Average data usage without thethering.

[s14tat]

With all this talk about tiered data plans, what is everyones data usage on there charge? I heard that 4g uses up data faster. I use just over 2gb a month on my fascinate, but that is only 3g. I'm trying to decide if the new pricing will effect my bill much since I'm in the 2gb bracket. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[jkeene81]

If you are already a Verizon customer, you will be able to keep your unlimited data. Android Central has the official word from Verizon that if you have a contract from before July 7th you get to keep your plan even if upgrading later! http://www.androidcentral.com/verizons-new-data-plans-broken-down-complete-detail

 

[yankees368]

Yeesh, I am at just over 3GB after just 15 days!
Granted, most of that is probably speed tests
My average use on 3G was a DroidX was half a gig.

 

[s14tat]

jkeene81, what it doesn't specify is what happens when you go from 3g to lte. Would I have unlimited data on LTE as well?

Also yankee, that is crazy how much more data you are using. Are you using your phone the same way? I mean it seems to me that you barely used your Droid X if your only using .5 gb a month. I don't consider myself to be a heavy user but I still use 2 gb.

 

[stabbedintheface]

I'm a pretty heavy user, but I'm literally in a wifi area 90% of the time (home/work)...and I still somehow use just over a gig.

I'm not sure how I'm even doing that.... I don't tether, I don't use Pandora, I just email. Anything more than that and I bust out my xoom.

I wonder if some of the stuff goes the cell data even when I'm on wireless?

 

[El Jefe]

jkeene81, what it doesn't specify is what happens when you go from 3g to lte. Would I have unlimited data on LTE as well?

Yep.

From the article in the link jkeene provided:
"You'll also be able to keep the $29.99 unlimited plan when you upgrade to a new phone."

 

[s14tat]

Yep.

From the article in the link jkeene provided:
"You'll also be able to keep the $29.99 unlimited plan when you upgrade to a new phone."

See that is still worded pretty ambiguously. Not all new phones are 4g, you can still upgrade to another 3g phone such as the droid x 2 or droid 3.

 

[shrugger]

See that is still worded pretty ambiguously. Not all new phones are 4g, you can still upgrade to another 3g phone such as the droid x 2 or droid 3.

Yes. There is no distinction between 3G and 4G in Verizon's data plans.

 

[jkeene81]

Yea that was a shocker for me too, Big Greedy Red is not charging extra for 4G!!!!!

 

[yankees368]

jkeene81, what it doesn't specify is what happens when you go from 3g to lte. Would I have unlimited data on LTE as well?

Also yankee, that is crazy how much more data you are using. Are you using your phone the same way? I mean it seems to me that you barely used your Droid X if your only using .5 gb a month. I don't consider myself to be a heavy user but I still use 2 gb.

I am using the phone differently now that I have data that is fast (and works). Verizons 3G network here in Michigan has been shot for months, so most of my time was spent on WiFi. However, I almost never need to turn wifi on anymore, so all my data is really being done on LTE. Things I used to do, like download 40+MB podcasts are now counting against my data.
Also, I run a lot of speed tests for fun, and those take up a LOT of data.

 

[waterfrontmgmt]

i am guessing thats because all their phones will be switching over to 4g over the next two years.

Yea that was a shocker for me too, Big Greedy Red is not charging extra for 4G!!!!!

 

[CaddyDave]

I used 10gb on my tb last month

 

[dm33]

Yea that was a shocker for me too, Big Greedy Red is not charging extra for 4G!!!!!

How nice of them. Provide a super fast pipe but charge you the same as 3G if you use it. And compared to today's prices, they're greatly increasing the price for everyone and letting you hit the limit 10 times faster.

LTE is up to 10 times faster. So you can run through 2GB 10 times faster. So why is it useful to have LTE? At 20mbps, you can use up 2GB in 17 MINUTES. What are you supposed to do the rest of the month?

Basically LTE's faster speed doesn't let you do anything new. Its useless. Forget video calls, streaming video etc. That will chew up 10GB, even 20GB very very quickly.

Verizon has managed to strangle LTE to death before its even rolled out.

Typical old world company, try to money grab every cent it can get out of consumers so that a new market never emerges.

If it hadn't been for the iPhone and Android pushing open internet access on phones, we'd still be paying $50 for feature phone access to Verizon specific websites. For only $3/mo you can get Verizon news website. Woohoo!
I'm sure they're making more money now that they opened it up and everyone pays $30/mo.

Yet they'll choke it again. If they had made it more reasonably priced, they get everyone hooked on video streaming, video calls. But its not an option at anywhere near these prices.

Given LTE is 10x faster, they should have encouraged use by pricing 20GB/mo LTE as a premium over 3G. Maybe $40/mo for 20GB/mo LTE, or $30/mo for 2GB 3G. Thats incentive to use the new network. Now, there's no incentive. Prohibitively priced.

 

[UncleMike]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I'm baffled as to why people think their data use will skyrocket when they move from 3G to LTE. Say you're streaming music - it will still take you 3 minutes to listen to a 3 minute song; you won't be downloading more data for that 3 minute song, it will just happen faster. The same goes for videos.

What is likely to happen is that usage habits will change after moving to LTE, but with the same behavior on the user's part there should be no increase in data use after moving to LTE. What am I missing?

 

[s14tat]

I'm hoping that is the case here unclemike. That is why I'm asking this question for the people who went from 3g to lte with the same usage.

 

[r007]

The biggest difference between 3g and 4g data usage for me is video chat. I can easily blow through 7gig a month on video chat (when I am not on WiFi)

The second biggest change is with more bandwidth, apps like Netflix and Hulu or video podcast become more practical to watch with higher speeds. So, even if you do not use the data now, you might be pushing to that limit soon as new apps come out

Further, moving into 4g, the dynamics of what a smartphone can be used for are changing. It's like the difference between dial-up and broadband. At the time people did not know what you would ever need more than 56kbs for. Now, people could not dream about not having fast speed.

The biggest issue with putting caps like this on 4g is that it will hinder its ability and growth. People will use 4g the same as 3g and will not see its advantages. Developers will not develope radically new data-centric apps because no one will want to pay the data.

By doing this, they effectively reduce their 4g network down to their 3g network and their investment becomes lost, as customer will not see an advantage.

Just my opinion. Take it or leave it.

 

[Anderain]

Im kinda with r007. Now that I have a charge on 4G I use it for more. For instance watching youtube videos. On this screen with 4G I have absolutely no reason to go to a computer to watch something, which I usually did with previous phones.

I run about 3gb/month btw, and I do use my more data now that I have 4G.

 

[Suntan]

Yea that was a shocker for me too, Big Greedy Red is not charging extra for 4G!!!!!

...Yet.

Think about it, the number one way to keep people from adopting your new 4G network is to make them pay more for it.

I would say the vast majority of cell users would quickly decide that the 3G they have now is fast enough if they were faced with the potential of having to pay an additional $10 difference between the two.

Why do you think Sprint just upped everybody?s data plan by $10, instead of just people with 4G phones?

-Suntan

 

[Anderain]

...Yet.

Think about it, the number one way to keep people from adopting your new 4G network is to make them pay more for it.

I would say the vast majority of cell users would quickly decide that the 3G they have now is fast enough if they were faced with the potential of having to pay an additional $10 difference between the two.

Why do you think Sprint just upped everybody?s data plan by $10, instead of just people with 4G phones?

-Suntan

Eh, if it was only $10 I would go for the 4G...

 

[mystiphi]

What's the big deal???

I'm honestly not seeing the big problem with the new tiered plans. At least they gave us advance warning that this was going to happen. Just about everyone I know on any carrier has been grandfathered in with unlimited data. And most of them have more than one line.

I agree that they will stunt development and curb the appeal of 4G by limiting people to 2GB of usage. That may turn off potential new customers. Check that... It definitely will turn off new customers. At this point, VZW has the upper hand though. They can really claim to have the fastest network. AT&T admitted they are 2-3 years behind on LTE while Sprint and T-Mo (as it currently exists) missed the memo.

I left Blackberry because it wouldn't commit to innovative, appealing devices. I left T-Mo because they wouldn't commit to LTE (plus the spotty coverage). I went to Verizon and the Charge when I did because I was warned in advance that tiered data was coming. I definitely use more data now that I'm on 4G for many of the reasons r007 mentioned earlier. I've averaged about 3GB over the last two months.

Did I really want to wait for the Bionic? Yes. Would I rather have had a Droid with a QWERTY? Of course. Did my new phone have to have 4G? Definitely. Did I believe Big Red would actually wait to allow new users to sign on for unlimited data after the Bionic finally dropped? Yeah right!! For those that have been waiting on that to happen, I suggest you try the Charge. Knock the battery life but you can't deny that it's a pretty sweet device. At the end of the day, I like $$$ and freedom to do what I want with a device more than the potential next great, limited to 2GB for the price of unlimited data device.

The bottom line is we all saw this coming.