Kindle Fire LTE $50/yr plan vs iPad 4G cheapest deal

[MrXiro]

I have the VZW iPad 4G LTE. I only activate the $20/month, 1gb data once every 5 months to keep it active and maybe once in a while when I'm on a road trip.

Upon hearing about the Kindle LTE plan (50 bucks a YEAR!!!!) I was stoked and dead set on getting one... but tonight I actually did the math.

Breaking down my 1gb plan into 250mb increments (for the sake of simplicity I rounded 1gb down to 1000mb instead of 1024mb) I'd be spending $5 dollars a month on my current $20/1gb plan and multiplying it by 12 it only equals $60. Which is only a 10 dollar yearly savings over what sounded like an AMAZING DEAL initially.

Now since LTE is extremely fast, 250mb is paltry and pretty much like getting a sample at the grocery store. It won't be enough to satisfy most of us... for some it makes for a great email and light web browsing machine. Especially if you have Onavo installed (not sure if it's on Android, just assuming that it is).

After doing the math I cancelled my pre-order for the Kindle Fire HD LTE. It's not as great a deal as I thought it was going to be, just wanted to put that out there for any of you debating about this.

Now I know there is the $10 Amazon app store credit and 20gb cloud storage included in that too, but those things don't much matter to me. Now if they were to toss in a free year of Prime, I might say "SOLD!".

 

[Rodster]

Good move. As nice as the new KF appear to be, I would not swap an iPad 3 for any KF.

 

[irDigital0l]

The KF HD plan is only for the 1st year...

 

[MrXiro]

The KF HD plan is only for the 1st year...

Is it? Then that is just crap then. I hadn't heard that it was only for year 1 though.

 

[eastercat]

The reviews of the original fire said that its browsing experience was pretty crappy. With the new fire, amazon may have changed that, but they may not have.
Sometimes price isn't the only consideration.

 

[Technarchy]

It might be a good deal if you werent stuck with a kindle fire...

 

[dchao]

Apple is not worried. I bet the new iPad mini will be a KF killer.

I'm going to wait til Oct and decide.

KF 4G LTE will never be able to compete with iPad 3, I am tethering my iPad3 to my laptop and the speed is amazing. The KF 4G LTE can never match it.

 

[poloponies]

Apple is not worried. I bet the new iPad mini will be a KF killer.

I'm going to wait til Oct and decide.

KF 4G LTE will never be able to compete with iPad 3, I am tethering my iPad3 to my laptop and the speed is amazing. The KF 4G LTE can never match it.

You'll need to wait until late November at the earliest because the Fire won't be released until then.

 

[Geekbabe]

The KF HD plan is only for the 1st year...

I could cope with a limited time offer if I had my choice of carrier. We are a Verizon family here. If I'm getting a 4G tablet it needs to be on Verizon

 

[PeopleTheseDays]

I may be mistaken here, but aren't the iPad data plans only month to month? As in, you can't really divide the $20/1GB plan to compare to the Kindle's because Kindle's $50 covers the entire year, while you need you renew the iPad's plan each month to keep it going right? If the iPad's data is rollover, that would be news to me (and very awesome).

I do agree with the cancelled pre-order for another reason. Even though the original Fire was only $200, I couldn't get over how bad the software was. It was just atrocious compared to iOS5 and Jelly Bean.

 

[appswipe]

I have the VZW iPad 4G LTE. I only activate the $20/month, 1gb data once every 5 months to keep it active and maybe once in a while when I'm on a road trip.

Upon hearing about the Kindle LTE plan (50 bucks a YEAR!!!!) I was stoked and dead set on getting one... but tonight I actually did the math.

Breaking down my 1gb plan into 250mb increments (for the sake of simplicity I rounded 1gb down to 1000mb instead of 1024mb) I'd be spending $5 dollars a month on my current $20/1gb plan and multiplying it by 12 it only equals $60. Which is only a 10 dollar yearly savings over what sounded like an AMAZING DEAL initially.

I don't have an LTE device so I'm not familiar with pricing, but is your plan unique or standard because I couldn't find it.
laptop Mag: Amazon Kindle Fire LTE - Bargain or Rip-off

And based on this laptopmag article then it has pretty different numbers with AT&T 4G costing $180/12mo and Verizon for $240.

Anyway, I kinda wish this existed before I spent $1400 on iPads for both my parents because these are definitely all they needed. But for me then the product Im actually interested in is a paperwhite device. I know my iPad can read Kindle books but apparently I'm just too ADD to do it because every time I sit and try to read a book I get distracted by the million other functions of the iPad and start checking email, looking at FB or playing Words with Friends. So I really want a standalone book reader that I can take around without temptation of goofing off.

 

[MrXiro]

I may be mistaken here, but aren't the iPad data plans only month to month? As in, you can't really divide the $20/1GB plan to compare to the Kindle's because Kindle's $50 covers the entire year, while you need you renew the iPad's plan each month to keep it going right? If the iPad's data is rollover, that would be news to me (and very awesome).

I do agree with the cancelled pre-order for another reason. Even though the original Fire was only $200, I couldn't get over how bad the software was. It was just atrocious compared to iOS5 and Jelly Bean.

It does not roll over hence why I mentioned that 250mb might not be enough for the most of us unless you use it for light browsing and email only. In the long run I definitely spend more but I also get more, which is the point, you most likely will go over the 250mb unless you really baby your data and I am sure AT&T will be happy to ding you 15 bucks each month for the extra 250mb when you go over. It does certainly beat the hell out of the $15/200mb my iPhone is currently on... I would love to have this deal tethered to my iPhone.

Also agree on them allowing rollover. It's a bit of BS that it isn't.

----------

I don't have an LTE device so I'm not familiar with pricing, but is your plan unique or standard because I couldn't find it.
laptop Mag: Amazon Kindle Fire LTE - Bargain or Rip-off

And based on this laptopmag article then it has pretty different numbers with AT&T 4G costing $180/12mo and Verizon for $240.

Anyway, I kinda wish this existed before I spent $1400 on iPads for both my parents because these are definitely all they needed. But for me then the product Im actually interested in is a paperwhite device. I know my iPad can read Kindle books but apparently I'm just too ADD to do it because every time I sit and try to read a book I get distracted by the million other functions of the iPad and start checking email, looking at FB or playing Words with Friends. So I really want a standalone book reader that I can take around without temptation of goofing off.

Yes the base plan for verizon's is $240 a year. But I broke it down to to costs per 250mb from the 1gb. But the point is that the savings aren't that great on a mb to mb basis especially if you use more than the 250mb limit, which I actually do.

 

[aPple nErd]

the iPad is better cause its not ad supported.

 

[MrXiro]

the iPad is better cause its not ad supported.

Well it wasn't about the device but the LTE service...

 

[Tortri]

$50 a year... For 250MB a month...LTE speeds.... Is this a joke?? After three speed tests you'll already meet your monthly quota.

Maybe if all you are doing is downloading books and even then it would have to be basic books. While you are at it dab some water on a napkin and let me have it as a drink.

 

[Fruit Cake]

Now, correct me if im wrong, but The problem with your analysis is that yours is 1gb/month for ONE month then you get it again after 5 months so that your plan doesn't expire. The amazon deal is 250mb every month, so at least you have year round data service even if it's a small amount. This is like comparing apples and... Well.. Tennis rackets!

 

[ActionableMango]

$50 a year... For 250MB a month...LTE speeds.... Is this a joke?? After three speed tests you'll already meet your monthly quota.

This is perfect for me and many others who mainly are around wi-fi at home and at work.

With the iPad my two choices are:

1) Pay a lot for way more data than we'd ever use.
2) Get a wi-fi iPad and be stuck without data on the rare occasions we are away from wi-fi

This $50/yr plan would be wonderful third option for very light LTE users.

 

[MrXiro]

Now, correct me if im wrong, but The problem with your analysis is that yours is 1gb/month for ONE month then you get it again after 5 months so that your plan doesn't expire. The amazon deal is 250mb every month, so at least you have year round data service even if it's a small amount. This is like comparing apples and... Well.. Tennis rackets!

The break down is dollar for dollar for data. That is all... Nothing about tennis racquets here...

I am merely stating that the cheap deal isn't as cheap at first glance for the likes of me and my ilk. Also only I happen to use my LTE service every 5 months but if you are one that uses more than 250mb a month 20 bucks for 1gb is a better sweet spot than 250mb even if you paid monthly.

 

[Fruit Cake]

The break down is dollar for dollar for data. That is all... Nothing about tennis racquets here...

I am merely stating that the cheap deal isn't as cheap at first glance for the likes of me and my ilk. Also only I happen to use my LTE service every 5 months but if you are one that uses more than 250mb a month 20 bucks for 1gb is a better sweet spot than 250mb even if you paid monthly.

Well yeh but the data deals that cell companies do are a function of data over time. The more you pay over a smaller space of time, the more you'll get. EG $50 gets you 5GB for one month, but in this deal, it gets you only 3gb, that is, it also gets you 250mb per month for 12 months. That isn't bad if you just wanna browse emails etc

Sure the $/GB isn't as good but the time factor need to be considered.

 

[jrcsh6]

i'd love to see apple go after amazon, samsung and google hard core and flat out undercut every price point. it would cost some money, but they have it and they could literally kill all competition. scary really!