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Replacing phone with tablet

D

dvlucke

Newbie
I'm considering the viability of completely doing away with a phone all together, replacing it with a tablet and data plan.

Has anyone else done this? How do you like it?

My main questions are:

1)Are there any advantages to getting a wifi-only tablet plus mobile hotspot device vs. a tablet with 4G built in?

2)Are there free options for a voice calling/texting setup? Keep in mind I need to be able to send/receive calls to and from cellphones and landlines. I'll pay for apps, just looking to avoid a monthly cost.

I'm thinking the Nexus 7 would be ideal for me, but welcome other tablet suggestions.

I'm still keeping the Note 3 in mind, but am wondering what I get in exchange for all the extra money(device + plan), considering it's a significantly smaller screen.
 
1) A WiFi only tablet would be cheaper then one with 4G included (but then you have to pay for a hot spot). Would you want to carry around both devices?

2) You should be able to use Google Voice and Talkatone for WiFi calling. However I believe to receive calls you would have to port your number to Google Voice, and Google charges $20 for that. If you don't mind having a different number you can get one from Google at no charge.
 
There are several voice enabled tablets (mostly Samsungs) that can make regular calls with a phone sim card. They're usually much cheaper than high end smartphones. I've not found voip to work acceptably on anything slower than LTE. Another option is to get a used Note and use it on a cheap prepaid plan. That's what I did- bought a used Note 2 for 325 and put it on a thirty dollar prepaid plan.
 
With these voice enabled tablets I'm assuming I can get a SIM for a pay-as-you-go plan? I'd just want to load it up with a set amount of minutes and see how long that lasts.
 
By the time Google disables XMPP calling in Google Voice, the Hangouts app should have the integrated dialer (like how you can send/receive free calls via Hangouts on iOS devices already).
 
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