It Appears That Tablet Owners Largely Ignore 3G Plans

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LuckyDucky7

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Well, as soon as carriers stop gouging consumers, 3G tablet adoption rates will increase sharply.

I mean, people just can't afford to pay for bandwidth with 300% markup. (Assuming 10 cents for 2GB, which is close to what it costs.)

Too bad that as long as that grossly fixed price remains, it will keep 3G adoption of tablets down and use of expansive networks to a minimum. So unless the government steps in (which it won't), this remains.
 

richboyliang

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If only data plans were more affordable...all of those companies rip customers off and hide fine print inside seemingly unlimited data plans, if those exist. Now the only data is expensive $30-$100 for barely a few gigabytes or cheap "unlimited" data that screws the customer over after a certain low amount is exceeded.
 

winterblade

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I use my Xoom mainly for couch surfing, and even when traveling, just as Marco just said, I use my smartphone to tether it, so I just can't understand why would I want an additional bill to pay.
Anyways, I think that eventually stuff like Motorola lapdock, Asus Transformer and Asus Padphone will be the norm, a single device to power different form factors, so the line between smartphone, portable PC and tablet will blur (no pun intended) more and more with each generation, already smartphones and and laptops are converging in features (ultrabooks).
 

epdm2be

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Who invents this bollocks?! It's not that tablet owners 'ignore' cellular connections, it's that most tablets DON'T HAVE 3G connectivity. Djeez. E.g. the Asus Transformer model with 3G has only recently been on sale in Europe (but since Asus was so stupid as to announce the Transformer prime already no-one in their right mind will ever buy the old transformer even with 3G).
 

Tomtompiper

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Tablets are not practical to carry around? As opposed to what? Laptops? Netbooks?

I am on a train writing this on a tablet that fits in my pocket.
 

belardo

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I have a regular iPad(1)... and out on a business trip to a convention, while driving around downtown and at the con itself, *I* wish we had 3G to use.

But for the most part, it stays home and works well enough there... and games, photos, music work off-line as well so its not a big deal. But still, it would have been handy for GPS and internet with its 10" screen vs. my phone's 4" with its spotty crappy GPS from Samsung.

$15 for 250mb is BS. For $15, I'd want at least 1GB. $25 for 5 GB. How are we supposed to use these COOL features like video and music streaming when we are CHOKED by the carriers?!
 

del35

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Got a tablet and never use it. No need for the device. I am glad that I am not paying 3g fees for it. I think that since my Samsung S2 smart phone has such a large screen, reading with a tablet is not necessary, and if I need to write a lot, my netbook is just right. Maybe one day I will find use for my tablet. Not yet.
 

emike09

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I'm just not willing to pay $30/mo per device for 3G. I would jump on the 3G bandwagon if carriers bundled multiple devices into that data plan for no extra cost, and if data usage doubled per plan. I.E 500mb for $15 and 4GB for $30 with up to 5 devices.
 

anonymous32111

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Freaking AT&T/phone behemoths.. wont give me a smartphone with a GD 2 year contract unless you get a Data plan. I only need it for Wifi, but of course, they want to bend you over for some bullshit data plan which costs almost (5 dollars less) as much per month than my 40 megabit down home connection.
 
When they change there subscription plans to match landline providers as far as number of connected devices goes I'll consider a 3G &c tablet.

It shouldn't matter what devices or how many devices I use. If I'm paying for 2GB+ data. It should not matter what device I am using to make use of the data. I could see restrictions on unlimited plans just so people don't have 10 devices sucking up data. But if I have a set limit on data it should not matter if I have one device or one hundred devices sucking up that set limit.

Like Comcast I get 200GB a month. It doesn't matter how many computers are connected on my network. Just as long as I do not go over 200GB.

Also these network issues of availability and bandwidth if all cell providers had to use one system just like land phone lines. Then instead of T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon towers all interlacing over the same area. We could have single heavy duty towers in populated areas and more reliable networks in areas outside of urban centers. Just like just about every other country.
 

husker

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[citation][nom]del35[/nom]Got a tablet and never use it. No need for the device. I am glad that I am not paying 3g fees for it. I think that since my Samsung S2 smart phone has such a large screen, reading with a tablet is not necessary, and if I need to write a lot, my netbook is just right. Maybe one day I will find use for my tablet. Not yet.[/citation]
Was it a gift or did you see it a store and go, "Ooooh, sparkely!"
 

del35

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Was it a gift or did you see it a store and go, "Ooooh, sparkely!"
I bought the tablet because I kept reading all the hype about tablet computing. It is ok, but nothing special. I guess I could use it in the living room while lying in the couch as I am now. But if I have to write as I am now, it is just not the right thing to use. A laptop or a netbook is the best then.

I will probably be giving my tablet away in exchange for some maintenance work that I need done on my home.
 
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