Originally Posted by
sstorkel
I'd test out the 10-hour run time before I needed to rely on it. I'm not convinced the Nexus 7 I use for software development would run for 10 hours; feels like I'm always having to recharge the darn thing...
Might be cheaper to spend a few extra bucks and buy the LTE-enabled version of the Nexus 7, though in my experience there are plenty of places where you can't get any sort of cellular signal at all. Even in populated areas, there may be places where you get a connection but don't have enough bandwidth to support today's data-intensive applications and websites (ex: Google Maps).
It appears to be Sprint coverage for the hotspot vs AT&T for the Nexus, so for sure you'd want to match the coverage up with where you wanted to go. Mostly interstates and metro centers are OK, everywhere else would be dead.
Cheaper to use the LTE Nexus with AT&T though, I think you'd be wrong about that. It would be really tough for AT&T (or anyone else including Tracfone) to beat the $10/500MB that the Go Mobile Hotspot offers, unless you do use a lot of bandwidth. Streaming for instance. But GPS mapping apps, even Google Maps, doesn't have to be data intensive. Good points though. I'm just throwing it out there because it's tempting and might be just the ticket for OP. Heck, with voip the nexus would double as a cell phone.
I wouldn't bank on 10 hours run time either BTW, not with GPS and graphics intensive apps running. It's simple and inexpensive to use a lipstick power bank though.