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Ain't progress grand?

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mmntech said:
We've had limited data in Canada since the beginning. Right now it's $20 for 500mb, $25 for 1gb, $45 for 2gb, and a whopping $60/month for 5gb.

I pay the same for my 14mbps/60gb home internet that Rogers charges for 2gb mobile.
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Good lord. You have my sympathies.
 
Yeah more or less this sucks.

Similar to the home ISP's pushing "the new connected digital home for your family" BS showing all the streaming this, downloading that, and then capping you at a ridiculous low amount. At least Comcast gives you 250GB/month, which is pretty reasonable to me for the standard home account.

And same thing for smartphones, VZW's been pushing all the apps available...maybe they should redo their billboards with only a quarter of those apps showing saying this is what you can use...this month.

And to the people saying "I think it's better, I want to pay for what I use" well sure, but the pricing rarely goes that way. They want you to continue to have a fairly high base price, and then pay even more on top of that (so you end up paying more than what you were getting).

It isn't like data is a "scarce resource" nor are they locked into a finite amount of capacity. It is ever expanding, and the rates THEY pay are continually going down. And check out the PROFIT they are getting from all the low down horrible unlimited data users (and text message senders). Hell texts are just side-loaded onto the cell infrastructure, they aren't even real data. I have nothing against profit, mind you, but when they are crying poverty on one hand and ringing up the cash with the other it's hard to reconcile the two.

That being said, I wonder if I should change our cell plan with Verizon. I have an old ACII plan with data for my Droid. Not sure what will happen if I get into roaming areas or extended network coverage (I think I remember that the old plans don't work so hot in extended coverage, but not sure with the Smartphone plan).

Sprint just started looking a lot better. Wonder if anyone has had a Droid running on Sprint? 😛
 
cheezy321 said:
Eventually everything on a cell phone will be just data packages. You wont have to pay extra for 'minutes' and 'text messages'. It should be this way already. You should pay for the bandwidth you use and that should be it.
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It'll take a law to get there, though. The absolute LAST thing that the carriers want is to become dumb pipes, simply serving up bandwidth to whomever pays for it.

They all want a piece of the content pie, the greedy fucks, and they all want consumer lock-in.
 
Bateluer said:
History isn't with you on this, unfortunately. Carriers will want to suck as much money as they can from their customers, as well as set themselves up as content providers, cutting out other businesses and endeavors in the process.

Data caps are detrimental to everyone but the carrier.
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internet - limited by hours, now basically unlimited and costs as little as dial up did.
pots voice - metered by minutes, now most flat rate unliimited, voip is even cheaper
wireless voice - meter by minutes, currently sliding to unlimited. Current unlimited talk plans cost less than than my first cell plan with 15 minute of talk time.

History is with me.
 
Haha

I was browsing the Verizon site earlier and man I had a laugh. Last summer when I became eligible to upgrade, I tried out the Samsung Alias 2 for a couple weeks. It had just come out and I didn't like how slow the software was but the point is that it was a very normal "dumbphone."

I am looking at the site now and the same exact phone is now a "multimedia phone" and requires a minimum of a $9.99 data package. WTF
 
Ballatician said:
Haha

I was browsing the Verizon site earlier and man I had a laugh. Last summer when I became eligible to upgrade, I tried out the Samsung Alias 2 for a couple weeks. It had just come out and I didn't like how slow the software was but the point is that it was a very normal "dumbphone."

I am looking at the site now and the same exact phone is now a "multimedia phone" and requires a minimum of a $9.99 data package. WTF
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If it can access the internet, play music, and some other goodies then it's not a dumb phone but a multimedia phone which is why they charge extra for it cus you could surf the net on it.
 
zerocool84 said:
If it can access the internet, play music, and some other goodies then it's not a dumb phone but a multimedia phone which is why they charge extra for it cus you could surf the net on it.
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A lot of phones can access the internet and play music. In fact, I had that phone without a data plan and have another phone right now that can access the internet and play music that does not require a data plan (LG vx8600).

I find this instance funny because it is clearly not a phone made to browse the internet and it (and mine) would provide the worse internet experience ever.
 
Ballatician said:
A lot of phones can access the internet and play music. In fact, I had that phone without a data plan and have another phone right now that can access the internet and play music that does not require a data plan (LG vx8600).

I find this instance funny because it is clearly not a phone made to browse the internet and it (and mine) would provide the worse internet experience ever.
Click to expand...

the dare is grandfathered in due to when it was released. If you buy that phone you can activate and not be forced to a data plan.

there is a date somewhere and a list of smartphones to that you can activate and be under a pay as a go data plan.
 
The rumor date of 7/29 seems a bit weird.

why would they make a change on a Thursday and middle of the week. It would not just confuse customers but also confuse employees.

changes are easier to implement on the 1st of the month or a monday(1st business day of the week)

Plus didn't the supposed leaked summer/fall guide from verizon with several unannounced phones list unlimited data? Also we're less than 1 week away and suddenly this rumor pops up? find it weird with all the other leaks way in advance this tiered data plan date gets leaked this late.

All I'm care really is this that I can get grandfathered in since I order the DX and I'm stuck on backorder.
 
My roommate used to stream Pandora on his iPhone for 6+ hours, 5 days a week for over a year. That plus apps, and surfing and everything else he used approximately 6GB that entire year.

If the price went down to $15/month for 2GB that I think would alleviate most of the issues that people have with this. Leave the 5GB or unlimited in at $30/month, but a $5 drop for a 60% reduction in data... weak.

I don't even think that I will ever top 2GB/month, and I am happy to save $5/month... but I can understand where people are coming from. However, and this is a slight aside, but I keep seeing Zerocool all over the place, sometimes talking about how iPhone apps are for kids, and Android apps are great for real work (paraphrasing) not trying to start a war or anything and I really don't care about his opinion vis a vis the iPhone apps, and have seen him a couple of times complaining about the data issue.

Seriously dude, what the hell are you doing on your phone? And if you are doing this much, why haven't you gotten a laptop/netbook with a 3g card yet? Seriously, if you are consistently moving that much data on a 3-4" screen... something is wrong.
 
TheStu said:
My roommate used to stream Pandora on his iPhone for 6+ hours, 5 days a week for over a year. That plus apps, and surfing and everything else he used approximately 6GB that entire year.

If the price went down to $15/month for 2GB that I think would alleviate most of the issues that people have with this. Leave the 5GB or unlimited in at $30/month, but a $5 drop for a 60% reduction in data... weak.

I don't even think that I will ever top 2GB/month, and I am happy to save $5/month... but I can understand where people are coming from. However, and this is a slight aside, but I keep seeing Zerocool all over the place, sometimes talking about how iPhone apps are for kids, and Android apps are great for real work (paraphrasing) not trying to start a war or anything and I really don't care about his opinion vis a vis the iPhone apps, and have seen him a couple of times complaining about the data issue.

Seriously dude, what the hell are you doing on your phone? And if you are doing this much, why haven't you gotten a laptop/netbook with a 3g card yet? Seriously, if you are consistently moving that much data on a 3-4" screen... something is wrong.
Click to expand...

I don't know where you get the quote me saying anything about anyone's apps other than there's crap in both app stores and how that has anything to do with the discussion on hand and I've never heard anyone on here say iPhone's apps are for kids cus that's just dumb but say goodbye to watching Youtube videos other than super occasionally, Slingplayer, video chat, or anything that uses any decent bandwidth which is usually all the cool stuff we can do on phones. What I said was that they need to have a higher tier for people who want to use more data. Now that Slingplayer is finally on Android I'm sure my use is going to go up even more so. Why would something have to be wrong for someone to use a lot of data on their phone? It's called a power user.
 
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TheStu said:
My roommate used to stream Pandora on his iPhone for 6+ hours, 5 days a week for over a year. That plus apps, and surfing and everything else he used approximately 6GB that entire year.
Click to expand...

. . . yeah, I'm going to have to call BS on this. In a 5 day work week, I stream Pandora about 6-8 hours each night through my Droid. Combine this with some light web browsing, Facebook app, Meebo, app downloads, and the occasional ROM download, I easily hit 2.5 to 3GB in under two weeks.

Your roommate could not possibly have been streaming Pandora like that for a year and only used 6GB.
 
Bateluer said:
He still wouldn't of used only 6GB for a year's worth of Pandora on WiFi, even though it wouldn't count against his quota. Its not feasible.

BTW
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/22/droid-x-users-gobbling-up-5x-the-data-of-other-verizon-smartphon/

Bait and switch anyone?
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I don't see the bait and switch. If they tell people who have NOT yet ordered that starting on X date it will no longer be unlimited.

If they go and change it in the middle of people then sure.

Plus you can take that quote from verizon exec several ways.

It was merely an exaggeration seeing as how she's a blond and she really has no idea.(I'm being mean) It is an attempt by Verizon to exaggerate usage and remind people at how great their network is. People chewing up data and it doesn't have any issue. Or it is an attempt to butter people up and intro tiered plans.
 
Bateluer said:
. . . yeah, I'm going to have to call BS on this. In a 5 day work week, I stream Pandora about 6-8 hours each night through my Droid. Combine this with some light web browsing, Facebook app, Meebo, app downloads, and the occasional ROM download, I easily hit 2.5 to 3GB in under two weeks. .
Click to expand...

i can confirm this. Streaming Slacker (pandora) for 6 hours a day 5 days a week with other mormal use i sit at ~ 4 gigs a month, and i have every month since i got my phone
 
Bateluer said:
A source of irritation, but easily circumvented using IM programs. Most, if not all, smart phones can run several different IM programs to connect to MSN, AIM, Facebook chat, YIM, etc.
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not everyone is signed onto a chat service though. I have friends who pretty much just text. It also works when you barely have a signal (at least, in my experience).

But I'd be happy with the 2GB cap if they cut the price to 15-20. leave 30 for 5GB. the tiny $5 cut is pretty lame.

It'll be sad when Sprint joins the fun, as they already have by charging $10 extra for 4G capable phones (under the guise of "these 4G phones are better, and you will use more data regardless of 3/4G, so we'll charge you more on that premise").
 
If these were to give me these "plans" at those prices sans voice/SMS, I'd be all over this in a heartbeat. I don't need voice/SMS.
 
randomlinh said:
It'll be sad when Sprint joins the fun, as they already have by charging $10 extra for 4G capable phones (under the guise of "these 4G phones are better, and you will use more data regardless of 3/4G, so we'll charge you more on that premise").
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If the customer lived in an area where Sprint had 4G coverage in combination with a 4G phone, then I could see charging extra. But their 4G network covers next to nothing right now.
 
Bateluer said:
. . . yeah, I'm going to have to call BS on this. In a 5 day work week, I stream Pandora about 6-8 hours each night through my Droid. Combine this with some light web browsing, Facebook app, Meebo, app downloads, and the occasional ROM download, I easily hit 2.5 to 3GB in under two weeks.

Your roommate could not possibly have been streaming Pandora like that for a year and only used 6GB.
Click to expand...

I am just going off of what he showed me on his phone. iPhone 2G, no Wifi, total data usage was around 6GB for the year. He must have been exaggerating how much he was using Pandora... I don't know.

ZeroCool, you were right, it was someone else on the app thing. They were talking about how their android phone isn't for dicking around on all day, hence why they didn't care about the lack of good game/entertainment apps.

This is what I get for posting at 2am after a long day 🙂
 
Sentrosi2121 said:
I work in a large office building. You would think that I could leech off some office networks unprotected WiFi, but because of where I work, they take network security very seriously. And I'm not about to go in and hack into a network either. The closest WiFi hotspot is 2 miles away. Now while I'm sure I'm a 'special' case, I am very glad that I got on AT&T unlimited plan late last year and am now grandfathered into it.
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Why would you be watching YouTube or any other application that isn't business related (which you would be able to run on your desktop) at work?
 
It would be like water companies realizing they have been sitting on a goldmine selling something so cheap that everyone uses and deciding you now have to pay $100 a month more if you use more than 20 gallons a month. Easy money since neither customer nor provider change anything. It's free cash.
 
exdeath said:
It would be like water companies realizing they have been sitting on a goldmine selling something so cheap that everyone uses and deciding you now have to pay $100 a month more if you use more than 20 gallons a month. Easy money since neither customer nor provider change anything. It's free cash.
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Except that water is a required resource, not a luxury like more than 2 GB of 3G data.

I don't agree with that they're doing but it's technically within their rights.

Personally I'd prefer true metered data use. Pay for exactly as much as you use. Of course if that was the case, it'd probably cost a lot more than $25 for 2 GB unless they included a minimum fee.
 
exdeath said:
It would be like water companies realizing they have been sitting on a goldmine selling something so cheap that everyone uses and deciding you now have to pay $100 a month more if you use more than 20 gallons a month. Easy money since neither customer nor provider change anything. It's free cash.
Click to expand...

They pretty much do that in California with electricity.

They set a base usage (artificially low) and charge rate X for that. If you go over the base usage you get charged Y for the amount over. If you go over that limit you get charged Z for that amount over.
 
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