Explain The Fee: "Premium Data"

[Gigity]

Another point is AT&T is 2GB of 3G data. Time will tell what AT&T charges for LTE when it deploys.

Another point is ATT's minutes roll over, Sprints don't. Another point is Sprint offers 2 forms of FREE turn by turn navigation, ATT offers none. Another point is Sprint forces you to pay for unlimited texting by including it in the price, whereas ATT doesnt (and anyone with a droid or iPhone that's using the carriers texting method is using an inferior app).

For me to get an EVO, it would cost me 79 a month plus all the stupid taxes. For me to get the iPhone 4 its going to cost me about 60 bucks plus stupid taxes.

 

[Gigity]

You have to jailbreak your iPhone for this to work, and have prowl if you want to get any kind of notifications. Its not ideal. And for many, its not an option.

This is simply not true at all. IM+ and Beejive both continue to run and both notify you immediately upon receiving a new message via push messaging. TextFree does the same thing. No jailbreaking required.

 

[mvpilot172]

I would guess they believe that all Evo owners will use the Sprint network to stream HQ videos from youtube and video chat with everyone, thus using more data. The data is capped at 5gb now (it may be a soft cap if you go over occasionally but it's still there). You are paying for unlimited data which is not capped, so I say stream 100gb/mo. I rarely use 1gb of data, I'm on WiFi all the time inside, so to me it still seems like a BS fee. I think it should be an option or Sprint should just offer a tier but make it cheaper to compete.

 

[drnez]

This is simply not true at all. IM+ and Beejive both continue to run and both notify you immediately upon receiving a new message via push messaging. TextFree does the same thing. No jailbreaking required.

Ah ya, I forgot you could do notification through IM if you really wanted..

Regardless, you still need to jailbreak to install the GV app.

 

[emeraldayotte]

I'm still amazed that people are upset by this fee. It's very simple, if you don't like it...DON'T get the Evo. Could it be any easier?

I continue to say that even with this fee, feature-for-feature, Sprint is STILL cheaper than all the other carriers and 4G to boot.

 

[drnez]

For me to get an EVO, it would cost me 79 a month plus all the stupid taxes. For me to get the iPhone 4 its going to cost me about 60 bucks plus stupid taxes.

Its actually $65, the new data plans from AT&T are $25. Also assuming 450 minutes a month is enough for you. For most people, its not. Rollover is kind of a moot point when 450 minutes probably wont last the average power user.

AT&T's nights also start 2 hours later than Sprint, so that could hurt as well.

I was with AT&T for 4 years prior to moving to sprint a couple weeks ago. I was a premier customer through my employer, and got some decent discounts. In the end, it was costing me more money for the packages I needed (2 phones, + data/text), than it does now with Sprint. AND I get access to 4G, and dont have to worry about going over my monthly minutes like I was doing on a regular basis with AT&T.

 

[MrLogan13]

How about... "the phone really costs $440 with a two year contract but we know that customers have a max price point of $199 for a smartphone. So instead of losing customers by making it too expensive to purchase upfront for $440, we are giving you a break and only charging you $199 upfront (with the extra $240 coming to us by charging you $10/mo for the 2 years of the contract)"

That's why they make you sign a two year contract. The contract is how they subsidize the price of the phone, not the $10 fee.

 

[MrLogan13]

I'm still amazed that people are upset by this fee. It's very simple, if you don't like it...DON'T get the Evo. Could it be any easier?

I continue to say that even with this fee, feature-for-feature, Sprint is STILL cheaper than all the other carriers and 4G to boot.

The fee is not so much upsetting as the fact that there is NO explanation to what the fee is for. If they say its for 4G, or to develop 4G, or to offset higher data use, I'm cool with that. I just want to know why.

 

[gbm85]

 

[Gameboy70]

How many Premium Data fee protest threads in the AC forums does this make?

 

[ap3604]

How many Premium Data fee protest threads in the AC forums does this make?

Too... Many...

Can't... Take... Any... More... Whining...

(Commits Seppuku)

 

[Gigity]

Too... Many...

Can't... Take... Any... More... Whining...

(Commits Seppuku)

Considering the number of people asking it, seems like its a valid reason NOT to buy an EVO. And that's what Sprint didn't need. They need reasons TO buy them. Providing yet another reason for people to either go to Apple or stay with Apple is a huge, stupid mistake, especially for a company in such dire need for customers as Sprint is.

I'm not complaining about it, since I don't own one, nor will I own one as long as the idiotic fee is in place and 4G isn't. I voted with my dollar. I do agree however that if you bought one without looking into the fees etc, now's the wrong time to whine about it, but fortunately for you there's 3 more weeks for you to return the phone for a full refund.

 

[Robbie317]

Coming from AT&T and the iPhone even with what I call the $10 EVO tax, My monthly plan comes up $10 per month cheaper than what I would be paying for an iPhone with 450 any time minutes. Except I get any mobile any time which is probably 90% of my phone calls any way, and my nights and weekends start earlier so I save again there.

Making it a stand alone $10 fee was just dumb on Sprints part. It stands out like a sore thumb and got all these people in an uproar. Specially bloggers and other "reporters" who really tried to make a bigger deal out of the $10 than it really was. The only people the $10 really punishes are current and long time Sprint customers..... They had unlimited every thing and now if they move from a Moment or Hero or Blackberry to the EVO they are getting "TAXED" an extra $10.....

I think Sprint would have been smart to leave their current customers alone. They then should have changed their $69.99 and $99.99 data plans to a capped plan at say the 5mb per month people keep talking about (or less 2mb like AT&T's top tier plan). Then offered unlimited talk, data and web for $10 more per month. Then also to rub it in AT&T's nose if you go over your 5 or 2 mb per month in any month no matter how much over you go make it a simple one time bump of $10. They still would have been cheaper than AT&T and Verizon on comparable iPhone or Droid plans and would have avoid all the fuss created by the $10.00.

 

[TheOnlyMorgan]

I would not accept a 5MB a month cap Robbie. Plus I'd rather pay an extra $10 for unlimited(I'd even take bandwidth throttling along with that, but that's not actually what that throttling story was about, check update here) than have a cap enforced on top of the plan I originally had which I was told was unlimited. Plus a 5MB cap, I'd kill that in a couple minutes.

 

[Gigity]

Coming from AT&T and the iPhone even with what I call the $10 EVO tax, My monthly plan comes up $10 per month cheaper than what I would be paying for an iPhone with 450 any time minutes. Except I get any mobile any time which is probably 90% of my phone calls any way, and my nights and weekends start earlier so I save again there.

Making it a stand alone $10 fee was just dumb on Sprints part. It stands out like a sore thumb and got all these people in an uproar. Specially bloggers and other "reporters" who really tried to make a bigger deal out of the $10 than it really was. The only people the $10 really punishes are current and long time Sprint customers..... They had unlimited every thing and now if they move from a Moment or Hero or Blackberry to the EVO they are getting "TAXED" an extra $10.....

I think Sprint would have been smart to leave their current customers alone. They then should have changed their $69.99 and $99.99 data plans to a capped plan at say the 5mb per month people keep talking about (or less 2mb like AT&T's top tier plan). Then offered unlimited talk, data and web for $10 more per month. Then also to rub it in AT&T's nose if you go over your 5 or 2 mb per month in any month no matter how much over you go make it a simple one time bump of $10. They still would have been cheaper than AT&T and Verizon on comparable iPhone or Droid plans and would have avoid all the fuss created by the $10.00.

Exactly. All Sprint managed to do was dictate the reviews. Every single reviewer is forced to point out the added cost of buying the phone, and in pointing that out they were also forced to mention how few areas actually have 4G. This was just a moronic move on Sprint's part. Get people to buy the phones first! Then slam them. That's what ATT was smart enough to do.

 

[Robbie317]

I would not accept a 5MB a month cap Robbie. Plus I'd rather pay an extra $10 for unlimited(I'd even take bandwidth throttling along with that, but that's not actually what that throttling story was about, check update here) than have a cap enforced on top of the plan I originally had which I was told was unlimited. Plus a 5MB cap, I'd kill that in a couple minutes.

What I was saying is that if you were a current Sprint customer you kept your old plan like nothing changed. Make the $69.99 and 99.99 data plans a capped plan instead of calling them unlimited. Then you offer unlimited data on top of the current plans for a mere $10 per month.

So any "NEW" Sprint or just new smart phone customer pays the $10 extra or gets a capped plan. AT&T now has capped plans and Sprint STILL would have been cheaper and wouldn't have made the $10 fee stand out like it was some kind of punishment for buying and using an EVO.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

Too... Many...

Can't... Take... Any... More... Whining...

(Commits Seppuku)

(Plays sudoku) See what I did thar?

The fee is fine, now that it's clear they won't be throttling our bandwidth.

 

[Robbie317]

Exactly. All Sprint managed to do was dictate the reviews. Every single reviewer is forced to point out the added cost of buying the phone, and in pointing that out they were also forced to mention how few areas actually have 4G. This was just a moronic move on Sprint's part. Get people to buy the phones first! Then slam them. That's what ATT was smart enough to do.

Yeah most reviews specially iPhone fan's hammered home the $10 charge as a good reason NOT to switch to Sprint for an EVO when in fact even with the $10 charge your getting a better deal than you would on an iPhone plan or a Droid plan with Verizon.

It was a weak argument and it didn't seem to push too many people off of an EVO as they probably sold 200,000 plus the first weekend and are sold out almost every where. The way the $10 fee was explained maybe cost Sprint 10 - 15% of their possible sales..... Since she is sold out and breaking Sprint records I think Sprint is happy.. $10 a month times 200,000 customers is $2 million bucks a month EXTRA in their pockets... I am sure they are plenty happy...

 

[VKitty]

Considering the number of people asking it, seems like its a valid reason NOT to buy an EVO. And that's what Sprint didn't need. They need reasons TO buy them. Providing yet another reason for people to either go to Apple or stay with Apple is a huge, stupid mistake, especially for a company in such dire need for customers as Sprint is.

I'm not complaining about it, since I don't own one, nor will I own one as long as the idiotic fee is in place and 4G isn't. I voted with my dollar. I do agree however that if you bought one without looking into the fees etc, now's the wrong time to whine about it, but fortunately for you there's 3 more weeks for you to return the phone for a full refund.

They problem there is people want the EVO stats, WITHOUT the $10 fee. They figure if they complain enough they will get it. (then complain to get it changed)

Sprint is very smart in this way, get a phone that is more like a portable HD video player, with a Nice big screen to view it on. Tell them they also can take video in HD. Then tell them they will get (some sooner then others) 4g very fast internet access to surf the web, again on the large screen. Add in music, games on a big screen, sprinkle with social networking. You have a phone that people would pay and Extra $20 a month to get.


Why do you think they sold out this fast. People want portable HD entertainment with wireless access, and social networking/phone calling on one devices. People will jump through hoops for whatever phone delivers this the best.

 

[Gigity]

They problem there is people want the EVO stats, WITHOUT the $10 fee. They figure if they complain enough they will get it. (then complain to get it changed)

Sprint is very smart in this way, get a phone that is more like a portable HD video player, with a Nice big screen to view it on. Tell them they also can take video in HD. Then tell them they will get (some sooner then others) 4g very fast internet access to surf the web, again on the large screen. Add in music, games on a big screen, sprinkle with social networking. You have a phone that people would pay and Extra $20 a month to get.


Why do you think they sold out this fast. People want portable HD entertainment with wireless access, and social networking/phone calling on one devices. People will jump through hoops for whatever phone delivers this the best.

I'm passing on it for several reasons: the upcharge for 4G that I don't have access to is idiotic, Sprint's service in my area is as bad as ATTs, and lastly for whatever reason (processors maybe?) the Android phones can't seem to handle games like the iPhone can, and I find myself playing a ton of games on my wife's 3GS. I'd also be more inclined to get one if Kindle and BN had apps out already. I can't believe its taking Amazon this long to produce an app similar to the one they released on the iPhone. The larger real estate of the EVO would be ideal for reading on the go.