DROID BIONIC Jelly Bean Update
- Thread starter Ry
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And that's why I don't understand the big deal about T-Mobiles whole no contract deal. From what I can tell doesn't change them from jacking up the price the more data you want. I've still got unlimited data w/ VZW and even though I do have reservations about it if I know I can keep it grandfathered in I'll probably re- for up another 2 years. If they try to move me to a shared plan I'll probably bolt.
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bhemi73
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- May 11, 2012
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So is there any truth to the rumors of being able to "sell" or "trade" your plan with someone? I'm grandfathered into unlimited but I know I'll be leaving when my wife's contract is up. If you can, I have no problem trying to make that happen for someone.
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If you try to renew your contract at any point for any length of time, you will lose unlimited. If you take the subsidized price on a new phone (and thereby signing another 2 year contract), you will lose unlimited.
The only way to keep unlimited now is to 1) do absolutely nothing...keep the same phone and let your contract run out, which will then switch to a month-to-month service under the same terms as your current contract or 2) pay the full retail price on a new phone ($500-800) and again let your contract transition over to monthly.
The only possibility for trouble there--especially if you choose to buy a phone at full price--is that, because you technically no longer have a current, valid contract, I don't see how VZW is in any way obligated to continue that service indefinitely. They could choose to yank your unlimited at any time with 30 days notice, and I doubt you could do anything to stop them because they're not bound by a contract--just a monthly agreement.
For multi line family plans several people have been able to use the upgrade on one line but transfer the phone to another line. If you have lines without data currently they are unaffected by the switch.
It's a short term solution but it's working for the time being.
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cindylike24
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- Feb 25, 2011
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I called Verizon when I was able to upgrade my phone through them and asked that exact question about keeping the unlimited data plan if I upgrade. I got told no I couldn't keep the unlimited data plan if I upgrade my phone. She had the nerve to tell me that most people who want to keep their unlimited data plan when they upgrade just buy the phone outright. Sorry but I'm not paying full price for a phone. I just decided that I will wait until my contract is up and look to go elsewhere for my cell phone service that has the unlimited data plans. Just a couple more months to go. Hate to leave Verizon but that unlimited data plan is a deal breaker for me. I got unlimited so that I wouldn't worry about going over on another data plan.
When I renewed my contract last time VZW they had already done away w/ unlimited data but I was still able to keep it. So now they're even trying to get the people grandfathered in out. Doesn't really make sense to p/o loyal customers who spend $200 bucks with them month after month. And it's not even an issue of being worried about going over if I didn't have unlimited. I'm not some mad data hog. On home Wi-Fi 70-80% of the time. If I'm renewing my contract w/ them I want the same services I had in my last one. It's no like it's a limitation and they can't provide the same thing, they just want the opportunity to suck more $$$ out of me if possible. Sorry for the ranting & being WAY off topic.
A couple of things:
1.) Sometimes I think people forget that most smartphones (especially the latest-and-greatest that we all love) cost far more than $250. Don't want to pay the retail price? Sign a contract and let the carrier subsidize it for you. Don't want to be locked into a contract? Buy it used or pay the unsubsidized price. You have options.
2.) VZW does not care about you or me. They DO have the best network and that costs money. They're doing what they can to maximize profits and the elimination of the unlimited data does that. The number of people who will leave altogether are comparatively minimal. Where will you go that's going to give you service that's just as good, with unlimited data, for less? Nowhere. They have the power.
3.) Do you use more than 2GB per month? Guess what - you're not the average consumer. They want you to pay more for using more...or they want you to leave and won't miss you.
I'm on a grandfathered Alltel plan with unlimited data and I pay something like $70-75 per month. I have never run out of minutes, gone over my text/MMS cap, and I've NEVER used more than 2GB a month, even when turning my phone into a hotspot for a group of folks a couple of times per year. I'm more annoyed at the fact that renewing a contract with VZW will give me less service for A LOT more money...despite the fact that I'm clearly not a power user.
My contract is up in June and I will likely just go month-to-month until they force me to leave, and then I'll go with Page Plus, or try to activate the GSM radio on my Bionic and go with Straight Talk on AT&T.
1.) Sometimes I think people forget that most smartphones (especially the latest-and-greatest that we all love) cost far more than $250. Don't want to pay the retail price? Sign a contract and let the carrier subsidize it for you. Don't want to be locked into a contract? Buy it used or pay the unsubsidized price. You have options.
2.) VZW does not care about you or me. They DO have the best network and that costs money. They're doing what they can to maximize profits and the elimination of the unlimited data does that. The number of people who will leave altogether are comparatively minimal. Where will you go that's going to give you service that's just as good, with unlimited data, for less? Nowhere. They have the power.
3.) Do you use more than 2GB per month? Guess what - you're not the average consumer. They want you to pay more for using more...or they want you to leave and won't miss you.
I'm on a grandfathered Alltel plan with unlimited data and I pay something like $70-75 per month. I have never run out of minutes, gone over my text/MMS cap, and I've NEVER used more than 2GB a month, even when turning my phone into a hotspot for a group of folks a couple of times per year. I'm more annoyed at the fact that renewing a contract with VZW will give me less service for A LOT more money...despite the fact that I'm clearly not a power user.
My contract is up in June and I will likely just go month-to-month until they force me to leave, and then I'll go with Page Plus, or try to activate the GSM radio on my Bionic and go with Straight Talk on AT&T.
- Nov 16, 2010
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Boom. Take for example the Galaxy S4. Supposedly $244 in parts alone. Let's factor in what else goes into making the phone. The months/years in R&D = engineering costs. Putting those $244 worth of parts together = manufacturing costs. Packaging up each phone and shipping them around the world = shipping and handling costs.
Have you seen how much Samsung spends on marketing? Marketing costs.
Google is subsidizing the true prices of the Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. Samsung, HTC, and LG don't have that benefit.
Want a cheaper phone not a Nexus? Look at Blu. They keep their costs down by having less engineering, less customization, and less marketing.
Boom again. Verizon Wireless is a business that is out to make money. They make money by taking our money. They provide a service you pay for. Don't like their service? Don't like the cost of their service? You have options. Don't like your options? Well then you're going to have make compromises. No one is perfect for everyone.
I'd imagine that "2GB average" all the carriers like to tout will probably be 3GB or 4GB by the time the year is over. But then again, you have customers that barely use 500MB per month.
All good points and I don't see myself leaving VzW anytime soon. The only problem I've had with their network, was due to my Bionic with its early data dropping issues (now all but nonexistent). I loved that I received unlimited SMS/MMS from the moment I got my Verizon contract and Bionic. AT&T I had unlimited data, but not unlimited texting; but AT&T can't be counted on for service outside of urban centers and college towns (couldn't even get cell signals inside VT's "Hokie Stone" academic buildings!!!). Really I only had a contract with the "Death Star," because they had the iPhone 3G which was really the best smartphone at the time. Fortunately, Android has become what I want and need from a mobile OS.
But, I really do long for unlimited data. Almost every time I compare the two, LTE performs faster on the DL/ULs than WiFi. My home wifi is FiOS 50D/25U MBs which performs great for my laptop and other wireless networked devices (just not on my Bionic). I really only use WiFi when battery life is low or DLing a major file or update.
I'm really tempted at trying some hard-nosed negotiating with Verizon, in the [highly] unlikely hope of securing an unlimited data plan. When on Guard duty with my engineering company, we sometimes spend a good deal of time out in the field. Paperwork still needs to be done, and that requires a data connection which VzW can usually provide. Sometimes, all it comes down to is who you talk to.
But, I really do long for unlimited data. Almost every time I compare the two, LTE performs faster on the DL/ULs than WiFi. My home wifi is FiOS 50D/25U MBs which performs great for my laptop and other wireless networked devices (just not on my Bionic). I really only use WiFi when battery life is low or DLing a major file or update.
I'm really tempted at trying some hard-nosed negotiating with Verizon, in the [highly] unlikely hope of securing an unlimited data plan. When on Guard duty with my engineering company, we sometimes spend a good deal of time out in the field. Paperwork still needs to be done, and that requires a data connection which VzW can usually provide. Sometimes, all it comes down to is who you talk to.
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I'm y'alls 'data hog' and I don't even watch vids or stream music. I'm in the toolies where we'll never have cable, much less fibre, so cellular IS our internet. Between monthly updates to aeronautical and nautical charts, birding databases, software updates on 2 phones and 2 computers, and average web browsing plus email, 5-6 GB is easy to hit.
I hereby thank the rest of ya fer helping subsidizing us po country folk ?_? 
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I hereby thank the rest of ya fer helping subsidizing us po country folk ?_? Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums
Possibly, though I think that most people would be surprised to find out how little data they really use. Smartphones aren't tablets - they're comparatively cumbersome for sustained usage.
Cisco Mobile Data Shows Surge in Smartphone Users, 4G Usage - Forbes
The average smartphone user used 342MB per month in 2012. Of course, that's averaged out over the entire year and it was likely much higher in Q4 than Q1. It's estimated that the average usage will hit 2GB in 2017. At first that seems too conservative (and, truthfully, I think it is), but things like WiFi offloading are becoming more prominent (look at Republic Wireless) and I think it's probably not going to grow as much as it seems it should.
Another interesting tidbit: the top 1% of users in 2012 consumed 16% of the overall data, down from 52% in 2011. That's a huge drop.
Ok so I've been playing around with the data usage utility. Using approximately in the neighborhood of 4-5 GB a month. Would that make me a a data hog? It doesn't seem like a lot to me. Or that I'd be bringing VZW network crashing to it's knees. The other surprising item was Pulse is the app that consumes the most data by far and I feel like I don't even use it frequently.
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you also have people like me who can use 8g one month and 1g the next. I liked the ability to use the data when it is needed and not have to worry about going over.
I know first post for me but I have been watching here for a WHILE and have learned so much from this thread. Thx everyone who contributes
I know first post for me but I have been watching here for a WHILE and have learned so much from this thread. Thx everyone who contributes
Let's say the monthly average among smartphone users is currently at 500MB (up 46% from the 2012 average). If you're using 5GB per month, you're using 10 times as much bandwidth as the average user.
The median personal income for 2011 in the United States was right around $50k. Does $500,000 dollars per year sound like a lot? Because that's a magnitude of 10 times higher than the median.
Two things: first, that was a silly comparison. I just wanted to put it in different terms
. Second, I'm not judging you (or anyone else, really) for their usage. I consider myself pretty "techy" and yet I use less than 2GB per month...I realize there are a lot of people who utilize their data far more than I do, and in different ways. I mean, you have it available, right? And you pay for it. Use it! But when things start to even out and they get rid of the unlimited plans, there's not really anything to do about it.I'm curious as to whether you folks who use more than 2GB have the same settings as I do. Ignoring actual app usage (streaming, browsing, etc), do you allow your appstores (Play and Amazon, namely) to download updates only on WiFi? I do. I feel like that alone could account for 100MB per month (which, when you compare it to something like 500MB as an average, is a decent chunk).
I use about 3-4 gb a month myself. I will really miss the option of watching Netflix during my commute to and from work. It is clear it is all about the $$. smart phones were made for data and now they want to severely cap you or make you pay dearly to keep that data. The writing is on the wall with my bionic it's lagging alot, speakers don't work with headphones and now the charging port is acting up. I'm most likely going to grab the galaxy s4.
I think the simple truth is that Verizon caters to their most likely customer, which sorry to say, isn't us on this forum. It's the married couple, with two teenagers, all with smart phones, using about 500 MB per phone. People were getting tired of paying for data on each and every phone, so they changed their plans so they could share data. I for one like their updated data plans. I have three smart phones on my line, and because of the new plan I save $30 a month. I decided to go with 2 gigs per phone, plus an extra 2 gigs for a buffer. As a whole plan, we hardly go over 3.5-5 gigs, total. We have our phones set to be on wifi when possible, which is actually nice to have. So, all in all, I don't think Verizon doesn't care about their customers. Anyone in sales and retail will tell you that if a company doesn't care about their customer, they will soon go out of business. The general public wanted data sharing plans. Verizon came up with a plan where they can still be profitable, but also give people what they want, all on their best-in-class network. If you want to pay less, go somewhere else, but then don't come back and complain that your service sucks. You get what you pay for. And millions and millions of customers of Verizon are 100% satisfied. I'm almost one of them. I'm 90% satisfied, because I wish they wouldn't be so strict about updates, locked phones, etc. But, I think they ultimately do that for the good of their customers too, so that their customers who don't know better don't break something and then their phones don't work. My dream world, I sign a waiver saying I can do whatever the heck I want to with my phone, but also I sign away my rights to customer service/returns when I break it. But, that is a different discussion.
You know, it might be a good thing, because now you can keep your eyes on the road...
bhemi73
Well-known member
- May 11, 2012
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I usually sit around 7-9 gb per month. I do have my widgets (like weather and sports) update as often at possible which is every 30 minutes. The thing I don't really about tiered data is I've had unlimited for 4 years now and my data habits are pretty steady at the 7-9 range. Buying the 10 gb data package does not sit well with me because that would increase my monthly bill by 100 dollars from what it is now. I know I could cut back and not listen to streaming music and not watch movies and sports unless I'm on wi-fi but I've spent so much time with this phone doing the things I'm doing I really don't care to cut back. If the average user is only using 2 gb per month then what's the issue with having everyone on unlimited? (I know money is the answer to that).
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