Settle for Thunderbolt or wait?

[YourMobileGuru]

Seems we have a discrepancy here regarding what phones can do voice and data at same time on current 3g signal....

Thunderbolt was the first to have that ability, but according to deice reviews Charge and Revolution bot have the ability as well, and one can assume Bionic will as well.. 1x Advanced Diversity I think is what they call it.

 

[zrxoa1]

Cool, thank you. Now if I just knew the truth about what will happen to my unlimited data plan if I upgrade from my Dinc to a 4G phone in the future...

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Cool, thank you. Now if I just knew the truth about what will happen to my unlimited data plan if I upgrade from my Dinc to a 4G phone in the future...

In all likelyhood you will be just fine but no one seems to mow 100% for sure since training materials are not explicit on this issue.

The data plan that the TBolt and other 4G devices are using is called Unlimited Data For Smartphones, and appears to be the same plan as my Droid Incredible has. No mention 4G in the plan itself. However the TBolt also has a "feature" for 4G data where the DInc line does not because the device requires it. I don't believe it will be required to change the data plan at all. I could be wrong of course but I very much doubt I am.

 

[PhreePhlyer]

In all likelyhood you will be just fine but no one seems to mow 100% for sure since training materials are not explicit on this issue.

The data plan that the TBolt and other 4G devices are using is called Unlimited Data For Smartphones, and appears to be the same plan as my Droid Incredible has. No mention 4G in the plan itself. However the TBolt also has a "feature" for 4G data where the DInc line does not because the device requires it. I don't believe it will be required to change the data plan at all. I could be wrong of course but I very much doubt I am.

Which is, of course, crap for the customer. I ended up spending $260 to upgrade based on the information in the store. I was quite happy with my Dinc, and would have waited 6 months to update, but based on the information given by sales associates, supervisors, and someone at a higher level (someone the supervisor called for clarification), they were very certain that an upgrade to 4G after the 7th would put me in the tiered plan.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Which is, of course, crap for the customer. I ended up spending $260 to upgrade based on the information in the store. I was quite happy with my Dinc, and would have waited 6 months to update, but based on the information given by sales associates, supervisors, and someone at a higher level (someone the supervisor called for clarification), they were very certain that an upgrade to 4G after the 7th would put me in the tiered plan.

Part of the problem here is that a lot of people have not been fully briefed on all of the ins and outs of it. The leaked training documents to date have focused on how to spin this to the customer, and not told a LOT of details.

Imagine for a minute that you are a customer service rep at a fictional company. Word leaks out that your company is making some unpopular changes and customers/clients start asking you about it. Neither you nor your supervisor have been fully informed of all of the details. Customers and prospective customers/clients as you for your intepretation of it.

One interpretation will piss them off. The other probably not so much BUT if you are wrong they will come back and complain to you after the fact. What do you do? Do you tell them what they want to hear or do you tell them the "safer" answer?

In this case they are taking the "safe" answer and letting people do early upgrades and whatnot, allowing them to update and get grand-parented in before the 7th rather than have people come back pissed later after they get a Bionic and the computer forces them on to a tiered data plan and they can do nothing about it if it does.

 

[zrxoa1]

Well my decision is this....I am quite happy with my Incredible and my wife is quite happy with her Fascinate. Down the road if we decide to upgrade to new 4g phones, if VZW does not allow us to continue with unlimited data, I will simply drop Verizon and grab up some nice unlocked phones and do the Walmart family plan (powered by T-Mobile) and have nice touch screen phones and do data on WiFi only. Be cheaper anyway....

 

[PhreePhlyer]

Part of the problem here is that a lot of people have not been fully briefed on all of the ins and outs of it. The leaked training documents to date have focused on how to spin this to the customer, and not told a LOT of details.

Imagine for a minute that you are a customer service rep at a fictional company. Word leaks out that your company is making some unpopular changes and customers/clients start asking you about it. Neither you nor your supervisor have been fully informed of all of the details. Customers and prospective customers/clients as you for your intepretation of it.

One interpretation will piss them off. The other probably not so much BUT if you are wrong they will come back and complain to you after the fact. What do you do? Do you tell them what they want to hear or do you tell them the "safer" answer?

In this case they are taking the "safe" answer and letting people do early upgrades and whatnot, allowing them to update and get grand-parented in before the 7th rather than have people come back pissed later after they get a Bionic and the computer forces them on to a tiered data plan and they can do nothing about it if it does.

This isn't a fictional company. You're trying to tell me that Verizon didn't think this one through, that they haven't been planning on moving to tiered data plans for some time now? Please, the scenario I am presenting is not out of the ordinary. I suspect the vast majority of existing data customers fall into this category.

The new program is happening in a week and the sales associate still don't know the scoop? There really is no excuse for that. Verizon isn't some 3rd tier, 4 county operation. The lack of information to the sales people is pretty pathetic.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

This isn't a fictional company. You're trying to tell me that Verizon didn't think this one through, that they haven't been planning on moving to tiered data plans for some time now? Please, the scenario I am presenting is not out of the ordinary. I suspect the vast majority of existing data customers fall into this category.

The new program is happening in a week and the sales associate still don't know the scoop? There really is no excuse for that. Verizon isn't some 3rd tier, 4 county operation. The lack of information to the sales people is pretty pathetic.

And I wasn't talking about the company as a whole. No one will argue that they should have given all of their employees detailed training with all the ins and outs of these changes by now, but as anyone who works for has worked for Verizon will tell you that's not how it works. They find out about most changes a day or two before they are implemented and sometimes on the day of. Is that asinine? Yes, it is, but that's what usually happens.

What I was trying to explain to you is that the individual employees are stuck between the customer and the company (a rock and a hard place) and have to give you the best (meaning, the one least likely to come back and bite them on the @$$ later if they are wrong) they can.

 

[GeneralMC51]

Looking like I might pull the trigger on the Thunderbolt this weekend (give it the 14 day ol' college try AND lock in unlimited). Just out of curiosity though... what kind of surcharges/extra tack ons are you seeing with it on your bill? I randomly asked while the rep was looking up my company discount and he was thinking anywhere from $10-20 because it "goes to pay for the towers." I realize it was a kinda dumb question (and they were about to close, so probably wanting to go home), but his half-answer is really sticking out in my head. I was thinking it was closer to 8, but 20 seems like airline level! It's not a deal killer at all, just curious if there's anything to it with it being loaded with the 4Gs

 

[PhreePhlyer]

And I wasn't talking about the company as a whole. No one will argue that they should have given all of their employees detailed training with all the ins and outs of these changes by now, but as anyone who works for has worked for Verizon will tell you that's not how it works. They find out about most changes a day or two before they are implemented and sometimes on the day of. Is that asinine? Yes, it is, but that's what usually happens.

What I was trying to explain to you is that the individual employees are stuck between the customer and the company (a rock and a hard place) and have to give you the best (meaning, the one least likely to come back and bite them on the @$$ later if they are wrong) they can.

And understand I am not angry with the sales folks. They went the extra steps to get a hold of supervisors, and even had the supervisor call some regional person. They tried to get the answer and it came back quite clearly that if you upgrade to a 4G phone, after the 7th, you will be signed to a new data plan and it will be tiered. Now, you and a few other Verizon insiders are saying that is the incorrect interpretation. The problem is I dropped $260 on a new phone to future-proof myself they may not have been necessary. $260 is not going to break the bank, but I don't like spending money unnecessarily. I don't live in a 4G area, but I work in one, so spend quite a bit of my time taking advantage of it, and I love the speed, but frankly, I liked my Dinc and could have waited an additional 6 to 8 months to upgrade. The T-bolt is a nice phone, but not without its flaws.

My complaint is with the company, not the people.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

And understand I am not angry with the sales folks. They went the extra steps to get a hold of supervisors, and even had the supervisor call some regional person. They tried to get the answer and it came back quite clearly that if you upgrade to a 4G phone, after the 7th, you will be signed to a new data plan and it will be tiered. Now, you and a few other Verizon insiders are saying that is the incorrect interpretation. The problem is I dropped $260 on a new phone to future-proof myself they may not have been necessary. $260 is not going to break the bank, but I don't like spending money unnecessarily. I don't live in a 4G area, but I work in one, so spend quite a bit of my time taking advantage of it, and I love the speed, but frankly, I liked my Dinc and could have waited an additional 6 to 8 months to upgrade. The T-bolt is a nice phone, but not without its flaws.

My complaint is with the company, not the people.

OK just for clarification I am not a Verizon insider. I know people who are and have been reading these forums and blogs for years so I know more about how things work inside the company than most, but I do not now nor have I ever worked for them. I DO however work for an indirect retailer who will soon be selling Verizon and AT&T phones.

I understand your frustration believe me. All I was saying was that the reps (and supervisor) gave you the best answer they could based upon the information that they have been given. None of the leaked documents are implicit on this point (how this effects 3G vs 4G phones and various platforms). You made it clear that you wanted to be locked into unlimited 4G data and based upon the info they were given, upgrading early was the sure fire way to do it, and waiting was a risk.

The plot thickens:

http://forum.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=1054348#post1054348

 

[androidjunkie30]

Thank you everyone and I will hopefully go in a store soon and weigh my options

 

[ben71r]

I would wait until the next update (gingerbread?) if I were you. No telling when that will happen though.

 

[Jude526]

Not so. Just went through this with VZW yesterday. If you currently have a 3G unlimited plan, you are grandfathered in for 3G umlimited. If you move to a 4G phone after the 7th, you will fall into the tiered plans. It really sucks that they are splitting that up. I work in LA (SoCal) and have a strong 4G signal, and plan on moving to 4G in the future. In order to keep that unlimited, I need to buy a 4G phone by the 6th.

I had an upgrade available, and although my current phone (Incredible) is just fine, I went ahead and upgraded to the Thunderbolt, so I will have the unlimited 4G in the future. As more and more services move to the "cloud" concept, cell data will become more important and I wanted to future-proof (as well as possible) myself.

Sam

You are very wrong on your assumption. If you are already a customer with unlimited data, you are safe and when you upgrade to a 4G phone you STILL will have the unlimited data plan. And be happy about it. I have the Thunderbolt now and I am glad to still have the unlimited data.
AND the Thunderbolt is the only device that does voice and data on 3G at the same time. The Bionic does it only on the 4G

 

[Jude526]

ONLY new customers on the 7th fall into getting the tiered plans. All of us who had unlimited when the tier data started weren't having to make the switch.

 

[Jude526]

I didn't get my Thunderbolt until August 30th and I didn't lose my unlimited data........it is too bad the stores aren't giving out the right information nation wide. I think the store managers need to do their jobs better.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

You are very wrong on your assumption. If you are already a customer with unlimited data, you are safe and when you upgrade to a 4G phone you STILL will have the unlimited data plan. And be happy about it. I have the Thunderbolt now and I am glad to still have the unlimited data.
AND the Thunderbolt is the only device that does voice and data on 3G at the same time. The Bionic does it only on the 4G

YEP! As long as you had unlimited before July 7 you get to keep it even after upgrading and even if you get 4G, and even if you swap platforms. I agree that I wish people would train their people correctly. I upgraded a from a Blackberry Bold 9650 to a Bionic and still got to keep it.

 

[jdg1]

Got my T-Bolt used on August 26th.
I was getting it to tie me over until the Bionic was released.
I must say sense getting my TBolt I haven't even thought about the Bionic.
I sit here now anticipating GB for the TBolt.
Although the GB release ruined my DroidX, the bugs that is.
Gave my replacement X2 to the GF when I got the TBolt.
Just couldn't get used to its screen.

 

[whiteshadow001]

Wait it out

Sent from my Thunderbolt using tapatalk

 

[willymakit]

Wait.......get the newest thing out.