Our favorite mobile data reseller Millenicom suffered a big black eye recently, when Sprint suddenly canceled the upstream gateway arrangement that enabled Millenicom’s “Unlimited” plan. Many former customers are still left without service, as their device’s ESNs have not yet been unlocked for re-activation on other services – a hugely frustrating situation for Millenicom and customers alike.
Not to be deterred – Millenicom has rebounded with a brand new iPad Mini data plan in partnership with T-Mobile that seems to be a very sweet deal.
The owner of Millenicom dropped us an email yesterday letting us be the first to hear about this – and giving us and our readers first dibs on this limited and ridiculously good offer.
Here are the basics – you choose either:
- iPad Mini 16GB (in white or black) for $199.99
- Retina iPad Mini 16GB (black only) for $399.99
You buy the device, and pay $15 shipping and $49 activation. And then via Millenicom you get a free data plan on T-Mobile’s network good until March 1st, 2014, all with no long term contract to sign!
The plan gives you access to T-Mobile’s network with 6.5 GB of LTE data per month, unlimited non-LTE domestic data, and unlimited 2G international data.
Yes, seriously – free until March.
That’s no monthly plan fees for just over 3 months, for unlimited data. Yes, we confirmed this.. twice.
Free. Unlimited. Data.
And you can use your iPad to get online while traveling around the world too – all without paying roaming fees. Unfortunately – you can not tether or create a hot spot with this data, but that appears to be the only limitation.
After March 1, 2014, you’ll have the choice of:
- Close your account with Millenicom and just use the iPad’s WiFi connectivity.
- Switch to a 500MB LTE/unlimited 2G nationwide plan with unlimited international 2G data for just $29.99/mo.
- Continue with the 6.5GB LTE/unlimited 2G nationwide plan, with unlimited international 2G data for $59.99/mo.
How good is this deal? Just do the math….
iPad Mini – $400 off?!!?
Millenicom is offering a cellular iPad Mini that normally sells for $429 for $199, and throwing in 3 months of the $60/mo service valued at around $180.
Or in other words – it is like getting an iPad Mini for $19!
This is a screaming good deal – the iPad Mini is an incredible device, and unlike the WiFi-only model the cellular iPad Mini includes a GPS receiver chip that continues to work even if you do not have an active cellular data account – making this a great device for mapping and dash GPS app usage.
Cherie has had an iPad Mini since last year, and she loves it to death. We’ve maintained our unlimited AT&T iPad plan since they first came out in 2010, and use ours for streaming video content on device and on our larger screens via HDMI.
Even Better – A Retina iPad Mini!
The deal for the Retina iPad Mini from Millenicom isn’t quite as dramatic – the 16GB cellular model normally sells for $529, but Millenicom is offering it for $399 ($130 off!), and throwing in 3+ months of the $60/mo service valued at around $180.
This is a total savings of $310 on a brand new device that is in ridiculously high demand.
When deciding whether or not to spend $200 more for a Retina iPad Mini – keep in mind that the difference is more than just 4x the number of pixels on the vastly sharper screen.
The original iPad Mini released last fall was the exact functional equivalent of the 2011 iPad 2, just shrunken into a beautifully small and light form. This classic Mini is powered by a 32-bit A5 chip, with 512MB of RAM, and a 1024×768 resolution screen.
The brand new Retina iPad Mini however isn’t a shrunken iPad 3 or iPad 4 like many people were expecting – it is the exact same internal hardware as the brand new high-end 2013 iPad Air (aka iPad 5). It has a 64-bit A7 CPU that performs 5x faster than the original iPad Mini, 1024MB of RAM, and of course the “Retina” 2048×1536 resolution screen.
In other words – it is essentially a desktop-class computing device, yet it fits in a pocket and gets 10 hours of battery life.
The iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini also support many more wireless frequency bands than the classic Mini, meaning that you will have better chances of finding a compatible LTE network no matter where you travel around the world.
In particular – the Retina iPad Mini supports T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ 1700/2100MHz network, and the classic Mini does NOT. This means that there will be many places where T-Mobile LTE has not been enabled yet, and the the Retina iPad Mini will cruise along at fast 4G while the classic iPad Mini falls back to a slow 2G. This is definitely worth keeping in mind when picking a device!
In my book – spending the extra $200 for something two generations more advanced and 5x faster is very worth it. And Millenicom is claiming that they have Retina iPad Mini’s in stock for (almost) immediate shipment, though I am not sure how long they will last since even Apple shows a 5-10 day wait right now!
Act Quick – This Is Limited
Millenicom gave us a heads up that these new plans will not be available to order via their website until their new website design launches later this week. But Millenicom gave us permission to post this information so our readers can skip to the front of the line on this deal and order by phone. (And of course, we didn’t post this until we got our own order in! *grin*)
There’s only a limited number of iPad Minis and Retina iPad Minis they have in stock, and they tell us that when they run out they’ll then switch to offering the new iPad Air – another great choice, but I don’t have pricing or availability info yet.
To take advantage of this offer before the website goes live, you have to call Millenicom customer support: 800-996-1285 x1.
Note: Apparently Millenicom’s order department can handle these special pre-orders, but if the line is busy it transfers to tech support. Their tech support is not yet able to take iPad orders. So be sure to ask to be transferred back to the order department, or try again if you’re told they’re not yet taking orders.
While their order fulfillment process is not yet fully operational now, they are taking phone orders and have iPad Mini’s ready to ship, and plan to have the Retina iPad Mini’s ready to ship by mid-week.
Concluding Thoughts
My response after I confirmed that these prices were real: Holy guacamole!
I had already been planning to upgrade from my old iPad 3 to a new Retina iPad Mini, but I hadn’t been able to find any store with any of the cellular models in stock yet.
We had also been considering adding T-Mobile to our arsenal so that we could begin reporting on T-Mobile speeds and coverage first hand as we travel. This had become especially tempting since T-Mobile is now offering tablet users a “no strings attached” 200MB/mo Free Data For Life plan. We had been planning to get a T-Mobile SIM to take advantage of this to stick in our Verizon iPad – this makes for a great alternate internet option for any nomad, no matter what your preferred network may be.
This offer from Millenicom came to us at the perfect time – a great deal on a Retina iPad Mini, and a chance to try T-Mobile’s network with no contract!
The only other big downside I see here (other than the annoying lack of Personal Hotspot tethering) is that you do not have the option of getting more storage. I had planned on my next iPad having 64GB of storage, so 16GB is going to be tight. But for an offer this good, I can go on a data diet – and/or sell this device and trade up later.
One other possible upside – though these iPad’s will come with T-Mobile SIM’s and Millenicom administered data plans, every iPad sold is reported to be fully unlocked. You can theoretically put in the SIM from any carrier of your choice (though Sprint is reportedly the only carrier blocking activations), or just use the iPad as a great WiFi device.
As soon as we get our Retina iPad in, we will be testing it all out!
I’m excited!
Disclosure: We have absolutely no affiliation with Millenicom, we’re just happy long term customers who have become trusted enthusiasts. We purchase our own equipment from them and pay for our own service and we have absolutely no financial gain by announcing this for Millenicom. We just share because we are so happy companies like Millenicom exist who get our mobile internet needs, and we love our readers.
November 27, 2013 Update: Here’s our review of our iPad Mini Retina we ordered from Millenicom: Unlocked & Universal — Millenicom Retina iPad Mini Awesomesauce!
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Sherie
I bought the iPad Mini Retina from Millenicom with T-Mobile in late November and just received, on 12/24, from Millenicom, a bill for the T-mobile service which I thought was no charge until March 1.
“You have an upcoming invoice for $59.99 on 01/01/2014 that will be charged to your credit card on file with Millenicom.”
Have you or anyone else, the same experience?
Kent
We had that reported by one other individual – they contacted Millencom’s support, and they acknowledged it was an error. You should contact Millenicom to make sure they’re not billing you until March 1.
Yes Cherie
Right after I posted this I contacted Millenicom by email and they immediately responded that it was an error which they now have corrected. Impressed with their prompt response and plan to convert out Verizon account to Millenicom when it expires in February.
I spent some time talking to my local Verizon rep. He was adamant that this would NOT work on a Verizon SIM. Could be just another “sales pitch”, but who do you believe? I have been a Verizon customer for years and have the original iPad that still works, but is slow.
So, I am still a little leery. Like the deal, but need to move to Verizon in Feb.
Thanks for all you inputs.
Check our review after playing with the iPad Mini Retina – https://www.technomadia.com/2013/11/unlocked-universal-millenicom-retina-ipad-mini-awesomesauce/ . It works great (the ‘plain’ Mini however will not work with Verizon.)
The last thing a Verizon rep ever wants to comment on is compatibility with other carriers and non-Verizon devices. It is a potential support nightmare for them, and even if a rep knows that it should work fine they are probably not even allowed to comment and say so.
But… Our Retina iPad Mini from Millenicom that came with a T-Mobile SIM has been working just fine with a Verizon SIM. And we used to use our Verizon iPad 3 with an AT&T SIM all the time.
In other words, it works. 🙂
– Chris
supurb timing. I need to try out T-Mobil as both Verison and Sprint have serious problems where I am while unpacking decades of accumulated stuff.
Two not so minor niggles: Millenicom shipped iPad Mini with $50 insurance and NO signature required… for a $400 product 🙁
Thanks for sharing about the shipping, Edward. We will pass that concern on to Millenicom.
Ordered my Retina Mini on Monday, got notice of it being shipped on Thursday! Thanks for the tip!
Chris & Cherie,
FYI. Jessy at Millenicom tech support emailed me this morning:
“I’ve been informed by our tech team that the iPads are not unlocked. It appears they’ll only work on a T-Mobile connection.”
Still looking forward to giving it a try.
We are eager to test too. I’ve done a lot of digging, and as far as I can tell (unlike most iPhones) there is actually no such thing as a “locked” iPad. To date, every iPad has been known to work with alternative properly activated SIM’s.
We’ll know for sure soon enough.
– Chris
Keep us in the loop, please.
This will be interesting. I’m guessing that T-Mobile will not work for me in the long run (although, I’m open to being pleasantly surprised). I happen to be in a city right now, so it’s working great, and I’ll be back on the road (and in the boondocks) in time to finish the free trail period rurally. My guess is that Verizon would be my choice for long term, so I’m hoping I could later get a Verizon nano SIM to go in this iPad. I, too, had understood that there were really no “locked” iPads (and there is no logo on them like on phones), although I had heard that some providers (Verizon) were fussier than others about it. Will be very interested to hear from anyone who tries changing (and I’ll report back if I do).
As soon as we get ours, we’ll be testing out our Verizon SIM card in it 🙂
“As soon as we get ours, we’ll be testing out our Verizon SIM card in it”
Sweet! Thank you, and I’ll keep an eye on the comments.
Has anyone gotten this deal yesterday? Just found this article and was going to cAll this morning. Does anyone know if you have to activate data plan?
I called yesterday Morning and talked to Sandie (sp?) in tech support because the regular sales line was busy. She verified that I was a current customer and created a ticket for a Retina Mini for me. She said that they are meeting this week to discuss the new deal and how it is supposed to work. She was NOT certain when the Retina Minis would ship.
Activation is a good question. I’m assuming that activation will be just like all other Millenicom products. It shows up and it works. If not, I imagine it would be a call to Millenicom tech support, not the carrier.
Many of us have placed orders since Saturday morning, but it’s too soon for any of us to have received them yet. It’s my understanding the devices will be shipped with the service already activated, as it’s included for free until March 1. But we shall see once they start arriving.
I ordered a “plain” Mini late on the 17th (I want to use it mostly for GPS mapping as I drive, so retina seemed like overkill) and it shows as having shipped yesterday from Portland, OR (via Priority Mail) – so theoretically will arrive tomorrow (although USPS tracking… ugh).
My first “impulse” tech purchase 😀
Awesome.. we just got notification today that our iPad Mini Retina shipped.
Oops, lost track of dates; I ordered it late on the 16th (Saturday).
Received mine today (ordered “plain” mini). The outer box wasn’t perfect, but other than that all looks good/new.
I had actually just purchased a new Retina/Verizon/Mini/32GB when you posted this offer. I decided to get this basic “cheap” one because I don’t even know yet how much I will use an iPad, if the mini is the right size, etc. Seems like a great and economical way to try one out for awhile (and then keep it, I mean). So the Retina mini I had purchased previously may be going back (or not…. I’ll have to see). Anyway, main thing I wanted to say is… it arrived! Whee!
Got the Ipad mini – thanks for the heads up! This is a great way to test out T-mobile’s coverage and see if it will work for us. You rock!
What a great offer…too bad I already have a iPad mine for just a few months:(…..appreciate you keeping people in the loop
Made the call, got Jason (nice young man, BTW) and placed our order (the iPad Mini). Nice young man Jason says they will begin shipping orders next week.
Thanks for the hedzup and moving Mr. Man and I further along traveling wired on our not-quite-fulltime-yet madventures. (I DID tell we got the hot-spot last spring, right?)
Called again, was transferred to tech support, got someone who was aware of this deal and he asked me if I was a current Millenicom customer–I am, so he double checked all my info–address, phone number, credit card number, then said he would give this info to sales and if sales needed any other info they would call me back!!! THANKS Cheri and Chris–will let you know how it turns out.
BTW- My Mini sold last week on its first day on E-bay for $250. So that’s only an $80 or so depreciation for one year of use.
Yup. Apple product keep their value really well. Makes it affordable to keep all our tech current. 🙂
Cherie, After 3 months can the millenicom cellular mini be enabled for any other carrier or is them or wifi?
As Chris writes, “You can theoretically put in the SIM from any carrier of your choice (though Sprint is reportedly the only carrier blocking activations).”
I’m looking forward to seeing if the mini is indeed unlocked as T-mobile in my area is less than adequate (spotty 2&4G, not LTE). Unless T-Mobile upgrades here soon, I’m planning to put it on my combined AT&T plan after the 3 months with T-Mobile is over.
Cheri and Chris, I just tried to order one of these ridiculously fabulous deals through the number you gave in your post but didn’t have any luck–limited staff on the weekend at Millenicom and I got someone in tech support who was aware of the deal but had no way of ordering the devices. Hope they figure it out soon–Santa thinks this would be a really good deal!!
Apparently, call back and try to get Jason. He seems to be aware of this pre-order and is taking orders.
Yeah, apparently if Ordering phones are busy it forwards to Tech support. So just tell them you need ordering & see if they’ll transfer you back, or hang up & retry.
What an awesome deal! And I just bought a new iPad air five days ago. I could still return it though. I’ve loved my mini which I just sold on eBay,but now I’m hooked on the larger size iPad air which is close to the same weight.
How certain is it that millenicom will have the iPad air in a few weeks? I’ve got 10 days to return my new Air.
I may have to run out and buy something T-Mobile Internet to see if the 4G really works where I’m parked long-term.
I finally have 4G through US cellular but they won’t give their 4G to Att or Verizon so maybe not T Mobil either.
Decisions,decisions.. Gotta wrap my head around this and see if I can make it all happen to grab this deal.
We have no clue how certain anything is. Just sharing what we know.
I called back and got a different rep, and placed an order for a Retina Mini. I have a Kindle Fire HDX on order with ATT service so I have a couple of bases covered. I’m really excited by the int’l options on T-mobile.
Chris, Cherie,
In one place, you write…
“The plan gives you access to T-Mobile’s network with 6.5 GB of LTE data per month, unlimited non-LTE domestic data, and unlimited 2G international data.”
…and below it…
“2. Switch to a 500MB LTE/unlimited 2G nationwide plan with unlimited international 2G data for just $29.99/mo.
“3. Continue with the 6.5GB LTE/unlimited 2G nationwide plan, with unlimited international 2G data for $59.99/mo.”
Is it unlimited 2G or unlimited-non LTE for domestic data? 2G is just too slow, and T-Mobile doesn’t have LTE available in my area yet. T-Mobile 4G, however, is pretty good in most of the places I work.
Either way, I’m going to buy the Retina Mini (or perhaps one of each) to support our new full-time “work-from-the-road” adventure starting in January.
Thanks for the great tip!
Dr. Mike
Mike – just passing along what Millenicom provided us for info. Definitely confirm any questions you have with them. T-Mobile is a new resource for us and we are learning as we go.
Check out this “purse-able” little gadget to carry along with your new 16g mini. I bought one for my “32GB-only” Nexus 7 recently and have been impressed with ease of use and performance speeds. If I had not just bought the Nexus 7, I sure might have jumped on this Millenicom deal too!
http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower%C2%AE-Wireless-External-Streaming-RP-WD01/dp/B00AQUMZRA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384629548&sr=8-3&keywords=ravpower
p.s. if you want to see some real-life pics of the RAVpower, I posted about here a few days ago:
http://winnieviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/carrv-add-ons-for-your-tablet-or.html
Nice blog. I like the mount!
I would love to have & use this device if it could also be used as a phone. My iPhone is becoming too small or my eyes too old! I don’t see the point of having two devices to carry around. I would buy one in a heartbeat if I could ditch the iPhone along with the monthly fees. Any ideas?
Thanks for sharing
There are lots of VOIP apps out there that let you use your iPad as a phone – Skype, Google Voice, Line 2, etc. Check them out.
Sigh….well I just called and they said check back next week, they weren’t offering this deal yet. 🙁
Thanks for the heads up. We reported it to Dennis, and are now getting reports of pre-orders being taken.