 27, 2010
457
1
London
Hey there!

I am really excited about purchasing an iPad this Friday but I am unsure what payasyougo options there is in the UK when I buy a iPad 3G model later this week.

Could someone please be kind enough to explain the procedure and what options I may have?

Best of regards,
Nick
 
O2 offer PAYG for £2.04 a day, limited to 200mb.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/ipadtariffs/

Orange offer PAYG for £2 limited to 200mb.
http://shop.orange.co.uk/ipad/ipad-choose-your-plan

Three offer PAYG for £10.49 for 1gb, lasting a month instead of the single day the others use.
http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/iPad/iPad_data_plans

Basically this means the days you use it on Orange and O2 will be charged at £2, on Three if you use it anytime within the month you'll get charged a tenner but you will have 1gb to play with. I don't think Vodafone offer anything PAYG.
 
Can I topup the value like it is a payasyougo phone from a local shop with cash or does it need to be a direct debit from my debit card?

How much should the iPad 2 3G models be?
 
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I bought a 3 sim yesterday, did the same thing when i got my iPad 1.

Basically it's 12gb for 12months. So the sim card becomes inactive when you've used up 12GB or 12months have passed, which ever is sooner.

Im not sure on the rules for posting links on here, I once got a warning.

But if you look on a site like Amazon and search for 12gb '3' sim you should find a couple around £39.99. I bought mine yesterday for £33.99 and on the weekend they were £29.99

You can also check out eBay.

I think these are the best value for money as you pay up front and you are not allocated X gb per month.


Hope that helps!
 
I have been buying three month packages from Three for GBP 21 -- you get a total of 3 Gb for that and no monthly restrictions. Unfortunately, to top up at that price you need to get another package with a new sim. The other solution mentioned here sounds better!
 
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1 month rolling contract with Three, 10GB a month for £15 a month. You can cancel it at any point so it's pretty good value. Not PAYG but a good option.
 
I bought a 3 sim yesterday, did the same thing when i got my iPad 1.

Basically it's 12gb for 12months. So the sim card becomes inactive when you've used up 12GB or 12months have passed, which ever is sooner.

Im not sure on the rules for posting links on here, I once got a warning.

But if you look on a site like Amazon and search for 12gb '3' sim you should find a couple around £39.99. I bought mine yesterday for £33.99 and on the weekend they were £29.99

You can also check out eBay.

I think these are the best value for money as you pay up front and you are not allocated X gb per month.


Hope that helps!
Amazon still have some 3GB/3 month sims, which are actually slightly better value than the 12 month ones (if possible a little less convenient).
I definitely think PAYG is the way forward for me. I cannot imagine myself using even 1G/month because I only check emails/surf the web/use dropbox etc. whilst on 3G. If you are planning on downloading loads of apps/videos then a monthly data plan is probably the way forward.
 
But if you look on a site like Amazon and search for 12gb '3' sim you should find a couple around £39.99. I bought mine yesterday for £33.99 and on the weekend they were £29.99

Hope that helps!

Wow, I wish American domestic providers did this with such fair pricing. A quick look on UK Amazon says that a 3gb sim is only £9.99 ($16.33). Contrast this with my current AT&T quota which is 2gb (expires monthly) for $25 (£15.28).
 
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Thanks for all the replies, I think I will be purchasing it from Amazon. Do you know how is the 3 Internet around London in general? Speed and coverage availability?

Regards,
Nick
 
I can only speak for west and central london -- never had a problem at all and speeds have been very good overall. Unfortunately, the only way to make sure it's going to be good for you is to try it out first.
 
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I am located in West London myself in Hammersmith.
 
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