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So I'm thinking that on our impending move to France it might be worth buying an Apple IPad. That way we can keep google translation with us wherever we go. Visit the neighbours, Marie etc.

So the question is: I understand you can change the keyboard to any language you want, so is there any benefit to buying one in France or in the UK. Does an english one pick up french wireless if your in the local hardware store for example or do you need a french one for this? Any benefit either way ? Techies, please advice a novice how this works.

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I am using my ipad in france now to reply to this thread. It was purchased in England and, so far, i have used it via wireless in france in my own home and in the homes of a couple of friends here. I haven't tried to use a wireless network whilst out and about so can't comment on this point. All i can say is that i now don't use my laptop here for anything. I download books, music, films etc whenever i choose and i can't imagine being without it!
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Oh well, we all make mistakes, you might not be able to delete the other post but you can edit it at any time.

Re the question, the iPad is just a WiFi device like any other and it will connect to any available Wifi service any where in the world regardless of language.

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Are you sure you want an iPad ?

For a little bit more cash you can buy an Macbook Air that is almost as compact and has a full proper keyboard. It uses the same, solid-state internals and is both fast and has a brilliant screen.

Go and try the iPad first and see if you really like using a touch-screen keypad.

I didn't and bought the 'Air' and am very happy with it.
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Or, even better, get an i-Pod Touch which costs about half the price of an i-Pad and does all the same things - plus you can carry it around in your shirt pocket, unlike an i-Pad or a laptop.

I have an i-Pad but I use my i-Pod Touch most of the time simply because it's in my pocket.
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Well, fell off my chair, and on nothing more than coffee either. Managed to hit the post button on the way down too. Now, if i'd planned that, it would never have worked.

What i was going on to say was that i wouldnt watch films or read books on a Touch as the screen is way to small for me. I watch the iplayer a lot too and the size of the ipad screen is perfect for this. But, it's horses for courses. My OH has sausage fingers so wouldnt cope with the ipad so i got him the MacAir and he loves it. It is so light compared to his old laptop that he is even taking it with him on his next touring trip, strapped carefully somewhere on the bike.

My ipad has become my most treasured possession since my ipod revolutionised my music listening. Oh, and since installing the Clearview stove of course - now that has changed my life too!

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Bugsy, the Apple Mac Air entry price is over double that of the entry level ipad in the Uk, so not just a little more cash.

If you are just wanting to mainly access the internet and emails, the base ipad does everything you need.

The itouch or iphone are excellent, but the screen size is too small for prolonged internet usage, especially if you are over fifty and are age related long sighted.
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Looking on Amazon, I also see that there are other tablets available, one of which (Archos) gets very good reviews and is getting on for half the price of an i-Pad.  Please explain the advantages of these Apple products to me (I know how Bugsy feels!) which justifies their inflated prices.  I ask because I have an i-Pod and I find the fact that it shackles you to the truly dreadful i-Tunes a real negative compared to my far cheaper (bought subsequently) MP3/4 player which accepts music files in many more formats.
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[quote user="Sprogster"]Bugsy, the Apple Mac Air entry price is over double that of the entry level ipad in the Uk, so not just a little more cash. [/quote]

To be fair please compare like with like (as close as you can get) rather than entry-level against top end.

Macbook Air.

1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache; or optional 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache

800MHz frontside bus

2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM onboard (4GB maximum)

Storage: 64GB or 128GB

Find an iPad with the same spec, well, actually you can't because the maximum processor speed on the iPad is 1.0GHz and the maximum storage is 64Gb, but find one near to the above spec (64 against 64, for example) and you'll find the difference much less than double.

In all this it doesn't really matter, of course as personal choice will always win over other peoples views and recommendations.

.[:)]

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I've never had an issue loading any tunes onto iTunes.....

Why I love apple stuff.......remote control of music library, library/iPod streaming to powered speakers, internet radio anywhere in the house blah blah. Each to their own I guess but for me their stuff is mostly good. And cool. Which is most important after all.... :)
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If you have an iPod you are free to use

a range of other PC based software to manage your music, etc, rather

than iTunes.

In what way is iTunes truly dreadful?

What file formats do you want to play

that iTunes/iPod cannot handle.

I am really no fan of Apple as a

company and do not like the fact that I cannot change the battery on

my iPod Touch myself or put in different memory cards.

But with other apps on the iPod it is a

pretty good way of listening to my music collection via wireless

around the house and garden.

In the house I have Logitech Squeezebox

Server running on the PC and a Squeezebox Radio in the kitchen –

with the iPeng app on the iPod I can listen to all of my iTunes

library on the PC anywhere within wireless range and control the

Radio from the iPod.

And I also have e-books- great for

boring flights, and the complete IGN large scale map library on my

iPod – great for walking trips!

Marcardis

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I wouldn't have an IPhone or IPad after watching the ITV news tonight (but then I wouldn't buy anyway because they are over priced). It seems they secretly record all your movements and the data is passed back to Apple but what for nobody knows. Did a bit of searching (IPhone Spy) and it seems this has been going on for a while. In Australian they have banned military personnel from using them. When having a 'poke' around the web it also seems there is a Trojan that records keystrokes on both. Its able to get round the 'protection' system on an Apple, install and run without 'permission'. I thought these things, according the Apple users, just don't happen. Seeing as there is very little AV and AT software for Apple computers most people are totally unaware of any of this software running on their equipment.
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It's a quiet news day today in the UK so good for a sensational, if  inaccurate story.

Data on the iPhone is only synced to the pc that it is connected to. The data is not sent to Apple.

Every time you turn your mobile phone on your movements an be tracked.

Of course this 'news' would be nothing to do with people promoting their services:

http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/

iPhone Spy cannot be installed on a standard iPhone or iPad.

What is the name of this Trojan that can record keystrokes on an iPhone or iPad.

Overpriced compared to what? I have a 32gb iPod touch - what would be a cheaper alternative with the same or better spec.

Marcardis

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[quote user="AnOther"]Most Apple users like to live in their own little world of blissful denial [blink]

[/quote]

Like Windows users don't, of course.

Personally, I really don't care what people use, its called freedom of choice.

I'll bet you didn't know that Mac users make the best lovers either..........................[:P][:D][kiss]

.

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Reading the link that was given it does say "There’s no evidence that it’s being transmitted beyond your device and any machines you sync it with" but why does it say it 'does or does not' rather than 'no evidence'. That rather smacks of 'well actually we don't know' just like nobody seems to know at present why these devices are recording data. I don't see there is anything wrong with this, I mean, since 9/11 (or shortly after) all phones have had GPS built in and can be tracked although it does require the tracking to be activated (remotely by government agencies if need be) but nobody worries yet when somebody discovers Apple are doing it then it becomes a major news story. Perhaps somebody is just trying to point out that at the end of the day Apples are just the same, well with exception to the price, as anything else.

By the way my Zen 32gb mp3 player thing cost just over £50 (as opposed to £170 for an Ipod with the same storage) and comes with a radio transmitter so I can listen to it in the car but then so does my Nokia phone. Also there is none of this security stuff on the Zen so I can move music around at random from one machine to another.

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