elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA | News? The article features Verizon iPhone subscribers.
Back-of-the-napkin estimates for VZW iPhone is $120/month for one phone, slightly less for multiples.
Not sure how this qualifies as news. Verizon has always been the premium carrier, with not quite half of America's contracting customers choosing to pay more for the perceived quality of their service. Likewise for Apple - the masses are willing to pay a hefty price to have the latest fashion trend.
No one is forced to buy a "smart phone", sign a contract, or choose a contract carrier. |
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 timcuthBraves FanPremium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
 ·AT&T Southeast
| A few months ago, my oldest son got an AT&T iPhone. The family phone bill is now up by about $25-30 per month.  In his defense, he did give us $300 to pay for the increased bill.
Personally, I don't want a smart phone (for this very reason). Hell, I dont really even want my non-smart phone.
Tim
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"Life is like this long line, except at the end there ain't no merry-go-round." - Arthur on The King of Queens
~ Project Hope ~ |
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| said by timcuth:Personally, I don't want a smart phone (for this very reason). Hell, I dont really even want my non-smart phone.
Tim
In my case, I have to have a phone as there is no land line at my house. My other roommates have cell phones as well. I don't care for having a smart phone as well, but I can tell (as you probably can) the kinds of non-smart phones being put out are pure crap/junk.
Ever since hearing about the Samsung Galaxy SIII (and the good reviews), I've been wanting one. Until they get rid of their data plan requirement (I know, when hell freezes over), then I might get a smart phone.
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Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian. Robert Orben
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said by timcuth:Personally, I don't want a smart phone (for this very reason). Hell, I dont really even want my non-smart phone.
If you really use your phone very little, perhaps you should consider one of the prepaid services.
T-Mobile will give you 1000 minutes for $100 for a whole year. If you use VoIP at home, work in an office, and don't particularly like to browse the web on a 4-inch screen, then 1000 minutes might very well last you a whole year.
The tradeoff is coverage. There is no roaming service on prepaid. |
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Reviews:
 ·Time Warner Cable
 ·Verizon FiOS
 ·voip.ms
| reply to elray
There is no premium carrier anymore. AT&T/VZW prices are effectively the same and Sprint is aggressively raising prices (without the network) to almost the same me too level, all this while the shift to LTE will be a bonanza because the costs are much lower.... |
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sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 | reply to tanzam75
Roaming service in general isn't a bargain, it costs quite a bit to roam (or used to). |
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 morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | reply to elefante72
Premium as in coverage and quality. AT&T may charge the same as Verizon, but it is an inferior product. |
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bemis
join:2008-07-18
Reading, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to elray
No one is forced to buy a "smart phone", sign a contract, or choose a contract carrier.
I think my biggest issue is that in 2005-2007 I had a data card for my PC. I paid $60/mo for data. At the time this was rare enough to have, business users might have it, but not much else.
The prices for these services have increased as more users have started using them.... this is not typically the way pricing of these sorts of services work.
The industry is taking advantage of the fact that people feel like they "need" these things today. There is collusion among the 3-4 US wireless carriers to keep their prices high and about the same. With no actual competition there is no way for prices to drop. |
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timcuthBraves FanPremium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to tanzam75
said by tanzam75:said by timcuth:Personally, I don't want a smart phone (for this very reason). Hell, I dont really even want my non-smart phone.
If you really use your phone very little, perhaps you should consider one of the prepaid services. T-Mobile will give you 1000 minutes for $100 for a whole year. If you use VoIP at home, work in an office, and don't particularly like to browse the web on a 4-inch screen, then 1000 minutes might very well last you a whole year. The tradeoff is coverage. There is no roaming service on prepaid. Thanks, but as I am with the rest of my family on a family plan, my personal part of the service costs me only $10/mo plus taxes and fees. And I have unlimited roaming and nationwide long distance. So, switching to prepaid would do me very little good and could end up costing me.
Tim
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"Life is like this long line, except at the end there ain't no merry-go-round." - Arthur on The King of Queens
~ Project Hope ~ |
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timcuthBraves FanPremium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to Boricua65
said by Boricua65:I don't care for having a smart phone as well, but I can tell (as you probably can) the kinds of non-smart phones being put out are pure crap/junk.
Probably, but my phone is old (2007 model) and it is actually pretty nice. It is a Samsung A-717 3G phone of good quality. I've never even needed to replace the battery (knock on wood).
Tim
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"Life is like this long line, except at the end there ain't no merry-go-round." - Arthur on The King of Queens
~ Project Hope ~ |
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Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to tanzam75
That's the plan that my wife and I have used since 2006 and it's great. Yes, the coverage is not the greatest, but we don't live and die by our cell phones thus the plan is perfect. We would love get smart phones, but until the pricing plans come down to earth we're good. |
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 japPremium
join:2003-08-10
038xx
1 edit | reply to Boricua65
said by Boricua65:Ever since hearing about the Samsung Galaxy SIII (and the good reviews), I've been wanting one. Until they get rid of their data plan requirement (I know, when hell freezes over) No penalty for smart phones on T-Mobile. Services (voice, sms, data) are sold ala carte same price regardless of device. I pre-pay flat $30/mo for 1500 mins + 30MB of data + SMS disabled at network level. Only US network I know of that allows SMS=off. Haven't ever logged-in to data network. National service.
Phone is basic old flip model but intend to test an bleeding edge Android on it sometime this winter. Goal is to assess to what extent it can be made to play desktop substitute using large display + WiFi and still be a voice-only phone. |
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