Sprint and T-Mobile US are both looking to tablets to win new subscribers and encourage existing customers to upgrade. Sprint is offering an iPad Mini 3 with 2GB of data in tandem with the iPhone 6 with unlimited talk, text and data. The plan comes with no activation fees and users will pay just $100 per month to lease both devices. Sprint said pairing the devices and service plans will save users $200 a year when compared to the cost of leasing the devices separately.
T-Mobile US is bringing back its “tablet on us” promotion, starting Feb. 12. Customers who sign up for a qualifying data plan will get a free Android Alcatel OneTouch Pop 7 tablet for no money down. T-Mobile US is pushing the offer this week in hopes that the free tablets will replace candy boxes and flowers as Valentine’s Day gifts.
Tablets market continues to grow
The tablet market has slowed somewhat, with Gartner projecting an 8% growth rate for this year. But in developed markets that are approaching smartphone saturation, tablets represent an important opportunity for carriers. Tablets encourage data use and so can drive average revenue per user, depending on the user’s data plan. Verizon Wireless cited tablets as a major contributor to revenue growth in the fourth quarter of last year.
But over time, tablets may not tie customers to carriers the way smartphones have. Apple’s iPad Air 2 was the first tablet to feature a SIM card that supports LTE on all the major U.S. carriers, a trend that is expected to accelerate.
