Originally Posted by
wphamilton
You can also get a 4G hotspot, T-Mobile, with 3.5 GB "broadband pass" at $35. The T-Mobile data can alternatively be used with a tablet instead of a hotspot. Which one would depend on your tablet, and what your typical internet use is. Without streaming, and light internet useage even with photo uploads I'd be hard-pressed to use more than 500 MB. Using a mobile plan is going to be much more expensive.
T-mobile has a (carefully hidden)
pre-paid mobile plan that offers 100 minutes of talk time, unlimited text, and unlimited data (the first 5GB of it at 4G speeds) for $30/month. Unfortunately, I've tested T-mobile and AT&T side-by-side and T-mobile's service is pretty craptastic when compared to AT&T: coverage is worse and transfer speeds are much slower, too.
StraightTalk offers a similar plan to T-mobile for $45/mo: unlimited talk, unlimited texts, and unlimited data (first 2.5GB at 4G speeds). StraightTalk uses the AT&T network, so it's fast and reliable. StraightTalk also offers data-only plans: 1/2/4GB for $15/25/40 per month. I would recommend this option over T-mobile or other regional/no-name carriers.
For my iPad Retina mini, I use the AT&T prepaid $30 plan (when needed) that allows 1GB of data transfer over a 90-day period. I believe that's a special rate that Apple negotiated, so it probably isn't available For the Nexus 7.