Why has Droid forsaken me?

[Hector1959]

Its all about money... supply and demand.. you want it they have it and they will charge a fee for it....

 

[crspang]

@the OP, you said you had been anticipating the Droid for months until you could get one. My question is what rock have you been living under? How could you be anticipating something and not know one of the most basic issues related to any smartphone? While I agree it sucks to have pay $360 extra a year, I just don't see how you could not have known that it is a requirement for any data phone from VZW.

You obviously had to see an ad or read about the Droid to have been anticipating getting one like you said, so again how could you not know about the data plan requirement?

 

[sc4fpse]

Companies love uneducated customers like the OP.

Perhaps you should have done your homework on the phone before deciding to buy it? Never hurts to do a little looking around. And it should have clearly been indicated in your contract w/ Verizon that a data plan was required for this phone.

And, as others have previously stated, you actually didn't pay for the hardware. You paid a small fraction of the actual retail price for the hardware. The reason you paid as little for it as you did it because Verizon subsidizes the phone, with the expectation that they will get you for your normal voice + text plan (whatever it may be) for another two years, along with $30/month for the data plan. Paying the difference in the cost of your phone allows them to get the phone into hands of customers who might not be able to afford $600 at one time, all while still profiting over the course of the two year contract.

But then, there are always ignorant customers such as yourself who rush through things and don't read exactly what they're getting into. They love those customers.

Not Verizon's fault. Not Droid's fault.

Laugh at you? Droidforums.net does. :|

 

[asmallchild]

Its your fault

That is the in dustry standard now

No data plan, no smartphone. Period.

I agree with verizon and other cell phone companies for that matter on this issue

 

[adrynalyne]

I'll admit I didn't read the entire thread, so hopefully, I am not duplicating info here.

If the OP can prove to me, for one month that he/she can successfully use wifi only and not use any data usage on the Verizon network, I will support the OP's claim. Screenshots of total data usage will be needed. Thats my challenge. If the OP refuses, then this thread has no substance, and is just another in a long line of "I didn't read my contract" rants.

Secondly,

I honestly think that Verizon should drop the mandatory data plan and go back to 1.99/mb on all phones.

I would get a chuckle out of all the threads that popped up titled

"WTF, My Bill was 600 Dollars Last Month!"

 

[takeshi]

...and that's part of the problem. Granted, part of the problem is also that the carriers are trying to improve their ARPU by making data plans mandatory.

In any case, it doesn't matter for two reasons:

1. It's in your carrier's TOS which the OP should have read.
2. It's information that the OP should have discovered by doing homework first. One can't shop for smartphones without performing due diligence.

Sorry to sound cold and callous but that's the reality of the matter. If you don't agree with Verizon's (or other carriers that mandate data plans) you can either choose to not use them or take them to court.

Yes I have to pay for the hardware, I get that. But phones these days are imbued with multiple functions, some that supersede the original functions. Case in point is Wi-Fi that allows one to get their data without having to use the carrier's network.

In addition, Droid is supposed to be from the technology savior Google's benevolent hands. Compare their app store philosophy to Apples and you will see quickly that OPEN is the word of the day.

It seems that you've only read and understood what you've wanted to read and understand rather than all the facts. Don't forget that you carrier plays a major role and that's where your problems lies -- not with the Droid itself but with Verizon. Also, keep in mind that "open source" not only doesn't mean "free" but it also doesn't mean "no data plan requirement". Google's Market approval process isn't germane to whether or not Verizon requires data plans or not.

I'm really not sure how you could have researched and anticipated the Droid for months without knowing of the data plan requirement. It's not something that just popped up recently. However, I guess it's certainly possible to have overlooked it. Try to remain level headed and read all the fine print. Don't let your excitement make you overlook the facts.

Also, don't make the mistake of assuming that Google is some sort of benevolent entity. It is a corporation. It is there to make a profit like all the rest.

Now it may be that this is the way it is and there is no changing. I would disagree and consider this criminal.Am I the only one complaining about how that required data charge is immoral and criminal?

You're definitely not the only one complaining. Immoral isn't really germane. We're talking about a corporation here and loyalty, mortality and all these other things don't apply even though people seem to tend to anthropomorphize corporations all the time. I'm curious though, what law are you basing this "criminal" accusation on? Not agreeing with something doesn't necessarily make it immoral or criminal.

IIRC TMO still allows you to use a device without a data plan requirement (depending on the device purchase agreement terms though). You can also use a device on at&t without a data plan if it's not purchased through them or an IMEI that they can identify.

Again, don't rely on my word and do your own thorough homework.

 

[dman91]

I'll admit I didn't read the entire thread, so hopefully, I am not duplicating info here.

If the OP can prove to me, for one month that he/she can successfully use wifi only and not use any data usage on the Verizon network, I will support the OP's claim. Screenshots of total data usage will be needed. Thats my challenge. If the OP refuses, then this thread has no substance, and is just another in a long line of "I didn't read my contract" rants.

Secondly,

I honestly think that Verizon should drop the mandatory data plan and go back to 1.99/mb on all phones.

I would get a chuckle out of all the threads that popped up titled

"WTF, My Bill was 600 Dollars Last Month!"

LOL! If that happened, I'd be back to T-Mobile in a heartbeat.

While it sucks, I'm okay with paying $100/month for my Droid because I know I will use it to its full potential and get the most out of it. If I want it and can afford it, why not?

 

[rjm5151]

I payedthe 30 bucks when i had my voyager and that phone barely did anything.....go buy a non smartphone or deal with it

 

[Creibold]

How many kids have to get on these forums and complain about a data rate? Honestly.

If you are going to complain about anything, complain about the data cap. Verizon calls it "unlimited" data, but it is actually capped at 5GB per month. That is, if you can download more than 5GB of data a month on a phone.

 

[roflcopters]

That in itself is false...read the stickied thread on this Forum...all our phones have 100% unlimited data use. Tethering packages have the 5 GB limit.

 

[adrynalyne]

How many kids have to get on these forums and complain about a data rate? Honestly.

If you are going to complain about anything, complain about the data cap. Verizon calls it "unlimited" data, but it is actually capped at 5GB per month. That is, if you can download more than 5GB of data a month on a phone.

Another victim of misinformation, that is clearly in the Stickied threads in this forum.

Unlimited means unlimited.

Check your contract. Nowhere does it say you are limited to 5gb.

 

[Smeech]

I say go to verizonwireless.com and take a look at your plan.

I have 3 phones on my account. My bill was $145 (after taxes) before the Droid.

My bill is now $135 (after taxes) AFTER the Droid.

What did I do?

Well, for starters, I had the old $15 web plan on my LG ENV Touch. I also had $5 for e-mail. A few months back I even had the VZ Navigator, which cost $10 --but had gotten rid of it. But, look, that's $30 right there.

I also downgraded my BASE family share plan to a loyalty plan since I had been with Verizon for a number of years (I think 5 may be the number here). That plan is $10 cheaper, and instead of 700 minutes, it's only 550 but most my calls are mobile-to-mobile, so that didn't matter.

I downgraded my g/f's ENV Touch from a $15 web plan to the new $10 web plan (I forget the amount, but she doesn't go near it--I THINK it's 250 mb). I downgraded her text from the $10 plan to the $5 plan since she doesn't seem to do more than 200 texts back and forth per month.

All that added up made the new plan $10 CHEAPER than it was before. And this was a concern for me, since I've been trying to save up money and pay off bills. Point is, perhaps there's hope--it's worth a shot.

(This works, of course, if you already have Verizon I can't tell)

EDIT: From what I can tell, the loyalty plan is only available by phone. I did everything else online.

 

[SSHGuru]

It really boils down to this rather than 5 pages worth of *****footing around.

When they hand you the long strip of paper that shows you what your fees will be you should read it.

Furthermore if you did all that research before getting one you should have known.

You are ignorant and not worth the time of anyone here.

 

[MrKleen]

I didn't read all of the responses, but I do have some initial thoughts on the subject.

A trend that the carriers are going towards is that they require a data plan on their phones regardless if you want data or not. I do feel they should give the "choice" on whether you want the extra data packages. Of course if you don't have them you are limiting yourself, but that should be our choice. So in a way I agree with the initial post.

I am not sure but I do think they have other options than the 30 per month plan. I think you can get limited data for something like 10 per month. Sorry if this is incorrect, or has already been discussed.

Peace.

 

[MrKleen]

I payedthe 30 bucks when i had my voyager and that phone barely did anything.....go buy a non smartphone or deal with it

That's funny, because the Voyager didn't even require a data plan.... LOL

My wife still has one and it has NEVER had the data plan. I got one when they came out and returned it within a week and went back to a flip phone because it was very dissapointing.