Why isn't there a 3G version of the N10?

[anon(20593)]

Mobile data plans and pricing notwithstanding, why do we not see a 3G/4G version of the Nexus 10? Or lets say just with 3G, given that they released the N7 and the N4 without LTE.

Should we expect a 3G version in the future, and if so, when?!!

Overall, what is the deal with this difference in release dates between the two versions?! If competitors can release wifi-only and wifi+mobile connectivity versions of their tablets at the same time (even if they ship at different times), why can't Samsung and Google? :-\

 

[Clendi]

I don't care about none of that. If you think about it you would understand that wifi is the best choice. 3G is dead. Just tether ur rooted 4G cell phone and boom, you have a 4G (or the over congested 3G) Nexus 10.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[BcSirstaroth]

I don't care about none of that. If you think about it you would understand that wifi is the best choice. 3G is dead. Just tether ur rooted 4G cell phone and boom, you have a 4G (or the over congested 3G) Nexus 10.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

Exactly this. I just rooted my S3 and I'm looking for things to to tether it too.

 

[anon(20593)]

The point I am making is that there are lots of places I can imagine being without my phone or wifi but where I would want full data - not the least of which is when I'm travelling outside the country and don't have my phone to tether my tablet to.

 

[BcSirstaroth]

Oh I see what your saying. I don't want to tell you to hold out and wait for another version with a 3G radio to come out, but if are willing to wait then I guess hopefully you will hear something by the end of the year.

 

[anon(847090)]

The point I am making is that there are lots of places I can imagine being without my phone or wifi but where I would want full data - not the least of which is when I'm travelling outside the country and don't have my phone to tether my tablet to.

The problem is that very very few people buy 3G version. It also depends on the demand of the product.
3G has always been a bit complication than wifi only version but didnt Nexus 7 get a 3G? so maybe nexus 10 will too.

 

[ultravisitor]

I would guess that they wanted to keep costs down on a product that hasn't really been tested on the market yet.

 

[phonegeek]

This has been a big issue for me for nearly a year...

wifi tablets are virtually useless to me, I have one and it gets used when I am at home sitting on the couch but nowhere else. I need one as a tool for business but refuse to an Apple and would prefer to buy something other than Samsung as they are horrible at getting OS updates out in a timely manner.

Not trying to pick a fight here but the "wifi is better because you can use your phone as a hotspot" argument is a non starter. On an LTE network in the US there is not a device on the market that will have any acceptable battery life with hotspot mode active. It's a joke...

I realize part of this is the carriers fault as well because they drive what mfgs produce in many ways. The underlying point is that there is a small but significant percentage of people who want/need this for business and there are not good options on the market right now.


MG

 

[Mac58]

This has been a big issue for me for nearly a year...

wifi tablets are virtually useless to me, I have one and it gets used when I am at home sitting on the couch but nowhere else. I need one as a tool for business but refuse to an Apple and would prefer to buy something other than Samsung as they are horrible at getting OS updates out in a timely manner.

Not trying to pick a fight here but the "wifi is better because you can use your phone as a hotspot" argument is a non starter. On an LTE network in the US there is not a device on the market that will have any acceptable battery life with hotspot mode active. It's a joke...

I realize part of this is the carriers fault as well because they drive what mfgs produce in many ways. The underlying point is that there is a small but significant percentage of people who want/need this for business and there are not good options on the market right now.


MG

Buy then root a droid RAZR Maxx. Problem solved

 

[GMJeff]

This has been a big issue for me for nearly a year...

wifi tablets are virtually useless to me, I have one and it gets used when I am at home sitting on the couch but nowhere else. I need one as a tool for business but refuse to an Apple and would prefer to buy something other than Samsung as they are horrible at getting OS updates out in a timely manner.

Not trying to pick a fight here but the "wifi is better because you can use your phone as a hotspot" argument is a non starter. On an LTE network in the US there is not a device on the market that will have any acceptable battery life with hotspot mode active. It's a joke...

I realize part of this is the carriers fault as well because they drive what mfgs produce in many ways. The underlying point is that there is a small but significant percentage of people who want/need this for business and there are not good options on the market right now.


MG

But see, you said it, there is only a small percentage. In the phone/tablet market, a small percentage means that the device is never going to happen. Years ago, i bought a 3g data card for my laptop and was paying 60 a month just for that. Turns out that i only needed the device twice the whole time i had it, what a waste.

At&t is getting ready to launch the Galaxy Tab 2 soon as i can only guess that it will not sell very well with older specs and a high price tag.

And also according to carriers raking in billions of dollars a year, your small percentage is not very significant. I bought a wifi tablet for use on the road, and i have yet to be able to find a Starbucks, McDonalds, library or public space that i can get a wifi signal for free to check emails and such.

Note2 or Note10, that is the question

 

[anon(20593)]

I don't buy the small percentage argument. And I base it, admittedly not on solid data, but indirect evidence of the nature that iPads have always come out with wifi-only and 3G-enabled models at launch. Even with the mini, that is the story and if it is an indication of anything, to me it sounds like that company believes there may be enough of a market for people to use 3G/LTE on their tablets, or at least want the option.

I wonder if the answer is in the demographics of the people who use Android tablets vs. iPads. Are people with iPads more likely to be the sort to travel, and especially abroad? For anybody who travels abroad, especially to East and South Asia as I do, not having mobile connectivity on the tablet severely undermines their utility during travel. So maybe business executives and others are more likely to use iPads and as such need mobile connectivity and which is why Apple brings both types of tablets to the market every single time. It certainly sounds absurd to say this, but this is a hypothesis and data needs to support or refute it.

I have to say again that I find this whole behavior bizarre. It is not as if Samsung does not manufacture 3G/Mobile Data versions of most of their tablets. Their markets in South- and East Asia almost certainly mandate it for their tablets because some of these markets don't have 'free wifi' or easy-to-set-up-mobile-hotspot capacities for people on cellphones. For instance, the Galaxy Note 10.1. had a simultaneous wifi-only launch here and a wifi+3G launch in Hong Kong. Similarly in S. Korea and India, the Galaxy 7 and 7.7 tablets all came with mobile connectivity as *standard*. I scarcely understand the mechanics of the business, but would it really make no sense for Samsung to put in mobile connectivity into these tablets being released in the US? They've done it elsewhere in the world; with the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 coming soon on AT&T they are doing it now so they understand what it takes to bring 3G to the US; and now I imagine that Google understand what it takes as well with the Nexus 7 3G version coming out. So what gives.

 

[ChromeJob]

The point I am making is that there are lots of places I can imagine being without my phone or wifi but where I would want full data - not the least of which is when I'm travelling outside the country and don't have my phone to tether my tablet to.

Definitely a First World problem. "I don't want to take my phone along to be the 3G/4G communications device to tether to, so I need my tablet [and God knows what else] to be on cellular networks too."

Mind, I'm not snarking ... I have considered this and might do it in the next few years. But having separate SIMs for digital devices seems an extravagence to me. Possible use case you're suggesting: you go overseas, buy a GSM prepaid SIM card locally and use it in your tablet vice in your phone. I can see that.

 

[ozbreaker]

I have a 3g 10.1 Galaxy tab.

My phone has shocking enough battery life without wanting to tether off it as well - also the whole process of having to switch my phone over to tether is frustrating when i want to just look at something quickly.

I can;t do wifi only as the frustration of having to turn on the tether and worrying about battery management and running down the power on 2 devices just does not interest me in the slightest as it takes all the joy out of using one. I'm done with partial solutions or things that are more frustrating to use than the joy they bring.

I would rather not have a tablet than one that does not offer 3g/4g connection because i know if it's too annoying to use for basic things like walking down to the cafe and just using it I will eventually stop using it completely and start resenting the purchase.

It might sound precious but it's just being pragmatic about the way I use devices.

 

[Rich_sly]

This is a conversation that I find very interesting. As a owner of a nexus 7 at times I must admit there are times when not having a data connection is really a bummer because some apps just don't work without a connection (games). However once I started tethering with my gnex the lack of a native 3g/4g connection doesn't bother me as much and here is why. Typically if I am doing something that I need to just connect quickly I can do it from my phone. If I actually need to tether I always walk with my charger so I don't ever have to worry about my phone dying and whatever I am doing is more intensive than I care to do from my phone. When taking into consideration of the nexus 7 form factor its hard for me to really invision a situation where I personally would be in where I must do something right now where I need a data connection an a 10" tablet to do it. Please I don't want to come across as being offensive or snarky when I'm honestly not. I'm just saying they way I use my devices if I was on the go a 10" tablet seems very unwieldy for something simple such as sending a tweet or checking facebook or even checking my rss feeds.

The other thing that makes me not want a 3g/4g tablet is I have had a netbook from verizon with its own data plan before. My experience was the same as a user above where I almost never used it (maybe 3 times in the 2 year contract) and it really just became that extra $50 a month on my bill that I didn't want to cancel because I didn't want to pay the cancelation fees. I literally canceled that line on the day I was out of contract on it and I swore I would never get a data only line again. Also I agree with Jevangil in that increasingly I am finding free wifi spots in so many places, hell even my local grocery story has free wifi in it because there is a starbucks in the store and so I'm covered there. I'm positive there is a market for it in a cross section of people who are on the go frequently and who don't mind paying extra for the extra line but since I have an unlimited data plan anyway I just couldn't conceive a scenario where I would get a tiered data plan just to use my tablet when I'm on the go when wifi is never really that far out of reach if I need it.

 

[Floorman63]

I have a Motorola 4g zoom. I use it all the time on the job.. It would be great for me to have a nexus 10 with 3g/4g connectivity. I'm going to hold off and see if they come out with 1 before the end of the year.

 

[Floorman63]

I have a nexus7 and and when I want to tether it to my phone the only way I can do this is with the phone
on the charger plugged in.

 

[ozbreaker]

I don't think any offense can be taken for you having as preference for doing something a particular way! To be honest the idea of always having to look for a wifi hotspot or carry my charger does not appeal but if it works for you then it works for you - I won't try to change your ways!

I have a prepaid data sim card and have 12 months to use 10 Gig (I think) - it cost me about $120 so works out at $10 per month. This works for me well as it's actually on a better network than my phone provider.

Australia for a ridiculously well connected fairly early adopting country seems to be really poor on free and reliable wifi spots from what i've seen/experienced and comments other people have made so that probably factors into it more here.

The reason i like the tablet is the convenience - I had a eeeeepc and barely used it after a while as it just got irritating to use/bootup/charge/do anyhting. I love my tablet and just use it all the time. A data connection top me fits in with the convenience of the tablet and means i can use it anywhere without needing to worry about anything else. it is stand alone, convenient, almost magical and I like it that way.

 

[Razieltov]

Where to begin. The N7 and the N4 are 4G devices. HSPA+ is a 4G technology. I've seen first hand how fast HSPA+ 42 can be. Its just as fast as Verizon LTE.

2nd. If you want LTE Verizon does offer portable Hotspots. And now that they have the share data plans its only 10 dollars a month extra for that device. Seems like a slam dunk to me. Piece of cake.

 

[dougltc]

This has been a big issue for me for nearly a year...

wifi tablets are virtually useless to me, I have one and it gets used when I am at home sitting on the couch but nowhere else. I need one as a tool for business but refuse to an Apple and would prefer to buy something other than Samsung as they are horrible at getting OS updates out in a timely manner.

Not trying to pick a fight here but the "wifi is better because you can use your phone as a hotspot" argument is a non starter. On an LTE network in the US there is not a device on the market that will have any acceptable battery life with hotspot mode active. It's a joke...

I realize part of this is the carriers fault as well because they drive what mfgs produce in many ways. The underlying point is that there is a small but significant percentage of people who want/need this for business and there are not good options on the market right now.


MG

if you had a 3g/4g tablet you would need a data plan from your cell provider...

Take whatever that would cost and get a 3g/4g hotspot plan...

Then your hotspot can power your tablet AND another few devices...

 

[rkirmeier]

It's a small market for data on a 10" inch tablet and the N7 just got 3G. I'm sure it will come just give it time.