Just bought an iPad 1st Gen

[thesoulyearns]

OK, just bought an iPad 1st gen as a present for mum and completely stuffed it. Typical of me... figured the term "wi-fi" meant it already had the internet and it was ready to go. Turns out, no... you need to purchase the internet separately. (unless I'm wrong?)

So, I guess my question is: Can this iPad have 3G put into it, even though the model didn't actually come with 3G? Basically, I'd like her to browse the net and not worry about payment or anything, so she can use it at wi-fi hotspots, at home, etc. At least, that's how I think it works. She has a Kindle and is able to download books from home, and that came with wi-fi.

Thanks for any help...

[peternt2001]

this is an easy fix OP, but not necessarily an cheap fix.

If you google telstra or optus or vodaphone etc etc they will have what are called 3G wifi hotspots.

These are about a third the thickness of a small packet of cigarettes, and these take a sim card, and you can just leave them sitting on a table or a bench and they will send out a wifi signal for upto 5 devices to connect to the internet with. ( recharging could be tricky as they normally recharge using a usb plug and from memory ipad doesnt have usb )

The expensive part comes into it, not in getting the wifi hub, but in buying gigabytes for use. If you go to the websites of all the phone companies and look for their prepaid internet recharges, you will see how much a recharge will cost you. 

I have brought many of these devices, i look for a phone company that has a deal on, like buy a wifi hotspot and get 8 gig or whatever the offer is all thrown in for the price. Generally it is cheaper than buying the recharge by itself.

Your best bet would be to take the ipad with you too all the different phone shops and ask them what they can do for you and how much it will cost.

But yes your mum will be able to use it at home 

[davewil1964]

The problem, soul, is that you are not going to find anybody who will provide you with free internet access to your mum's home.

You will have to pay for it, it's just a matter of determining how you do so.

[cuddles_01au]

you can not add a sim to an ipad you cant add anything to an ipad

we have many of them in our family i have one too

it will use wifi and im surprised your mum can get wifi at home without actually

paying for the service

mine is an ipad 2 uses the wifi i have connected  i dont have 3g on this one

[cuddles_01au]

actually you can add a sim card to ipad 3 i bought one of them for a family member

so my apologies for making an error there all the rest of us have ipad 2's but we didnt opt for the 3g due to added cost

ipad's with 3g are significantly dearer to buy

sorry for my error

[cuddles_01au]

i mean to say you cant add 3g you choose to buy an ipad with or without 3g its too early and i havent had enough coffee to function hence my ramblings

[phorum_junkie*]

You may be able to access the web using Kindle's 3G instead of Wi Fi but it is pretty useless for anything other than downloading books you have bought on Amazon. Last time I tried to use it to access the net it took me half an hour just to check one email account!

Using an ipad, tablet or smart phone on 3G costs, and it costs quite a lot, no way round that.

The ipad can be used where free hot spots are available but the cheapest way I have found without a hotspot is to use a pay as you go mobile usb modem with a mobile router, of course you need to be somewhere you can plug the router into the mains. The mobile wi fi the others have mentioned does the same thing but I have no idea if they work out cheaper or more expensive.

[cuddles_01au]

yes i agree I had had numerous tablets through this home and have tried the prepaid option and soon realised it was extremely expensive for continual use

best to get wifi for her home and choose which telco will give her the best price to suit her needs

[gassani4men]

The International versions of the Kindle 3+ product comes with a free limited international coverage powered by the Vodafone 3G network. This means that you need do not need to have your own WiFi network to use it on an everyday basis.

Apple products however do not have that added bonus. If you have the iPad with WiFi+3G, all you have to do is buy a prepaid SIM card and buy access as you need it. If you have bought the WiFi only version, you can connect to any WiFi internet hotspot. If you have a 3G smartphone with a data pack, you can go to the settings and allow it to be used as a hotspot which means you can use the phone's 3G network. 

I would sell the iPad and buy a newer international version of the Kindle 🙂

[alanawent3133]

Sorry the vodaphone service is so bad I used the ombudsman to break the contract

I would never use them again

And I would never sell my ipad for a kindle !!!

[gassani4men]

Alana, everybody's needs are different. I wouldn't either.

However, Soul's mum is not tech-literate. She has had a kindle in the past with free internet usage to use whispersync on the kindle. That was enough for her. Now she has a super-duper iPad with many more functions she will probably never use. An internet connection would cost her a lot more money than she can probably afford and she many never get the full potential out of it due to lack of usage.

On the other hand, I have a kindle app on all my devices and chew up 500GB of data every month. Not through the kindle app, though, I trust you understand. And paying Telstra for the service sets me back a very handsome amount every month. Not sure if Soul's mum would be willing to pay that kind of money to have a connection to something she knows nothing about.

Tech advice should be given in context, me thinks.

So, Soul, if mum wouldn't know what to do with an internet connection on an iPad, if she was happy with her Kindle, if she can't afford a 3G or home internet connection with all the bells and whistles you get from a wireless modem connected to an ADSL 2+ internet connection, do yourself a favour and sell the iPad and buy her a more recent version of the international Kindle.

In the meantime, the rest of us, who know where our internet comes from and how much we pay to get it, will keep our 8 laptops, 3 iPads, 5 iPods, 6 iPhones, 2 Macs and a desktop PC connected to our overpriced Telstra network 🙂