iPad sims USA and China?

[777]

I don't know if anyone here can help with this but i am traveling to the USA for 3 weeks in Jan - Feb and to china for 2-3 months around the second quarter of the year. Has anyone had any experience with getting an iPad sim for short term use in either country and can provide any tips?

I figure the USA will be easier than China but any tips on good rates/ deals for casual data access very welcome.

Thanks,

777.

 

[wtolmie]

If you have an AU sourced Ipad, the only SIM in China that will work from my understanding is a China Unicom..China Mobile 3G is not normal AU 3G.. Thne 3rd option is China telecom, but I have no experience with them.. My Blackberry 9700 roams in 3G on China Unicom no problem (Telstra AU 3G Sim.. You will have no trouble getting a sim card there.. Not sure about data rates though..

In US, your gonna need either AT&T or T-Mobile.. You can buy a AT&T sim on amazon or ebay for $3 and just activate it with data..

 

[777]

If you have an AU sourced Ipad, the only SIM in China that will work from my understanding is a China Unicom..China Mobile 3G is not normal AU 3G.. Thne 3rd option is China telecom, but I have no experience with them.. My Blackberry 9700 roams in 3G on China Unicom no problem (Telstra AU 3G Sim.. You will have no trouble getting a sim card there.. Not sure about data rates though..

In US, your gonna need either AT&T or T-Mobile.. You can buy a AT&T sim on amazon or ebay for $3 and just activate it with data..

Thanks for the tips - particularly about China. Does anyone know id you can you pick up an iPad sim in the states relatively easily on arrival?

 

[Skoogle]

Does anyone know id you can you pick up an iPad sim in the states relatively easily on arrival?

It should be easy from an AT&T store, as Apple already pre-installs an AT&T sim in its iPads.

 

[pshepvic]

I am in the US now and got one from an AT&T store. There they are $15 for the sim then $25 for 2 gig of data valid for 30 days. So sounds like cheaper to get from eBay.

You need to input a US address to set up the account - I just used the hotel address as it doesn't validate it against your credit card like they do in the US sometimes.

On a similar topic I also got an AT&T sim from usasims.com.au before leaving - all good except the data available on them doesn't work on smartphones! What's the point of having data if you can use it on an iPhone or blackberry or something like that?? They said "oh you need a contract to use data on smartphones". And they call Australia backward.....

 

[greenfrog86]

Another option here could be using one of the devices available that turns a sim card into a wifi hotspot...

You put in a data sim and it creates a wifi hotspot that you use to connect your iPad... I don't have any experience with this overseas however given that micro sims, carriers and apple are a crazy trio of difficulty it might be an easier option in some countries...

I have used AT&T data in my iPhone before however they are very difficult to deal with and the prepaid data is quite expensive.

In the US I'd go with the other posters tried solution of buying a micro sim, but the above might be something to explore for China

 

[pshepvic]

Another option here could be using one of the devices available that turns a sim card into a wifi hotspot...

Yeah I wish I'd gone with the pocket wi-fi option now as it would have covered both my iPhone and iPad. Just means one more device to recharge, which can be difficult with the lack of power points in some hotels these days!