Newbie Needs Pre-Sales Advice

[WoodyCollins]

I am considering purchasing an iPad. I travel to Congo (DRC) often for extended periods of time.

I use an unlocked phone while I am there. I just take out the US SIM and load the local SIM from Vodacom or Zain.

The iPad with WiFi and 3G would be ideal. But I have a number of questions.

1. Should I buy an unlocked iPad or just a regular iPad and then unlock it? Advantages and disadvantages of factory unlocking versus jailbreaking?

2. Do you have to unlock the WiFi only iPad?

3. Can you attached an external/USB modem to the iPad?

4. Only GPRS is available, will the iPad work with the slower speeds?

5. Can I use POP, IMAP, or web-based apps on the iPad overseas?

Thanks, Woody