[Discuss] Verizon wireless "mandatory" dataplan

[Jerry Feldman]

On 07/08/2012 03:53 PM, Tom Metro wrote:
> Jerry Natowitz wrote:
>> My daughter wants a new phone... She doesn't want the smart phone
>> features, she wants the higher quality keyboard.
>> She found a place selling the Palm Pre...
> Is this something you expect to last a few years, or is it a "throw
> away" solution that only needs to last 12 months or less?
>
> If the former, then chances are good during that time your daughter will
> see her friends using phones that can run apps and she will want a phone
> that can do likewise. Once you've experienced a platform where you can
> get an app for just about any imagined need, its hard to go back to a
> more limited ecosystem.
>
> Given this, I'd be looking at Android phones, many of which come with
> keyboards. Unless the Pre is extraordinarily discounted, the Android
> option won't cost any more, as there are so many competing phones to
> choose from at just about any price point.
>
> If you are concerned about the data requirements for apps, you'll find
> that there are many apps that are still useful without data connections,
> but more importantly, WiFi is often available in the places where people
> spend most of their time.
>
> If a physical keyboard is a top concern, I'd limit your choices to
> models you can find at local stores so you can check them out. The
> slide-out keyboards make phones heavier, bulkier, and more prone to
> breakage. (You'll often see broken models on display in stores.)
>
> Thanks to our silly carrier lock-in model, you'll need to settle the
> carrier selection first, then see what phone you can get. (You'll pay
> for the phone once, but the carrier costs go on forever, so its the more
> significant choice.)
>
> Once you have a phone picked out, I would look at used options, such as
> eBay. You can definitely save a lot by getting a phone off contract,
> though if the subsidy is already built-in to your monthly plan, that may
> be a pointless endeavor unless you change to a different service, or are
> adding a line to an existing plan.
>
>
>> Some people say that smart phones will use the network stack rather
>> than MMS service for emails and photo/sound/video.
> Usually this isn't something that is happening beyond your control. The
> communication channel is typically dictated by the app you choose to
> use. Start your phone's texting app and it'll use SMS. Start the email
> client and it'll use TCP/IP. Some phones will try and confuse these, but
> if you go with a large ecosystem, like Android, there will always be
> alternate apps you can install that provide better control.
>
> In any case, this seems irrelevant. If you don't have data service, the
> phone can't use it. Are you afraid the phone's attempt to use data
> service will trigger a plan upgrade? Worse case scenario would be a
> situation where you have a limited data plan, where exceeding your data
> threshold costs more. But Android lets you turn off your cell data
> usage, typically used when roaming where data rates are high. Also many
> apps that download data in the background have options to only download
> when connected via WiFi.
>
>
>> She did some research and found that the data plan requirement only
>> applies to phones purchased from Verizon or an associated dealership.
> Bill Bogstad wrote:
>> I would suggest that you speak to Verizon directly about this.
> That seems like the best advice.
>
> I can see how Verizon would do this as a bundling approach. "If you want
> the iPhone from us, then you need to sign a contract for a plan that
> includes data." But I don't see how they'd justify it if you brought
> your own phone to join to an existing plan.
>
>
> Jerry Feldman wrote:
>> ...you may be better off with T-Mobile of MetroPCS.
> Scott Ehrlich wrote:
>> Take a look at Page Plus Cellular (pagepluscelluar.com)...a prepaid
>> service...a Verizon MVNO.
> It may be hard to beat the cost of adding a line to an existing family
> plan, but worth running the numbers. You can save a lot with pre-paid
> (or non-contract monthly) if you are bringing your own phone and don't
> want data.
>
> Another reseller to look at is Ting (https://ting.com/), a Sprint MVNO
> started by the guys behind Tucows. They let you build your own plan
> where you set the baseline quantity of voice, data, and text, and you
> only pay for what you actually use. They also allow you to put
> additional devices on the plan at $6/month per add-on device, and they
> all draw on the same pool of voice/data/text.
>
> I use T-Mobile as I like the idea of having a phone that works on two
> competing US carriers, as well as internationally. Of course now data
> networking (4G) is becoming more relevant than the voice bands, making
> the world standard GSM less relevant.
>
> (Anyone ever look at 4G interoperability? I see multiple previously
> incompatible carriers are now using or deploying LTE. I presume at
> minimum they'll be using different bands, which could in theory be
> supported by a multi-band phone.
>
> ...imagine what it would be like if you could go to BestBuy, pick any
> phone you want, pay for it in full without the real price being hidden,
> and use it on any carrier, because either 1. the towers are ran by a
> pseudo-government organization and the carriers only handle the back-end
> service, or 2. all carriers use a common set of national standards and
> share spectrum bands. #1 is never popular in the US, but cell equipment
> manufacturers have apparently figured out how to do #2. There's just no
> motivation for the carrier to adopt it.)
One possible thing to be careful of is the very low-end Androids like
Huwei.

-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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