Ipad to ethernet?

No.

But you can get an Airport Express router to carry along.

And by the time you have bought all the nice accessories just to get an wireless internet connection, (and a keyboard) for use in a hotel room, you have more weight in your bag than if you would of just bought a 13" MacBook Pro with an ethernet connection ! ! !

An Airport express weighs very little. And a keyboard is, for many of us, optional.

Add up the weight and see for yourself. For me a keyboard is not an option - especially when trying to respond to business emails with more than just a few sentences . . .

Everyone has different needs and prioities.

erebushank wrote:
Add up the weight and see for yourself. For me a keyboard is not an option - especially when trying to respond to business emails with more than just a few sentences . . .

If you knew you needed a keyboard, then arguably, the iPad was not the best choice for you. Most critics would then argue that you get a netbook or some other lightweight notebook. (e.g.: Macbook Air, if you wanted an Apple product.)

I was traveling in China and had this issue as well. Some hotels did not have wifi in the lobby either and if they did, it was very very slow because so many people were using it. It would be a very useful adapter.

I always carry an airport express when I travel (I also carry a MacBook Pro most of the time). The iPad is a very handy device, but many people will not be able to use it in place of a computer.

erebushank wrote:
And by the time you have bought all the nice accessories just to get an wireless internet connection, (and a keyboard) for use in a hotel room, you have more weight in your bag than if you would of just bought a 13" MacBook Pro with an ethernet connection ! ! !

I gave a direct answer. Then I gave one option for working around the issue. I am sorry if my post was offensive in some way.

Yes you did. A direct answer with a workaround.

I no longer need to take a 56k modem in my pack.

Just one question, I can't just bring a Airport express basic and iPad travel with me, right? Without a computer to setup, the hotel Ethernet still can't turn to wifi connection?

Shelley Lee wrote:
Just one question, I can't just bring a Airport express basic and iPad travel with me, right? Without a computer to setup, the hotel Ethernet still can't turn to wifi connection?

You preconfigure the Airport to act as a access point or a typical NAT router. Configure the wired port on the Airport to "obtain IP address automatically" (or whatever the wording it.) This is normally how the Airport is configured so for most people, you don't have to do much to configure other than the wireless part. (e.g.: enable WPA encryption if desired.) But once preconfigured, you don't need to run the Airport utility anymore for normal use. You can then attach it to any ethernet jack that you would normally attach your laptop. And another benefit is that you can now attach multiple devices to the one ethernet jack. So you can have your Macbook and iPad (or your iPad and your coworker's laptop, etc.)

If you really are concerned about having to reconfigure while on the road, then you may want to consider a non-Apple travel router such as those from D-Link and others. Those use a web browser to configure, rather than an application, so you might be able to configure directly from the iPad. (Depending on how much Java/Flash the config web page uses.) But realistically, I've never had to reconfig my router while on the road. (I used a D-Link travel router, because I had that before the Airport Express came out.)

So with the airport express one only needs to plug into an ethernet cable from any hotel and it connects by its self automatically forming a wifi spot for the Ipad?? I travel often as well and many hotels do not have Wifi in the rooms but do have an Ethernet line which is great if you have a laptop but not so great if you have an Ipad.

Trying to understand a bit more about the Airport Express here. I thought one had to set up the connection via laptop to get the airport express to work.??

Yes. Just plug in the hotel's ethernet into the Airport Express. However, the initial, one-time setup of the Airport Express has to be via a real computer. After the initial setup, you do not need a computer except maybe to change a setting on the Airport Exrpress.

So basically you only need to set it up once and then for every other hotel you visit there after you just plug it in at it sets its self up automatically for your Ipad or laptop to use??