Dish Network Free iPad Offer (free iPad 2 or free iPad mini) with the Hopper

I was intrigued when I heard that Dish Network was giving away free ipads last year. I called the 1800 and found out that it was an ipad 2 given to all new subscribers who got the Hopper digtal video recorder. On Apple.com, an iPad 2 cost about $400 at the time. It seems to good to be true, so I smelled a scam. Why would a pay television provider like Dish Network give us a free ipad (a $400 piece of equipment)? The person at Dish said it was to let us watch TV on the go and to use as a remote control,  but I was skeptical.

When I heard that Dish Network was now offering the iPad mini to new subscribers, I called again to get more information. For your reference, the iPad mini only sells for $300 on Apple.com, $100 less than the iPad 2. The call center agent explained that instead of getting a free iPad Mini, a subscriber could opt to receive a $25 dollar discount over 12 months. hmm...

Is it really a free iPad? Is it a Dish Network scam?

It doesn't take a math genius to realize that 12 months x $25 = $300 a year. Dish is basically just offering to subsidize our purchase of an iPad. Or at least that's what I thought. But when I talked to the agent, he said it was just a way for people who already own an iPad to save extra money.

Is it really a free iPad from Dish Network ? Kind of... Is it a scam or deceptive advertising from Dish Network. I don't think so. Maybe Dish needs to be clearer in their marketing about the other options, but in the end I got the iPad mini instead of taking the $25 a month deducation. It's better to pay for an ipad over 12 months than all at once anyway.