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longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX

1 edit

longstreet

Member

hmm

Well, in light of this, I suggest those people that take issue with this decision find another carrier.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Verizon requires data plans on anything but dumb-phones now. Sprint requires a data plan on thier smartphones. T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones.

longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX

longstreet

Member

You can find a smaller carrier that doesn't force the data option, or you can get a different phone.


Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 recommendation

Karl Bode to iansltx

News Guy

to iansltx
Yes, so many choices.

longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX

longstreet

Member

As they like to say in some places . . .'the choice is yours'

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Clearly.

chasmn83
@comcast.net

chasmn83 to longstreet

Anon

to longstreet
I already switched my phone service to a little juke and purchased an ipod touch for the wifi... I even blocked my data so i dont get mb charges just to look at the verizon online store!!! Never had a problem with verizon service or customer service but not staying when contract over.

IT Guy
Ow, My Balls
Premium Member
join:2004-07-29
Las Cruces, NM
Cisco ASA 5505
Cisco Meraki MX64

1 edit

IT Guy to iansltx

Premium Member

to iansltx
said by iansltx:

T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones.
That's not exactly true. I had bought a G1 off of eBay and while I was required to use T-mobile's data network to register my device with Google's server, the G1 support tech. told me I was not required to have a data plan, although it was recommended since many of the functions of the phone relied to some extent on having a data plan to update and if an update caused my phone to request that I register the phone to Google's provisioning server, I would have to call into T-Mo's G1 support dept. and have them temporarily add my phone to the data plan again. Regardless, I shelled out the extra cash for the plan, but in retrospect and after several factors including my data usage being very low vs. my Wifi usage and being stuck on EDGE with no idea when 3g will be available in my area, I'm having second thoughts about shelling out that extra money every month that could be better spent on other bills..

Edit: This was back in March, so I know it's quite possible that policy has changed.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to longstreet

Member

to longstreet
I need a national carrier (school is 900 mi away from home) and want a carrier that has a decent network.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to Karl Bode

Premium Member

to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

Yes, so many choices.
especially with verizon. there is just sooooo much crap to choose from
broccoli
join:2007-11-29
Portland, OR
Draytek Vigor2860Vac
EnGenius EAP600
Obihai OBi100

broccoli to iansltx

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to iansltx
said by iansltx:

T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones.
No.

I have 3 WinMo phones (only one was bought from T-Mobile, and without a contract) and one S60 phone (bought while vacationing in Asia), and 2 lines with T-Mobile, only one of which has a data plan. If I attempt to use GPRS/EDGE/3G on the line with no data plan, I am prompted to subscribe to a data plan first, but I can still connect to WiFi APs. I have never been forced to get a data plan.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to IT Guy

Premium Member

to IT Guy
i'm in a 3g area and i have a g1. i can't imagine not having the data plan. when I am at home I use the wifi (its just faster), but when i'm out i'm on 3g and it works great. I'm not sure what a heavy user is for mobile data, but I use about 400mb a month on the g1. honestly cannot imagine doing much more than that with the limited battery on this beast.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102 to iansltx

Member

to iansltx
There are a couple of logical pieces that nobody has mentioned.

1. You can use an old 'dumb phone' (or purchase a gophone, etc). And use it

2. When you want to use data, add standard 'data', and use your PDA phone again.

There is no 'contract' on data, and you can easily swap out phones.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to broccoli

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to broccoli
You're probably grandfathered, though I don't doubt it's the case.
iansltx

iansltx to en102

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to en102
If you're on CDMA though, the carrier can disallow an ESN swap unless a plan is changed to that supports data for that particular device. On Sprint that means an Everything or Everything Data family plan. It's not the contract that bothers me, it's switching plans from the one I have now.

Yes, I'm on SERO, but I'd be willing to pay full price for a Samsung Moment if I could get it on my plan. By full price I mean $450...I'd still be saving money vs. giving up my plan and paying $180 for the device upfront.

I know some people may not share my feelings, but I feel that if someone buys their phone outright (no subsidy) they should be able to use it on whatever plan they want, though the carrier can reserve the right to say "you can't do that" when a user attempts to use a non-smartphone data package to power a smartphone.

The thing is, my $30 SERO plan has full data. I know this because it's powering my HTC Touch Pro right now. Just can't get an Anroid phone as far as I can tell...I have to upgrade my plan otherwise and there's no going back.

What's really funny is if I switch plans to an Everything plan, at $60 per month after a 15% discount from my school, Sprint is at that point obligated to let me upgrade at new customer price to a new phone each year, rather than every two years. At that point I'll be paying only $20 per month more than I am right now, so they aren't really getting any more profit than my po-dunk SERO plan, especially if I was willing to forego my upgrade credit to keep my plan (I am).

Telco_Tech
join:2009-05-18
Toledo, OH

Telco_Tech

Member

said by iansltx:

The thing is, my $30 SERO plan has full data. I know this because it's powering my HTC Touch Pro right now. Just can't get an Anroid phone as far as I can tell...I have to upgrade my plan otherwise and there's no going back.
I feel ya amigo. I recently let go of my SERO plan which was up for renewal because no decent phones are going to be allowed on that plan anymore - the Touch Pro2 was the last, and that phone was a huge letdown in my humble opinion (returned mine within two days). Yes, I'm paying double what I was with my beloved SERO plan, but at least Sprint made the transition easier by instituting the "Any Mobile, Anytime" perk for free, and Sprint Navigation has also been much more useful than I thought it'd be. So, I get those two features plus the ability to run any phone I want now, and I'm STILL saving a fortune compared to the schmucks that throw their money away on AT&T and VZ.

Just saying, you can either have SERO and hold on to your aging Touch Pro, or you can pony up the extra cash and have cool new phones - you can't have both.

- Tate
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Unfortunately true. I have SprintNav right now, hence the fac that i'd only be paying $20 more for service.

IT Guy
Ow, My Balls
Premium Member
join:2004-07-29
Las Cruces, NM
Cisco ASA 5505
Cisco Meraki MX64

IT Guy to ArrayList

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to ArrayList
said by ArrayList:

i'm in a 3g area and i have a g1. i can't imagine not having the data plan. when I am at home I use the wifi (its just faster), but when i'm out i'm on 3g and it works great. I'm not sure what a heavy user is for mobile data, but I use about 400mb a month on the g1. honestly cannot imagine doing much more than that with the limited battery on this beast.
Yeah, I gotta say it's been a bit of a let-down, especially considering how much more this tacks on to my bill. EDGE is practically useless. El Paso just had 3g rolled out and I had my fingers crossed that they would extend it up my way, but it hasn't happened yet. What really burns me is that my Gmail app doesn't ever display new messages. I've rooted the phone and I'm using the JesusFreak mod, but I was having that problem before rooting. Also, it never displays images in messages. My buddy has a G1 and has the same problem with his gmail. Pretty lame!

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

1 edit

ArrayList

Premium Member

all i can say is keep hounding customer service.. but of course, be civil. they make notes of complaints and, if they get enough, will fix the problem.

excellent pic by the way! great movie!
compton
join:2002-02-08
Brooklyn, NY

compton to iansltx

Member

to iansltx
said by iansltx:

Sprint requires a data plan on thier smartphones. T-Mobile requires a data plan on smartphones.


I am not so sure about that. Maybe on some smart phones. I bought T -Mobile Dash earlier this year and even though it is a smart phone I didn't have to get a data plan. Maybe they changed their policy since then.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

1 edit

djrobx to en102

Premium Member

to en102
said by en102:

There are a couple of logical pieces that nobody has mentioned.

1. You can use an old 'dumb phone' (or purchase a gophone, etc). And use it

2. When you want to use data, add standard 'data', and use your PDA phone again.

There is no 'contract' on data, and you can easily swap out phones.
What AT&T has become good at is associating the type of phone you have by IMEI. I think they perfected this process to ensure iPhone 3G users pay $30 instead of $20 for data. If you have the "wrong" data plan they text nag you and automatically add the "correct" data plan.

They can very easily do the same for other types of phones. Check the AT&T customer website after you insert your SIM chip into a smartphone. You'll see the phone type is updated within minutes.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to iansltx

Member

to iansltx
TM gives you the option to cancel your data plan.
hottboiinnc4

hottboiinnc4 to compton

Member

to compton
only the BB is required from what I have seen with TM. They don't count that as a smart phone though. It's an enterprise phone according to them.

The Dash 3G to this date does NOT require a data plan but they tell you that you should get one to get the most out of the phone.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to longstreet

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to longstreet
said by longstreet:

Well, in light of this, I suggest those people that take issue with this decision find another carrier.
And where do you go when EVERYONE is doing the same thing?

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties to en102

Premium Member

to en102
I went with a dumb phone and iPod Touch. I can talk on the phone AND surf/get email/chat...on nearest AP.

FastiBook
join:2003-01-08
Newtown, PA

FastiBook to ArrayList

Member

to ArrayList
My girlfriend and i do about 1 gig a month per phone on our iphones. Family plan saves like 50 bucks a month over 2 individual plans. Sorry you have limited battery. I used to worry about 3G and battery, but it just isn't an issue, as some have foolishly made a huge fuss about.

Speaking of 2G and 3G and voice vs data... Has anyone here ever heard the difference between a 2G and 3G radio conversation? The 3G is hugely a lot more data per sec.

- A

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

said by FastiBook:

The 3G is hugely a lot more data per sec.

- A
thats the idea, 3g provides faster speeds on the data half.

i have the t-mobile g1, not the iphone. the iphone has applications that are LOT more data intensive than the ones that are out so far for android. I can't remember exactly how many applications are out for iphone vs android, but i do remember that there is lot more. of course this has a lot to do with the fact that the iphone has been around for a lot longer.

N10Cities
Premium Member
join:2002-05-07
0000000
Asus RT-AC87

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N10Cities to longstreet

Premium Member

to longstreet
Oooooh... what an insightful post. Any other bits of wisdom you want to share with us? Hard to find another carrier when practically ALL of them do it.

Alltel did not do it until almost right before they were gobbled up by Verizon.

longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX

1 edit

longstreet

Member

It's your choice to limit yourself to a large well known carrier. Maybe you don't realize you have more choices.

The great deals are had with smaller, local outfits.

meister_sd
Premium Member
join:2006-01-29
La Mesa, CA

meister_sd to Telco_Tech

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to Telco_Tech
Now you know why people what to clone their ESN to other phones.