iPad3: Now I'm really confused:

[Pete S]

Just got home and sat down to order an iPad 3 from trusty John Lewis online to find they're out of stock on just about all models including the 64GB I'm after.

Then I got to reading the reviews and letters re 3G and 4G and wrong frequencies but nowhere in the blurb can I find reference to GPS :Am I being especially thick? Is 3G code for GPS?

I see PC world have the 64GB model: which one do I want to be able to use inbuilt GPS with Skydemon as well as wi-Fi etc?

Help!

Peter

[Flyingfemme]

3G and GPS are totally separate BUT iPad have them on the same chip. So to get GPS yo have to buy the 3G ready version. You don't, however, have to have a sim card installed or operational to use the GPS.

[GrahamB]

3G and 4G refer to the cellular data standards by which you can communicate data over the mobile phone network. 4G is present in some countries but not yet in the UK AIUI (apart from some possible test areas perhaps?).

Neither are anything to do with GPS per se, except that in an iPad, the same chip provides both Cellular and GPS functions.

You therefore need a 3G iPad (any model) to get and inbuilt GPS.

[Flyingfemme]

AIUI the 4G "problem" has been kicking off in Oz where it has already been rolled out across a reasonable area......the American 4G works on different frequencies to the Ozzie version. Hence the number of disgruntled Ockers demanding their money back!

[Colonel Panic]

FF - the same is the case in the UK, and the "4G" iPad is now called a "cellular" iPad. I also understand that the US 4G will be incompatible with the UK 4G (when it arrives), but the 3G bit will still work.

[sandy771]

Pete

You just need an ipad that has a sim in it, whether they cal it 3g or 4g. You only get a GPS enabled iPad IF the iPad is not the wifi only model.

You DO NOT need a data contract however to use the GPS, as the GPS system is separate, I have an older gen 1 iPad with no SIM installed and Skydemon works well.

The only benefit to having a physical SIM inserted is that the iPad can use the telephone network to work out its approximate position, i.e. relative to the nearest mast, becuaseo fthe complexities of the GPS system knowing roughly where you arein the world can make getting your initial GPS fix much faster. that said i dont find it slow on my system. If you have had a recent fix then the ipad will remember where you last were so when reacquiring it is fast anyway. This telephone assisted fix is what the call Assisted GPS (AGPS), your iPad will switched between GPS and AGPS without your knowledge if you have a SIM and contract, if you dont it will use normal GPS (same as most cars, older tomtoms.....)

The only thing to remember is you need a mobile enabled one.

If you really want to make sure before you order - post (or email) a link.

[Timothy]

AIUI, it also uses WiFi to approximate to GPS (that is how Location Services work in a non-3G/non-GPS iPad.)

In my experience, the WiFi only location is incredibly accurate, but it only works where there are WiFi transmitters, so no good walking out on the moors, or in an aircraft or boat.

[BNZ]

FF - the same is the case in the UK, and the "4G" iPad is now called a "cellular" iPad. I also understand that the US 4G will be incompatible with the UK 4G (when it arrives), but the 3G bit will still work.

They will be onto iPad 11 before UK has good '4G' coverage so plenty of time for that to be sorted.

[Pete S]

Problem now is everybody's sold out:

John Lewis have none online or in stores reachable by me.

Local Apple reseller sold out , PC World sold out.

Anyone know where I can get an iPad3 64GB 'wifi and cellular' (as the 3/4G is now called) in black? Kosher only!

Peter

[BNZ]

You can order online from Apple - they will tell you an estimated shipping time. If you want to save about £100 get a friend travelling from US to pick one up for you over there.

[Timothy]

We got a 2, early in its life cycle, from Tottenham Court Road, where there were hundreds on sale, at a small price premium.

[jaycee58]

Problem now is everybody's sold out:

Peter

I've recently had this problem as well! I ordered one for myself from Apple a few weeks back. The estimated delivery time was 1 to 2 weeks and it turned up in 48 hours. I'm now buying my daughter one for her 21st birthday. For this, Apple gave a delivery time of 7 business days and it looks like this will be about right. I ordered it last Monday and I had an email saying it had been dispatched on Saturday. This was he quickest I could get one. Nobody, except for Apple, appears to have any iPad's in stock.

Apple have just (last week) started selling the new iPad in another 30 countries. I wonder if this is causing the apparent shortage of them?

By the way, it really is worth waiting for .

[Rob P]

Ther's an Apple Store in Cambridge

If Peter can bear to barge his way through the packed ranks of those with Apple religious fervour I am sure the high priests might be prepared to assess his suitability to take ownership.

Rob P

[wessex boy]

He'll have to park in Bury St Edmunds and take the park 'n' Ride, otherwise you need to take out a mortgage for Parking in Cambridge...in fact it would be cheaper to fly-in!

[Pete S]

Sorted: I'm flying Flybe NWI-MAN tomorrow for work so I've reserved said item at Norwich Apple store in Chapelfield.

Forgot about Apple stores: local Bury reseller is a bit pants.

Peter