[hart]

So my (US resident) mother who is not comfortable with technology is considering getting a mobile computing device for her two months in Canada. She has no internet connection in her house so she has to go to local hot spots to do internet-related tasks.

Right now she is leaning towards getting a Windows laptop specifically because they are cheap ($300 cheap) although I gave her a detailed lecture on why that wouldn't be a good idea starting with the fact that she isn't up for using or maintaining security software.

First, can she download books and music to her ipad IN CANADA? Are there going to be licensing or compatibility problems? Say she goes next door to the wifi-equipped campgrounds and fires up her ipad will this be possible? Using her US credit card? What would be the absolutely simplest way for her to do this? (My mother is the kind of user who doesn't know what it means to select something computer-wise so it has to be simple.)

What if she goes to the local university library to borrow virtual books?
Any hidden pitfalls?
Any other difficulties she is likely to encounter with this cross-border ipad traveling?

Second, any recommendations for the simplest way for her to use the ipad to call the US during her time there?

I really hate to see her getting a Windows laptop because troubleshooting is going to fall to me so I appreciate any tips and info you can provide.

[turtle777]

Your iTunes account doesn't care in what country you are in.
If you have a US-based iTunes account (with US-based billing information), you can download apps, music, books etc... no matter where you are. There are no licansing issues.

Re: calls to US: Skype is probably the best solution, although there is no native iPad client yet. The iPhones version works well though.

-t

[Person Man]

To expand on what Turtle said, if you have a US iTunes account, you can purchase things from the US iTunes store when you are in a different country. You cannot buy from that country's iTunes store.

I have visited Greece several times with my laptop, and I was able to purchase things from the US iTunes store without difficulty. I could not buy music from the Greek store though (as much as I would love to, as there is a ton of Greek music available on the Greek iTunes store that's not available on the US store, and so I have to either buy physical CDs in Greece for 12 to 17 euros or from an import store here for $23.95. € 9.99 for an album or even € 1.29 or € 0.99 per song is so much cheaper than either of those options).

[WizOSX]

I live in the U.S. 6 months of every year and 6 months in Canada. I have both a U.S. and Canadian iTunes account. The trick is that you must have a credit card from a U.S. bank and your address must be U.S. to use the U.S. iTunes. And you must have a credit card from a Canadian bank and your address must be Canadian to use the Canadian iTunes.

One other thing she'll have to be aware of. Some pay-purchase sites will only work if you are physically in the U.S. For example, you cannot watch Netflix instant view movies in Canada if you have a U.S. Netflix account. Similarly, you cannot download anything from amazon.com if you are physically in Canada.

[turtle777]

WizOSX, how does that work when your iTunes library contains items from different stores ?
Can you still play all the music, watch the movies etc... ?

Or do you only have access to whatever things were purchased with the urgently active account?

-t

[Phileas]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

WizOSX, how does that work when your iTunes library contains items from different stores ?
Can you still play all the music, watch the movies etc... ?
-t

You've got access to everything, at all times. The only issue is app updates, you need to sign in and out of accounts to manage those.

Also, you do not need a US credit card to open a US iTunes account. If you're not a US resident you can still use iTunes gift cards, easily available on eBay.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

WizOSX, how does that work when your iTunes library contains items from different stores ?
Can you still play all the music, watch the movies etc... ?

Or do you only have access to whatever things were purchased with the urgently active account?

-t

I'm doing this too (I load up my US iTunes account with US iTunes gift cards ... no need for a US credit card). You have access to everything purchased in either account, regardless of which account you're currently signed into. The only time it get's weird is when you're updating apps and the system keeps trying to switch between the different accounts and keeps asking for passwords. I only use my US iTunes account to purchase US-only apps (I've used it once or twice to to buy a US-only album and once or twice to rent a TV show on my AppleTV).

[CVBruce]

Originally Posted by WizOSX 

Similarly, you cannot download anything from amazon.com if you are physically in Canada.

Does that include Kindle books, or are these downloadable anywhere?

Thanks.

[Phileas]

Kindle books are sold through amazon, not iTunes. Different setup altogether, but similar rules apply. If you've got a US amazon account it doesn't matter where in the world you are.

[aristotles]

Making app, video and song purchases will work fine in Canada on a US iTunes account but you will not be able to watch or listen to some streamed content in US apps while in Canada.

Examples of this would be Pandora and ABC TV apps which will not stream while in Canada but ABC News app will still work in Canada.

[hart]

Thanks guys for all this info. Will Amazon work for her or not? WizOSX and Phileas seem to contradict each other.

But the general gist is that she can download books and music from the itunes store using her US account and US credit card from a physical Canada address which is what I need to know.

I took her to BestBuy to play with an ipad and she got very nervous using the touch interface. It didn't help that the minute we started using it she managed to zoom the screen and couldn't figure out how to get back to normal view. My own reaction watching her struggle with it was that the fabelled intuitiveness of the interface may apply to geeks but not to grandmas.