IPAD 2 for Italy -- Wifi Connection.

Wifi is pretty much device independent as long as it is reasonably modern What I have found as I have traveled around Europe, Italy and other places, is that hotels and cafes don't tend to use the most powerful (or fastest) routers. What signal you will receive sitting outside will depend on where they have put the router, possible interference/competition from other nearby places on the same channel (I've seen it), the construction of the building, and the strength of the router. In other words, I think it unlikely that many people could make a relevant accurate guess - every situation will be different. Maybe contacting your hotel and asking them if their signal is usable in their cafe? That's what I would do,

Nigel is more than correct. The signal strength can vary greatly. Sometimes I cannot connect in the room and have to go to the lobby. Time of day, number of users, etc. all impact the quality of the connection. So you will just have to find out yourself when it works.

As you can see, I'm not real "savvy" when it comes to technology and knowing how it all works! Thank you for your replies, much appreciated.

Hi iPad 2 will detect wifi for you, it's almost certain that A password will be required to log in, either at the hotel, cafe etc. See... Ron in rome who has as post on wi fi locations in Rome. Get the ipad sometime before you go, to get used to it and load your apps, movies, ricks books, documents PDF,and anything you can think of.
Fwiw, ipad2 deals are good I don't, know in the US, but only the ipad2-16 and 64 are available in AU, but I'd recommend the 64 rather than the 16 ,too little storage. Regards

Angelina, Ron in Rome posts here a fair amount and you can search for his most recent posts. He also maintains a web site, roninrome.com. (Posting links that you can click on hasn't worked for me the last few times I've tried to do it.)
If I may ask, how important is it to you to stay connected wherever you may be? Based on your question, I'm assuming that just connecting to wifi when back at the hotel will not be sufficient. If so, you may want to consider getting some type of data package for the the iPad that uses the cell network (if your iPad has the necessary hardware) or getting some phone-like device that will set up a wifi hotspot for you over the cell phone network. The lowest cost for doing so would be with some prepaid Italian plan. I'm not familiar with what an Italian company might offer, though. There are recent posts that discuss the subject. If you aren't that technologically inclined, however, you may just want to decide that your ability to connect is going to be pretty limited. Most McDonalds have wifi these days, but sitting in a McDonalds doesn't conjure up the same image as sitting in some sidewalk cafe.

Thanks Gerald and Paul! Angelina, here's the link Gerald and Paul refer to for Rome WiFi locations: How to Find and Use Free WiFi Hotspots in Rome. You'll find many cafes do offer "free WiFi" - if you buy a cup of coffee. McDonald's are starting to require you to be registered, and you would need a local mobile phone number to receive the registration SMS with your "new" pass code. But I think you'll be surprised at how many WiFi opportunities there are in the larger cities. BTW, we have an iPad we carry everywhere with us in Europe and WiFi often!

Thank you for your advice, it is all very helpful. I now know what I need to do to stay connected while I'm in Italy.