Tablet Question

[aaltiere]

I am researching purchasing a tablet. Does anyone know if you can use prepaid wireless internet cards for when free wi-fi is not available?

[ylexot]

I'm guessing that you are referring to prepaid 3G/4G connections? If so, the tablet would need to have 3G/4G capability and I believe that all of them with that capability require a service contract. But, I could be wrong. Your best bet would be to talk to the service provider.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by aaltiere

I am researching purchasing a tablet. Does anyone know if you can use prepaid wireless internet cards for when free wi-fi is not available?

If you buy a wi-fi only tablet, you would have to first buy a mobile wi-fi hotspot modem from one of the wireless companies. (Not the USB stick modems.) Then you could use their pre-paid cards or could add directly over the internet.

If you see yourself able to connect to wi-fi most of the time, only needing 3G/4G occasionally, I'd recommend this over getting locked into an expensive 2 year plan.

[Tilted (Premo)]

Originally Posted by aaltiere

I am researching purchasing a tablet. Does anyone know if you can use prepaid wireless internet cards for when free wi-fi is not available?

I'm not certain, but I think it would depend on how the provider (i.e. of the prepaid wireless internet cards) you'd be using works. They might need to provide you with a micro SIM card to switch with the one in the tablet. The GSM iPad is unlocked though, so it isn't hard-tied to a particular carrier. I would think the same is true of the other 3G-enabled tablets.

That said, for the most part, tablet service isn't like mobile phone service in that there usually isn't a contract commitment. You can turn on data service when you want it and turn it off when you don't. AT&T offers no-contract service for either $15/month (250 MB limit) or $25/month (2GB limit). You can activate it right from the iPad (and I would hope other 3G-enabled tablets). So, if you don't normally need it, you don't turn it on and don't pay for it. But, if for instance you're going on vacation and want to have it, you can turn it on before you go and then turn it off at the end of the month - you only have to pay for the one month. Verizon offers similar no-contract data plans, though the pricing is a little different (and the device required is different because Verizon uses CDMA instead of GSM).

So, even if the prepaid wireless cards don't work, you don't have to have a long term contract to get 3G data service on the tablets.

[Tilted (Premo)]

Originally Posted by ylexot

I'm guessing that you are referring to prepaid 3G/4G connections? If so, the tablet would need to have 3G/4G capability and I believe that all of them with that capability require a service contract. But, I could be wrong. Your best bet would be to talk to the service provider.

The majority of 3G-enabled tablets sold are sold without a contract. Some carriers are offering discounted tablets with a 2-yr data contract, similar to how cell phones and cell phone service have traditionally been bundled and sold; but you definitely don't have to buy them that way and most people do not. That's just the carriers way of trying to lock up ongoing revenue from the tablet boom - as, otherwise, tablets represent a measure of flexibility and carrier-freedom that cell phones generally do not. It's also an attempt to try to market non-iPad tablets and create some momentum for them.

As I indicated in the previous post, you don't need a contract to get data service for tablets - it's offered, and currently used for the most part, essentially on a pre-paid basis.

[Tilted (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Baz

If you buy a wi-fi only tablet, you would have to first buy a mobile wi-fi hotspot modem from one of the wireless companies. (Not the USB stick modems.) Then you could use their pre-paid cards or could add directly over the internet.

If you see yourself able to connect to wi-fi most of the time, only needing 3G/4G occasionally, I'd recommend this over getting locked into an expensive 2 year plan.

You don't need to lock into an expensive plan.

That being the case, I'd usually recommend that someone buy the 3G-enabled version of whatever tablet they're buying (if such is available), unless their budget is already being stretched in buying the tablet. For the extra hundred or so dollars, I can't imagine giving up the future flexibility and not having cellular data capability.

[aaltiere]

I have been looking at the Motorola Zoom and the New HP Touchpad but the Zoom Verizon version is $799 versus $420 for just Wi-fi. I plan on using this during my cruises for email and web. There is Wi-Fi on the ship. Just trying to stay informed before making a major purchase.

[aps45819]

Originally Posted by aaltiere

I am researching purchasing a tablet.

Did you find that they have far less capability than a laptop for a much greater price?

... but it's a cool new toy

[ylexot]

Actually, I like Baz's idea. Looks like Virgin and T-Mobile have prepaid hotspots that you can buy. Or you can get a phone with hotspot capability.

[ylexot]

Originally Posted by aps45819

Did you find that they have far less capability than a laptop for a much greater price?

... but it's a cool new toy

Yeah...that's one of the reasons that I'm not bothering to pull the trigger just yet. It's really funny to see the store ads with a $400 tablet on the same page as a $250 netbook with much better specs.