Android tablet with 4G and no contract
 

Can anyone suggest a decent performing Android tablet that has space for a SIM but doesn't require a contract? I have an iPad 1 and an android AT&T phone (actually 3 in the family) and find myself leaning more towards the openness of Android. I am quite prepared to pay iPad type money for an Android tablet that I can use on a month to month data plan like the iPad. So far all I see are subsidized tablets from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile but no contract free ones.

Thanks

- Tim

All three of the carriers you listed will sale you a 'no contract' tablet. Online you just chose the no contract option or however its worded. I think some (AT&T) make you add it to the cart then chose no contract to see the full price. If you visit the store tell them you wish to purchase the tablet outright and do NOT wish to establish service at this time.
If you wish to only deal on line as mentioned above or try wirefly.

The openness of Android gets you inferior hardware (build quality, screen, SOC) and a fraction of apps. optimized for the larger tablet screen.

Just on AT&T's website, it seems relatively easy to pick a tablet on a month-to-month plan (it's an option immediately after selecting a device), but I can't get a very good feel from their inventory from a phone. The Galaxy Tab's seem to show up for AT&T and TMobile, but I don't know a lot about them as far as quality.


Why, specifically, did you think this dishonest little screed was vaguely relevant to OP's question?

The closedness of Apple gets you bug- and security-hole-filled software that leaves you at the mercy of the world's largest company for updates and functionality, all the while being forced to source all your apps from that one company with its arbitrary and opaque process for listing apps in its store.

So there. :-p

What's dishonest about it?

What factually is wrong in the statement?

If you pick up a 3G Verizon Xoom, you can send it in to Motorola for a free 4G upgrade. Stores like Best Buy are selling the 3G Xoom for between $350 and $399. The update takes about a week, and shipping both ways is free of charge. You do not need a contract, and AFAIK, you can go month to month without a contract with Verizon.

Other than everything? Really, you are either trying to troll and set off an argument, or you are just poorly educated on the Android marketplace.

Yes, Android offers some inferior hardware options if you just want a $75 tablet with lousy specs. But it also offers hardware with better features than most tablets on the market at the moment. Android currently has as many or more apps than the iOS market, and most are tablet optimized nowadays.

Amazon is selling their refurbished Kindle Fire today for $139 - is that "inferior hardware"? Is the Transformer Prime or Galaxy Tab 7.7 inferior?

You're really going to have to make a better case than your initial statement if you plan to be taken seriously. I'm definitely interested in the "inferior SOC" part as the majority of Android SOC's are the same for almost every major Tablet maker on the market and SOC's like the Tegra 3 and Snapdragon are considered some of the most innovative on the market today.

Here is one source which indicates that there are more iPad apps. than there are Android apps. for tablets:

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/06/...-applications/

Where's your source for the claim that there are more Android tablet apps. than there are iPad apps?

There are all kinds of complaints about the build quality of the Transformer. Do you really think Asus is known for build quality?

Neither of those tablets have the high-resolution screen of the iPad. Yeah I would say they have inferior screens.

Go look at benchmarks from Anandtech and other sites. The GPU cores in the iPad are faster than that of any other tablet out on the market. May not be surpassed until the rest of the year.

BTW, the A5 SOC in the iPhone 4S tops graphics benchmarks of every other phone as well.

More on iPad vs. Android apps, both quantity and quality:


http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401676,00.asp

Did you actually think you were providing a valuable contribution to OP's search for a month-to-month contract on an Android device, or were you just out to shill from the get-go?

Is it a problem to help people? If someone posted that they were going to invest in a new transmission for their 30 year old Yugo, and someone else suggested that they save their money and buy a five year old Chevy instead, is that "a dishonest little screed"? Or helpful advice?

Touchy much?

Nothing, but FanDroids have a reputation for being uber-defensive about their purchases.

LOL :D:D

Do you really think Asus is known for build quality?

Laptop 3 year Failure Rate By Brand:
Asus- Best, Toshiba - second, Sony - third, Apple - fourth

http://eyebald.blogspot.ca/2009/11/l...-by-brand.html

The Fanbois have set quite a high bar. But give it a few years, and the Fandroids might catch up.

What an utterly worthless analogy that has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with anything in this thread. Seriously, a 30 year old yugo = OP wanting to purchase a new tablet? :rolleyes:

If someone tells you point-blank "I'm buying a Toyota Corolla tomorrow, anyone have an opinion on which trim I should get?" and all you can respond with is "Like, Ford is way better", why are you responding in the first place? You've offered no information of value whatsoever based on the question that was asked. OP, in this case, didn't suggest any remote desire to purchase an Apple product, yet you, and the previous poster, both felt compelled to make sure that he knew why you think his decision is stupid, and then further, to continue to move the thread off-topic so you can continue to both bash Android supporters and fluff Apple.

Ah, so we're just stuck in 2nd grade. Cute. I think there's an OMNI thread, that you're well aware of, where this sophomoric crap belongs. Grow up.

Buy a Playbook.... (ducks)

Your best bet would be to call carrier stores where you want to buy it from. The 3G Xoom is another good option, and there's been plenty of WiMax HTC tables floating around for cheap as well.

duplicate

Useless for the clueless maybe. It was an extreme example so that we could focus on why, at times, it is a good idea to offer a differing opinion, and not to focus on what that specific decision was about.

Why? Because a free exchange of ideas is a valuable thing, unless you are too insecure in your chosen position to be unable to deal with differing facts. In your example I would definitely suggest other viable alternatives if I felt they would be helpful, wouldn't you? Really?

Wow, what a narrow minded view of the world you have. The OP was opening a discussion, and discussions can go in many directions. You may not have heard, but on the internet people often freely offer their opinions when someone opens a new topic for discussion.

Yet maybe they should have, and since they haven't made a purchase yet some of us were offering a different opinion to open up more options for him to look at. How terrible.

Compelled? Stupid? Those are your words, not mine. I offered my opinion, and like yours it is worth whatever value someone else cares to append to it. Don't like my opinion, offer a differing one. But no need to attack the poster.

LOL

I own an iPhone 4, a Motorola Atrix 2 4G (Droid) and use an HP laptop. I am not an Apple fanboi, though I do like some of their products, I do not operate in a closed environment. I use each of them for different reasons, and my personal reasons are the best reason for making a purchase decision, a point I have mentioned to others in other threads when talking about their decision to purchase a product (often a non-Apple product). Some of us are more interested in the discussion and learning something new than in defending a specific company.

What I dislike is some, like yourself, who can't handle open and honest communication without getting defensive.

You may be stuck in grade school, that is fine. You would probably fit right in with the primary Anti-Apple poster in that other thread. The nice thing about the internet is you are free to reject the opinions of others with whom you disagree.

Now, back to the discussion at hand.

Cool story/quote-sniping, bro.

Actually have anything to contribute to a user who's already used an Apple product and has decided that he wants to use an Android tablet without a contract?

I love how easy it is to use the "add to ignore list" feature on Flyertalk. It appears there was all sorts of sniping back and forth between users I didn't even have to read :)

You definitely can buy a tablet unsubsidized from any of the majors. It might be a consideration that since you already have AT&T that you might want to stick with a GSM/LTE tablet that supports their network (meaning, buy it from them) just in case you ever wanted to add it to your plan or swap sims over temporarily.

Tim,

I researched a couple for work - liked the graphic capability of the Xoom, but wound up getting an Acer Iconia 501 because it has a full sized USB port which we needed. Picked it up from CDW. The 501 is either AT&T or Verizon - I have the AT&T one, use it wireless only here in the US, but it does pop up and ask me to either add it to my AT&T contract for I think $15 a month, or to set up a (US, or International) "contract" of it's own - the way I read it, you can go month to month, or turn a single month non renewing "contract" on. I was planning on setting it up with the single month International on my next trip.

While you can complain about the number of updates for Apple, too many of the Android manufacturers don't bother to put out needed updates. How many phones could easily be updated to ICS if there was any willingness on the part of the manufacturer to put the update out.

That said, Google is releasing a Google branded tablet in the future. That might be your best option.

Off Topic: I was interested in this discussion and the unnecessary comments of the trolls made we wish for just such a feature. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have already added names to it.

On topic: I have worked with Acer tablets and have had good experiences with them so the A501 would be something I would consider. That said, personally I too am waiting to see what the Google tablet is like. It appears likely that they will partner with Asus or Samsung for the hardware. It would be especially interesting if they make a tablet themselves, once the Motorola deal is finished.

Does it have to be GSM? Bestbuy.com is currently selling refurbed Motorola Xooms for about $300, work on Verizon, no contract. Great tablet.