"My name is Nomadz and I'm an early adopter"... yes, it feels a bit like being at an AA meeting sometimes because you make all the mistakes that other people later to the party get to avoid.

I didn't buy the 3G model. Instead, I bought the first generation iPad without SIM support. I told myself I wouldn't do it... that I'd wait... but I happened to be passing an Apple store and on a whim and a prayer asked them if they had any iPads in stock. 'We've got 64GB model left'. The rest is history.

Still, I'm not lamenting the decision, as there is a silver lining to this. At least, that's my post-purchase rationalisation.

Because I travel a lot, I need the flexibility to swap SIMS and use whatever contract I can. This has led me to purchasing an external 3G modem. I bought the Zoom model here in the UK and it works pretty well. Basically, I can plug any USB SIM into it and it will make the connection available to my iPad. As a bonus, it also makes the connection available to any other WiFi capable device - including my laptop, my iPhone and my colleagues' devices. Now, when I go to another country - I just pop in a different USB dongle (or swap the SIM, if applicable) and I don't have to change any of the settings on my iPad, iPhone or laptop - since the WiFi connection settings are the same.

It works pretty well so far.