Lidl

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by toofrequentflyer

However the activation instructions on the PWIA page imply that buying the data packages ("Tagesflatrate" or "Monatsflatrate") has to be done through SMS, and I can't do that with the data stick or iPad.

The iPad indeed doesn't support SMS but all USB modems I've seen so far support SMS, at least if you use the unbranded dashboard software from the device's manufacturer.

Is it possible to select these over the web?

Have you actually read the very first sentence below the heading "data tariffs" on the PWIA wiki?
It says:

the following data options can be subscribed and cancelled by SMS or online through LIDL's customer service portal, which may take several hours to take effect (tariff changes made online seem to become effective faster)

So you can flawlessly select data packages online on Lidl's webpage, which from my observation actually takes effect faster than requests submitted by SMS.

If this will not work, I assume that I could put the SIM in my phone to sign up the data package, then remove it and put it in the data stick. But that seems a little awkward.

Yes, this would work, too.

One more question... I will give my hotel as my address when activating the SIMs. If the registration letter arrives at my hotel after I depart, will they cancel the account?

They will only deactivate your SIM card if the confirmation letter returns due to being undeliverable. If your hotel accepts the letter your SIM card will remain active for quite a while (at least 18 months after your last usage). So it would not be a problem if the letter arrived after your departure as long as your hotel does not return it. Just tell them to litter that letter from Fonic (that's the company behind Lidl) addresses to you.

However a problem could be for you that Lidl still don't sell microSIMs. If you want to use the SIM card in an iPad you would need to punch out a microSIM from the regular SIM. So you should buy and carry a microSIM cutter (sold for $4 on ebay.com) in order to render your Lidl SIM card iPad-compatible. Alternatively I can offer you to get you some Lidl SIM cards and punch out microSIMs from them as I recently bought such a microSIM cutter after I got a Sony Xperia P which requires microSIMs.