UK punters who wrote a cheque for more than £700 for a slice of Apple's iPad mobile dream might be regretting it. While it may look quite nice it turns out that in the UK the Ipad is about as mobile as an elephant with acrophobia.

The iPad connects to the internet via a wi-fi network, but customers who want to use the tablet on the move can pay extra to buy a top-of-the-range model that also connects to 3G networks.

But mobile phone networks in the eurozone have a bit of a problem. The EU has ordered operators are legally required to send their customers a text message when they enter a foreign country to warn them of the increased cost of using a mobile phone overseas. Unfortunately, the iPad is not designed to receive text messages and some networks have had to disable roaming with the beast to comply with European law.

British operators may not be able to connect customers that have purchased a SIM card to use in their iPad to connect to foreign networks. Those using an O2 SIM certainly cant use foreign 3G networks as the network sells the iPad on a prepaid basis and this precludes roaming.