IPad opinions?

[simongr]

You mean to say after all the hoo-hah over the weekend, you still haven't got one?

I am in Cyprus at the moment... They can't even spell ipad up here in the mountains

Landing in the uk tonight and might go to the regent street store after landing if it is still open...

 

[markis10]

Had to laugh at the fools lining up in Sydney along George St, while around the corner in Pitt St there were no lines at JB, good win for the marketing there! Big thumbs down for the "journo" that jumped the line, what a cad!

 

[Fyfie]

Landing in the uk tonight and might go to the regent street store after landing if it is still open...

Was in the Regent St Store yesterday - the place was nuts. The seemed to still have stock, but there was a decent queue for purchasing. Some of the Oxford St retailers have them (e.g. Curry's) if you are in a rush (though might not be open seeing it's a bank holiday today).

 

[Mal]

Was in the Regent St Store yesterday - the place was nuts. The seemed to still have stock, but there was a decent queue for purchasing. Some of the Oxford St retailers have them (e.g. Curry's) if you are in a rush (though might not be open seeing it's a bank holiday today).

Yeah, the bank holiday might affect opening hours. The apple website doesn't specify what times they open on bank holidays. One should then (hopefully) assume normal Monday trading hours (9pm IIRC), but who knows!

I doubt they've run out of stock either. Haven't seen anything in the press etc about lack of availability (in fact I did see an article published a few hours ago saying plenty of availability). I'd even call or go over for a quick run over (loitering around King's Cross at the moment) to check, but not sure what model is preferred (I think it's the 3G 32Gb from an earlier post).

 

[simongr]

Yep 32GB 3G is the target.

If there is plenty of stock then I will grab one tomorrow - I dont land until 7:50 anyway so getting to the hotel, checking in and getting to the apple store by 9Pm might be a stretch...

I will see how I feel...

Mind you my major concern is the 12 degree weather in London :shock:

 

[SimonM]

Just a word or two of warning from the roopaw-ette's homework session tonight.

Each store we went to showed the iPad off with an app called Pages. Not included: Cost $12.99 to buy.

The iPad has no native printing facility. PrinterShare seems a bit strange to me. Free but odd in that I could see all sorts of other printers. Didn't really want to expose our home network to that.

So, we exported the Pages document to PDF and then got it by going to the Apps tab for the iPad device in iTunes (9.1 or later) and scrolling down to the File Sharing section and saw 'Pages'. Clicking on that showed the PDF.

Sadly, Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 (and perhaps later) can't cope with Pages odd Font naming scheme (but other PDF readers can - try FoxIt). So, she exported to .DOC and printed from Word.

All a bit of a rigamrole, but apparently worth it to have an iPad.

Very stressful for me.

 

[simongr]

I was aware of the iPads printing limitations - not really an issue for me. One of the reasons for buying the iPad is have a document reader that avoids having to print (I am going to a conference next week and all presentations are being made available electronically before the event).

I was also aware of the price point for the iWork apps (pages, numbers and keynote) so they have been factored into the purchase.

I am hoping that the Omni suite is available soon - those are going to be some great productivity apps (further justifying the iPads tax deductible status )

 

[Alanslegal]

Based on today's forex, buying an iPad here in Oz will be better value than in the USA or UK, assuming tax exclusive pricing. Correct?

 

[djfuzz]

Yep 32GB 3G is the target.

If there is plenty of stock then I will grab one tomorrow - I dont land until 7:50 anyway so getting to the hotel, checking in and getting to the apple store by 9Pm might be a stretch...

I will see how I feel...

Mind you my major concern is the 12 degree weather in London :shock:

Good call - I went for exactly the same one. But stock might be light, as it does appear that 3G models have been the first to run out - and yours and mine is pretty much the most popular model.

You could also pick one up airside at Dixons, but the discounted price does not seem to reflect the full VAT refund.

Apple iPad: it's cheaper at Heathrow Airport - Telegraph

I tend to agree with Alanslegal - the Australian ex-GST price is actually about as good as you can get right now, but that might not be so useful for you given where you are right now.

roopaw - all pretty standard issues, it's not a laptop and you shouldn't expect it to be one without understanding its limitations, as I imagine you would now. Nevertheless, it should give her much joy as a device that does many other things (I can feel Mal rolling his eyes).

For printing, another option is to email yourself the file (exported as .doc or .pdf) and print that file directly out of your mail account on a computer hooked up to a PC.

 

[jsd]

Quick question if I were to get an iPad, are the australia 3G versions locked to a specific provider (namely Telstra), all our stuff, home phone, mobile, internet is with Virgin and to have an iPad that that is locked would be sort of useless:?:


Josh

 

[SimonM]

Quick question if I were to get an iPad, are the australia 3G versions locked to a specific provider (namely Telstra), all our stuff, home phone, mobile, internet is with Virgin and to have an iPad that that is locked would be sort of useless:?:
Josh

Not that I'm an authority, but I got an email from 3 regarding iPad data plans, so I think you can go to whoever you choose.

 

[Mal]

Quick question if I were to get an iPad, are the australia 3G versions locked to a specific provider (namely Telstra), all our stuff, home phone, mobile, internet is with Virgin and to have an iPad that that is locked would be sort of useless:?:

None of the iPads are locked AFAIK.

 

[djfuzz]

Correct, iPads are not locked to any provider at any stage (neither are iPhones purchased directly from Apple in Australia, for that matter).

I have both a Vodafone and Three Micro SIM (both were free), but intend to pick up a Telstra one at some stage as well. All of them work interchangeably.

Truth be told, I don't think I'll be using it over 3G enough to justify getting the Telstra one, especially since Telstra are the only ones who are restricting your ability to use iPad Micro SIMs in any other device, due to the preferential pricing they're giving (poor form IMHO).

 

[jsd]

Another stupid question here:

What on earth is a micro sim, don't tell me that they are making them even easier to lose than they are now

Josh

 

[SimonM]

Another stupid question here:

What on earth is a micro sim, don't tell me that they are making them even easier to lose than they are now

Josh

A new, smaller SIM card, designed for very small devices. Such as the iPad. Hmm...

Micro Sim

 

[samh004]

Another stupid question here:

What on earth is a micro sim, don't tell me that they are making them even easier to lose than they are now

I think it was discussed earlier in this thread, but is effectively the same SIM card as you have now, but with a load of the plastic cut away that doesn’t actually do anything but make it bigger. There are also some improvements to the chip I believe, but the chip is essentially the same size

A new, smaller SIM card, designed for very small devices. Such as the iPad. Hmm...

Micro Sim

It probably saves a tiny bit more space inside the machine, that helps Apple fit more battery power in

 

[Alanslegal]

I tend to agree with Alanslegal - the Australian ex-GST price is actually about as good as you can get right now, but that might not be so useful for you given where you are right now.

I had a quick trip to DJ's and they are sold out I believe DJ staff could get 5% off all electronic items (don't know if iPads are excluded) but if they do, I'll get a friend of mine to get one for me in 2 weeks, just prior to claiming the TRS (GST component) back before my 23/6 departure

So 5% off and then GST back at the airport = I'm Sold.

 

[djfuzz]

I had a quick trip to DJ's and they are sold out I believe DJ staff could get 5% off all electronic items (don't know if iPads are excluded) but if they do, I'll get a friend of mine to get one for me in 2 weeks, just prior to claiming the TRS (GST component) back before my 23/6 departure

So 5% off and then GST back at the airport = I'm Sold.

GST is definitely worth clawing back, but I'd have my doubts that the employee discount applies to this, let alone any Apple products. Even Apple employees are high and dry when it comes to them. If he can't get it, I wouldn't wait as stock may be tough to find just before you leave - just get the one you want the first place you find it. Not sure if the airside Sydney airport reseller is selling them, maybe someone passing through can check?

Good luck though!

 

[cove]

I picked up an IPAD in Perth on Monday.
All is working great and I now dont need a magnifying glass to read a little screen like my IPHONE.Thanks **** Smith!

 

[simongr]

Based on today's forex, buying an iPad here in Oz will be better value than in the USA or UK, assuming tax exclusive pricing. Correct?

I was not aware that the A$ had crashed in the past few days.

At the moment based on the rates i have on the iPhone a GBP599 iPad would cost A$1044 less VAT would be A$888. An Oz purchased item would be A$843 net of GST.

For $40 I will buy it here as I am not going overseas (to my knowledge) until August...

Buying in the US works out about $70 more expensive