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3G iPad

Discussion in 'General Board' started by HariSeldon, May 10, 2010.

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  1. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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  2. Domain Forum

    Acorn Domains Elite Member

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    IWA Meetup
     
  3. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    iPad from the US

    I'm sitting here on my 3G 64GB as we speak :)

    I pre ordered via the the US, only pain was I had to create a US iTunes account which meant downgrading to version 8 as version 9 requires credit card details to verify the account on signup. Each time I kept putting in my credit card it displayed that I was not a US resident and wouldn't let me proceed, downgrading iTunes was the solution though as it allows you to tick NON Credit card, all you then need is a US address which is easy enough (search hotels in LA) and use that, job done.

    Absolutely loving it to bits, infect I'm sitting in the garden watching my daughter playing in her sandpit while surfing the web with ease, love this machine.

    Also, if anyone does try to get one early like I did from the states, to use the 3G all you do is contact you mobile provider and ask them for a duplicate sim to be added to your account, once you receive it you can simply cut it down to size making it a micro sim, works absolutely fine. Alternatively wait for the sims to hit the shops here, o2 will be doing £2, £10, £15 data packages as pay as you go unlimited etc.

    Note to admin(Alan): I like when accessing acorn via the iPad it actually recognizes that your using one and asks if you wish to download some kind of forum app via the AppStore for like 2 bucks, cool.


    Typing on the iPad is just as good as a real keyboard, if not better IMO

    Barry
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2010
  4. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    Nice one, a girlfriend in the States offered to ship one over to me but I wasn't sure about warranty/wifi issues, sounds like I shouldn't have worried.

    What's it like outdoors on those rare occasions when the sun shines? This would change it from a WIBNIF to a no-brainer for me if it worked well.

    And I've also realised that as the iPad is obviously an essential business purchase this brings the price down to £595 + VAT. ;)
     
  5. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    I was sitting in the garden today and when the sun popped out the screen was still nice and crisp, its pretty much like the macbook pro or a dell xps lappy - I'm pretty impressed to say the least...

    Order order order :)
     
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  6. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    How can I ignore a recommendation like that?

    Now ordered. Roll on the 28th. :-D
     
  7. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    iPad

    I'm one of these sado's which has a server in there house which runs pretty much everything, music in each room, streaming video, lights, I even have it connected to my marine tank, lol. I used to control everything via my Philips Pronto TSU9300 but now the ipad does it all and plus it looks good just resting on the arm of a chair :p

    You'll love it, its basically a big iphone with grunt... If you like your music you should buy some sonos kit and use the sonos app to turn your ipad into a controller, very slick.

    I would also recommend this bit of software for remote access, works a treat > http://www.rdmplus.com/rdm/ipad/download.html

    Take care,
    Barry
    PS, 3DTV.co.uk is coming a long nicely, good luck with that...
     
  8. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    I had a Pronto years ago, set it up with the Star Trek Tricorder skin and thought this made it the best thing since sliced bread. :D Criminally I never actually got round to doing anything else with it though other than controlling both the TV and HiFi from the same remote!

    On and off [groan :p] I've been thinking of getting a new place lately and X10ing the new house is definitely on the ToDo list - who hasn't wanted to switch the lights without getting up out of your bed/sofa. LOL. The mind boggles at what you control remotely for your marine tank?!? (And I've got some friends who would love to know.)

    Thanks for the RDM heads-up, I was looking at GoToMyPC only last week but RDM looks neat if it does what is says on the tin.

    Cheers, there's so much more I want to do with 3DTV but another major project is taking longer than expected, should be back on track by the end of this week and then 3D will get the attention it deserves... well until I get distracted with some other new project. :)
     
  9. boxerdog

    boxerdog Well-Known Member

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    people have been sitting in the garden surfing the net for years.....its called a laptop :D
     
  10. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    Yeah but every laptop I've ever had becomes unusable on those three days a year when the sun comes out. :D

    Seventeen days to go to play with my new toy, not that I'm counting...
     
  11. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    It's nothing exciting, I can basically turn on and off lights, set the temperature , control the waterflow, maintain the pH levels, automate feeding and water changes. Great for monitoring whilst your away on holiday.

    I used to be able to control all this anyway via my laptop but I'm classing my ipad as my new control centre now, lol - You'll totally understand once you get your hands on one, its the perfect size for a home automation centre with the added benefit you can still access the web / mail, for me its the stuff dreams are made of, lol, for ages I've been looking for that perfect controller which also looks great - I now have one :)

    I'm already looking at how to sink them into the walls with a docking station so each room has one, lol, just trying to justify buying 18 though, lol
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2010
  12. boxerdog

    boxerdog Well-Known Member

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    but can it make fart noises :confused:
     
  13. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    Yes, take a look on the Appstore as they have an app for that, lol
     
  14. invincible

    invincible Well-Known Member

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    That's simply down to your choice of LCD screen and why some laptop manufacturers offer customers a choice. Google around to find out the differences. :)

    I purchased a laptop last year with built in 3G. However I quickly realised that it was false economy. I found the 3G signal to be worse than when using a USB dongle. The other issue is I have not one but three different USB 3G dongles, all with different physical 3G networks, because, in my long experience of using mobile networks for data, I'll often find that as I move around locations, or even at different times of the day, one network might be appalling and another might be fine. With the particular laptop I purchased, the battery had to be removed to change the SIM card. I realise that wouldn't be the case with the iPad because one cannot remove the battery.

    I am foreseeing the best solution being something like the Huawei E5830. Three offer this with a SIM under the term "mi-fi" and they can also be purchased unlocked from ebay sellers. It's a kind of a femtocell with a battery in it. It can be connected to anything with a USB port to provide more power when the battery is dead, or to charge the battery. The SIM card goes inside and any device with wifi can connect to it. The device does all dialling to the mobile network and bridges that over wifi to any number of devices connecting to it. Another advantage is the device can be placed high up, or anywhere within a short distance, to ensure that the 3G signal is optimum. One of these, with a selection of 3G SIM cards that can be quickly interchanged is, in my opinion, the best overall solution. One has a choice of networks, can locate the 3G aspect in the optimum position for the best signal, and multiple wifi enabled devices can connect. I think this has to be better than integral 3G except, in the case of the iPad one couldn't charge it because the iPad has no USB port.

    Addendum: I'm also dubious about cutting a SIM card down to a micro SIM. Once it's been done, it probably won't work very well in any larger slot. So no chance of using it back in a dongle with your laptop as well. Again, possibly a reason to go with a portable femtocell.

    I don't really wish to get into the pros and cons of discussing the iPad. Simply put it'll be great for many people but I won't be purchasing one. Recently I took a HP TC1100 Tablet, put a 32Gb PATA SSD hard drive in it and installed Windows 7 Ultimate on it. Windows 7 blows XP Tablet Edition and Vista out of the water for hand writing recognition and performed liked something recent, rather than something I've had for over 5 years. Some people have posted a comparison of the devices online: http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/01/ipad-vs-hp-tc1100.html - I've been using this device a lot again recently, given the new OS I have installed, and it's been very pleasing to use.
     
  15. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    Friends were suitably impressed and are now considering whether they can justify the cost. :)

    That's just showing off! :D

    Probably worth waiting for iPad 2 in the hope it has a front-facing camera;that might make one in each room a bit more justifiable. ;)
     
  16. HariSeldon United Kingdom

    HariSeldon Active Member

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    Concur, I carry several dongles with me when I'm out and about. It's annoying because when 3G works well it's great but more often that not reception is very patchy.

    I agree this would be £50 well spent for many laptop users, I think we've all done the 'holding the laptop higher in the air' to try to get a signal. :D

    For me the ipad is as much about looking great as it is about functionality and I'm sure that's true for many of the early adopters. I'm unashamedly shallow. :cool:
     
  17. BG United Kingdom

    BG Well-Known Member

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    We can both be shallow together :p

    Barry
     
  18. Admin

    Admin Administrator Staff Member

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    Yup, I love it when a plan comes together! lol
     
  19. invincible

    invincible Well-Known Member

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    If you did that you might also be looking for a divorce in 18 months when you also feel obliged to rip them all out, replace them with the inevitable version 2 (which Apple will design to be significantly better to tempt version 1 owners to upgrade) before plastering and redecorating all relevant walls because version 2 doesn't quite fit into the wall mount you had designed and built in flush to house version 1. :)

    It'd be far better to just have a few lying around so you can use them and move them about when required; except it's just a bit too big to put in your pocket, unless you dress up as a clown at home all the time, unlike the iPhone which works well as a portable remote for Sonos and other things.
     
  20. boxerdog

    boxerdog Well-Known Member

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  21. mat

    mat Well-Known Member

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