Initially I was thinking that I didn’t need to buy the 3G version of the iPad since there are a lot of places with Wi-fi. However there really are instances when I want to access the net and there’s no hotspot anywhere. I’ve been thinking of buying a 3G version until someone from PhilMUG tipped me on a very viable solution. I currently own a postpaid subscription of the mobile USB modem dongle of Sun and it works pretty well with my Macbook Air. However there’s no way to connect it to the iPad directly. The solution was obvious – get a portable battery charged wifi modem. There are several out in the market but most of them aren’t available yet in the Philippines. The only one that I could find was the Sapido Gr-1102. It’s basically a mobile hotspot router that you can plug-in your USB dongle into! Winner. Problem though is that it doesn’t have a battery and you have to plug it but you can use a battery pack like the CAPDASE mPower Universal Battery Pack. Here’s a picture of the set-up:
Obviously it’s not sexy and it’s a bit bulky but it works, hahaha! The Sapido GR-1102 is available in PC Chain in 3rd floor of Vira Mall for P3,300. The CAPDASE mPower Universal Battery Pack is in Digital Hub for P2,950. You can find more affordable battery packs in the P2,000 range but I decided to go with CAPDASE since I personally love the brand. With this set-up you can surf on the iPad as long as there’s signal for the broadband provider. Sun has good coverage in Metro Manila and since I rarely go out of town it’s the best USB dongle for me.
For more information on the Sapido router, click here.
Woot! Love the setup! Will head out to GH soon!
that looks great… I use a Nokia Cell + Joikuspot… never worried about wifi ever since…
Nice article.
Hi Carlo!
I don’t own a iPad (thus, haven’t tried this for myself) but I saw something on the net about converting an ordinary SIM into a MicroSIM. I checked the image of the SIM that they used and it’s the same as ours. If you haven’t checked this out, here’s the link: http://www.johnbenson.net/How_to_Convert_a_SIM_to_a_MicroSIM_with_a_Meat_Cleaver/How_to_Convert_a_SIM_to_a_MicroSIM_with_a_Meat_Cleaver.html.
Cheers,
Wence
Or use Globe Myfi