I'm thinking of taking an I-pad2 to Italy - Switzerland in August. I'm concerned about charging it, using a typical converter. Should I be worried - or would it be OK? I'm looking for other travelers experience.

Thanks,
Martha

Just plug it in using a European two round prong plug adaptor, no converter needed.

I just used a plug adapter, no converter. No problem. If you Re staying in a hotel that advertises wi-fi, find out if it available in your room, or if you have to go to the lobby to use it.

in took my ipad2 to Spain ,Andorra and France,worked just fine.just plug it in. Only thing when using my
Mail, to send a message using the wifi of the hotel, I had to use Safari go to my webmail,that is the webmail of my internet provider and send my emails from there. it was great to have, I also took pictures, avoiding places where I felt I could be robbed.......you know they rob you with ease in some places in big cities,I wasnot going to show off my ipad......

Had my iPad in Italy last month and it was a lifesaver for checking emails and phone messages etc. It charges on 220v just fine no converted needed, but you will need an adapter of course. This is what I used. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB974ZM/B

Agree with Toucan.

The reason for the explanations you received above is: Apple includes a dual-voltage power pack for the ipad that works on US (110) and European (220) voltages. No converter necessary, just an adapter that lets you plug in to the Euro outlets.

This is all you really need. A simple two prong US to European adapter. Cost only a couple of bucks.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a...DAPTER//1.html

Thanks everyone - I'm really looking forward to enjoying my I-pad on my trip. Should be great!
Thanks,
Martha

We used it in May in Italy and it was great, but I was hoping to use it in places other than our hotel's wifi, but I was never able to find a store that sold a data card that would work there (in our AT & T model). That was a disappointment because we could have used the internet while driving around, etc.

Downloading my photos daily was so easy and immediately emailing them back home was wonderful.

Have a great trip.

For those using the Ipad, is it 3-G or WiFi only? If it's WiFi only, how much use do you get with it?

Do you carry it around and use it during the day or do you use it primarily in the hotel room?

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a nook color or ipad, and one of the reasons I want to have it is for travel.

I know they're too different animals, and I'm still trying to figure out if I want a reader with some web capabilities or a computer with reading capabilities. And is the tablet an awkward size to carry around?

Thanks! Just trying to move forward with the digital options is overwhelming!
Paule

Centralparkgirl: I'm not following you on getting a datacard for your AT&T model iPad; don't you just buy an international data plan through your AT&T account on your iPad? I bought the AT&T iPad 2 specifically for use during an upcoming fall trip to Italy.

Just checked under cellular data and there is an option to buy an international plan that'll work in Italy; not cheap at $25 for 50MB/30 days, $50/$125, etc. My plan is to limit 3G use, it'll just be nice to have it an emergency.

I'd like to avoid bringing my laptop for downloading photos (we tend to to take a lot). My hope is I can use the camera connection kit and, as a backup, upload my pics to my FLickr pro account using the Flickrstackr app when I have wi-fi connections. Anyone else tried a similar strategy with pics?

Progol, although my IPad has both wifi and 3G capability, I have never signed up for 3G. At home I use exclusively at home or in wifi zone. I also use an iPhone at home that gives me access to Internet, e- mail etc if there is no wifi access.

In Europe, I use the iPad only with hotel's wifi to access internet, check and respond to e-mail, get directions to restaurants etc.

In response to one question- I did carry my ipad around. I have a small messenger bag and could pop it in and out to look things up on the dictionery app, or check a map or guidebook. I only have wifi but the apps I downloaded did not need a connection. I also had books on it to read when waiting places. I used wifi in the hotels to send email. The only time I left it in a hotel I had it in a security bag that locked to the radiator.

Hey all,

I took my iPad 2 to Europe in May, and I have a 3G and Wifi model. Note: I have an NZ iPad which doesn't have quite the same restrictions on it as the USA ones. I ended up using 3 Mobile data cards in both England and Italy and relying on Wifi in Switzerland and France. 3 Mobile sell the cards with no strings attached, whereas Orange Mobile seem to require bank account numbers etc. You can end up paying quite a lot for Wifi at the hotels, or at least, that's what I found. In Grindelwald, Switzerland, the Wifi was five Swiss Francs for 24 hours ( not continuous, but log-in-log-out, so it did last for three days easily ). In Rome, the hotel Ludovisi charged 10 Euro for 24 hours, but I was sorely disappointed with the quality, as it would not let me upload photos to Facebook and it started giving me messages saying someone ( who happened to be me ) was trying to access my account from an unknown location in Rome Italy. I bought a 3 Mobile data card in Florence near the Duomo, and it was brilliant, though it couldn't get any signal in Venice. Thank Goodness the hotel in Venice offered free wifi. The data card worked just fine everywhere else though ( excluding railway tunnels ), even on Capri!

In Paris our hotel had free wifi ( though the signal faded in and out a lot ). At the Ambassador Hotel in Lucerne, the free wifi had such poor quality signal that I couldn't have a Skype conversation for more than two consecutive seconds, which was annoying! At least I hadn't paid for it, but I do expect better. So, yeah, local wifi isn't always very reliable! The buses from London to Oxford have free wifi! Score! If you have any questions about where I bought the cards or how much or anything, feel free to ask.

Following up to my own question to Centralparkgirl: I hadn't realized I could buy a SIM for use in my Ipad2 while in Italy - at a much better price than my AT&T plan - so this thread has been a nice eye opener. My question then is: Is there a way to buy an Italy SIM card and get it activated before I leave the US?

didan, I don't think that it's possible to order a tre mobile SIM before going to Italy. A lot of people on the Apple Forums say that there are 3 mobile SIMs for sale in the airport in Rome, but I couldn't find them. I did see a tre mobile/3 mobile store in Rome near the Vatican, but not until my last day in Italy. As I said, I bought mine from the tre mobile store near the Duomo in Florence. It was 8 Euro, and they just had to scan my passport and get my signature on a terms and conditions form. The Italian 3 Mobile SIM was a "locked" SIM, that required a four digit code every time you wanted to use it, but this code is provided on the credit-card sized card that you break the SIM out of ( took me a good half-hour of panicking before I worked this out ), so whatever you do, don't throw that card out! The 3 Mobile SIM that I bought in England was open, and didn't require unlocking at all.

Thanks irishwhistler90. Our first stop in Italy is Venice and I see there's a Vodaphone office near the Rialto Bridge. I'll probably make that my first stop once we settle in. From what I've read they have good plans, just take 24 hours to activate.