Realistically.. Is a new data plan on Verizon worth it?

[anon(924308)]

My tween sibling wants a smartphone and a data plan for Christmas--our family has been with Verizon ever since we've had cell phones, so I don't think my mom wants to switch providers. I was just briefly checking out the plans, and it looks like the cheapest it'd be for a family of 5 w/ 1GB of data is $250/month: $40 for each smartphone, $50 for the plan itself. I think (not certain) my mom pays $150 for the five us currently (our plan is ancient).

What can you do with 1GB of data/month? Is that even enough for 1 person; how much data do you typically use a month? What does 1GB translate to--a couple YT videos, some webpages, and a handful of fb/twitter updates? Are in-store plans typically better, or is that pretty solid pricing? Even if only my sibling and I get smartphones, it'd still be $220 min for something superfluous to our lifestyle (well, for my sister an iPhone is a necessity, just like Uggs and iPads). If we go ahead with it, how much data would you recommend for two relatively active users?

Honestly, I don't think I really need 3G/4G. I have a 7" tablet but a 'dumb' phone, and I'm fine with that. I don't need to check my email/fb in a mall, and wherever I have something to do, I'll likely be somewhere with wifi (e.g. on campus, in a cafe, my apt); my GPS app has offline POI's, so I don't even need data for that. My mom doesn't need it for her profession, and my dad's retired (though he loves adopting technology he'll never need/use). Buuut if my sibling's getting a smartphone, I might as well piggyback and grab one too .

Are other providers' plans so great it's worth switching over, or is Verizon the best carrier for a family? Should I let my sister know this is one xmas wish that'll never come to fruition, like a puppy?

 

[jdfrye]

Looks like you are thinking of making the jump i did 1 year ago...is that big of a jump in price worth it? I have to look back and say> yes. only cause I'm a gadget guy. I rarley use 1 GB on my phone but I have been listening to streaming radio for about 3 hours a day and go a little over 2 GB.
I would start with 2 GB (700mb for each phone) and go from there..is it worth $100 more a month? Yikes I dont know! I do use Maps with live traffic data or search for the nearest store but not much surfing or youtube watching on my phone, with these habits I would use 700 mb/month. Could I go back to a dumb phone? Yes. but I would feel like I'm limiting myself in stuff I take advatage of now. I made the Jump but it was only $70 month more. Son uses about 1GB amonth of 2GB on his iPhone, Wife uses 100 mb of 4Gb on her android. I use 2GB of unlimited on my android
I switched from Sprint to Verizon when I got a smart phone for the first time and experienced their speed of the network. wow !!! glad I got out of my ETF from them changing my discounts. I came to Verizon and would only consider AT&T but the LTE on Verizon and the coverage is what I pay for and why I am willing to pay the premium for it.

 

[natehoy]

What can you do with 1GB of data/month? Is that even enough for 1 person; how much data do you typically use a month? What does 1GB translate to--a couple YT videos, some webpages, and a handful of fb/twitter updates?

I use my phone a LOT and would really have to struggle to get to 1GB a month. I don't stream video (though I do occasionally stream Pandora) over the cell connection, and I have WiFi at home and work.

Honestly, I don't think I really need 3G/4G. I have a 7" tablet but a 'dumb' phone, and I'm fine with that. I don't need to check my email/fb in a mall, and wherever I have something to do, I'll likely be somewhere with wifi (e.g. on campus, in a cafe, my apt); my GPS app has offline POI's, so I don't even need data for that. My mom doesn't need it for her profession, and my dad's retired (though he loves adopting technology he'll never need/use). Buuut if my sibling's getting a smartphone, I might as well piggyback and grab one too .

If you don't need it, don't get it. Your sis can get an individual data plan for her phone, you can be happy with your tablet.

Are other providers' plans so great it's worth switching over, or is Verizon the best carrier for a family? Should I let my sister know this is one xmas wish that'll never come to fruition, like a puppy?

Yes. If your sister doesn't NEED to be on Verizon, it's going to be cheaper for her to get a smartphone and go with someone like StraightTalk at $45 a month, if she really wants a data plan. StraightTalk has an option for using Verizon's towers on one of their smartphones, so the only real downside is that anyone on Verizon talking to your sister would use their Verizon minutes.

 

[darkmatter]

I just found out about this solavei thing, and I'm really looking into getting that for my wife.

I, too, have been looking at the shared data on vzw. I use my phone extensively on network, and I was looking at the history of data usage, and only a couple time did I go over 2gb, even then just barely, like 2.1gb. I'm waiting for them to do the double data thing again, or droid 5 bogo.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bulldogmoe7]

just curious how did you get them figures? i have 4 phones and a tab with the 10gb plan and its that price?
1 gb a month for 5 phones?? should look at maybe 1 gb p/phone minimum.
need to spend some time and do the data analysis on vzw.com. look at your data for the past 3-4 months and get an average that way

 

[anon(924308)]

A separate plan sounds like a good idea, probably the most realistic option. Maybe I'll get myself a separate plan--I'm still in college but I have a p/t job and could probably finance my own. I feel like a caveman with my flip phone lol.

just curious how did you get them figures? i have 4 phones and a tab with the 10gb plan and its that price?

Each smartphone itself costs $40/mo to use, so 5 smartphones = $200, + $50 for the min. 1GB plan itself. Include taxes and all those other charges, and it'd be closer to $300/month. I think our current (ancient) plan is ~$150-180ish + tax and all that; but I don't think we pay more than $200/mo. The 10GB plan itself--at least online--is $100. Maybe they have better deals in-store though.

I don't have a data plan or a smartphone, so I don't have data usage history on my phone. I consume a ton of media on my tablet, but I would never consume that much data on a cell plan. Looks like 1GB is equivalent to a few hours' worth of movies lol. knowing my sister, she'll use it to neurotically check her fb/twitter every two minutes, and watch endless YT videos . So a gig would probably last her a week max. An unlimited separate plan seems like the best way to go.

 

[bulldogmoe7]

4 smart = $160
1 tab = $10
10gb =$100
+ taxes and such
$270ish
thats my break down

 

[Mooncatt]

I would suggest individual plans for a first time smart phone user. Data usage can be all over the map due to habits, wifi access, network speeds (you're likely to use a fair bit more on 4G since you don't use as much time waiting on downloads and such). Putting a lot of people on a shared plan, you risk someone being a data hog and eating up all the allotment. On a side note, I recommend at least 4 GB/phone if wifi access is limited and you plan to use it to stream/download music and watch HQ YouTube videos.

Once you have some history, you can then decide if you want to combine the phones onto a shared plan and how much data you may need.

 

[anon(924308)]

HAHAHA my mom's only paying $142/month for 5 phones and unlimited minutes/texting, including tax and all that stuff; apparently our phones are only $10/month each. Our plan must be ancient, there's no way it'd be worth it to update it for one kid. I think we're for sure getting my sister a separate line then. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Bond32]

HAHAHA my mom's only paying $142/month for 5 phones and unlimited minutes/texting, including tax and all that stuff; apparently our phones are only $10/month each. Our plan must be ancient, there's no way it'd be worth it to update it for one kid. I think we're for sure getting my sister a separate line then. Thanks for all the advice!

Sounds like that's without data. If you want to add one data package I think you should be able to do it for $30 more. That gets you 2 gig per month on that line.

Edit: just read your OP. It would be much more money to incorporate data into that plan I believe. And 1 gig of data is nothing. Shared over 5 people is really nothing. It's possible just make sure everyone uses wifi or you set limits through Verizon to cut off data at certain points.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(924308)]

Sounds like that's without data. If you want to add one data package I think you should be able to do it for $30 more. That gets you 2 gig per month on that line.

Edit: just read your OP. It would be much more money to incorporate data into that plan I believe. And 1 gig of data is nothing. Shared over 5 people is really nothing. It's possible just make sure everyone uses wifi or you set limits through Verizon to cut off data at certain points.

Yeahh our plan is so ancient, it dates back to when lines were $10/month; now they're $30/month just for 'dumb' phones--so giving my sister data would mean we'd have to upgrade our whole plan to something essentially 2x as expensive, even with just 1gig.

I think either my sister won't get a smartphone for xmas (just like the puppy she's been wishing for, for the past ten years) or we'll get her an individual plan through another carrier. I can live without a smartphone for now, but if I ever get one I'd probably just move off my parents' plan. Thanks for the input!

 

[Bond32]

To he honest tmobile has some good cost savings plans. If you want an individual plan you could check with them. Much cheaper than Verizon.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(1458)]

Verizon works for me. In my opinion you get what you pay for. Just make sure to test the waters out to find the right GB usage for you. The 6 works perfect for me