We have a connected tablet for our daughter on verizon, and we have an additional samsung tablet on our account for my inlaws. Our tablet unit is built for kids with an included large rubber bumper guard and subsequently has a modified OS for kids within its basic android setup. Experience of service is on par with the rest of our verizon gear. My relatives and inlaws who have tablets on verizon or ATT, do not have complaints...............................verizon - I do not believe has such a prepay basis service available, allowing ez back and forth request for mobile use. There is an activation fee usually to setup the phone number and get added to the account. Then the tablet simply uses from the pool of data we have and the monthly fee is charged. I suppose the tablet service can be cancelled...but there might be an activation fee for whenever its resumed....I'm not sure. I believe it can be on a month to month basis.....if no contract is present.

On your tablet is there a lower fee to use the tablet without the mobile data 'active' or is it just zero fee until you decide to convert it from ...lets call it dormant mode....to active mobile data mode?

Tablet fee is 10 dollars a month, on verizon, regardless if the mobile aspect of it is used, as long as its listed as a connected device with its own phone number for billing purposes. Funny thing is my inlaw never used her tablet away from the house and only used wifi....she would have been better off just getting a non cellular tablet at a lower cost.

With the advent of mobile hotspots...the necessity or need for a cellular tablet isn't that important to me. My wife likes the simplicity of it. Additionally, the battery life of any other product does not need to be drained by making a hotspot. For 10 dollars, the fee is reasonable on verizon. My wifes connected watch which has its own phone number and can dial and receive calls from its own number besides utilizing her samsung phones number via bluetooth, I think is 5 dollars a month. I don't know if she has ever made a call with it LOL.

DW's iPad is connected to AT&T. It's worked out fine. She always runs out of data (there does not seem to be a mechanism to tell you you're about to run out) but it can be re-upped on demand, so the inconvenience factor is relatively low.

Much of it depends on the quality of cellular service where you want to use the tablet. AT&T works well for us; T-Mobile or Sprint would not.

Verizon sends me email or text when we get low and we have widgets that can be put on wallpaper of screens. Says how much available and how much total so we know how much we have used and what we have. I'd check out your att website login for options. Or get on unlimited family plan. Family plans are the best! On Verizon if u exceed data they have a safety features for free that allows u to continue to have access but at a slower rate. Probably similar to throttling down...like on the unlimited plans. So basically our plan is like unlimited. Without paying for unlimited.

My old ipad was with at&t. Worked mostly fine til the ipad's last year when something went wrong and it no longer could find service even after changing the sim card. New ipad i decided that i would go with a mobile hotspot instead and have a straight talk hotspot that i can connect any wifi device to, it uses the verizon network and i buy cards at walmart when i need network service to refill my data. It works fabulous.