Internet killed the Texting Plan Star... AT&T SMS plans - Unlimited or NOTHING!

[Pliablemoose]

I just send an email if I want to send a picture.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I have a friend who complains the 200 texts plan is too little. He tells me to get Kik. He and his GF talk on it all day long, but out of my 300 phone contacts, 2 of them have Kik. There's another 3-4 but they are one time contacts (club promoters in Las Vegas) that I'm not gonna talk to.

So I ask him why is he forcing ME to get an app just to grab his attention because he can't pick up at work sometimes. Okay? So my argument was to get a text app like TextPlus for iOS. It gives you a # so you can text any # normally. This is why Google Voice also kinda works well. IT allows you to communicate via the same medium that EVERYONE ELSE can.... using a phone number. When you force people to settle on a certain app or chat platform, it divides groups. That's why at the end of the day, only the text replacement apps or Google Voice really is useful. But SMS and voice is really the lowest common denominator for all phones

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

yeah, i'm like wtf are we paying for a text plan when we can just use the Internets for it?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Well, I'm already on the 1000 text plan and I get grandfathered in. Pretty shitty change, though

 

[ponyo]

I just send an email if I want to send a picture.

Same. Never paid for a texting plan and never will. I have Google Voice set as the default texting app on SGS and it works extremely well on Android.

 

[notposting]

I have the $5 for 250 messages on VZW....don't like Google Voice for a couple reasons mentioned above, including separate number, and my phone kills data when it's asleep...SMS comes through no matter what.

 

[ponyo]

I give everyone my Google Voice number as my cell number. I don't tell them my real cell mobile number or even mention it to them. Giving people two different numbers will just confuse them. All calls to my Google Voice number is forwarded to my cell phone so people just think it's my cell number.

 

[xXFaNtAsMaXx]

Texts are too 2G/1990s-esque. and no, i'm not being facetious.

Since millions own smartphones can easily download IM applications and clients, why does one need SMS? it made sense when the feature phone was the dominant platform.

Because a lot of people don't have facebook, AIM, or whatever. Everyone with a cell phone has the ability to receive text messages.

I use Google Voice, so I don't pay for texting. I give my Google Voice number out to people, and they can call me and text me just like it was my regular number. GV is great, and anyone with an android phone should check it out. It integrates seamlessly. If you were to set it up for someone, they might not even know that they weren't just using the regular SMS app. The only downside is no MMS, but that's what email is for.

Free texting is much better than using something else that not everyone has.

 

[lupi]

but don't worry, that merger thing will make this all better.

 

[Fox5]

I like texting because it seems to be the most reliable way of communicating.

At least on tmobile it is. Data is the first thing to go. Voice follows soon after. But texts will send whenever a signal briefly becomes available!

It doesn't hurt that the texting plan on tmobile is just about dirt cheap either...

 

[pm]

I give everyone my Google Voice number as my cell number. I don't tell them my real cell mobile number or even mention it to them. Giving people two different numbers will just confuse them. All calls to my Google Voice number is forwarded to my cell phone so people just think it's my cell number.

Right, but then all outbound calls need to be made through Google Voice too... otherwise people think "who the heck is this?". The problem with outbound calls is that my contacts don't get sync'd automagically through Google Voice like my normal Outlook-sync'd contacts do. So I'll try to call a co-worker and then find out that they aren't in my Google Voice contacts. Plus I tend to do a lot of voice dialing and this (on an iPhone anyway) isn't enabled with Google Voice. About half or more of the calls that I make are voice dialed... Maybe Android would be easier... although I would think that the way that my company segregates data on an Android device for security reasons would prevent it from working very well on Android either.

What I found with my friends and family is that if I don't make outbound calls through Google Voice, they tend to update their contacts with my "real" number. And then they text to the real number... and that's the end of Google Voice for me.

 

[SunnyD]

It doesnt mention this on their site. It gives you the impression that you have to choose one of those crappy prepaid phones. Is what you claim a stated policy or is it a loophole that could close at any moment?

Can I buy this used Droid 2 and use that plan with it? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-Dr...0837592406?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item3cbb21cd56

It's always been BYOD. My wife is currently using a Droid 2 with it.

 

[sm625]

It's always been BYOD. My wife is currently using a Droid 2 with it.

wow that sounds pretty tempting. Is her Droid 2 unlocked? How far does 200MB of data actually go on a Droid 2?

 

[alent1234]

I give everyone my Google Voice number as my cell number. I don't tell them my real cell mobile number or even mention it to them. Giving people two different numbers will just confuse them. All calls to my Google Voice number is forwarded to my cell phone so people just think it's my cell number.

some of us want our unlimited mobile to mobile minutes

 

[AstroManLuca]

Because a lot of people don't have facebook, AIM, or whatever. Everyone with a cell phone has the ability to receive text messages.

Another thing is that IM apps tend to suck down batteries, which is a real problem for smartphones. I don't leave my IM app on my phone running in the background, I only turn it on when I need to get in touch with someone who isn't available otherwise.

 

[SunnyD]

wow that sounds pretty tempting. Is her Droid 2 unlocked? How far does 200MB of data actually go on a Droid 2?

What do you mean by "unlocked"? There's no such thing as an "unlocked" phone on CDMA networks.

Given we're on Wifi 85% of the time, the data allotment for what she does (email/facebook when needed - the rest of the time packet data is turned off) does fine.

some of us want our unlimited mobile to mobile minutes

PagePlus also has an "Unlimited" Talk'n'Text plan (Though only 50mb data). Unlimited voice minutes, not just mobile to mobile, but any type of line. Unlimited texting. $39.95/month (again, Callingmart during their sales for another 5% off on the pins, stackable, so you're looking at $37.96/month).

 

[hanoverphist]

dammit, every time i see the title of this thread that song pops in there when i read it.

 

[SunnyD]

dammit, every time i see the title of this thread that song pops in there when i read it.

That was the point... except every time I read it I see "Internet kill the Texting PORN Star."

 

[alent1234]

What do you mean by "unlocked"? There's no such thing as an "unlocked" phone on CDMA networks.

Given we're on Wifi 85% of the time, the data allotment for what she does (email/facebook when needed - the rest of the time packet data is turned off) does fine.


PagePlus also has an "Unlimited" Talk'n'Text plan (Though only 50mb data). Unlimited voice minutes, not just mobile to mobile, but any type of line. Unlimited texting. $39.95/month (again, Callingmart during their sales for another 5% off on the pins, stackable, so you're looking at $37.96/month).

$44.95 and only 50MB of data? what a rip off

all the prepaid plans are for single people. anyone in a family plan will never buy into it because it's a lot more expensive than leaving AT&T or verizon

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Another thing is that IM apps tend to suck down batteries, which is a real problem for smartphones. I don't leave my IM app on my phone running in the background, I only turn it on when I need to get in touch with someone who isn't available otherwise.

For IM+ for example leaving it on will kill your battery. This was already said when I talked about multitasking. And this is why we have push notifications for IM+ and Beejive on Android.

If you compare the two settings, when using push your device wont be continuously awake. By leaving the app open, your phone will never go to sleep if you look at battery info if you have Gingerbread.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

$44.95 and only 50MB of data? what a rip off

all the prepaid plans are for single people. anyone in a family plan will never buy into it because it's a lot more expensive than leaving AT&T or verizon

39.99 for AT&T, so he's essentially adding $5 for 50mb of data... seems worth it to me.

 

[sm625]

Given we're on Wifi 85% of the time, the data allotment for what she does (email/facebook when needed - the rest of the time packet data is turned off) does fine.

I figure it would be the same for me. Wifi mostly. I'm just curious what I can actually get for 200mb. I know that google maps can eat up a whole bunch of data.

edit: I just went to google maps and looked something up really quick. And I check the radar at weather.com. That took 15MB. That's crazy...

 

[SunnyD]

$44.95 and only 50MB of data? what a rip off

all the prepaid plans are for single people. anyone in a family plan will never buy into it because it's a lot more expensive than leaving AT&T or verizon

If you want "unlimited" (Throttled) data, go with T-Mobile's prepaid $50/monthly plan. Unlimited Voice/Text + 200mb unthrottled data + unlimited throttled (mostly unusable) data. Buy your T-Mo pins at callingmart for 10% discounts when on sale (or elsewhere for ~25-30% discount).