dslreports logo
 story category
AT&T Offers $100 Tablet Discount
If Users Sign a New Two Year Contract
While AT&T is no longer fully subsidizing tablets, they're still experimenting with discounts to convince users to buy tablets through carriers. Tablet sales through carriers have never been particularly hot -- the majority of those sold are Wi-Fi only, with customers uninterested in paying a steep premium for data or in a contract -- apparently even if some of the up front tablet cost is reduced. After AT&T and Verizon recently stopped subsidizing tablets, Verizon announced they'd be letting users pay for tablets via monthly installment plans (alongside steep extra fees). AT&T's trying something slightly different, and will simply be offering users $100 off the price of a tablet if they sign a new two-year contract. Which approach to you prefer? Both? Neither?
view:
topics flat nest 

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

AT&T's new cellphone plans allow tethering ....

AT&T's new cellphone plans allow tethering, so why even buy a tablet with a cell radio in it. Waste of money for most people.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: AT&T's new cellphone plans allow tethering ....

Exactly. Or Jailbreak/root for those of us on the older plans. I have my iPhone Jailbroken for exactly that reason. Although I do find with the iPhone 4S, I almost never tether anyways, I can do what I need to do on the iPhone.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
I agree, but for occasional usage. If you are a heavy user, tethering will kill your phone's battery in a heartbeat.

What they should do is charge $5, subsidize the laptop so it costs what non-lte does, and call it a day.

The other major problem is that since LTE is not universal is that if you choose LTE you have vendor lockin, which sucks. If you choose to decouple your phone from tablet (shared) you are now stuck if you have a contract. It HAS to be non-contract.

If they added tabs to prepaid it would be awesome. I thinks it's coming since postpaid is such a failure.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: AT&T's new cellphone plans allow tethering ....

There isn't that big of a need for it that it would cause massive battery drain. If you want to use it once in a while for a long period of time, have an external battery available for it, or if it's with a laptop, charge it off that.

nyc93
@rr.com

nyc93

Anon

too expensive

until the carriers realize that we're not made of gold and finally drop data prices, then and only then will there maybe be an uptick of tablets with lte capabilities be even considered in this economy

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

OSUGoose

Member

If I HAD to pick

The Verizon model of financing it over the two year contract, tho I realize they only break it up over 12 months. I would modify it slightly to be like a car lease. While your paying the monthly data fee on the device and the financed device cost. If say month 8 in the 12 month device finance you wanted to end services, there should be the option to surrender the device to avoid the ETF, also require insurance be carried on it and thus you've hedged your loss on the customer destroying it to avoid etf. I propose a model like this: 19.99 for data (amount to be determined) 9.99 Insurance, 24.99 Device Installment. Comes out to around 55/month, nets Verizon more data subs, moves more devices, and slightly raises ARPU.

Odds are those that can qualify for zero deposit to start service would love this, and I'd even would permit $100/$200 range deposit customers to finance. Because after a few months into the service, if they non-payed, VZ is covered, they could hand over the device and the cust avoids ETF, and VZ gets its asset back, to then resell as a CLNR/Refurb/Prepaid device plus would have the few hundred on the deposit to eliminate the non-pay bill in most cases. Worse case is cust never hands in device, and gets hit with ETF, or files Insurance claim if device is damaged, restoring VZ whole, and still has the deposit to offset any debt.
axiomatic
join:2006-08-23
Tomball, TX

axiomatic

Member

$$$

You'd think the phone carriers would get the point by now. Tablet w/ contract is just not that appealing and is a pure luxury item most can't afford right now.
big_e
join:2011-03-05

big_e

Member

What's the early termination fee?

I will bet that its the full $325, for a device that is sold completely unsubsidized less the $100 dollar discount.

annoyed
@comcast.net

annoyed

Anon

Carrier tablets more restrictive?

Smartphones sold by carriers are loaded with unwanted apps that take up screen real estate and system memory. These apps are often locked to prevent you from removing them.

Right or wrong, my fear is that tablets sold by carriers would have similar annoyances.