Prices are rising! Verizon Wireless is no longer subsidizing tablet prices, which means a bit of a sting. If you want a 16GB Motorola XYZBoard it’ll cost you $629, and a Galaxy Tab 7.7 will rush you for $549.
Verizon tablets no longer subsidized: full price and contract-free
Verizon Wireless changed the prices last month when it launched the “Share Everything” family plans. This new service contract means that subscribers can allow a tablet to have access to a “bucket” of data that’s shared between devices. Previously, tablets needed a separate data plan and contract, and this ties users into a contract for a device that would rapidly become outdated.
This new price scheme means that Android tablets are on a par with the iPad, which has never been offered with subsidies. Verizon previously sold Android tablets like phones – with big discounts for two-year data tie-ins. However, this doesn’t work well with tablets, as the turnover of tablets is faster than that of phones. New tablets are always way ahead of their predecessors. Also, US carriers have never really offered big discounts on tablets. So, apart from that sharp intake of breath when you see the price tag, buying a full-price tablet and paying as you go for data is the best way forward.
With any luck, other carriers will do this too. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint give customers the option to buy at full price or with a discount, the discount still relies on subsidies to ensnare customers into lengthy contracts. Tablets should ideally be sold in the same way as computers, so bravo, VZW!
