Lets Talk: is $799 worth unlimited data?

[pc747]

When verizon revealed the new share plan people went up in arms about wanting to keep their unlimited data. So vzw offered a compromise in that if you buy your phone outright you can keep unlimited data. Some believe the avg increase for data would be 30 a month. So is paying full retail for a phone worth unlimited data. Well lets do the math. 1st unlike non-contract carriers and t-mobile buying a phone full retail DOES NOT make you bill cheaper. Whether you get a phone "for the free" or spend $1000 you are still paying the smart phone plan. 2nd I did the math the avg increase from standard plan to family share plan is $30. $30 x 24 months (2 year contract) is $720.00 where buying a phone full retail is on average $699-$799 for new device. So that begs me to ask do you really come out ahead if you pay full retail for your device to keep unlimited data?


For me no. I looked at my usage and I average 2gigs a month with me only busting that during football season when I am doing a lot of streaming. Seriously the average user do not use 2 gigs a month especially those with high speed internet at the house. Those with out any internet at the house may find it worth paying full retail for a phone. I can not justify paying $700 + for a phone (which sadly I did once with my rezound) while still paying on avg $100 for a cell phone plan. Now if it was like virgin mobile where paying $799 would drop my bill to $35 a month then I would be all over paying full retail.


So I challenge you to look at your usage and think deep and hard is it worth paying full price for a phone just to keep "unlimited" data, especially if your avg usage is between 2-3 gigs.

 

[EyeOWA]

I feel the same way. My upgrade comes in January and my X2 is becoming laggy, especially compared to my wifes Iphone5. I average maybe 2-3 Gb per month. Gonna have to forgo the unlimited and get the subsidized phone price. Note 2 looking pretty sweet, but may be new ones rolling out before then.

 

[justin82]

for me i have 2 extra lines with regular phones on them .. so i will pay subsidized prices .. and keep my unlimited data but i would drop carriers most likely... i have no internet options at the house so i am a heavy user :blink:

 

[huskur]

For me there is no need for "subsidized" phones. Here is my last scenario: I paid $650 for my S3 but I sold my Maxx for $400. $650 - $400 = $250 which is cheaper than an upgrade. So I now have a S3 right.......and I really wanted the Note 2. It is now coming to Verizon in a month or two......So my plan of action is: $750 (guestamate for the Note 2) Sell my GS3 with accessories for $550 and I am getting the Note 2 for around $200 bucks or so. Still a great deal.....

Long story short...keep your device in good condition and sell it to recoup some of your loss on the new phone. You will be close to the upgrade price without paying for a VZW subsidized device

 

[pc747]

For me there is no need for "subsidized" phones. Here is my last scenario: I paid $650 for my S3 but I sold my Maxx for $400. $650 - $400 = $250 which is cheaper than an upgrade. So I now have a S3 right.......and I really wanted the Note 2. It is now coming to Verizon in a month or two......So my plan of action is: $750 (guestamate for the Note 2) Sell my GS3 with accessories for $550 and I am getting the Note 2 for around $200 bucks or so. Still a great deal.....

Long story short...keep your device in good condition and sell it to recoup some of your loss on the new phone. You will be close to the upgrade price without paying for a VZW subsidized device

That is also a good take/point for those who are paying full retail especially if you are one with out home internet trying to keep unlimited data. For me I dont go through phones that fast.

 

[les017]

I have a simple plan in that my Bionic and wife's Droid X2 are our only devices on a 1400 minute unlimited plan. With my employee discount we pay $152/mo (+tax, etc) and per the VZW website the same Share Everything with 6GB would be $144 while the 4GB plan would be $136. As I look back over my history, back during my heavy romming of the OG Droid I ONE TIME went over 5GB in one month. Other than that we have never broken over 3GB and only a handful of times over 2GB. So if everything remains equal the Share plan is actually a better deal for us. Obviously we don't make a habit of massive audio/video streaming.

Having said that, giving up Unlimited is a mental barrier, especially when I don't know what might be coming down the pike that will suck larger amounts of data. And that is when I would want to still have unlimited. But I would guess that a major data hog service would likely require a Share plan to use anyway, in the future.

The biggest advantage I see for the Share plan is the relatively cheap way to add a tablet, assuming the pricing remains the same. Without the Share plan I would never be able to justify, for my usage, another $40/mo for tablet data. But now at $10/mo it is much more attractive, just to make sure the tab has connectivity IF needed. Luckily I have another year before I need to much worry about it. But you are right pc747, the share plan does not have to be a downer...at least as it stands right now.

 

[pc747]

My game plan is to budget for the max I use. Example the max I ever used is 5 gigs so I will budget for that . Now the months i use 2 gigs the extra money I save i will put in savings that way if there is a month where I am away on vacation and am having to go data crazy I am covered. My point is for every one to look at their own situation. Dont go into debt paying $800 for a cell phone because you feel losing unlimited data will bankrupt you. Look at your situation individually and look at how you use your phone. Because majority of us really should not panic about the new plan.

 

[Yonahdad]

I am not a data hog, but I'd still rather pay full price instead of allowing them to take my unl data.. I am only paying about $110 per month for 2 lines..

 

[huskur]

I am not a data hog, but I'd still rather pay full price instead of allowing them to take my unl data.. I am only paying about $110 per month for 2 lines..

Right on brother! The "potential" is always there.

 

[wcjeep]

My minimum data is 5gb per month. Losing unlimited would raise my monthly bill by $30. Full price phone does save me money.

 

[pistacio]

Currently my bill is $183 after tax , two androids with unlimited data/500 texts each, two basic phones with no texting. 700 minutes shared for all 4. Free vzw mobile to mobile calling and text.

Share everything plan scenario :
$80 for androids
$60 for basic phones
$70 4gb data(to cover 3.5gb total average usage on both smartphones )

$210 before taxes

The extra $35-$40 each month over two years, and being cautious about data usage is just not worth the subsidized price.

I'll keep my plan as-is, buy used phones,sell my old devices, and keep unlimited data on two lines as long as possible.

My 2 cents.


Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nomadicnut]

I have a RAZR Maxx w/unlimited. I will sell my phone to subsidize the full retail price on a newer phone to keep my unlimited. I use between 4 & 10 gig a month as I have no other source of internet. I also have a very old minute plan. 50 min/month. I rarely use voice. With tax my bill is $60.54 +/- .20 cents. I can't imagine paying over $100 as many of you do. So it's full price for me and very happily.

 

[jcwilliams]

I pay 120ish two Android phones. Both on unlimited data and text. 1400 shared minutes. I too just sell my old phones and buy used ones so i can keep my data.

 

[The Robot Cow]

For someone like me who has a good speed internet at home i'm thinking about either dropping verizon and go to a pre-paid or just pull the trigger and go with the upgrade and get a nice new shiny phone. I used about 3.5gbs this month but i know its because i was constantly online since 4g lte just went live in my area and i just wanna be like "omg im finally using 4g!!!".

In my situation it's all being focused around my next device if i do get a new verizon phone then i'll just lose my unlimited data and learn how to be more cautious of my data usage and use my wi-fi more often. But if i do decide to go pre-paid and go with an unlocked phone i would sell my gnex for a new phone.

 

[bnpdp]

Keep in mind, a subsidized phone is not a free phone. We all want the newest an best. Therefore you pay full price of around 600-700$ or 200-300$ subsidized. Simple math means divide the 400$ difference by 24 making it $16.70 a month. Everything is going wireless, keep your unlimited. Cable companies will figure out a way to charge for cells on wifi, especially when big red owns both.