Who offers a cheap Apple iPad with mobile broadband contracts?
Since the launch of the hugely popular Apple iPad it was only a matter of time before mobile broadband providers started offering the iPad at a discounted rate when bought with a mobile broadband or mobile phone contract. Great connectivity is a key feature of the iPad and mobile broadband is perfect partner for getting online with your shiny new Apple iPad. At the time of writing only 3 offer these deals – we take a look at what else is likely to become available and what to consider when choosing a deal.
iPads on 3 (Three)
3 iPad with mobile broadband contracts are the first to launch in the UK and whilst sadly they are not offering free iPads they are discounted with iPads starting from £199 with their £25 per month mobile broadband plan. 3 usually offer the cheapest prices so we would expect that other providers will launch their offers at similar or greater prices.
Orange and T-Mobile iPad offers
At the time of writing there are no Orange iPad with mobile broadband plans available but watch this space as there’s a good chance that most the major mobile networks will launch these deals to try and cash in on the popularity of the iPad. Orange is one of the largest UK mobile networks and merged with T-Mobile in 2010 to form Everything Everywhere which gives consumers the advantage of a shared network which gives greater coverage and should increase mobile broadband speeds too. There’s nothing to report yet on iPad with T-Mobile broadband deals but don’t be surprised if they follow any lead taken by Orange. We’ll update this page with any T-mobile iPad deals plus those from other networks once they launch.
Vodafone iPad deals
As of late 2010 there are no Vodafone mobile broadband with iPad deals on the market in the UK. Though it’s pure speculation on our part we would be very surprised if Vodafone didn’t bundle together some iPad and mobile broadband plans given the popularity of the free laptop deals the Vodafone have been promoting for the last 2 years. Vodafone usually react quickly to deals brought out by competitors so we expect to see some Vodafone iPad with mobile broadband deals on the market in 2011.
O2
O2 iPad with mobile broadband deals are not yet available. Like the other mobile networks O2 do have iPad SIM card deals to give you mobile broadband on your iPad (with a micro SIM), but there’s no news yet on O2 iPad deals being bundled with broadband contracts. As ever we will be monitoring the situation closely and will bring you any news on iPad deals from O2.
Will there ever be free iPad with mobile broadband deals?
Free iPads with mobile broadband are unlikely to become a reality, we expect most if not all the main mobile networks to provide cheap iPads with mobile broadband contracts but the price of the iPad is likely to be too high to provide one completely free of charge with a mobile broadband contract. The trend of free laptop deals has changed recently with most providers now applying a small upfront charge for the laptop with a mobile contract rather than giving it away. It is likely that there will be cheap iPads’ subsidised by mobile broadband contracts as opposed to completely free ones. As with any deal that gives something away ‘free’ with any sort of mobile contract it’s never really free and you will pay for the ‘free’ or discounted element of the price of the iPad or laptop over the period of the contract and it will usually be no cheaper than buying the mobile contract and the product separately . However one great selling point of these deals is that you get to spread the price of an expensive Apple iPad over an 18 or 24 month contract making it much more affordable for many people.
