What plan will this require on Verizon?

[Jacqueline]

I doubt anyone would try and convince you to spend an extra $1200. The really nice thing about Android is you have this kind of choice now. Three different providers to choose from in the US, and the phone choices are starting to come fast and furious. We have yet to see what HTC will do with android and snapdragon, and we've got a glimpse at Sony Ericsson's hot phone that will be announced in November.

The only thing I might say since you are unsure is possibly wait a month or two and see what other options are coming. You may find out get a phone/carrier/plan that meets your needs better.

Or if you do wind up going with Verizon, consider going for the 1 year contract instead of the 2 year. With 4g service deploying next year, you may not want to be in a 2 year contract.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Does it show who the calls are coming from or does your google voice number show up in your caller id everytime?

It shows up on my caller id as my google voice number, but the caller has to record their name so I still no who is calling. I the google voice app, it displays the actual number that called.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Russellmaniakw,

With verizon it goes beyond just their network...also vzw has world class customer service. New every two credits, the ability to renew your contract every year to get new equipment. And now a smart phone that will be the best in class at this time. All that comes with a premium. Vzw will never be the cheapest. Sprint has to compete on price, their reputation has been tarnished. Are they getting better...sure they are. But, Where will they be in 2 years. They are going down the wrong path with wi max...when they roll out 4g wi max nation wide there will be no cross compatibility with other networks. You will not have that issue with vzw 4g LTE. For me I'm the type of guy that wants the best money can buy, not because its just expensive. But because its the best. You get that with vzw. Are you that kind of guy too..or do you just want to settle for something because its cheaper...

 

[JoeFresco]

World class customer service? Come on... don't insult our intelligence. Verizon has decent, maybe even good, customer service. But don't expect them to bend over backwards in any way. I'll never forget how after Hurricane Katrina/Rita, I was in New Orleans / Beaumont, TX using my cell heavily but monitoring my minutes carefully and left about 30 minutes on the last day of the month. I then discovered when the bill came out that I had gone 120 minutes over. After arguing extensively with the customer service rep about this ("We're not liable for this... the servers weren't up to date"), they agreed to halve the amount with me, so I paid $50 begrugingly. Then THE NEXT MONTH, they tacked on another 60+ minutes that were reported even after the first bill was sent out, and they wouldn't negotiate on that one at all, so that was another $50. In my mind, that was even more egregious because I already felt screwed once.

Verizon is well known for being letter-of-the-law types. Don't let any sales rep fool you.

I thought the Connect plans covered the Droid and had decided Verizon's network was worth $20 more/mo than Sprint's. Since last night, I've learned that Verizon's monthly bill will be $20 higher and Sprint's will be $10 lower, thanks to this post:
SprintUsers.com - View Single Post - Verizon's Connect Plan versus Sprint's Simply Everything Plan

So that's a $50 difference. ($60 vs. $110 (have to go 900 minutes on VZ because I just just a bit more than 450; enough that the 500 minutes + anymobile should cover it) As much as I love the idea of the Droid, I'm probably going with the Moment unless something changes with Verizon's policies or some loophole can be found.

And buddy, don't argue 4G which won't matter to any of us buying this phone. Save it for our next phone. Thanks.
(Am I the only one who finds salesmen extremely annoying?)

 

[GixxerJoe]

World class customer service? Come on... don't insult our intelligence. Verizon has decent, maybe even good, customer service. But don't expect them to bend over backwards in any way. I'll never forget how after Hurricane Katrina/Rita, I was in New Orleans / Beaumont, TX using my cell heavily but monitoring my minutes carefully and left about 30 minutes on the last day of the month. I then discovered when the bill came out that I had gone 120 minutes over. After arguing extensively with the customer service rep about this ("We're not liable for this... the servers weren't up to date"), they agreed to halve the amount with me, so I paid $50 begrugingly. Then THE NEXT MONTH, they tacked on another 60+ minutes that were reported even after the first bill was sent out, and they wouldn't negotiate on that one at all, so that was another $50. In my mind, that was even more egregious because I already felt screwed once.

Verizon is well known for being letter-of-the-law types. Don't let any sales rep fool you.

I thought the Connect plans covered the Droid and had decided Verizon's network was worth $20 more/mo than Sprint's. Since last night, I've learned that Verizon's monthly bill will be $20 higher and Sprint's will be $10 lower, thanks to this post:
SprintUsers.com - View Single Post - Verizon's Connect Plan versus Sprint's Simply Everything Plan

So that's a $50 difference. ($60 vs. $110 (have to go 900 minutes on VZ because I just just a bit more than 450; enough that the 500 minutes + anymobile should cover it) As much as I love the idea of the Droid, I'm probably going with the Moment unless something changes with Verizon's policies or some loophole can be found.

And buddy, don't argue 4G which won't matter to any of us buying this phone. Save it for our next phone. Thanks.
(Am I the only one who finds salesmen extremely annoying?)

I find your whiny rant more annoying..

Anyways buddy, if you knew you was having more than normal usage on your phone it is YOUR responsibility to call in prior to that overage to have something done about it. Not wait and try to argue your way out of paying those charges. Which was probably valid. Had you done so... Verizons world class customer service would and could have gave you bonus minutes to use at no charge. So, friend, yes verizon will go out of there way to help their customers. I can trade stories all day with you about how verizons customer service have gone out of there way to help customers.

Second, you insulted your own intelligence by thinking the moto droid a "smartphone" would qualify for the connect or premium plans. Its a smartphone...hence needing a smartphone data plan.

I never said that vzw is cheeper than sprints simply everything plan. We are not, and don't need to be. Sprint does, that's the only edge they have. And even with that edge vzw still gains more customers.

Also, the 4g argument may not impact this device. But it is relevant to my point that sprint network will remain to be inferior to vzw. Because it is going to be the odd man out in a few years. I would rather put my money in a company that is the best. Guess your not that type.

 

[Russellmaniakw]

I find your whiny rant more annoying..

Second, you insulted your own intelligence by thinking the moto droid a "smartphone" would qualify for the connect or premium plans. Its a smartphone...hence needing a smartphone data plan.

First of all this quote kills me...Sprint doesn't have a separate data plan for smart phones. You get a lot more for what you're paying with sprint, so it's a bit insulting that you are implying this guy is stupid for expecting similar value from Verizon.

Second, your air of superiority for being willing to pay more than others for cell phone service is kind of pathetic and almost makes me want to go with Sprint just to not be associated with people like you.

 

[GixxerJoe]

Second, your air of superiority for being willing to pay more than others for cell phone service is kind of pathetic and almost makes me want to go with Sprint just to not be associated with people like you.

I am not going to further feed this argument...go with what ever company fits your needs or better yet your budget.. Truly I could care less. At least I got a laugh at your comments.

 

[Headsong]

Attitude matters. I've never had VZW do anything other than help and credit for overages when they occurred. That's why I tend to agree with great service. World class? Well, I've experienced world class, and VZW isn't THERE yet, but they do well. And they don't give up customers like the others do, so there must be something to it. Of course there will be rare differences for some, happens everywhere and to all.

 

[CRPercodani]

The thing is that if you really want the Droid you have to pay more, and the network VZW has is larger then Sprint. If your in a area that they are equal, and only travel to areas that they stay that way then it doesn't really matter. The Moment looks like a decent phone, but it uses ARM11, and the Droid uses Cortex A8. A similar comparison is a Pentium 4 Vs a Core i7, the Pentium 4 could have a 1ghz faster clock speed but the Core i7 would still slaughter it. The 800mhz ARM11 inside the Moment won't be able to compete with the much newer Cortex A8 550mhz of the Droid, which is evident from recent reviews saying the Droid is the fastest Android phone yet, where as the Moment is said to have more lag then a G1. Samsung doesn't have that much smartphone experience so they will probably end up (hopefully) updating the Moment to help with the lag.

And guys quit arguing, if one person has had good luck with a providers customer service then that's great for them, and if they are ok with paying more then that's up to them. And from my personal experience with both providers I have found better CS with VZW then Sprint, but Sprint has cost me less monthly then VZW. Tmobile tends to have the best CS but the least coverage and AT&T just sorta sucks.

 

[JoeFresco]

Anyways buddy, if you knew you was having more than normal usage on your phone it is YOUR responsibility to call in prior to that overage to have something done about it. Not wait and try to argue your way out of paying those charges.

As I wrote originally, I thought I was 30 minutes under my monthly allotment. I had been calling Verizon's minute checker religiously leading up to it (including just minutes before midnight on my bill date) to make sure I didn't go over. And yet it's my fault that their minute checker was wrong? Not only that, but all the minutes weren't reported for 1-2 months later... and that's also my fault? I did everything the world-class customer service had asked me to do.

Perhaps a better question is "what does good customer service look like?" I see it like Costco, where you know that if you have any trouble or something doesn't work like you expected, even long after the fact, they will bend over backwards to accommodate you without pressure, maybe even losing money on the deal in the process. That's the kind of customer service you can sell as worth something.

Second, you insulted your own intelligence by thinking the moto droid a "smartphone" would qualify for the connect or premium plans. Its a smartphone...hence needing a smartphone data plan.

So my not knowing/understanding Verizon's plan rules are an insult to my intelligence? Perhaps, but I'm trying to learn, and I've been disappointed by what I've learned. I expected to pay more for Verizon, but nearly double what Sprint charges?

 

[CRPercodani]

Well I don't know how many people you call use VZW, but if many do then you would be ok with the 450 plan. The reason Sprint is offering such discounted plans is because they are literally about to go bankrupt, if you Google it you can see. If you remember awhile back Sprint and VZW had about the same rates, but when Sprint got into all of its financial trouble they had to do something to gain customers. I'm not trying to side with either carrier just explaining why it is the way it is.

Now do you need txt's? I didn't see if you said you did or not, but if not then your plan would be about $90 with VZW for 900 minutes+email and web for smartphone. Txt plans start at $5.

 

[JoeFresco]

Well I don't know how many people you call use VZW, but if many do then you would be ok with the 450 plan.

Were you replying to me? I guess I'll pretend you were.

A LOT of the people I call use Verizon. Probably 2/3.
I'm currently an iPhone user on ATT with a contract up in December. I have a 450 min plan with no texting, but I spend $2-3/mo on texts, mostly incoming... so I spend about $72/mo+tax. I don't like the virtual keyboard a lot so texting isn't a big deal right now, but I'm meeting a lot of people who text all the time, and I'd like to do that more... enough that I would probably need the $10/mo plan.

During my first year with ATT, I used a RAZR and only used ATT for local/ATT calls... building up my rollover minutes. A year ago, I dropped Verizon, and I've been living off that year of rollover minutes. In that time, I've had months as low as 500 minutes used and as high as 750-800.

As far as the minutes, I *might* be able to survive with Verizon's 450 min plan because I talk to more people that use Verizon, but considering my prior experience with Verizon, do you think I'm in a hurry to find out? If they had the myFaves thing at 450 minutes, then I would be certain I could, but they don't.

So basically my options are
500 min + anyMobile + unlimited everything else (no worries about usage) for $60/mo at Sprint
450 min + $10 text plan + $30 unlimited data (and pray to God I don't go over) for $80/mo
900 min Select (unlimited text) + $30 unlimited data (no worries about usage) for $110/mo

So yeah, I could maybe survive at Verizon for $20 more than Sprint, but I'd constantly be afraid of overages. If Verizon even had a plan that was 450+ myfaves for $90/mo (split the difference), that would probably do the trick.

Sprint is in a world of financial hurt so I can't see them making it in the 4G world, but their 3G agreement with Alltel is what makes them so impressive right now. I'm basically placing a bet that over the next 2 years, they'll be ok. And if they do go under, what's the worst that could happen? They'd either get bought out and it would be business as usual (most likely), or they'd go under, and I'd get a $500 phone for $179 and be out of contract. I guess I'm one of the few that won't find 4G interesting for at least 2-3 years until coverage is at least better than ATT's current 3G coverage.

 

[CRPercodani]

If you are really interested in the Droid then you can do the VZW test drive and see what your bill comes to after the first month. Ok now with Sprint you know that if you get a Smartphone the plans are different then with a dumbphone? I am on the site selecting a Pre right now and they don't have any plan for $60. They have a 450 minute unlimited data plan plus any mobile for $69.99 though.

Just tried with a Hero and got the same as with Pre.

 

[JoeFresco]

I've thought about it, but I'm afraid that I'd never have any margin for error, even if the first month was 350 minutes. It sucks that there's nothing between 450 minutes and 900+myfaves. That's a very big gap at $45/100 min of overages.

They have that plan as described here:
SprintUsers.com - View Single Post - Verizon's Connect Plan versus Sprint's Simply Everything Plan

It's a referral discount... it's basically that $70/mo plan for $60/mo, and they throw in an extra 50 minutes.

I have a friend who bought a HTC Touch Pro and has been using it on the $70/mo plan with no problems. A lot of people are getting the Hero to use with it.

 

[CRPercodani]

Oh didn't know about the discount. I can't argue with that price at all, its great. It comes down to how bad you want the Droid, and what the difference in coverage in your area is. I have checked both and in my state VZW has anywhere from 30-50% more coverage, and I travel a ton being a real estate agent, so I can't compromise with coverage. If you have all the coverage you need with Sprint, and they have the phone you want, then go for it. I'm not here to battle anyone into using VZW lol.

 

[JoeFresco]

Yeah. I'm glad I have a month and a half to make a decision. I'm pretty sure I would rather go to Droid/VZW, but since we don't know yet how much that combo will cost and how it works in the real world, I'm glad that Moment/Sprint is looking like a worthy fallback.

 

[CRPercodani]

Good luck either way. The Moment looks really nice and for a first timer with Android I doubt you will be disappointed at all. I have been using a G1 for awhile now so I want to get the top of the line which is currently the Droid, but hey in 2010 who knows what will be out. Android is said to have over 100 phones by 2011/12.

 

[Russellmaniakw]

Incidentally the announcement of the htc passion has me considering just biting the bullet and going with verizon.

 

[sleemie]

Okay, I went to the verizon site and found this. Wouldn't this pretty much cover everything? For the minutes, you get 450 for 79.00. But it looks like everything else is unlimited. Data, web, text...

This doesn't look terribly expensive compared Sprint. Yeah, it's a little more, but not outrageously so. You don't get unlimited calling, but I don't need that. Am I missing something??


Nationwide Premium



Introducing Friends & Family

 

[CRPercodani]

Yes you are missing something, That plan is for non smartphones. You need to get either the Basic or Select plans, then add on email & web for smartphones. The Connect and Premium plans only include data for regular phones, not something like the Droid, Blackberry, or a WinMo phone.

The cheapest plan is gonna be this, Basic 450 then add on email & web for smartphones. If you only need a few txt's then you can then add on the $5 or $10 txt features, if you need unlimited then your better off going with Select 450 (unlimited messaging) then add on email & web. Basically, and to make it easy for everyone to understand, you MUST select either the email & web for smartphone OR unlimited data (if you need business support like BES and whatnot). The Droid will not work with ANY other data packages/plans.

 

[sleemie]

arrrrrrgggggg figured there was a catch!

So, if one of you experts don't mind helping. What's the cheapest plan I could get with 450 minutes?

And, exactly what is counted against data? Since web seems to be a separate item from data, does viewing youtube videos counts as data or web? I would assume web, but just wanna make sure. Does downloading a pic from a website count as data? Data I take it?? I'm GUESSING I could get away without unlimited data and do most of my downloading through my WiFi.

So, let's say I don't need unlimited data, but want unlimited web. Not sure why they count email as separate from web when they say web and email when I'm assuming most people would be accessing web based email accounts, so that should just be web. Or does that refer to people accessing exchange email?

Okay, so...don't need unlimted data, but want unlimited web and texting and 450 minutes anytime minutes. How much would that run me?

 

[Russellmaniakw]

question...does the $30 data plan support exchange accounts?

 

[CRPercodani]

For sleemie, The email & web for smartphone and yest it is data for EVERYTHING, you can watch youtube, download pics, heck even mp3's or videos. It all counts against the email & web plan (29.99) and you wouldn't need anything else. So the CHEAPEST way you can go if you need UNLIMITED txt is the Select 450 plan and email & web for smartphone, that would get you 450 anytime minutes, free n&w, free verizon 2 verizon, unlimited email and web (which is for all types of data). Thats gonna run you about $90 before taxes. If you can make do with 250-500 txts then you could get the Basic 450 plan and add on the $5 or $10 txt plans, then email and web bring you to $75-$80 before tax.

For Russelmaniakw: I am 99% sure you need the unlimited data plan to support exchange, like business stuff right? BES? To find out for sure you would need to ask a VZW rep, but I do believe you wouldn't be able to use the $30 plan unless you got a app for it to do exchange some other way (I know Blackberries have a app to do it).

One thing I want to say is this, Verizon MAY POSSIBLY add some new data packages/plans for the Android phones. They are coming out with a whole series of them so it may be something they might do. I have no idea if they will but it could happen, everything I am basing my suggestions off of is from the CURRENT plans they offer for smartphones (which Android is classified as).

 

[randydandy]

question...does the $30 data plan support exchange accounts?

Russellmaniak - The $29.99 smartphone feature does not include exchange/BES. That is what the 44.99 feature is for. (Not to confuse anyone more) However it typically can save you some money by going with a Nationwide Email or Nationwide Email and Messaging plan. The 450 Nationwide Email plan is 79.99 and the 450 Nationwide Email and Messaging plan is 99.99. Both plans include Exchange/BES unlimited, unl data, and 450 mins. The latter includes unl messaging.

I haven't hear anyone talking about these plans so I thought this was a great time to insert them. There not really a value unless you need BES/Exchange. They bundle all the features together and save you $5.

(I am Verizon Rep by the way)

 

[CRPercodani]

Ahh thank you very much randy, I slightly remembered those plans but didn't think of them to suggest. Trying to do my best with what knowledge I have, and the VZW site.