australian ipad in new zealand

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › australian ipad in new zealand

joer

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#74442 30-Dec-2010 08:38

hi everybody am traveling to your wonderful looking country for the first time in feb 2011 so excited bought an ipad wifi 3g to email and make envious friends at home, and was knocked out to find our rip off aussie phone company telstra, charges $15/mb roaming charges so it's set to cost me more than the plane trip to stay in touch, so i was wondering if anyone can help with some q's
1 is the ipad locked to a specific country?
2 can i buy a prepaid nz micro sim in nz to use in my aussie ipad?
3 if so which is the best coverage and value for money?
4 if so where and how do i get one?
thanks in advance
joe

alasta

6703 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#422573 30-Dec-2010 08:59

I bought my 3G iPad in Australia and I've been using it for six months with no problems, so you'll be fine. If you're going to be mainly in the three main centres then 2degrees offers best value for money, otherwise if you're travelling around a bit then it'll be Vodafone or Telecom.

quickymart

13925 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#422575 30-Dec-2010 09:10

Depends where you're going as to the coverage query. Where will you be visiting?

corksta

2397 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#422598 30-Dec-2010 11:31

1. No
2. Yes
3. 2degrees is the best value for mobile broadband, but only in the main centres so will depend where you are travelling. Otherwise Telecom and Vodafone are much the same in terms of cost and allowance, anecdotally Telecom will give you faster speed and better coverage.
4. 2degrees have a few retail shops in Auckland, otherwise any Telecom/Vodafone store. You can buy 2degrees SIMs from places like DSE, Harvey Norman, etc.

joer

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#422728 30-Dec-2010 19:57

hi thanks for the reply fly into auckland and spread out from there so do i just go to the telecom shop and buy a sim it's that simple joe

corksta

2397 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#422737 30-Dec-2010 20:08

Yes it's that simple. Tell them you're here on holiday, you want a micro-SIM for your iPad, and they'll go through the prepaid mobile broadband options with you.

If you need to top up though it isn't the most straightforward process, so bookmark the link below as it shows you how to do it, specific to Telecom:

http://www.iphonewzealand.co.nz/2010/telecom/ask-iphonewzealand-how-do-i-top-up-or-manage-my-prepaid.../

joer

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#422852 31-Dec-2010 07:32

ok ta, saved the link and thanks to all for your help joe

sudo

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#423158 1-Jan-2011 13:05

Just wondering ... if someone was taking an iPad to Australia, whats the best value pre-pay option? (that doesn't expire in 30 days, so you could use any un-used balance for later trips)

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

scottjpalmer

5973 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#423165 1-Jan-2011 13:52

To get 3G outside the cities you need to go with Telecom.

scottjpalmer

5973 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#423166 1-Jan-2011 13:54

sudo: Just wondering ... if someone was taking an iPad to Australia, whats the best value pre-pay option? (that doesn't expire in 30 days, so you could use any un-used balance for later trips)

Please don't take this thread off topic but to answer your question, the way to get longer expiry is to buy a bigger bundle. Generally a $100 bundle will give you 6 or 8GB lasting half a year, a $150 bundle will get you 12GB which lasts 12 months. The smaller bundles all expire after 30/60/90 days.

You get various bundles of included data depending on which operator's SIM you buy, just get a new one each time you come over is easier.