[Poll] LTE Tablet vs Tether off phone?

#1
  • LTE tablet
  • Wifi tether off phone
  • no tablet

0 voters

I am unpaid tech geek for over a dozen people and I cover people who refuse to have a smartphone as too big, to those who seem to be willing to try anything even it expensive just because it exists.

One topic comes up which puzzles me - people who buy LTE capable tablets rather than tether off their mobile.

I used to have an LTE tablet but I found when I was sufficiently physically placed to use a tablet - so basically sat down and able to one both hands, I nearly always had Wifi such as home, office, hotel, conference. In the odd time I didn’t have Wifi I could tether off my phone. Not having another LTE device also saved me money, the tablet was cheaper and for some reason the carriers seem to give more GB of data for less $ to phones. Given I tether little the tethering limits are fine. I also when on Wifi use downloading for offline so hardly ever need to LTE stream media anyway.

So question do you prefer LTE tablets, or Wifi tether to your mobile? Do you even like tablets at all? Some people I know just have a mobile and use Chromecast to a LCD screen TV type. As phones have got bigger, the reason for tablets have eroded from below, and cheaper Chromebooks eroded from above.

One voice I heard was tethering drained the phone, but when I have a tablet I necessarily have a bag to carry the tablet and inside the bag would always be a Powercore of some size to keep the phone going anyway, so its not an issue for me.

One voice was that an LTE tablet is just easier.

Feel the power of polls!

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#2

From the tablet being less expensive at time of purchase to the added cost of an additional data plan, in my opinion tethering is the clear winner.

1 Like
#3

How do you make a poll?!?!

1 Like
#4

I agree that tethering is the way to go! I recently discovered that I can go to the WiFi settings on my iPad and activate the hotspot on my iPhone without even getting my phone out of my pocket (Instant Hotspot).

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#5

Cool so its an app which messages via BT pairing and tells the phone to turn hotspot on.

I wonder if there’s an Android equivalent. As I said in my OP I rarely need to tether so I do it manually.

A quick search suggests yes.

#6

Although I voted… No tablet. I’m not against them, I just dont find them useful enough.

For over 5 years now, I use just my smartphone. I found once I got a decent sized phone, I never bothered with a tablet. I had one, and a cheap basic phone. I thought a good combo, but I could t be bothered to carry the tablet everywhere.

Since smartphones have improved (and they have and the batteries def improved) I do t feel the need for a SLIGHTLY larger screen (I have to wear my glasses regardless of screen size… Old age!).

I do have a belt case for my phone … Let the jokes commence! … But for the 24 years I’ve owned a mobile fone, I haven’t broken or lost one (quick touch wood).

My circumstances are slightly different… As I need to use a crutch to get about, I need to be able to do things “one-handed”. So my keys go in the pocket I only need once I get home; my phone in its pouch; coins n lighter in my left front Jean pocket and wallet in back left; the disabled toilet key goes in back right (that’s saved my embarrassment a few times!) Fags (when no coat) go in front right with the keys.

I’d either need a over shoulder bag for a tablet, or a huge pouch for my belt (can’t stand it when I use one for my camera).

So for me, a tablet is unnecessary. I don’t worry about WiFi either as have 20gb monthly data, which I never use all of and if I got roll over would virtually never run out of data.

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#7

For me I’m on a prepaid service and they are notorious for cutting off service to those that tether. I my guess is they catch those that tether for hours. I’m not sure how or if they can even tell that you are tethered. Does anyone know if the cellphone companies can tell if you are tethering?

I will tether my notebook or tablet if I need to do work that can’t be completed on my cell phone. Then get off once I’m done with the work. But if its just surfing, I stay off the tablets/computers using data until I have free WiFi access.

#8

I have Unlimited tethering from my carrier since I have Directv with them as well so tethering is the winner for me. No limits and I have never had them slow my speeds down either despite using over 130GB+ per month :grin:

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#9

you’re aware of vests with lots of front pockets? Helps avoid a bag. You can fit a tablet then on your person.

Example below but is not a recommendation.

#10

I’m on a T-Mobile US plan which gives me 10GB which is more than enough and it can be tethered. My usage is highly erratic so if in hotel with bad Wifi I’d use many GB in a couple of nights, but my plan lets me stash unused GBytes and overall I’m fine.

I don’t know how they know you’re tethering but if I was on a network which blocked I’d just VPN so they can’t see anything.

#11

Yes, but that a coat.

In the summer… Well as soon as is warm enough to… I get my shorts, t-shirt, n flip-flops on.

#12

The sales figures support your view.

StatCounter-comparison-ww-monthly-201612-201712.png1280Ă—720 77 KB

These are my current phone and tablets the 8" tablet has >2.2x the screen size, the 10" tablet has 3.8x the screen size, so its more practical for compact travel with a BT keyboard to work and to watch moves. I went for 8" for flying and moving light, and 10" for travel to destinations of longer duration. I keep the 13" Chromebook now for just home use once I got the 10" which is very good and the Chromebook was plastic and smashed screen in a backpack too easily. Newer Chromebooks are with metal outsides now but also becoming rather expensive.

#13

Nice discussion there @nigelhealy

Rarely need to use WIFI / data tethering myself on my iPad as I’m always within range of a WIFI service for use at home / work / holidays but at time of purchase it certainly was a conscious decision not to buy a cellular version. The extra’s required over phone tethering such as extra cost, SIM/contract and future repair costs seemed completely pointless.

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#14
#15

I’ll never buy an LTE tablet. We have 4 tablets in the house and we’ve spent the last 3 years tethering to our girls iPad when we are on car journeys etc. We are lucky we have big 20+ Gb :smiley: data allowances so we can cope but we’ve never used close to that.

Like you say. Think ahead, do some downloading at home so when you are out and about you can watch a film or tv show without any network :ok_hand:

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#16

The first iPad I got, years ago, was LTE capable. I was super excited about getting an iPad and wanted the bells & whistles so I wouldn’t be “left behind” on technology. Well, after 2 years, I upgraded to another iPad. And in my decision, I came to realize that only once, did I actually use the LTE feature. At this point, I was with AT&T and they did not allow tethering without paying extra. So when I upgraded, I just got the WiFi version. It is true, most of the time, no matter where you are, some kind of wifi is available. Besides that, I find that I use my iPad mainly at home so I can connect to my wifi network. So lesson learned, I spent a lot of money on my first iPad for the capability of LTE service. What a waste! Now, I’m with T-Mobile and can create a HotSpot and use the LTE service from my iPhone. And the best thing? It’s included in my plan. So glad I ditched AT&T. Another reason I ditched AT&T was because they wanted me to pay $20 extra per month, per line (2) for my “grandfathered” unlimited plan. Now, I’m literally paying half of what I was paying with AT&T for even more. But anyway, Wifi tethering is the way to go unless you’re a business person that is always on the go and need your own “internet service.” Buying a wifi tablet vs LTE tablet will overall save you some moola, so you can spend it on Anker products :wink:

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#17

I tether my iPad with my iPhone, it is an easy option in the wifi setting to choose the iPhone as a hotspot. Another reason is it is easy to manage one mobile subscription than two :slight_smile:

#18

I left AT&T for the same reason! I went to a prepaid service that still uses AT&T’s tower, but I pay half of what I did with AT&T. :joy:

#19

From my professional experience, tablets are ideal for consuming information for most people - Sitting in front of the telly, on a train, using it to read a recipe from in the kitchen. If you want to create anything or be productive, then a tablet the wrong thing to use in my opinion.

However, on a personal note, I’ve never owned a tablet, and don’t plan to. I use my phone for nearly everything. If I want to look at something in more detail, or to create something, then I use a desktop or laptop.

Now the question of data… This all depends on your use. My average data use on my phone per month is around 10-15gb. I’m currently on a 20gb plan so I would not be tethering a tablet to my phone regularly because I would end up going over it. I would just get a sim for the tablet or always use wifi.

However if you have an unlimited contact that does not end up throttling you, then just tether it.

#20

:open_mouth: and I thought my usage was bad when I haggled to get to 2Gb :grin:

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