AT&T Ipad sim card in Amsterdam?

Is your iPad unlocked? If not, you can't replace the SIM card with a local one and have it work.

Forget unlocked for iPads. That's why Brenda can use a data plan in France. Brenda, I suggest you go on Trip Advisor Amsterdam forum to get advice from local experts.

In addition to TripAdvisor, a good source of information is the forums on Prepaid GSM dot net. Beware the discussions can get very technical, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/benelux/

Thanks Tex and Harold. I checked out your suggestions and discovered a couple of possible options. I remain amazed that with as many ipads as are out there, getting a micro sim card for use while traveling is still so challenging!

George, I hadn't thought of that, but I'm sure you're right. I've gone into AT&T stores and have heard about how "easy" it is to get a microsim card anywhere in the world. Obviously the clerks have never traveled!

Wait...do iPads not need to be jail broken and unlocked if they have mobile Internet in addition to the wifi? I had given up on the idea of using my iPad mini with anything other than wifi when we're in France this summer, but would reconsider ...

All wifi+cellular model iPads newer than iPad2 accept GSM SIM cards so the mini will work with European carriers. It is not locked. I haven't checked recently, but prepaid data in France used to be expensive.

Tara, I don't know about the mini, but the AT&T ipad 3 has a slot for a micro-sim card that can be replaced with one from another country. Only the AT&T ipad has the sim card. Verizon ipads do not. Look for a small rectangular cutout place on the top of your ipad that has what looks like a pinhole next to it. That's the micro card slot. If you straighten a paperclip and push into the pinhole, the sim holder will eject just slightly so you can take it out and replace the American micro sim card with one from a different country. The trick is to know what kind of card to buy; not all sim cards work equally well and as of last year, there was no one card that worked consistency across Europe. That's why I asked what works in The Netherlands. I go to a phone store in the country I'm in and buy a sim card that is loaded with a certain amount of data capacity and replace my existing card with the one I purchased. I did this in Paris last year and it worked great all over France. Also know that the ipad uses a micro sim card, not a regular cell phone sim card. It's the same as a regular sim card but smaller. A good clerk will cut the extra cardboard away from a regular sim card so that it will fit in the ipad micro sim slot. Don't buy a 3 card for use France (3 and Orange are major competitors like AT&T and Verizon); it won't work well. And don't let anyone tell you that France is no longer allowed to sell micro sim cards; both lies were told to me by a clerk in a major (name forgotten) store along the Champs-Elesses. And keep your original sim card; you'll need to reinsert it when you get back to the states.

Thanks for the excellent info, Brenda. I was just thinking I might order a micro sim online from France Orange before I leave. I've done the purchase when in country thing and it's not that inconvenient but does take time to find a store, and get everything working. If I could have it up and running when I got there, all the better!