Free iPad mini.

[TheRealJules]

No not the ones where you just have to like on facebook
It's an offer with 3 mobile, £19.99 on a 24 month contract and you get a free iPad mini.
I was going to get one for my birthday but without a data plan.
Is this a good offer or should I just buy the iPad mini as it will be used at home about 90% of the time.

Sounds good to me! Might have to check it out.

It's a bit more like HP (hire purchase) as the 19.99 for 24 months tots up to quite a lot of cash...

Is it unlimited data or just some small amount (almost academic now I see you plan to use it at home most of the time)...

Whether it's a good offer depends on the cost of a similar (wi-fi only) iPad Mini vs 480 pounds (20/month x 24)...

I just checked and the T3 review (which marked the price in list of negatives about unit) suggested it costs 269, 349 or 429 for the Wi-Fi versions, depending on storage size (16, 32, 64 GB) while the Wi-Fi + mobile versions are a hundred quid more expensive.

I'd say it depends on (a) whether you can afford the total cost in one go (or more by spreading the cost with Three) or (b) whether the wi-fi model would be better value for money (and perhaps use it via tethering, if you have a mobile plan that allows it)...

Also depends on coverage in your area for Three signals... and just looking online, I saw the 16 GB model costs 49 quid on top of 19.99/month.

Finally there are hints of an iPad Mini v2 coming out (so you could feel a little 'ripped off' in 15 months when a v3 is hinted at, with better features, and you're still paying for this one, (+ about 150 quid on top of the price in somewhere like John Lewis, which would give you a 2 year guarantee).

If you really want the wireless + cellular, then consider the Mini at 369 from JL (with 2 year guarantee) and buy a 3 GB/3 months data SIM on Ebay for around 12-15 quid when you expect to need to use the unit away from home... perhaps. It's up to you.

(PS Double check if you go down this route that the iPad Mini isn't locked on EE {JL web site says they give you a free EE 4G SIM card - I'd avoid one locked to a network if at all possible}.)

Gulp. JohnLewis charges delivery on top!

OK, only 3 quid, but it's common to waive delivery on orders over 50 quid from many places I use.

Thanks network guy.

They are waiving the £49 charge.
It's the 16 gb storage and I can't remember re data ( I have it written down somewhere)

The sim in eBay sound like a good idea.
I don't really think I need wireless + cellular, was just tempted by the offer.
They must be offloading a load if mini iPads if the new ones are out soon. Think I'll wait.

Would you buy an iPad from John Lewis rather than the Apple store?
I've always used the apple store so they can set everything up for me.

I've never bought any Apple kit brand new (as I consider it unaffordable compared with Windows / Android) but do have some Apple kit (5x iMac G5 / Intel desktops, an iMac G3 {the podgy TV style one}, an eMac and the iMac G4 (though the last three have not been used recently) nearly all bought on Ebay.

I'd consider John Lewis for the 2 year guarantee aspect given none of this kit is cheap and repairs may be costly if something did go wrong. It was more to do with paying 480 (+49.99 as I assumed) for something retailing at ~369 that meant I suggested buying it outright though, and because it could fairly quickly be out of date with a long period for payments.

It's still more rumour than fact about the second generation, but it would seem highly likely for it to launch in the run up to Christmas (seeing as the Friday following Thanksgiving, in the USA, is when the sales start and they could well have the iPad in stores ready for the 'rush').