Ah, I remember not too long ago when many of the posters above were waiting with baited breath for the Verizon iPhone to debut. There would be a mass exodus to Verizon from the evil clutches of that dastardly at&t they said. Meanwhile I asked my three children who have smartphones (2 iPhones, 1 Droid) how they fare with their data plans with at&t. None of them come anywhere near 2GB per month. So it really is about bandwidth hogs who saturate their 3G connections 24/7/365. Sprint won't be far behind either. Deal with it.
Ditto on the Verizon thing (although I was surprised they didn't have more trouble when the iPhone came online—I guess they had enough experience with Android phones to prepare them.) [BTW for my family, I recently switched from US Cellular to Verizon—now I truly know what crappy voice service is.]
I'm all for "pay as you go." It just needs to be fair, simple, and not designed to drive people to pay for more than they need. Also the whole charge for messaging is silly. just include it as data (since that is all it really is. Heck include voice as data too! They should embrace the inevitable before Apple does it and puts them all out of business.)
A pay as you go plan that has nothing to do with any timing constraints would actually address their alleged concerns about data use. For example- $20 a gig- and when that gig runs out, you get charged another gig..... Even if it takes 5 months for that gig to be used.
Seems like that kind of plan actually addresses the cell companies' concerns about heavy data use... but then they lose their recurring monthly charges...
A pay as you go plan that has nothing to do with any timing constraints would actually address their alleged concerns about data use. For example- $20 a gig- and when that gig runs out, you get charged another gig..... Even if it takes 5 months for that gig to be used.
Seems like that kind of plan actually addresses the cell companies' concerns about heavy data use... but then they lose their recurring monthly charges...
i got an unlimited plan by simply saying i will be moving to the other service provider because a "relative" of mine who works there (when i dont actually) can sign me into their unlimited plan. each service would rather have you as a long term customer paying $50-70 a month than lose you to another service provider.
i've gotten huge discounts on phones because of this. seriously.
Where are you planning to go? Unless there is something new that we have not heard about, your choice is to pay or not have a smart phone.
I'll go to Sprint. I am fine with a high end Android phone. I have an original Droid now...
I had them for a couple of years. They are ok in my area. Better coverage than AT&T but not as good as Verizon. If Sprint has any sense at all it will launch a massive ad blitz to try and catch a bunch of new smart phone customers....( To be honest I do not think they are that smart)
This is the exact reason I got my iPhone 4 on Verizon when I did. It was pretty much guaranteed that this would happen, and being grandfathered into unlimited data is awesome. OTOH, this raises a lot of questions. Will I be able to add tethering in the future without "upgrading" to a tiered plan, or will they pull an AT&T on that one? They also say any existing customer will get to keep their unlimited data when upgrading to a new device, but how long will that policy last. When the iPhone 6 comes out and I want that, will that policy have already expired? Will I be able to change my messaging plan without having to touch my data? How about my minutes plan?
No matter how the companies try to spin this, not only is this bad from a cost perspective for the consumer, it just adds a ton of questions and headaches that we didn't have to deal with when it was an all-you-can-eat plan.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
I still refuse to have an iPhone (contract and monthly fees) and just continue to own APPL stock instead.
Why not just $10/ gig and an additional $10 for each gig over that? (messaging and tethering included.)
With that pricing, everyone would get a smart phone, everyone would get a data plan, everyone would use messaging, everyone would pay at least $10/month, everyone would pay as they go, everyone would save money, and . . . the carriers would make more money and have a much better reputation and image.
But no. Because they are scumbags at their core (like banks,) they prefer to play tricky pricing game, etc.
The first carrier to do this will make a lot of money.
i highly doubt someone owning apple stocks when they dont know know its AAPL not APPL.
unless you blindly throw your money at apple and pray to god it will grow.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
My only hope resides in the fact that when I started my unlimited plan it was AT&T Edge and I was grandfathered into 3G.
I agree.... Also to have to pay $20.00 more for tethering is insane....
When they try to force me off my unlimited plan in the future, I will terminate the service...
I also agree, I saw something that said exchange/business email was only going to be including in 5GB plan and above meaning I'm going to have to pay $50 just so I can sync my contacts, calendars, and email.
If you pay $20 more for tethering and it comes with 2GB more that's $10/GB (the standard overage), which means Verizon might as well be saying we choose how you get to use your data. They're make a lot more people happy, if they could use their data however they wanted and probably get extra money with overages anyways.
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
That's what grandfathered means, but that's not what Verizon is doing. When your contract expires you lose the unlimited data. Verified with Verizon on a new iPhone purchase on Saturday.
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
Actually, what they have publicly stated is that you can upgrade your phone to a 4G phone without losing your unlimited for $30.00 plan. However, if you add a line ( to a family plan ) or upgrade a feature phone to a smart phone you will lose your unlimited plan. They go further to say that if you already have a 4G phone, you can get unlimited tethering for $30.00 per month.
The last part is what caught my eye tough. It said that existing customers would be able to keep their unlimited plan for an un-specified period of time....
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
This is what I was told by Verizon on Saturday when buying a new iPhone for my wife. Your plan expires and your unlimited data is done. No other options.
If you let tghem rape you they will, there is just no other way it is going to be unless you men up and stand your ground and wallet is your biggest and most powerful weapon.
I've been with Verizon (Alltel) for several years, currently carrying three lines with unlimited data. My son recently lost his phone, and since he's up for a new contract anyway, it prompted me to look around at what other carrier's are offering. I was shocked to find Virgin Mobile, over the Sprint network, offering pre-pay unlimited data, unlimited text, and 300 voice minutes at $25/month! He's a teenager, rarely talks on the phone, but tears up text and data. Much more usage than me. So guess who his new service provider is.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
In that case, my next phone will be a regular flip phone, stuck next to an iPod Touch in my pocket. I suspect that'll be the case for lots of folks.
Where are you planning to go? Unless there is something new that we have not heard about, your choice is to pay or not have a smart phone.
There are smartphones out there not made by Apple. A friend of mine has an Evo on Sprint and it is a great phone (a little big maybe but for the price he is paying it is a great deal).
As other posters have pointed out, Apple's cloud concept is going to be practically pointless. And, with the faster 4G speeds promised, the Verizon service itself will be pointless.
I was going to switch 3 iPhones from ATT to Verizon. But, I was waiting until the iPhone 5 came out. I can say with absolute certainty that Verizon won't get my business with this new plan. And, I am not going to rush to switch. I'm not playing that game. They either want my business or they don't.
I'm not sure that I'll even upgrade my iPhone now.
This whole smart phone game is getting on my nerves. If I keep getting squeezed, I'm just going to give up my smart phone all together.
Phone makers better step up and use some of their political prowess to make things change, or their business model is going to come crumbling down on them.
Comments
Ah, I remember not too long ago when many of the posters above were waiting with baited breath for the Verizon iPhone to debut. There would be a mass exodus to Verizon from the evil clutches of that dastardly at&t they said. Meanwhile I asked my three children who have smartphones (2 iPhones, 1 Droid) how they fare with their data plans with at&t. None of them come anywhere near 2GB per month. So it really is about bandwidth hogs who saturate their 3G connections 24/7/365. Sprint won't be far behind either. Deal with it.
Ditto on the Verizon thing (although I was surprised they didn't have more trouble when the iPhone came online—I guess they had enough experience with Android phones to prepare them.) [BTW for my family, I recently switched from US Cellular to Verizon—now I truly know what crappy voice service is.]
I'm all for "pay as you go." It just needs to be fair, simple, and not designed to drive people to pay for more than they need. Also the whole charge for messaging is silly. just include it as data (since that is all it really is. Heck include voice as data too! They should embrace the inevitable before Apple does it and puts them all out of business.)
Seems like that kind of plan actually addresses the cell companies' concerns about heavy data use... but then they lose their recurring monthly charges...
A pay as you go plan that has nothing to do with any timing constraints would actually address their alleged concerns about data use. For example- $20 a gig- and when that gig runs out, you get charged another gig..... Even if it takes 5 months for that gig to be used.
Seems like that kind of plan actually addresses the cell companies' concerns about heavy data use... but then they lose their recurring monthly charges...
That would be a great idea.
i've gotten huge discounts on phones because of this. seriously.
Where are you planning to go? Unless there is something new that we have not heard about, your choice is to pay or not have a smart phone.
I'll go to Sprint. I am fine with a high end Android phone. I have an original Droid now...
I had them for a couple of years. They are ok in my area. Better coverage than AT&T but not as good as Verizon. If Sprint has any sense at all it will launch a massive ad blitz to try and catch a bunch of new smart phone customers....( To be honest I do not think they are that smart)
This is the exact reason I got my iPhone 4 on Verizon when I did. It was pretty much guaranteed that this would happen, and being grandfathered into unlimited data is awesome. OTOH, this raises a lot of questions. Will I be able to add tethering in the future without "upgrading" to a tiered plan, or will they pull an AT&T on that one? They also say any existing customer will get to keep their unlimited data when upgrading to a new device, but how long will that policy last. When the iPhone 6 comes out and I want that, will that policy have already expired? Will I be able to change my messaging plan without having to touch my data? How about my minutes plan?
No matter how the companies try to spin this, not only is this bad from a cost perspective for the consumer, it just adds a ton of questions and headaches that we didn't have to deal with when it was an all-you-can-eat plan.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
I still refuse to have an iPhone (contract and monthly fees) and just continue to own APPL stock instead.
Why not just $10/ gig and an additional $10 for each gig over that? (messaging and tethering included.)
With that pricing, everyone would get a smart phone, everyone would get a data plan, everyone would use messaging, everyone would pay at least $10/month, everyone would pay as they go, everyone would save money, and . . . the carriers would make more money and have a much better reputation and image.
But no. Because they are scumbags at their core (like banks,) they prefer to play tricky pricing game, etc.
The first carrier to do this will make a lot of money.
i highly doubt someone owning apple stocks when they dont know know its AAPL not APPL.
unless you blindly throw your money at apple and pray to god it will grow.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
My only hope resides in the fact that when I started my unlimited plan it was AT&T Edge and I was grandfathered into 3G.
* crosses fingers*
I agree.... Also to have to pay $20.00 more for tethering is insane....
When they try to force me off my unlimited plan in the future, I will terminate the service...
I also agree, I saw something that said exchange/business email was only going to be including in 5GB plan and above meaning I'm going to have to pay $50 just so I can sync my contacts, calendars, and email.
If you pay $20 more for tethering and it comes with 2GB more that's $10/GB (the standard overage), which means Verizon might as well be saying we choose how you get to use your data. They're make a lot more people happy, if they could use their data however they wanted and probably get extra money with overages anyways.
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
That's what grandfathered means, but that's not what Verizon is doing. When your contract expires you lose the unlimited data. Verified with Verizon on a new iPhone purchase on Saturday.
i highly doubt someone owning apple stocks when they dont know know its AAPL not APPL.
unless you blindly throw your money at apple and pray to god it will grow.
Doubt all you want. Perhaps you are right and I bought the wrong stock!
All I know is that I bought at $20-60/share before the split, and more since, and now its worth @$350/share.
(I don't memorize the stock symbols. I just click the button in my Scotrade account.)
No the whole point of the plan being "grandfathered" is you keep your plan if you stick with the carrier after your contract expires.
As someone above pointed out, the carriers will likely use the shift to LTE to move people out of their grandfathered plan into new tiered 4G plans, since technically we're getting unlimited 3G data not 4G data
Actually, what they have publicly stated is that you can upgrade your phone to a 4G phone without losing your unlimited for $30.00 plan. However, if you add a line ( to a family plan ) or upgrade a feature phone to a smart phone you will lose your unlimited plan. They go further to say that if you already have a 4G phone, you can get unlimited tethering for $30.00 per month.
The last part is what caught my eye tough. It said that existing customers would be able to keep their unlimited plan for an un-specified period of time....
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
This is what I was told by Verizon on Saturday when buying a new iPhone for my wife. Your plan expires and your unlimited data is done. No other options.
I do not expect Verizon to allow people to remain on the unlimited plan for more that a year or two. I suspect that as soon as your contract expires, you will be forced to the new plan....
In that case, my next phone will be a regular flip phone, stuck next to an iPod Touch in my pocket. I suspect that'll be the case for lots of folks.
Where are you planning to go? Unless there is something new that we have not heard about, your choice is to pay or not have a smart phone.
There are smartphones out there not made by Apple. A friend of mine has an Evo on Sprint and it is a great phone (a little big maybe but for the price he is paying it is a great deal).
In that case, my next phone will be a regular flip phone, stuck next to an iPod Touch in my pocket. I suspect that'll be the case for lots of folks.
At least you'll have simultaneous voice and data. When you have data at all. Which won't be when you need it.
I was going to switch 3 iPhones from ATT to Verizon. But, I was waiting until the iPhone 5 came out. I can say with absolute certainty that Verizon won't get my business with this new plan. And, I am not going to rush to switch. I'm not playing that game. They either want my business or they don't.
I'm not sure that I'll even upgrade my iPhone now.
This whole smart phone game is getting on my nerves. If I keep getting squeezed, I'm just going to give up my smart phone all together.
Phone makers better step up and use some of their political prowess to make things change, or their business model is going to come crumbling down on them.
I'd hate to give up my smart phone, but I will.