[Follow-Up] Verizon's 'Share Everything Plan' Overload; Reactions from Around the Web

[MissionImprobable]

Just one thing I'm wondering: how do they justify charging $40/month as a "Smartphone Access Fee?" I understand charging for data, general fees for maintenance, etc, but costs being tacked on for the claimed "phone workshops" is a bunch of b.s. Is there some mysterious benefit that VZ is offering customers that I don't know about?

 

[arabstar1982]

This is ridiculous. So the two smartphones will cost me $80 and the three basic phones which use NO FREAKING DATA AT ALL AND ONLY ABOUT 100 MINUTES A MONTH will cost me $90 and the. I gotta add data on top of it????? Unbelievable.... Verizon will see my lines slowly dropping then one by one as their contracts expire.... a$$holes that are too big for their britches. What bean counter is sitting back reaping a huge promotion on this one????

 

[SwiftLegend]

You are not being forced into unlimited minutes and texts. Directly from VZW:

"I have an unlimited data plan on my account. Do I need to change it?

You're not required to move to Share Everything but if you do, unlimited data will not be retained on your line. As a Verizon Wireless customer you have choices when you upgrade at discounted pricing. You can choose from a standalone data package starting at $30 for 2GB or a Share Everything Plan. If keeping unlimited is important to you, you can choose to upgrade and pay full retail price for the phone."

I'd like to know what other options will be available. Unlimited minutes was useful for many several years ago, but not so much today.

So wait, if I ever choose to upgrade, I have to switch to this Share Everything plan unless I want to pay full retail? If that's the case, it is flippin' retarded.

On a side note, if I wanted to pre-order the GS3, but I am not eligible for an upgrade, could I still do it and pay the $199, or would I have to also pay an ETF ?

 

[jseah]

So wait, if I ever choose to upgrade, I have to switch to this Share Everything plan unless I want to pay full retail? If that's the case, it is flippin' retarded.

On a side note, if I wanted to pre-order the GS3, but I am not eligible for an upgrade, could I still do it and pay the $199, or would I have to also pay an ETF ?

It appears now that if you ever choose to upgrade and you currently have unlimited data, you can choose to either switch to the Share Everything plan, or switch to a tiered data plan. In any case, you WILL lose unlimited data.

If you pre-order the GS3, but are not currently eligible for an upgrade, then you will need to pay full retail.

 

[Serial Fordicator]

New commercial "with Verizon's lightning fast lte network you can stream movies but you can't watch over ten minutes of the movie or you'll go over on data."
Seriously wtf is the point of lte if you can't use it for 15 minutes a day? I think I already miss evdo. Better battery life and fast enough for me to do everything I need.

 

[Beka27]

New commercial "with Verizon's lightning fast lte network you can stream movies but you can't watch over ten minutes of the movie or you'll go over on data."
Seriously wtf is the point of lte if you can't use it for 15 minutes a day? I think I already miss evdo. Better battery life and fast enough for me to do everything I need.

The operative word there is "can": You CAN eat truffles with breakfast, lunch, and dinner... no one can afford to do so... but technically, you CAN... :icon_eek:

 

[BLeClair12]

Yeah, you sort of have to wonder what big companies like Netflix, Pandora, Google Music, etc, all think about this. It effectively eliminates any and all use for their product on Verizon devices unless you're using WiFi.

Or what about the NFL and their exclusive partnership with Verizon, for example? They're going to charge money for NFL Mobile Premium this year to stream the Thursday and Sunday night games, and other content. I was considering subscribing, but what would be the point if I could hardly use it? They've got to take a hit here, too.

 

[SwiftLegend]

It appears now that if you ever choose to upgrade and you currently have unlimited data, you can choose to either switch to the Share Everything plan, or switch to a tiered data plan. In any case, you WILL lose unlimited data.

If you pre-order the GS3, but are not currently eligible for an upgrade, then you will need to pay full retail.

That's just plain stupid. Verizon cares more about making money than they care about their customers. And I always thought "The customer is supposed to always come first"...


Looks like my GNexus will be my phone for the next few years..

 

[Jmoore1701]

That's just plain stupid. Verizon cares more about making money than they care about their customers. And I always thought "The customer is supposed to always come first"...


Looks like my GNexus will be my phone for the next few years..

Maybe I'm just a cynic...but I've never felt that any company I've ever dealt with cared more about customers than making money--certainly not huge corporations like Verizon...
I know that they're in business to make money, but so is everyone. They could at least pretend to care. I'm not that hard to fool in these matters: a few ads about "customer is always right" or "YOU are our number one priority" would work wonders.

 

[kodiak799]

Yeah, you sort of have to wonder what big companies like Netflix, Pandora, Google Music, etc, all think about this. It effectively eliminates any and all use for their product on Verizon devices unless you're using WiFi.

I believe on AT&T, some apps (like HBO Go and Xfinity) will only stream over wifi to begin with.

 

[huskur]

I believe on AT&T, some apps (like HBO Go and Xfinity) will only stream over wifi to begin with.

Thats the dumbest crap I ever heard. If I wanted to watch HBO Go or netflix over wifi I would use a tablet at least. The point is you should be able to use your phone data watching whatever you like, especially away from wifi.

 

[kodiak799]

Thats the dumbest crap I ever heard. If I wanted to watch HBO Go or netflix over wifi I would use a tablet at least. The point is you should be able to use your phone data watching whatever you like, especially away from wifi.

I didn't offer an opinion on it, I'm just saying on his tablet he can only watch HBO GO or Xfinity on wifi.

 

[jaycemiskel]

Yeah. Reading over some of these articles, it seems that they're really sticking it to the families with both smart and dumb phones on the same plan (possibly a technique to force everyone to upgrade to smartphones to get some value for their money?)

It's not very BAD for us. We currently have 2 lines with 1400min/unl text and the $20 discount on each of our unlimited plans for $150 (including tax, fees, insurance etc...). With this new plan we'd have 4GB for $141 WITH my 15% discount, BUT before tax, fees, insurance, etc... Not a huge difference, but increased data usage with 4G concerns me. And when the time comes for our son to get a phone, we'll be screwed.

People are going to start family planning based on how many phones they eventually will need on their plan... :icon_eek:

I'm in the exact same situation. I would rather not even have to think about whether or not I've used 4gb though so I believe I'll be paying full retail for phones. As for people who are saying that companies must be mad right now, remember that there has been talk that companies will be able to pay for the data people use on their services in the future so talks for that may have ramped up.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[jroc]

I believe on AT&T, some apps (like HBO Go and Xfinity) will only stream over wifi to begin with.

I can believe it. I have a PS Vita with a 5GB data plan. I can only download from the PS Network and watch Netflix over wifi. What's the point? if I wanna burn thru my data watching Netflix, shouldn't that be my choice? If anything give me a setting that restricts things like that to wifi, don't just block it outright.

 

[kodiak799]

I can believe it. I have a PS Vita with a 5GB data plan. I can only download from the PS Network and watch Netflix over wifi. What's the point? if I wanna burn thru my data watching Netflix, shouldn't that be my choice? If anything give me a setting that restricts things like that to wifi, don't just block it outright.

Agree with you, but I think Netflix or HBO Go on a tablet might be the app provider themself wanting to provide quality. Maybe they can't stream a decent tablet-sized picture over 3G (AT&T and VZW 3G in Chicago are both about worthless in many places)?