Despite promising that it would no longer require contracts for tablets capable of using cellular data, AT&T is requiring a contract in its latest offer for the Nexus 7. The carrier found (or perhaps knew all along about) a loophole in saying that it won’t require contracts. For a limited time, if you buy a Nexus 7 with HSPA+ on AT&T and sign a two-year agreement, you’ll get a $100 credit on your next bill.
It’s a pretty nice offer for anyone who doesn’t mind contracts or keeping a device for a minimum of two years. The catch here is that since it’s only a special deal, a contract isn’t required for the tablet. You can still buy the Nexus 7 tablet on AT&T for the full $299 price, not sign a contract, but also not receive any credit on your bill. It’s just an enticement to get people to sell their souls to the carrier for two years.
So far, AT&T has yet to give this a big promotional push. The announcement of the deal itself was rather quiet. If you visit the Nexus 7 product page in Google Play, there’s a faded yellow banner on the bottom right with a message from AT&T that reads: “Through February 14, 2013, receive a $100 AT&T bill credit by signing a 2 year service agreement on qualified postpaid standalone or Mobile Share plans.” Those interested have a little under a month to take advantage of the offer.
The Nexus 7 is also available in 16GB and 32GB WiFi-only versions for $199 and $249, respectively.