What plan will this require on Verizon?

[ftothe3]

att has something similar, a $10 unlimited data plan for non-smart phones and $30 for smartphones.

"dumb"phones can use data too (opera browser)

 

[Dave Lister]

I have a feeling the website is just messed up. What's the point of unlimited data plans if you can't use them with smartphones?

The point is that people with smartphones tend to use much more data that those without, so it's priced differently. Smartphones require either the $30 or $45 data feature added onto the Basic or Select price plans, and they cannot be activated on the Connect or Premium plans.

 

[tlbj6142]

The point is that people with smartphones tend to use much more data that those without, so it's priced differently. Smartphones require either the $30 or $45 data feature added onto the Basic or Select price plans, and they cannot be activated on the Connect or Premium plans.

If that's true, that makes VZW significantly more expensive than Sprint if you have more than one Smartphone on your plan.

 

[tlbj6142]

I stopped by my local VZW store yesterday at lunch. It is true, pda/Smartphones cannot use the Connect or Premium plans. Each pda/Smartphone device has to have its own data plan. This is unlike Sprint's Everything Data plans which can (and have to) be used with smartphones.

 

[Dave Lister]

I work for a VZW agent, so I'd hope I have correct information.

 

[dkaufman1]

I work for a VZW agent, so I'd hope I have correct information.

Dave - would you agree the premium pricing is to support and pay for the excellent network? If the network quality is important to a user than VZW is worth the extra money.

 

[chrisoverly]

I have Verizon and my husband has Sprint. I have good coverage and solid signal where he has no coverage at all. I have heard that they shared networks, but at least in my area, that is not the case.

You might try having your husband do a PRL update (Preferred Roaming List) it is what tells you what towers you can use, if the tower for Verizon was put up before his PRL was made then it won't know it is there (even on Sprint).

To do this on Verizon dial *228 and press send (if you are not having trouble don't do it, as it is unneeded)

To do this on Sprint call customer service and tell them you need a PRL update

Chris

 

[Dave Lister]

Dave - would you agree the premium pricing is to support and pay for the excellent network? If the network quality is important to a user than VZW is worth the extra money.

My guess is that it's to support both the network and the customer service, which a lot of customer's I've talked to say is generally better than what they've experienced with other carriers.

 

[Jacqueline]

You might try having your husband do a PRL update (Preferred Roaming List) it is what tells you what towers you can use, if the tower for Verizon was put up before his PRL was made then it won't know it is there (even on Sprint).

To do this on Verizon dial *228 and press send (if you are not having trouble don't do it, as it is unneeded)

To do this on Sprint call customer service and tell them you need a PRL update

Chris

Thanks! I will let him know to call.

 

[BigRedNole]

Didn't want to start a new thread and I do not specifically see an answer to this question. I do know you need a "data" plan for the Motorola Droid. My concern is what constitutes a data plan?

Currently, I have 3 lines on my Family Connect Plan. I have 1400 minutes, unlimited email, text, and data. I would assume this is a data plan that qualifies for Droid. My charges are $120 (-22% for primary line), $19.99 for each of the other 2 phones. After taxes, fees, and colo-rectal gouging, my final bill is about $150 per month.

Will I need to change my plan? Droid will not be worth it if my bill goes up by more than $25 per month. I would prefer it not going up at all.

 

[tlbj6142]

This was talked about above. Smartphones cannot use the "data plan" that is part of the Connect/Premium plans. They need their own (each line) $30/month data plan. The Connect plans' data only covers data usage on non-smartphones.

This is not new for Droids, it is true for all VZW smartphones (WiMo, BB, etc.).

 

[BigRedNole]

@Tlbj:
Thank you. I tried deciphering it or I got more confused in the jargon. I appreciate you pointing it out in more detail.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Wow oh Wow... sorry guys/gals I am new around this forum, but not a newbie to the cellular world. But wow there is a lot of mis information in this thread regarding VZW plans. Let me do my best to break it down for you all. It is simple really....

VZW has both single line and Family Share Plans.... And they are broke down into four categories.

BASIC: Voice Calling Only

SELECT: Voice Calling and Unlimited Messaging

CONNECT: Voice Calling, Unlimited Messaging, Unlimited Data, Mobile Email

PREMIUM: Voice Calling, Unlimited Messaging, Unlimited Data, V Cast Video on Demand, VZ Navigator, and Mobile Email.

On Single line Plans they offer 450 min to Unlimited and Family Plans from 700 Min to Unlimited.

For single line plans every thing goes up in $20.00 increments. ie... a basic 450 min plan is $39.99 and the next basic plan up is 900 min @ $59.99. The same goes for if you are going to a Basic 450 plan to a Select 450 plan it goes from 39.99 to 59.99. For each step up it will add another $20.00.

The Select and Basic Plans are for ALL VZW equipment. And the Premium and Connect Plans are for HTML and Enhanced Media Devices not smart phones.

So if you have a WM, BlackBerry, or ANDROID, Smart Phone you would only choose a Select or Basic Plan and add 29.99 for Personal UNLIMITED Email and Web.

The $45.00 Data Plan is for Business Plans using a WM device or BlackBerry that is connected to a BES server or is Using Wireless Sync or MS Exchange. I am sure this will be the same for any Android devices using MS exchange as well.

Tethering on a Smart Phone is $30.00 on personal plans and $15.00 for Plans that are a $45.00 data plan. Either way if your on VZW and Tether your phone you will end up spending $60.00 a month in Data. (unless you have a program like Tether Berry )

Hope this did not confuse any one

Peace Gixx

 

[Jacqueline]

Wow oh Wow... sorry guys/gals I am new around this forum, but not a newbie to the cellular world. But wow there is a lot of mis information in this thread regarding VZW plans. Let me do my best to break it down for you all. It is simple really....

VZW has both single line and Family Share Plans.... And they are broke down into four categories.

BASIC: Voice Calling Only

SELECT: Voice Calling and Unlimited Messaging

CONNECT: Voice Calling, Unlimited Messaging, Unlimited Data, Mobile Email

PREMIUM: Voice Calling, Unlimited Messaging, Unlimited Data, V Cast Video on Demand, VZ Navigator, and Mobile Email.

On Single line Plans they offer 450 min to Unlimited and Family Plans from 700 Min to Unlimited.

For single line plans every thing goes up in $20.00 increments. ie... a basic 450 min plan is $39.99 and the next basic plan up is 900 min @ $59.99. The same goes for if you are going to a Basic 450 plan to a Select 450 plan it goes from 39.99 to 59.99. For each step up it will add another $20.00.

The Select and Basic Plans are for ALL VZW equipment. And the Premium and Connect Plans are for HTML and Enhanced Media Devices not smart phones.

So if you have a WM, BlackBerry, or ANDROID, Smart Phone you would only choose a Select or Basic Plan and add 29.99 for Personal UNLIMITED Email and Web.

The $45.00 Data Plan is for Business Plans using a WM device or BlackBerry that is connected to a BES server or is Using Wireless Sync or MS Exchange. I am sure this will be the same for any Android devices using MS exchange as well.

Tethering on a Smart Phone is $30.00 on personal plans and $15.00 for Plans that are a $45.00 data plan. Either way if your on VZW and Tether your phone you will end up spending $60.00 a month in Data. (unless you have a program like Tether Berry )

Hope this did not confuse any one

Peace Gixx

Quoted as this is worth repeating. You explained it very well. Thank you so much!

 

[GixxerJoe]

Hey thanks

 

[BigRedNole]

The Select and Basic Plans are for ALL VZW equipment. And the Premium and Connect Plans are for HTML and Enhanced Media Devices not smart phones.

This really sucks then. If I have a family, I am basically screwed out of getting a SmartPhone then unless I get gouged by individual service. If that is the case, then VZW will suck and I will never get this phone.

I guess I will call their corporate account number to see what they offer. I have been a customer for 10 years and I am sure they can create some plan that continues to work for me.

 

[mkibrick]

BigRedNole, you don't get screwed out of anything. Each smartphone will cost you an additional $30 on top of your current family plan. That is it. The only way you get "gouged" is if you already have a data plan, but I was told at the Verizon store last time I went in that if one phone has higher capabilities than the other (in my case my Rogue had internet while my husbands phone did not) they will split the difference (in my case that meant paying $10 less a month).

 

[billd]

I'll be looking for a minimal voice plan (it's rare for me to use more than 100 minutes a month), but I think I'll be using email a lot, which is the main reason I'm interested in this phone. I also get a fair amount of text messages (automated from work, server monitoring).

With the iPhone/AT&T, it looks like I could get away with $30/data + $40 450 minutes + $5 for up to 200 text messages ($0.10 for each over) = $75/month. GPS would be $10 extra.

With Droid/Verizon, it looks like the cheapest is $80, 450 minutes, unlimited data. $0.20 per text message (ouch!). Unlimited text takes that up to $100/month. I probably get close to 100 texts per month (send 0 to 1 a month, depending upon the month) so it's about break even on the increase. No idea if they'll charge more for GPS on the Droid.

Kind of annoying how much more it is.

 

[GixxerJoe]

At bigred, no one gets screwed sir, you can mix and match your services. If you want a smart phone and the other phones a basic or even a high end phone with your plan. For instance, say you have a 5 line plan. You want the droid, wife wants envy touch, and one kid wants the rouge. And two others want basic moto 755's. You could have the envy touch and rouge on the connect plan your and the other three lines you can add in at the 9.99 rate or 19.99 rate if you want to give them data as well. With the exception of the one droid line. That one line would pay the smart phone data plan. Now if you put all your lines with smart phones then yes you have to pay for the plan on each line. It is not gouging price at all. If you have a smart phone it has a higher rate because it does more. And consumes more data or eats more bandwith. But smart phones have huge advantages for that premium price. There is so much free content you can get with smart phones where with other phones you are restricted to what the carrier let's you do.

Also, you mentioned calling there corporate accounts...are you a business customer? If so they have slightly altered plans for business subscribers and discounts are available for 6 or more lines. But if not....the plans are what they are. Good luck with your call.

@Billd. Why would you look at a unlimited text plan if you only send and recive 101 messages? Put a $5 250 text pac on and save some bucks.

 

[icesick06]

Ok cheapest plan to get a "smartphone" for single line plans is as follows:
(note: Smartphones do not use the connect or premium plan tiering. They will always be considered a Select(Voice plus Unlimited Text) or Basic line(Voice only))

Unlimited email and web - 29.99
450 min = $70 total ( thats with email and web included 450 is 39.99 plus email and web package)
900 min = $90
1350 min = $110
Unlimited min = $130

Unlimited Data for Smartphones is $44.99 and the difference is the ability to connect up with Exchange/BES servers and be able to sync contacts, appointments, calendars, etc. wirelessly. Add $15 to ur above minute plan if you require these features. Most personal users do not require this package.

To add texting, add the following amount onto your minute package
250 messages = $5
Unlimited VZW/500 to non VZW customers = $10
Unlimited VZW/1500 to non VZW customers = $15
Unlimited = $20 (select plan)
(Did not show Unlimited VZW/5000 to non VZW customers pricing as it the same price as getting completely unlimited texting(select) for single line users)

Yes family plans you can mix and match
Premium plans and connect plans are for use on "dumb phones" ex. Rogue, Env Touch, Rival, etc. Not putting these phones down but they are not catergorized as smartphones

Start with the basics...

700- 69.99 (60 for primary line, 9.99 for secondary line)
1400- 89.99 (80 for primary line, 9.99 for secondary line)
2100- 109.99 (100 for primary line, 9.99 for secondary line)
3000- 149.99 (140 for primary line, 9.99 for secondary line)
4000- 199.99 (190 for primary line, 9.99 for secondary line)
Unlimited- 199.98 (99.99 for primary line, 99.99 for secondary line)

Now to add texting you can add the same type of packages as I stated above with the exception of the unlimited is a bit different:
250 messages - $5 for each line its added to
Unlimited VZW/500 to non VZW customers - $10 for each line its added to
Unlimited VZW/1500 to non VZW customers - $15 for each line its added to
Unlimited VZW/5000 to non VZW customers - $20 for each line its added to
Unlimited (Select Familyshare Plan) - $30 (covers every line on the familyshare plan).

Now heres where things start to change. You've got a couple different options for data. These options are for "dumb phones"
$10 = 25mb of usage for each phone its on
$20 = 75mb of usage for each phone its on
These packages are really for the people who are not looking to be on a connect or premium plan because they dont do much texting and therefore dont want to jump to higher plans because it forces you to go through that select phase which is $30 dollars.
If you are on a select plan, going to connect or premium is easy
Connect (Phone must be connect capable which means it can connect to the mobile web/Get it now)- add $10 for each line you want unlimited data on (also gives you access to mobile email)
Premium (phone must be premium capable which means can access internet, videos on demand, and VZNavigator) - add $20 for each line you want unlimited data on (also gives you access to mobile email, Vcast videos on demand, and VZNavigator.)

So here is a scenario on the mixing and matching now that Ive got that out of the way. say you have 4 phones on a 1400 min plan. You come in and upgrade your phones. Mom gets an EnV 3, Dad gets an EnV Touch, grandma gets a knack, and you want a smartphone. 3 of you use a lot of texting so you decide on unlimited texting. Now mom would like to be able to watch videos on her phone, look at email, surf the web. She is also not very good with directions so she would also like the VZNavigator. Dad just would like to check his emails every once in awhile and pull up news and stuff on his phone. Grandma would just like to be able to call and get ahold of someone. You wanting a smartphone want to be able to do it but dont need VZNavigator. You would build your plan like this. Put mom on 1400 premium for the primary line is $130 (1400 at $80 plus $30 unl texting plus $20 for premium capabilities) Dad would be added as a connect secondary (plus $20) Grandma would be added as a select secondary (plus $10) and you would be also added as a select secondary at $10. Then you would add on your corresponding smartphone data package. In this case were using the $30 email and web. add it all together and you have $200 and a plan that fits everyones needs.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Yes good post! Thanks for going in more detail about pricing. Explained it better than me.

 

[icesick06]

Thanks Gixxer. If anyone else would like anything else explained, feel free to ask. Ill at least be around until this thing launches. Well off to play with all the new 4th quarter devices for VZW

 

[kara_h]

Do the verizon plans I can get with a way to NOT include voice? Looking on their site data plans that did this charge 25 cents/minute. Currently I have a data plan with t-mobile and pay 20 cents per voice minute ... worth it since I only use voice on my mobile devices in an emergency.

Just ditching my existing cell and my landline puts me at 60. With all the neat features of droid, 80 (including unlimited/a large amount of texting) would be doable.

 

[billd]

@Billd. Why would you look at a unlimited text plan if you only send and recive 101 messages? Put a $5 250 text pac on and save some bucks.

Because I didn't see that on the site. I'll have to look for it. 250 is more than I'll need.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Billd I dont know if they show that plan on the web site, you may have to call cust service to have it added