If I get my daughter a tablet, Kindle Fire HD or mini iPad for Christmas, do I need to subscribe to internet..?

[justlookin4friendsonly]

through a company such as Sprint? (I think they have plans for $5 a month but I don't know if there's a one or 2 year contract on that.). I Don't know how the whole wifi thing works but I think I was told I have to buy an Expensive wifi router to use that? (My husband and I's cell phones are through Sprint but they have Unlimited Internet usage on them. I used to have a desktop computer with coverage through my Cable provider. Wait, I Juat remembered I Still Have coverage through my Cable provider, can I use That modem for 1 of the gifts above I mentioned giving to my daughter for Christmas? By the way my daughter's 12 1/2.)

[Raptor123471]

For those to work with wifi your internet needs to be wireless, meaning you have to have a router and modem broadcasting the signal through your home.

[CrystalLogic]

Hey there. All you have to do is buy the WiFi router, connect it to the wired connection you have and now you have a WiFi connection at home which can be used by any device with WiFi capability, even your smartphone.

It would not add up to any monthly payment, you just have to buy the WiFi router. And whatever you were paying for your DSL connection is the only payment required to keep WiFi running.

If your daughter stays at home mostly then iPad Mini or the Kindle Fire HDX with WiFi capability would be good enough. But if you guys go on long trips a lot then for downloading purpose you may need the 3G/4G capability. In that case only, get the one with both 3G/4G and WiFi capabilities, otherwise just choose the WiFi only model.

WiFi routers are not expensive, you can get a cheap one for 20 bucks and an expensive one for around 50 max. The one that costs 20 bucks is good enough for homes.

Now coming to Kindle Fire HDX or the iPad Mini.


First take a look at this comparison and list of pros and cons for both devices:
http://compare-e-readers.com/KindleHdxIPadMini


Now keeping in mind about the Parental controls for a 12 1/2 YO, I'd suggest you going for the Kindle Fire HDX as you have ease of access to parental controls, thus making it very easy to control the time, apps and other stuff your kid uses and making sure they dont bump into inappropriate things by accident.

It does not means that the iPad Mini does not have any type of parental control at all, they just didn't streamlined it.

The Kindle Fire HDX undoubtedly has better specs I.e the quad core processor, 2Gb ram, 1920*1200 HD display @323PPI etc. Keep in mind that they almost are double to what the iPad Mini offers, yet the HDX is cheaper, making Kindle Fire HDX better bang for buck.

Hope this helped!

[Ismail]

HEY you can try with republic wireless This new wireless service uses a new mobile tech called Hybrid Wi-Fi Calling.is designed to cost you low, if you don’t care about monitoring your mobile usage, you can give a look for republic wireless at less than 20$ a month. The calls, texts, and data can run in the cheaper Wi-Fi network. When you haven’t Wi-Fi signal your phone start to switches to the sprint’s cell network in no matter you don’t check your Wi-Fi zone area before.What is the catch Republic option? It’s including MMS, text, photos, and videos look to be available on the service very soon. Of course you have the phone choices like many cheap cell phone services.