Google's Project Fi comes to data-only devices, including Apple's iPad Air 2 & iPad mini 4

Google's low-cost carrier service, Project Fi, is now available for a select range of data-only devices, specifically tablets including the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4.

People who are already activated on Fi can order data-only SIMs for the service, up to a limit of nine per account. Aside from iPads, other officially supported devices include the Nexus 7, Nexus 9, and Galaxy Tab S. Unconfirmed accounts suggest that the SIMs may work with other products, like the iPad mini 2.

Tablets share in the same data pool as smartphones, with a fee of $10 per gigabyte, but to keep bandwidth under control Fi's data metering tools let subscribers see a per-device breakdown. Unlike phones, tethering is banned for data-only hardware.

Google is promising varying levels of coverage in over 120 countries, although people can still only sign up for the service in the U.S. via an invite system.

Until this week, Project Fi was restricted to a handful of Google smartphones including the Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X. The service's main advantage is that it costs just $20 per month before data fees, with unlimited voice and texting, and any data that goes unused results in a 1-cent credit per megabyte. A person paying for 2 gigabytes who only uses 1 gigabyte, for instance, will get $10 back.

The service preferentially connects to Wi-Fi, but when out of range connects to Sprint and T-Mobile's networks or else various 3G networks outside the U.S.

9 Comments

Prof_Peabody 114 comments · 9 Years

About 8 years ago

I have to give Google credit, this actually has the potential to do what everyone thought Apple would do with the iPhone, which is to actually change the mobile marketplace so as to benefit the users instead of just the corporations. Apple, with all their fancy devices have done nothing to break the stranglehold cell providers have over us. Nothing to lower data prices to a reasonable level.

xpad 46 comments · 11 Years

Prof_Peabody said:

I have to give Google credit, this actually has the potential to do what everyone thought Apple would do with the iPhone, which is to actually change the mobile marketplace so as to benefit the users instead of just the corporations. Apple, with all their fancy devices have done nothing to break the stranglehold cell providers have over us. Nothing to lower data prices to a reasonable level.

That's exactly what Apple did. Unlimited data on AT&T, no contract phones with no carrier baggage, logos, malware, software update limbo, model fragmentation...

You're thinking of Google, who kowtows to the carriers. That's why they are doing this and Apple doesn't have to. Apple created the Apple SIM so that you can choose and switch carriers even more easily.

ddawson100 532 comments · 16 Years

This improves on the App SIM method in that your phone (now devices, too) will be enrolled on two carriers and will use the stronger one. You'll be billed for a single plan and don't need to track which carrier you happen to be using. If they make it available for iPhones I'm going to have to give some deep consideration.

kayess 42 comments · 10 Years

This is a good deal in USA where carrier prices are very high, and maybe I'll be able to use it in USA when I'm there. In UK it's a very different story. I pay £7:50 a month for 1 GB data and more minutes than I can use.

genovelle 1481 comments · 16 Years

ddawson100 said:

This improves on the App SIM method in that your phone (now devices, too) will be enrolled on two carriers and will use the stronger one. You'll be billed for a single plan and don't need to track which carrier you happen to be using. If they make it available for iPhones I'm going to have to give some deep consideration.

This has the same issue that I would never use a Google phone. This is just another way they can trick customers into giving them full access to their data, buried in pages and pages the user agreement. I'm good.