Future 4g phones charge

[chawski]

I recently spoke with a sprint rep about "the new line of phones likely to come out" (couldnt confirm nor deny anything) and word on the street is that all the 4g phones will have the $10/mo charge on top of the data, like the evo. has anyone heard anything about this? When time comes to upgrade from the hero, obviously I would want to get one of their new phones, but considering email and occasional google search/google maps are about my only data use, whether it takes 5 seconds or 2 seconds to load really isnt going to impact my day, atleast not enough to warrant $120 a year. Has anyone heard any reliable info about what to expect in the coming months as far as phones go? Are they all going to 4g and are they all going to have the surcharge? Or is it way too soon to even speculate?

 

[Sixxx]

I'll be making sure i have a 3G only phone, believe that.

 

[cirehawk]

I understand companies are in business to make money, but in my opinion Sprint is really going about this the wrong way. If the extra $10 is for 4G connectivity, I am not going to pay for something that is not available to me (4G is in very limited locations). I've also heard them say that the extra cost is not for 4G, but for the rich data capabilities of the phone. Well that is a load of crock. My Hero can do most anything the EVO can do with respect to data content. The EVO has better hardware, which I pay for when I purchase the phone, so why try to add extra charges on top of that?

I'd rather Sprint just add $5 to the cost of every "simply everything" plan and say that it is a necessary cost of doing business. Sure I'd be a little ticked, but it would be easier to swallow than them making me pay for a service I can't use as well as paying extra for featues that are part of the phone. Plus, they'd make more money to boot.

 

[scottmbolt]

Lol, that extra $10 a month isn't, according to Sprint, for "4G" its a premium handset charge. yeah... f*ck off Sprint. Way to stick it to us. When my contract is up... Verizon here I come!

 

[cirehawk]

The thing of it is, Sprint's plans are still cheaper than the competition. It just seems shady how they are going about it, and I'm sure you're not the only one who is planning to jump ship over this.

 

[chawski]

call me crazy, but if i were in charge of a company that is not only losing customers like crazy, but has been known as #3 in the business for quite some time, id be bending over backwards to keep existing customers and lure in new ones. Is it really worth losing a customer of X amt of years paying X amt per month over an extra $10 a month? at the end of the day, is $120 a month really gonna put sprint into the red?

 

[cirehawk]

call me crazy, but if i were in charge of a company that is not only losing customers like crazy, but has been known as #3 in the business for quite some time, id be bending over backwards to keep existing customers and lure in new ones. Is it really worth losing a customer of X amt of years paying X amt per month over an extra $10 a month? at the end of the day, is $120 a month really gonna put sprint into the red?

I guess if you make a few bucks for some investors and earn a big bonus check, it's all good right? It's the Wall Street way.

 

[peck1524]

the thing of it is, sprint's plans are still cheaper than the competition. it just seems shady how they are going about it, and i'm sure you're not the only one who is planning to jump ship over this.

this

 

[lunatech]

An extra $120 a year makes me love my Hero that much more .

 

[Sixxx]

an extra $120 a year makes me love my hero that much more :d.

+1 +1 +1 +1+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!!!!!!!!:d

 

[NYCHitman1]

Lol, that extra $10 a month isn't, according to Sprint, for "4G" its a premium handset charge. yeah... f*ck off Sprint. Way to stick it to us. When my contract is up... Verizon here I come!

You aren't gonna save any money going to VZW lol

An extra $120 a year makes me love my Hero that much more .

I'd gladly pay that extra $10 per month

 

[Lozer_Kid]

Well. If you got money to pay for things that you dont need and might hurt your body like alcohol, cigarrets, junk food, etc, then why no paying $10 more for ur monthly plan? It's really nothing compared to the rest...

 

[lunatech]

I'd gladly pay that extra $10 per month

Not worth it to me, but to each his own.

 

[catpowrd]

Does the $10 G4 phone charge and the $29 tethering charge get the 15% or 20% or 25% discount if you are on a company discount plan?

 

[hakujin]

whether it takes 5 seconds or 2 seconds to load really isnt going to impact my day, atleast not enough to warrant $120 a year.

I agree, but funny thing is 3G isn't really the limiting factor in this respect. When I WiFi tether my Hero, pages load snappy, requiring at most 20-24KB/s. That's ~ .20 Megabit. Youtube SD 50KB/s. Downloads I can usually tap 1.5Mb.

IMHO, the limiting factor on loading times is the phone, and 4G is a BS gimmick to address limited 3G spectrum and re-monetize the industry. Should be optional on mobile handsets but then it would fail as more people than not wouldn't use it.

 

[avacomputers]

Does the $10 G4 phone charge and the $29 tethering charge get the 15% or 20% or 25% discount if you are on a company discount plan?

No. Your corp discount won't apply.

 

[mysticmead]

Lol, that extra $10 a month isn't, according to Sprint, for "4G" its a premium handset charge. yeah... f*ck off Sprint. Way to stick it to us. When my contract is up... Verizon here I come!

since I used to be a Verizon customer... and since I left them FOR Sprint.. let me explain a little of how they differ and why you'll pay more with VZW.
Sprint, Everything Data plan. You get EVERYTHING..any mobile, anytime, text, web, email, navigation, sprint tv.. nfl, nascar..etc.. then you get that pesky $10 a month added for the Evo.. now if like me, you have more than 1 line, that everything is for ALL lines on the plan.

Verizon, you get a plan..that plan ONLY includes minutes. then you get to add texting to the plan.. that was $10 a month for unlimited (I have 2 teenagers) add unlimited data (teenagers like youtube a LOT).. add navigation that's another $10 a month..add music and video that's another 10 per month.. oh... did I fail to mention those addon were per line... then you get to add $29.99 a month for smartphone data (it somehow is different than data for other phones)..

Verizon will charge you more for each little option per line where Sprint charges you a package deal that is by far cheaper than anyone else.. for me, I have 4 lines. 2 of those lines are true smartphones, the other 2 are full feature phones (Instincts).. with Vzw's current pricing, that's 29.99 x 2 and 9.99 x2 just for the data and you are REQUIRED to have it.. that's $80 a month in just data for me if I stayed with them.. all of that data is covered in my Everything data family plan.

of course for you, the best and in fact only way to make sure YOU get the best price is to go talk to the Vzw people.. tell them what you want.. how many lines and find out how much per month you'd be looking at..

 

[hakujin]

no question that verizon is more... always have been, and is the one carrier in since 2001, that I have never signed up with. But question for you. I see no value in NFL, Nascar, and Sprint TV; none installed in fact. But Navi... Verizon charges for Navi? If so, what's to prevent an android customer from running Google Navi? I don't use Sprint Navi anyway... it's far slower, cumbersome and lacks certain cool features that Google Navi provides.

My .2 is screw the $10 as well, as I'm perfectly comfortable w/ 3G; 4G on a handset is a BS gimmick that provides NO additional value to a phone. But I like Sprint's price tier structures overall very much, probably because I get 25% corp discount. You just can't beat a two line family plan w/ all the bells and whistles for $112 after tax/fees each month.

 

[mysticmead]

yep.. Vzw charges per phone for navi.. yes any 2.1 android can use google navi for free.. but what about any non-android phones? My oldest boy couldn't find his way to the end of the driveway (he has ZERO directional skills).. so he uses sprint navi all the time..

I agree that 4g provides no real value to the phone.. no 4g where I live and I doubt it'll be here anytime soon.. my Hero works great and Cyanogen has already said he'd make a 2.2 port for the hero...

Now, all that is well and good, but Sprint (and others once they have the tech) will still slide that extra fee in on all 4g phones.. just wait til Vzw gets they flavor of 4g going... then they'll slap on a manditory $20 per month fee (speculation only of course)

 

[hakujin]

4G everywhere in the region I live (SA) and the region I just left (ATX), and I still say screw it. ATX also has a WHOLE LOT of free WiFi spots for those w/ out any mobile data plan.

With rooted phone, I can already tether multiple computers to my phone, and the speed difference between the two is neglible for any/all practical purposes. I wouldn't fire up Usenet or BitTorrent on my 3G any more than I would on 4G as it raises flags. I think a good analogy is like two cars. They both look the same, drive the same, but one goes faster BUT you really ONLY use both w/ governor (i.e. general web, streaming standard compressed a/v, etc.). If you attempt to use either aggressively, you will be treated like it's a rental w/ limited miles so what's the point... just another revenue retention scheme, imho. There needs to be a web paradigm before anything over 3G is useful on the road.

Point taken on non android phone... I guess if I needed Navi and didn't have an android phone I'd... no wait, I'd just use a map for new areas, or at worst one time fee for garmin, tomtom, or magellan, but that's just me. Verizon does like to gouge.

 

[WSFrazier]

With more 4G phones coming, and more customers getting charged the 10 fee. Sprint will be seeing a lot more complaints about it. Hopefully they will drop it, but I won't get all worked up about it. As long as it stays really unlimited, I am fine.

 

[mysticmead]

they won't drop it... if anything they'll roll it into the price for the the everything data plan