Summary:
1. The wireless telco's have failed to live up to their promises.
2. Sprint might be on to something with it's rollout of wimax (aka Sprint 4G)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rethinking-the-mobile-internet-2010-12-03?siteid=rss&rss=1
Is Dvorak right or is this moose p##p?
About a month ago I was reading an article by techcrunch or some vc that said that what they REALLY wanted was a dumb phone capable of tethering to an ipad-like device. I think this makes a lot of sense. Wish I could find that article again.
Virgin is getting the pricing right. $40/mo prepaid, unlimited (capped if 'unreasonable') data
What I want is to be able to buy gigs of data but not have it expire monthly, or with a minor monthly 'keep active' fee. Say, $5/mo account fee + $30 for 10 'forever' gig.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband/broadband2go.html
I'm hoping wimax works out, but haven't followed any of it at all.
Lately I'm irritated with Verizon: Our plan is due for renewal, which is usually cool since we get 2 new phones. Except now, they are trying to push everyone to plans with a data package. If you buy any type of smart phone, you have to get this. Amy and I never get online on the phone, and I don't need anything special. She just likes a qwerty kb for texting. There is only 1 POS model available with some serious technical issues, without getting the data plan.
If I'm forced to buy something I really didn't want to start with, you better believe I will start using the crap out of it. Could be a silver lining after all.
QuoteAbout a month ago I was reading an article by techcrunch or some vc that said that what they REALLY wanted was a dumb phone capable of tethering to an ipad-like device. I think this makes a lot of sense. Wish I could find that article again.
I read that too - totally agreed with it.
Think I got my link to the article from theRegister.co.uk - will see if I can find it again
Isn't Dvorak a keyboard? Am I high?
RC, was it this:
http://www.reghardware.com/2010/11/10/replacing_the_iphone/
No, that's not the one.
>>Virgin
I will never again lock myself in to one carrier like I did with ATT on my iPad 3G. I love the iPad, but my next one will be Wifi only combined with that Virgin Mobile no contract mifi.
In general I'm going to try to avoid these two year contracts wherever I can going forward.
>>> Virgin
BTW, I'm pretty sure VM uses the Sprint backbone.
>>>>Virgin
They do use Sprint and I think Cricket does too. I had a Virgin Pay as you go phone 3.5 years ago (pre-iPhone) ago. Not bad.
Quote from: Brad on December 06, 2010, 08:44:51 PM
I love the iPad, but my next one will be Wifi only combined with that Virgin Mobile no contract mifi.
In general I'm going to try to avoid these two year contracts wherever I can going forward.
I don't mind the contract for my phone since AT&T is the only GSM company up here... by the time that changes, they probably won't be the exclusive iphone carrier anymore either. heh
But with the ipad, I did go wifi only & use my phone as the router. If I'm paying for "unlimited data transfer" on the iphone plan, by golly, I'm gonna use it however I want.
2 months or so after I bought the iPad ATT dumped the "unlimited" 3G service option on the it. That was one of the selling points for me. Felt too much like a bait and switch.
You mean they didn't let existing subscribers keep their unlimited plans? They let me 'grandfather' my unlimited data plan to my new iphone 4 contract. Maybe the ipad just wasn't around long enough to make them feel obligated to be decent about it. :-\
Sorry mivox I wasn't clear. They did grandfather me in, but since service is month to month, if I drop it for a month, when I renew it will be under the new limited terms. Not a big deal and not the end of the world, but left a bad taste.
they do let you keep unlimited if you keep the same plan rolling I believe.
Due to current circumstances, the wife & I are suddenly in need of mobile access. I put Louise on a Samsung Mesmerize with a 5g monthly data plan. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I500RKAUSC
and I'll be trying the Virgin mifi, I think.
Quote from: rcjordan on December 09, 2010, 07:22:10 PM
Due to current circumstances, the wife & I are suddenly in need of mobile access. I put Louise on a Samsung Mesmerize with a 5g monthly data plan. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I500RKAUSC
and I'll be trying the Virgin mifi, I think.
RC,
Please let me know how Louise likes the Samsung Mesmerize, based on our conversations here, I'm considering it and US Cellular as future purchase and carrier. Ditto on the Virgin Mifi. In 2006 I was abruptly put in an elder care position - no mifi back then. Had to scramble to get a NetZero dialup connection from the place I was staying. Makes me think about the importance of mobility for both voice and internet. Thanks.
Quote from: Brad on December 09, 2010, 01:33:12 AM
service is month to month, if I drop it for a month, when I renew it will be under the new limited terms
Ahh, I see. The downside of them not requiring contracts for the ipads... I just don't even think about it. But similarly, I was pretty irritated when my options became "keep unlimited data limited to your phone, or limit your data plan PLUS pay an extra fee for tethering."
Then again, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before unlimited data is the default. Remember when all ISPs priced accounts based on the quantity of data you accessed? ;)
My poor iPhone is about to die. I'd like to get the iPhone4, but hoping desperately t-mobile will have iphones soonish. I might have to renew with AT&T...damn it.
Quote from: grnidone on December 10, 2010, 04:08:19 AM
My poor iPhone is about to die. I'd like to get the iPhone4, but hoping desperately t-mobile will have iphones soonish. I might have to renew with AT&T...damn it.
Why not transfer your number a no contract provider for a few months with a different phone? That will hold you over till we find out who will get the iPhone. Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket, Virgin Mobile all have month to month plans and Android phones.
>In 2006 I was abruptly put in an elder care position - no mifi back then. Had to scramble
As you've probably surmised, that's our current situation.
>Ditto on the Virgin Mifi
Sold out online. The cart said to call support. I did. They gave me another number for just the broadbandtogo products. Called them. They said they don't have any for the online store. Suggested I try Walmart or Radio Shack. I happened to be going by RS this morning just as they opened. Only the manager was there. She tells me this is one of the hottest items this year and it's in very limited supply across the chain. Inventory confirms she's not getting any in the coming shipments. She calls a friend at another store and finds one ...supposedly, it'll be here by Tuesday. She confirms that it's the unlimited pay-as-you go plan that is making Virgin the way to go. The same box on Sprint is capped at 2g, I think she said. I'm guessing Sprint requires a contract for mifi, too.
>Please let me know how Louise likes the Samsung Mesmerize, based on our conversations here, I'm considering it and US Cellular as future purchase and carrier.
Since we are heavily armed with workstations and laptops everywhere we normally frequent, we had little need for a smartphone prior to this so our only exposure was to iPhones in the extended family. So far, the learning curve has been minimal. And the phone itself seems to be as close as you can get to an iphone clone. She bought 1 app, "locale," which supposedly allows switching to whitelisted wifi but we haven't been around wifi enough yet to try really it out. It was suggested by the USC rep as a must-have so I'm pretty sure it'll be ok.
>>Ditto on the Virgin Mifi
OK, Brad, I'm on here via my craptop and virgin mifi. It's slow but the location inside the condo may be part of that problem. But, hey, slow is better than nothing.
Quote from: rcjordan on December 14, 2010, 02:27:35 AM
>>Ditto on the Virgin Mifi
OK, Brad, I'm on here via my craptop and virgin mifi. It's slow but the location inside the condo may be part of that problem. But, hey, slow is better than nothing.
Thanks RC. I see you got the last one. ;) The info is useful since I've got people asking me, the resident
geek genius, for advice about buying ATT iPads, Verizon Mifi plus iPad, Virgin Mobile + iPad, etc. At least I know Virgin works.
>Virgin Mobile
I'm guessing that VM used 'unlimited/no contracts' as a doorbuster to gain marketing traction and like the original ipad ATT data plan it will eventually go away. Hopefully, the early adopters who don't abuse the 'reasonable limits' will be grandfathered in. Given the data caps of other brand names, if Sprint is a decent network in any geo area, there is no way I'd sign up for anything other than VM mifi or dongle right now.
Assuming this VM mifi has no fatal flaws other than being a bit slow-ish for my liking, I see it as a must-have for my businesses --at least for alternate access should I find myself in unusual circumstances. And VM mifi + craptop or ipad makes a great travel kit for the US. Since it's cdma, it's not going to work in EU, though. Too bad.
No way would I buy an ipad with its own data plan, either. Wifi version only.
>but HSDPA/HDUPA versus 802.11x is eminently more power efficient meaning it will last a lot lot lot longer for the same battery
Excellent point. I didn't know that, though it makes good sense now that you bring it up. For some, perhaps even many, that would be a deciding factor.