What plan will this require on Verizon?

[icesick06]

I dont know for sure but I would almost bet 90% that this phone will have tether support. Thats a simple thing to incorporate plus from a company stand point, tether capabilities = increased revenue

 

[ahampton2k]

Does anyone have any idea if they're crippling the GPS on these new smart phones?

No, they do not do this any more. I have a BB Storm right now and can use any gps application (Google Maps, Poynt, WeatherBug, etc.) with no problems what-so-ever. I am sure the Droid will be the same as it seem vzw has changed their policy.

Hope this helps.

 

[randydandy]

I wonder if the GPS is going to be crippled on Verizon like they did with the Blackberry I used to have. They turn it off and then force you to spend $10 a month on VZ Navigator just to get the GPS you already paid for. It's amazingly unethical if you ask me, but what can you do?

Does anyone have any idea if they're crippling the GPS on these new smart phones?

GPS is open. Will not have VZ navigator as that app is a BREW app. No BREW on Android.

 

[randydandy]

One minor edit. 44.99 gives access to MS Exchange or Bes server. Does not mean you can't get wireless sync. Google alows for wireless sync of email and PIM functions (calendar, contacts, tasks, exc) for there gmail accounts. Now, you can't get that kind of wireless sync with your business email hosted on a BES or MS exch unless you have the 44.99 data feature. There are 3rd party apps that allow for this such as Funambol (not exactly Sync).

Hope that helps.

 

[icesick06]

Yea Randy is right. Thanks for the clarification. As for VZ Navigator, BREW is the application platform for all the "dumb phones" they carry. But VZ Navigator is also available for Blackberry and other smartphones. They will probably make it available (maybe not at release) but it will not be required to use GPS. People have different preferences, so if someone likes vz navigator, they can use it, and if someone likes another program they can use that. Its all about choice

 

[centax1]

Nationwide Basic 450
Extended Warrenty
Pay per Message
Email and Web for Smartphone
total 71.97

Don't need a txt plan if you plan on using google voice.

 

[tlbj6142]

Don't need a txt plan if you plan on using google voice.

Have they started handing out invites for Google Voice again? I submitted my name well over a month ago and still haven't heard back.

 

[MarvinAndroid]

A lot of this is probably just speculation though. It seems very possible to me that Verizon will probably build some kind of custom Android plan (or a couple different ones) to fit their Android phones. My Treo had a special plan which was different than the Blackberry plans which followed it... It seems like they will probably offer an Android specific plan with 2 or 3 different tiers. One with 400 texts, 500 minutes and 20 Mb of data... one with 1000 texts.. 1000 minutes... 500mb data... then unlimited everything. I'm just making those numbers up... but it sounds like something they would do?

@centax1 - I think Google Voice messages will probably count against your text messages in your plan? I'm pretty sure they do on my G1 with T-Mobile. Same goes for Google Talk and all the IM applications etc.

 

[mkibrick]

Have they started handing out invites for Google Voice again? I submitted my name well over a month ago and still haven't heard back.

I received two after signing up a month ago with two Gmail addresses.

 

[tlbj6142]

I received two after signing up a month ago with two Gmail addresses.

Did you get an email letting you know you were invited? I just tried logging into google voice and I get a page not found error after I enter my password. I went ahead and requested another invite on my new soon-to-be android account gmail user as well. I was really hoping I could port my number to google voice before I bought the phone.

 

[MarvinAndroid]

I got my Google Voice invite a couple weeks after signing up. I'm very happy with it so far. It definitely would be nice to have the number as soon as possible if you are planning on buying a new Android phone... because then you only have to tell people one new number (which will, ideally, never change).

 

[billd]

The $45 unlimited (5gig) plan adds push email (Exchange Sync) and/or tethering. The $30 plan only allows pop and imap for email and does not allow tethering.

So if I don't use tethering or exchange, then unlimited data gives me nothing over the $30 data plan? Sweet.

 

[randydandy]

So if I don't use tethering or exchange, then unlimited data gives me nothing over the $30 data plan? Sweet.

Tethering is not included in the $45 data feature. The only difference is exchange. If you don't use exchange than save yourself some money and go with the Personal Email and Web feature for $29.99.

Tethering costs the difference of what your paying on your data feature and $59.99. ex. If you have an exchange server at work and you sync up with your work email and PIM functions you pay $44.99 for Unl email and Web. $59.99 - $44.99 = $15 , for Personal email and web $59.99 - 29.99 = $30 .

 

[Memitim]

Thanks to everyone for helping to straighten Verizon's billing out. My wife and I were planning on getting a couple of Droids since we thought that the $130 Connect plan would cover them, but seeing that it'll be $160 and, for whatever reason, Exchange connectivity gets blocked, we may have to go with Sprint phones instead.

Sucks since I've heard great things about Verizon's network and the Droid looks exactly like the hardware platform that I've been waiting for, but $700+ dollars more over the course of two years is a hard thing to overlook. Especially when Sprint offers unlimited mobile-to-mobile which effectively makes for unlimited voice for us, since everyone we know uses mobiles but on several different networks.

I'm still tempted to say the hell with it and spend the extra anyway, but it is far from a sure thing now. Still, I'm glad I know about it now rather than finding out in a few days when we went to order the Droids, so I do appreciate everyone's info.

 

[rldev]

Thanks to everyone for helping to straighten Verizon's billing out. My wife and I were planning on getting a couple of Droids since we thought that the $130 Connect plan would cover them, but seeing that it'll be $160 and, for whatever reason, Exchange connectivity gets blocked, we may have to go with Sprint phones instead.

Sucks since I've heard great things about Verizon's network and the Droid looks exactly like the hardware platform that I've been waiting for, but $700+ dollars more over the course of two years is a hard thing to overlook. Especially when Sprint offers unlimited mobile-to-mobile which effectively makes for unlimited voice for us, since everyone we know uses mobiles but on several different networks.

I'm still tempted to say the hell with it and spend the extra anyway, but it is far from a sure thing now. Still, I'm glad I know about it now rather than finding out in a few days when we went to order the Droids, so I do appreciate everyone's info.

I'm in the same boat. The cost for us would be $180 a month(exchange a must) vs $109 a month(Sprint EPRP). That is over $840 a year in savings!

 

[tlbj6142]

I got my Google Voice invite a couple weeks after signing up.

Woot! A buddy of mine has Google Voice and he sent me one of his 3 invites. Didn't realize they were allowing those types of invites. Otherwise I would have asked him earlier.

 

[Memitim]

Woot! A buddy of mine has Google Voice and he sent me one of his 3 invites. Didn't realize they were allowing those types of invites. Otherwise I would have asked him earlier.

He may have just gotten some. Most accounts don't have invites but Google is gradually granting invites to accounts. Maybe based on how long the account has been active or something.

 

[centax1]

@centax1 - I think Google Voice messages will probably count against your text messages in your plan? I'm pretty sure they do on my G1 with T-Mobile. Same goes for Google Talk and all the IM applications etc.

Could someone verify this I have google voice but I do not have VZW or an android phone I was under the impression that if you used the google voice android app to send and recieve TXT messages it would be using your data plan rather than your TXT plan.

Also for all military out there @us.army.mil email accounts have priority on google voice I got my invite in less that 24 hours.

 

[dkaufman1]

Could someone verify this I have google voice but I do not have VZW or an android phone I was under the impression that if you used the google voice android app to send and recieve TXT messages it would be using your data plan rather than your TXT plan.

I have a G1 on Tmobile (US) and have been wondering the same thing about TXT on Google Voice. Are they part of the data plan? Here was my thought -

Google Voice uses a forwarding technology to house your Google Voice number on a PBX/server, but the last mile, is the PBX dialing out to your actual cell line (and other phones if you have it set that way.) So all Google voice calls do use cell minutes, but an easy way around that is add that PBX number to a faves type of plan. (It isn't a mobile number so not sure how the Sprint all you can dial mobile-to-mobile would work.) But that means that txt messages would be routed the same way....EXCEPT...maybe the app/people were smart enough to realize....User X has a Google Voice app on their mobile so let's let that app collect the TXTs instead of the normal Android Messaging/Chomp SMS type of app and those TXT could be delivered to the PBX and pulled down from the Google Voice for Android app using data.

Phew...that was a mouthful. Anyone understand it? I will also be asking someone who might has some inside knowledge of the situation.

 

[centax1]

I have a G1 on Tmobile (US) and have been wondering the same thing about TXT on Google Voice. Are they part of the data plan? Here was my thought -

Google Voice uses a forwarding technology to house your Google Voice number on a PBX/server, but the last mile, is the PBX dialing out to your actual cell line (and other phones if you have it set that way.) So all Google voice calls do use cell minutes, but an easy way around that is add that PBX number to a faves type of plan. (It isn't a mobile number so not sure how the Sprint all you can dial mobile-to-mobile would work.) But that means that txt messages would be routed the same way....EXCEPT...maybe the app/people were smart enough to realize....User X has a Google Voice app on their mobile so let's let that app collect the TXTs instead of the normal Android Messaging/Chomp SMS type of app and those TXT could be delivered to the PBX and pulled down from the Google Voice for Android app using data.

Phew...that was a mouthful. Anyone understand it? I will also be asking someone who might has some inside knowledge of the situation.

I believe there is a way to do it data only I was looking at the options on the google voice webpage and they only way to have it not forward SMS to your phone is to mark it as not mobile. If you do that then you can send and receive SMS via their webpage. I'm hoping tho that the android program streamlines the process a bit.

 

[centax1]

Oh also i've got 1 invite for someone with VZW and an android phone if they test out my theory.

 

[GixxerJoe]

I can tell you I have text blocked on my account with vzw, and with google voice and the google voice app....I text all day for free. Oh and make unlimited incoming and out going calls using google voice. And this is on a blackberry, so I would be willing to guess on droid you will still be able to, just better

 

[Memitim]

I'm guessing that providers will eventually exclude the Google Voice numbers from being eligible for favorites lists that exclude per-minute billing but I don't see any reason why SMS texting couldn't be supplanted by similar applications. Well, on iPhones, perhaps, since Apple controls the application availability on non-Jailbroken iPhones, but other smartphones shouldn't have any problems.

 

[centax1]

I can tell you I have text blocked on my account with vzw, and with google voice and the google voice app....I text all day for free. Oh and make unlimited incoming and out going calls using google voice. And this is on a blackberry, so I would be willing to guess on droid you will still be able to, just better

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

 

[Russellmaniakw]

I'm new here and this thread answered a lot of questions for me so I want to thank everyone who helped clear up Verizon's labyrinthine website and plan structure for me. With that said I'm a little bothered by some of the Verizon customers/employees downplaying their pricing vs. Sprint for example. My contract with T-mobile is up in 1 month and so I've been doing a lot of research into smart phones and plans and have decided to get an android phone.

In terms of features and style the Hero and Sense UI is exactly what I want in a phone, but the hardware concerns me as it's not exactly "future proof". Some of the android phones coming out in the near future such as the Tao are intriguing so I started looking into Verizon's plans and rates as well as Sprint's (T-mobile really doesn't have anything that interests me). I'm really torn now because the Tao/Droid seems like a world-beater and I think it would meet all my needs but Verizon's pricing might turn me away in the end.

For comparison if I get two Sprint Heroes (for me and my girl) I can get their everything data plan for families with 1500 minutes, unlimited data AND messaging including visual voicemail and free Sprint Nav as well as free mobile to mobile on any network. As has been mentioned here, this is 129.99 and with my company's discount it comes out to about $103 per month.

A roughly equal plan on Verizon in terms of services -- 1400 minutes, unlimited web and email, unlimited texting and visual voicemail -- adds up to roughly 189 dollars per month, which after discount is about 151. So for my situation I'd be paying roughly 50 bucks a month extra for roughly the same level of service.

Now granted Verizon has the better network, but I live in San Diego and I'm pretty sure Sprint's coverage is all-around pretty solid in urban areas such as this one (seems like most people who've had problems with sprint live in less populated areas). I'd love to see someone try and convince me that Verizon and the Droid are worth the extra 1200 dollars I'd be spending over the course of the contract. As much as I want a powerhouse smartphone, I think for me I'll have to stick with the Sprint Hero which in and of itself is a really good phone anyway.