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Any UK iPad users?

M

MrMister111

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 28, 2009
3,900
382
UK
Hi

I'm in UK, thinking of getting an iPad. I have a iPhone 3GS at mo on O2.

I was wondering if anyone in UK has one? Which model did you get and why? I was thinking of getting just the WiFi model, prob 32Gb as its "only" another £70 more than 16Gb one. I would prefer to have GPS, but dont really want the 3G as cant afford to have that as a separate data plan to, and I think my iPad wold be used in house mostly anyway. I use my iPhone more and more now, when sitting watching TV for eg, to surf, check emails, and read magazines/manuals etc..

Be interested in UK users which model/why/what use for please
cheers
 
I have the 32GB Wifi only model. Like you, I have an iPhone I can use for mobile internet, so i didn't see the point in paying for 2 contracts when i'm always gonna have my iPhone with me anyway.

I wanted the 32GB model over the 16GB one because I wanted to put some videos on there - movies, TV shows - for when I travel, so i decided (on the day) to go for the 32GB one. :)
 
I bought the 3G 32GB version. Reason.. well 32gb is enough memory for my needs.... I wont fill more than that... people might say what about movies??? but come on ... wants I have watched a film im not gonna watch it again for a LONG time.. so il just remove ones I have seen and replace them with new ones.

3G? because I travel from Newcastle to Middlesbrough (teesside Uni) everyday. It takes 1 hour 20 mins on the bus. (Thats one way... so really my traveling time is 2 hours 40 mins plus the walking inbetween which I wont count)

On the bus I will now be able to connect to the internet and have something to do... The data plans arnt that expensive.. however I like that on 02 if i wish I could just get a days worth of 3g for £2... thats good to me. Most of the journeys il most likely be playing games or watching films... but the odd day I want net on the bus il just fork over £2 and bam got the net.
 
16gb 3G here - I value connectivity more than watching movies. If you're not planning on travelling, jailbreak your iPhone and install MyWi to create a mobile hotspot so you can surf from your iPad.
 
32gb 3g because I cba with tethering options and wanted the option of connection anywhere.
 
64 GB 3G

Mainly wanted the 3G connectivity for when I'm out and about - MyWi doesn't cut it in my opinion, my 3GS battery gets crippled.

I was going to get the 32 GB until I saw the file sizes of some movies and TV shows I wanted to put on there.

I'm using about 45 GB at the moment.
 
I have a 64Gb 3G model and its great.

I find taking this into work much more useful than the MBP - I can call up emails / PDFs to show colleagues when in meetings in a much more discrete way than powering up a laptop.

As for model I think 16Gb is too small - I don't have a lot of music and my 16Gb iPhone is pretty much full. 32Gb is probably the best choice. I have 64Gb only because this was a present from the family for Fathers Day (yes it's a couple of weeks early I know) and my wife generally chooses the top of the range in anything :D

I've used the 3G more than expected because the wi-fi isn't as stable as it is in the other Apple stuff I own. I considered a my-fi from 3 but in the end decided having everything in one place was just more practical. I got the 3G iPhone I got on launch day and after 2 years I'd expected to replace it, but now I'm wondering if I need a new phone now I have the iPad?

Each to their own but I'm glad I have one (even though its stupidly expensive in the UK)
 
16GB wifi version here, no I'm not a cheapskate lol, the reason I got the 16GB version is that I've never managed to fill even half of my 8GB iPhone memory so anything above 16GB for me would be an overkill and I didn't get the 3G model as I really don't plan on being out an about all that much with it so paying the extra 100 quid for the 3G model and then having to sign up for another data plan would have been a waste of money for me. I do however plan on buying a mifi adapter thing from 3 on pay and go so that I can have 3G on it and all of my other devices on the go, should I need it.
 
I got a 32g 3G. 3G for the connectivity and the added gps. 32g seems to be about the sweet spot for capacity for me.

16g really isn't enough and while I'd love a 64g was it worth another £100 when I'd already put down £629 for it including case?

tomtom works better on this than it does on my 3G iPhone so I'm pleased I went 3G, if just for that.

If you get a 3G def try sims from all the providers - I'm just using payg cut down mini sims - as coverage varies widely. O2 is great where I live but rubbish where I work so in goes the vodaphone sim when out and about.

Thank god the sim tray in on the side where the little flap on the case tucks in as well! Because it's a right game getting it in and out of the case!
 
32gb WIFI and first gen iPhone for me does the trick. My entire university campus has free WIFI so it works perfect for me
 
ABG said:
(even though its stupidly expensive in the UK)
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. It's our crappy government.

Start with the direct dollar pound translation, I think the base model iPad is about £337.

Then add on 17.5% VAT (actually it's about 21% I think because of EU electronic product VAT levels - saw it in small print on Apple's online store).

Then add all the other import duty.

And Apple have to ship the thing here in the first place.

I'm still loving this thing though! But the piggy bank isn't. :D
 
ABG said:
I have 64Gb only because this was a present from the family for Fathers Day (yes it's a couple of weeks early I know) and my wife generally chooses the top of the range in anything :D
Click to expand...

Then I think its only your duty to make her aware of This!
 
I got the 32G 3G too, and i agree it is the sweet spot.

For me the reason getting the 3g is because of my commute, i have a 90 min train journey each way to work, and now i can use the internet for all that time (except the tunnels). I hardly watch movies on it, i have 2 but yet to watch it. Plus i think the 3G version removes the stigma of "just a oversized iPod Touch" somewhat :p
 
32GB wifi. Have a 3GS j/b with MyWii for emergencies so no need for 3G on the iPad - I am usually in a wifi area (other than an hour or so a week travelling) and would need it so rarely that a 3G iPad just wasn't worth it. 32GB because I use it for music production and performance, and I felt 16Gb might not be enough, but 64GB was out of my budget when I considered the accessories I wanted / needed to integrate the iPad into my performance setup.
I don't put movies or iPod music on it, I stream any movies I want via AirVideo from my mac mini media centre if I can't be bothered to turn on my apple tv in the bedroom. ;) I don't see me ever wanting or needing to watch a movie outside my home on it.
 
I have a 16GB 3G.

3G because I wanted mobile data, 16GB because after using an N900 with 32GB, I found I never used more than half of the available capacity.

I currently have 669MB available and have used my space with the following:
-987 Songs
-505 Photos
-6 Video Podcasts
-6 Audio Podcasts
-9 TV Shows
-2 Movies
-11 Books

My friend's dad (long time Acorn fan) said that I shouldn't have gotten an iPad because you can't expand it's storage capacity and I wouldn't be able to put all of my media on it. I replied with 'tell me when there's a 2TB microSD card and I'll tell you I made a mistake!'

I could probably make more room for Video by removing a lot of the Music, I've found that I don't really listen to much music on there but I have watched plenty of TV, Movies and Podcasts on there - I watched the 2007 Macworld keynote for posterity, the iPhone OS4 and iPad keynotes just to rewatch them.

The only thing a little annoying is the reflections on the screen in sunlight, but this being the UK, that won't last long.

The one thing I did notice though, was that I would probably get an iPod Touch (or if 3GSs sell for around £200 on eBay) for music and pulling out quickly on the move.
 
MrMister111 said:
Hi

Be interested in UK users which model/why/what use for please
cheers
Click to expand...

16 GB WiFi; 16GB because I don't plan to use it as an iPod and I rarely watch TV or movies on anything other than my TV, WiFi because it will probably rarely leave my lounge and so don't need 3G.

I mainly use it for browsing, email and reading eBook (using the Kindle app, not iBooks).
 
64gb 3G for me. My motto is buy the most memory you can afford. I'm using a Vodadone sim which seems ok. 3G in my view brings the iPad alive.
 
Well, I had a 16GB wifi only model, but took it back. Going to put the extra cash in and get a 64GB 3G model. THe main choice is because of GPS and 3G, gps is nice to have when I am lost somewhere or need to look for something, I used to have an iPhone 3G, but the battery has deteriorated, so switched to a blackberry, thus checking simple things got a little harder. Tariff wise, I've avoided all the official offerings for the ebay deals. £35 for 12GB of data to be used within 12 months, not bad value at all, just had to cut down the sim which was a 5 minute job.

I was happy with the 16Gb model, but after having no access to internet outside the house it made a difference to change to a 3G model, especially since it can be cheap to have data if you know where to look. Looking at apples past, prices hardly ever change until new models are released, so paying this high premium early on will be the same as if I had waited.
 
Ok to add...

What accessories have you have? and why? from where?

Where did you buy them? Is there a decent discount at Dixons travel stores in airports? and can you buy on way out then get it delivered to home?
 
I've got the 64 3GS model. I originally was gonna get the 32gig but there were to many people on here saying they had bought 16 and 32gig and now rwished they had gone 64 gig

When I originally bought it I too said I would just be using it at home. That has turned out to be really wrong. Due to it being so portable and the battery lasts so long I take I have taken it out with me everyday since I bought it. To work and even the cinema yday. I also have an iPhone and know what u mean having to pay for two contracts. The good thing is that it's a rolling contract so u only need to pay when u feel you will need to use it outside the house.
 
No point in 3G for me

For me, there's no point in going for the 3g version. I've had a iPhone 3G s for around 6 months now and in that time i've used no more than 500 mb of 3G data usage. So I don't think i'll ever really need 3G access

What I don't get is why you can't be given a duplicate sim off your provider of your iphone contract so you have one pool of data usage spread over two sims.

--- Actually i do get why, it's the same reason as the tethering scam.

Can't wait to get my hands on my own ipad
 
MrMister111 said:
Ok to add...

What accessories have you have? and why? from where?

Where did you buy them? Is there a decent discount at Dixons travel stores in airports? and can you buy on way out then get it delivered to home?
Click to expand...

Accessories wise, I'd get case, screen protector and skin for the back.

I would try and avoid buying from retail, mainly because you will pay retail price which is quite expensive. Only case I'd get from retail is the official apple case, which is quite good, also no where else will sell them cheaper (£30). Screen protectors are to personal preference, anti glasre ones are slightly more expensive, I got some cheap generic clear glossy ones from ebay, £7 for 6 screen protectors, not bad.

Skins wise, you can look on ebay or try www.skinizi.com , they are quite good, protects the back from scratches, and can be custom made to order if required. They are roughly £13 with shipping.
 
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