Obtaining Micro-Sims when travelling

[carpets]

What would be stopping me getting a French micro-sim card while I am on holiday there in the summer and using it in my iPad?

Surely this would be by far the most economical way to get internet access while abroad.

Will it be relatively easy to get sims in other countries, and is there any reason they would not work?

 

[avaloncourt]

At the iPad annoucement Jobs said that the iPad was unlocked. Orange (a French carrier) is one of a handful of carriers that has microSIMs. There's nothing stopping you from getting one. It all comes down to whether Orange has a reasonable data plan to buy into. Remember, you'll have to get something severed from a phone plan since there's no phone.

If something meets that criteria, go for it. There is where VoIP might be a legitimate option via the iPad when traveling.

Edited to add: I looked up Orange plans and the "Dolphin" Pay as you Go plan seems to be the best. It has bundled voice minutes which are a bit useless but it provides "free Internet" plus text amount from 300 to unlimited for prices ranging $15 to $45. That's a whole lot better than data roaming on an AT&T plan.

I have no idea what data stability on their network is like but it seems workable.

O2 has microSIMs too so check them out.

Second edit: Here's an article related to Orange UK and the iPad.

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/orange-set-to-supply-uk-ipad-3g-data--666870

 

[t0mat0]

If you can't get a microSIM just get an exacto / craft knife, some patience, and a metal ruler. Cut it down to size, should work. We'll see when it ships, but it's likely it'll work.

 

[obey908]

I am going to Italy on may 18th for a 6week study abroad. I am planning on getting the wifi iPad, but thinking about 3g if I would be able to use it over there. I am already planning on paying an extra $90 to verizon to have my blackberry, but also like the idea of having iPad 3g.

 

[Nermal]

If you can't get a microSIM just get an exacto / craft knife, some patience, and a metal ruler. Cut it down to size, should work. We'll see when it ships, but it's likely it'll work.

Note that this may violate the agreement with the operator (and may vary based on operator, of course).

 

[flynz4]

1) We know that the iPad is unlocked
2) We know that AT&T plan is a month to month prepaid plan.
3) Do we know that each country will also be similar to AT&T, or is that still unknown?

We are planning a trip to Ireland. I think that would be O2, but I am not sure. Do we know about that yet? How about Greece? Last question... Fiji?

/Jim