data plan - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 with 4G LTE (and $50-A-Year Data Plan) Coming November 20th For $499

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Kindle Fire HD, News

Amazon's new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is impressive enough in its own right, thanks to high-end features and a competitive price of $299. But at the Kindle press event today, CEO Jeff Bezos announced something truly groundbreaking: a Kindle Fire with a 4G LTE connection and an unprecedented data plan. For $499 (the price of the iPad 3, among many others) you get the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, a 4G LTE data connection (almost certainly AT&T) and access to a $49.99-a-year data plan. That's twelve months of 4G LTE, with the unfortunate limit of 250MB a month.

Even with the tiny data limit, which somewhat undercuts Bezos' highlight of HD content, it's a compelling offer.

Jan

AT&T Announces New Data Packages, Gives You More Bang For Your Buck

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, News

Looks like AT&T has been tweaking its data packages again, trying to find a way to better compete with the likes of the Sprint, T-Mobile, and VZW no doubt. The revised data plans will go into affect on January 22, and they look a little something like this:

Data Plus 300MB: $20 for 300MB
Data Pro 3GB: $30 for 3GB
Data Pro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering

So, how does that compare to Ma Bell's current data rates? Have a looksee:

Data Plus 200MB: $15 for 200MB
Data Pro 2GB: $25 for 2GB
Data Pro 4GB: $45 for 4GB

Tablet plans have also undergone a similar change:

DataConnect 3GB for $30 (Current rate: 3GB for $35)
DataConnect 5GB: $50 (Current rate: 5GB for $60)

So, all-in-all, it is a better deal, especially for those on a 3GB or 5GB plan - more geebees for you.

Sep

[Update: AT&T And Sprint Support Added] Smozzy Bucks The System, Lets T-Mobile Customers Browse The Web Without A Data Plan

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Update: If you've been itching to try this workaround on a non-T-Mobile phone, then now's your chance. The Snozzy dev has added experimental support for AT&T and Sprint, and untested support for Verizon, Virgin, Cricket, Straight Talk, US Cellular, and Viaero. Since the latter group is completely untested, there's a good chance that it will be extremely buggy, if it even works at all. If you decide to give it a go, make sure to drop us a line and let us know how it turns out!

With all this talk of data plans - unlimited, tiered, throttled... whatever - one developer decided to find a way to circumvent the system and gain access to the web without paying carrier prices.

Sep

Sprint To Keep Unlimited Data Plans (For Now), Says Chief Technology Officer Stephen Bye

Posted by Liam Spradlin in 4G, News, Sprint

With other carriers (such as Verizon and AT&T) cutting their unlimited data plans, rumblings have understandably emerged that Sprint may be planning to follow suit.

That, fortunately, is not the case according to Stephen Bye, Sprint's Chief Technology Officer. Bye addressed this topic while speaking to those attending the GigaOm Mobilize Conference in San Francisco yesterday.

Bye indicated that Sprint sees its dedication to unlimited data as a differentiator from other carriers (except when it comes to mobile hotspot, evidently), explaining that not all unlimited subscribers use the same amount of data, as well as the fact that tiered data plans carry hidden costs related to customer care and support.

Jun

[Rumor] Verizon Implementing Tiered Data Plans On July 7th, And They're Not Pretty

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Verizon Wireless

Most users accustomed to unlimited data cringe upon hearing the words "tiered data plans" - but they aren't always bad. As our own David Ruddock pointed out, they don't affect most users - and they might even be cheaper for non-data hogs (aka 97% of customers).

However, in the case of the new tiered data plans Verizon Wireless is rumored to be implementing early next month, there's not much of an argument - they don't add any value whatsoever for VZW subscribers, and their sole raison d'être seems to be raping subscribers' wallets further still. Have a look for yourself:

2GB – $30/month
5GB – $50/month
10GB – $80/month
Overages - $10/1GB

No, this isn't a nightmare.

Oct

T-Mobile Set To Launch A $15 Tethering Add-On On November 3rd

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Carriers, News, T-Mobile

It could only last so long. Boy Genius Report received a tip today that T-Mobile USA is making preparations to follow other carriers' foot steps and is going to start charging for tethering on November 3rd. The $14.99 monthly plan is a surcharge on top of an obligatory $19.99 Unlimited Web plan, so don't go thinking you can replace one with the other.

T-Mobile was once praised for turning a blind eye to device tethering and portable WiFi hotspot functionality, but times are tough, so what better way to make money than charging customers for the same data twice? As a blissfully ignorant European resident, this is a slightly alien concept to me, but hey, if all the other networks can get away with it, why shouldn't T-Mo?

Sep

Verizon To Jump On The Capped Mobile Data Plan Bandwagon

Posted by Brad Ganley in News, Verizon Wireless

It looks a lot like Verizon is going to follow in the much-criticized footsteps of AT&T and their tiered data plans, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Before you scream "travesty!", consider this: Nielson (the company that analyzes everything so others don't have to) has reported that 99% of the 60,000 phone bills they had looked at would benefit from a tiered pricing structure.

The average monthly consumption of mobile data has risen from last year's 90MB up to 298MB this year. This is, obviously, nowhere even close to 5GB that some "unlimited" plans include but also takes non-smartphone users into account.