NEW! Cheapest iPads - article discussion

Millionaire · 12 January 2012 at 1:56PM

iPad 2 for £359.99 here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280804190993&clk_rvr_id=306305860268

Don't forget Quidco/TopCashback.

tanker · 12 January 2012 at 2:24PM

Hi guys,

Giffgaff have a £10 goodybag for mobile phones that gives 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited web access (lasts for a month - you'll need to buy another £10 goodybag when the old one expires). Couldn't you get one of these to use in an iPad - or any tablet - and just not use the free text and call elements?

They offer mini-sims too now.

fraz24 · 13 January 2012 at 2:18PM

tanker wrote: »

Hi guys,

Giffgaff have a £10 goodybag for mobile phones that gives 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited web access (lasts for a month - you'll need to buy another £10 goodybag when the old one expires). Couldn't you get one of these to use in an iPad - or any tablet - and just not use the free text and call elements?

They offer mini-sims too now.

Against t&cs, you need to buy data only sim at 7.50 a month

KiltedGreen · 13 January 2012 at 6:01PM

Someone here posted: "Buying a ipad2 with 3g is a waste of money imo. Its far better to tether to your mobile phone and ..."

Well, I don't have a mobile phone so that doesn't work!

I've had an iPad since it first came out and have stuck with the best value package by a long way - for me.

I use very little data so I am with Orange and have their pay as you go option which works out at 5.1p per MB. This month's bill is £0.85 and last month's was £0.76. No other provider can come close if you use very little 3G data. If you use a fair bit each day then this is the last package you would want.

Three things:

Orange do not provide 3G outside the UK. :mad:

They assume that you have a mobile and all their support is to a mobile phone so it costs me a fair bit if I need to phone them. You cannot set up their offer on the iPad itself unlike some 3G providers.

Very important - pay by Direct Debit. I didn't realise for the first 8 months and I was being charged more for not using DD than I was for the data. When I told them I'd never had this spelled out they refunded the previous 3 months DD charges which meant I was in credit for about 6 months.

System · 18 January 2012 at 11:55AM

patricia1066 wrote: »

I bought a Mac Mini 2011 from Digigood and my dealings have been fine with the company. I received a new US model, with a UK power cable separately and my purchase has been successfully registered with Apple in UK. I am very happy with the purchase.

The discount needs to reflect the risk to the purchaser that Digigood will still be trading in a few years time, as your protection under SGA is in relation to the seller, not the manufacturer. At least with Apple any savings can be put towards the Applecare warranty if you want to insure against risk. Applecare costs £69 for the ipad 2 year policy.

Hi All, thanks for the information. I ended up purchasing my iPad2 32gb WIFI only version via "Digigood" for £427.94 inclucding s&h. it was brand new in the box sealed with a seperate uk adaptor attached. I ordered on a wednesday received on friday. So I've saved £51.06 off apples retail price. I love it, and have registered it with Apple.

Thanks again for all the advice :T

Beatlefan · 21 January 2012 at 4:59PM

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm thinking of buying a 32GB ipad with WIFI, but not one with 3G as it's too expensive.

I did think about the 3G option as I like to read articles on my iphone through the Flipboard app and check Twitter & Facebook when I travel to London a few times a month for work on the train. Although having said that, the 3G connection on my iphone is notoriously unreliable on my i-phone, so probably not worth spending the money on 3G for my ipad. We went to Norfolk in a caravan on holiday last summer and the 3G connection with 3 was dreadful.

So the points people have made regarding tethering and mi-fi type devices sounded very interesting.

Can I ask a few very basic questions please? Sorry some of them are so basic, as I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to some of this. Thanks!

Tethering

I have an iphone 3G through a contract with 3. It's got a WIFI option and a personal hotspot setting, which says I can use to: "share your iphone's Internent connection. Additional usage charges may apply".
It then gives you two options to connect (a) via Bluetooth (not sure exactly what that is or what kit I need for it?) or (b) via a USB cable.

Does that mean all I would need to do would be to tether the ipad to the iphone via a USB cable and use my iphone's data allowance in that way? Grateful for any tips please. Thanks.

Do I need to check with 3 that they will 'allow' this or can you just do it, if the two devices are compatible? Is this a breach of contract? Can't see how it can be, if the device itself says in 'settings' that it gives you the two options (Bluetooth and USB). I see TonyGold says Orange charge you £5 a month to use this facility, but not sure about 3. Presumably an extra £5 a month is cheaper than paying for a 3G model ipad and then paying as you go with a SIM card for 3G afterwards?

Mobile devices - MiFi, etc

I'm also interested in the mobile devices people mentioned.
Is the MiFi reliable and would I just plug it into the side of the ipad? Does it need a local WIFI connection or does it connect you to the web via 3G? In other words, would you need a 3G ipad to use a MiFi?

Is the Edimax that Pyrogenius mentioned the same kind of device as a MiFi?

Sorry if I'm being really thick (probably am!!), just not sure what a local "wifi hotspot" is and the difference between that and 3G and how the two connect to the internet. I'm assuming this is very different to tethering.

K8C asked about a Pocket Wireless Router. Does anyone have any experience of one? Does that work in the same way as a MiFi? K8C mentioned you can add up to five devices on it. Sounds good! Do you need 3G for this (either on your ipad or iphone - or is separate again to tethering)?

Data allowance question from K8C

K8C also mentioned they were thinking of getting the WiFi only (not 3G) ipad2 with approx 1GB data allowance. Do you need to choose a data allowance when you buy the ipad? If you're using your home WIFI connection or tethering it to your iphone, then isn't the data allowance agreed with your home broadband provider or your iphone provider? Or does the ipad's data allowance kick in if you use a MiFi-type device?

Guarantees

I note John Lewis offer a two-year guarantee, which is definitely worth getting! Although unlike other retailers they don't offer cashback through Topcashback.

When you buy an ipad, is the guarantee you receive from the retailer or from Apple itself? I notice some people said they had registered their ipads with Apple. Someone else also mentioned Applecare, which I assume is a type of additional guarantee? Does registering with Apple or paying for Applecare mean you've still got a guarantee if the retailer goes bust? Presumably paying for Applecare would cancel out any saving from buying the device from one of the discount stores.

Flash

Pyrogenius mentioned that Flash isn't supported and that Adobe will no longer develop it for mobile platforms. Does that include ipads as well as phones?

As you say though, it's not a huge problem generally on most sites.

Thanks

Thanks again in advance for any advice and answers to any of my questions. Very sorry for such a long post, but this is a big purchase for me and I want to make sure I get it right!!!

Humphrey10 · 21 January 2012 at 5:50PM

There isn't anything wrong with the 3G reception on iPhones or iPads (well, as long as you avoid 'holding it wrong'!), the problem will be with your network if you are only experiencing poor reception in some locations.

Tethering - no idea

Mobile devices - MiFi, etc - you mean dongles etc I assume? What these are are little gadgets with a sim card in, that connect to the internet via 3G, and they create a wifi hotspot, so you can join the wifi hotspot with your wifi-only iPad or laptop or whatever and access the internet.

Yes multiple devices can join the wireless network (wifi hotspot) at once, and none of them need 3G.

The 3G bit is taken care of by the dongle, everything connecting to it only needs a wifi connection or USB connection.

Data allowance question from K8C
An iPad (or phone or laptop or etc etc) connected to a wifi network will not need any kind of data allowance.
The device that is generating the connection may need a data allowance, for example if I connect my iPad to my friend's 3G dongle the data that I am using up will be from my friend's 3G dongle's allowance.

Guarantees
I wouldn't think a two-year guarantee was worth paying more for on an Apple product.
When you buy an iPad or an iPhone you get a one year guarantee with Apple. Technically the retailer is liable for any inherent defect as they would be for any other item you buy in this country, however it's a lot easier to just go to Apple and say 'it's broke', they will just hand you a new one. Unless you broke it, in which case they may or may not hand you a new one, depends what mood they are in.

Flash - not supported. Though I haven't missed it at all.

barry100_2 · 22 January 2012 at 8:10PM

Tesco Direct is giving £10 off all items above £75 at present if you use the code TDX-7PKF.
THis includes ipads.:T:)

Beatlefan · 24 January 2012 at 12:12AM

@Humphrey10, thanks ever so much for getting back with some thoughts on my questions.

So for a mobile device, I wouldn't need to actually be in a WIFI area like a hotel, etc? Would the dongle do all the work for me via 3G?

@barry100 thanks for the tip about the £10 off at Tesco - looks a good buy & cashback available through Topcashback too!

Humphrey10 · 24 January 2012 at 12:46AM

Beatlefan wrote: »

So for a mobile device, I wouldn't need to actually be in a WIFI area like a hotel, etc? Would the dongle do all the work for me via 3G?

Yes, the dongle connects to the internet via 3G, then creates its own little wifi network for your other wifi-enabled devices to join.

You could just get a 3G iPad, the data tariff would cost the same I expect, but you might find the price difference between a wifi and a 3G iPad to be more expensive than the price of a dongle.

How often would you want to use internet on the iPad when you don't have wifi though? On some trains, if you sit in or near to first class (the carriages that are half first and half standard are best) you can often pick up the wifi from first class. Sitting at the fold down seats at the end of first class carriages also works! Hotels also almost always have wifi. And you do have an iPhone, if you had to check something on the internet.
Just don't make the mistake I did, don't pay £100 extra for a 3G iPad then find you never use the 3G!

NEW! Cheapest iPads - article discussion

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