Verizon Reiterates Claims of World-Mode Next-Generation iPhone, Simultaneous With AT&T Debut

Family data plans and overage trap

will be good for those who watch their data usage, but BAD for parents who put kids on the plan...

Remember those families racking up hundreds or thousands of overage charges of texting because teenager unaware of the cost implications (and really they shouldn't have to). Lather, rinse, repeat.

This is just another way to charge overage. I think VZ's business model, like a bank's model is based on some degree of overage charges per person... Once I was charged $300 for a month of just pure voice overage, and VZ would do little to address my concerns or reduce the charges (this was in mid 2k7 and I even threatened to switch for the iPhone which I eventually did later that year).

Imagine having to not only monitor your SMS usage (which thankfully now have unlimited plans to "insure" against overage charges) but to also monitor data usage for spikes?

Did you see the article about AT&T allegedly overbilling for data?
http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/05/19/lawsuit-claims-att-overcharges-iphone-data-users-up-to-300/

I "trust" my utility company to meter my service because there is public utility commission (PUC) which is supposed to keep abuses in check.

I DO NOT trust mobile operators (cartel of rent-seeking greedy SOBs) to police themselves. Even Apple's strong-arming won't help here.

So yes, if you're careful and take even more time out of your day to monitor something that shouldn't be metered, sure... you'll save some money.

In the meanwhile, you kids could be doing some data-intensive activities racking up charges, you'd never know until it's too late.

r00fus said:

In the meanwhile, you kids could be doing some data-intensive activities racking up charges, you'd never know until it's too late.

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Not to defend the telcos, but this is nonsense. Every carrier offers the ability to check your usage in any number of ways. Online, on the handset itself, etc. Anyone who "goes over" is just being lazy and paying dearly for it.

A big fat DUH!

Hopefully VZW follows suit with AT&T and lets us folks with our current unlimited data plan be grandfathered in and only make new customers deal with the tiered rates.

ZipZilla said:

Not to defend the telcos, but this is nonsense. Every carrier offers the ability to check your usage in any number of ways. Online, on the handset itself, etc. Anyone who "goes over" is just being lazy and paying dearly for it.

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Thanks for your support fellow consumer.

So can you tell me how to set it up so that if I reach my data limit for the month, my data usage is turned off so that I cannot go over? I have ATT and an iphone. I'd like zero possibility of going over. There must be an automatic cut off switch somewhere.

radge said:

Hopefully VZW follows suit with AT&T and lets us folks with our current unlimited data plan be grandfathered in and only make new customers deal with the tiered rates.

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if they don't you will have the option of getting out of your contract with no ETF.

dgree03 said:

Your lying I have a Thunderbolt and can stream HD 720p youtube videos for 1 hour and only use 15-20% on LTE.

I get over 12 hours with normal usage daily. Stop spreading lies.

LTE is not the battery hog people make it out to be.

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An hour of youtube vidoes on your phone? What are you watching and when do you find that amount of time?

bpeeps said:

An hour of youtube vidoes on your phone? What are you watching and when do you find that amount of time?

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you people have never been waiting somewhere for an hour at a time? doctors office, DMV, airport, etc.... give the guy a break jeeze.

Rodimus Prime said:

if the world phone is like other world phones Verizon sells the phones will be edge only on the GSM side but I do not see that being a big deal.

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Actually, most/all of Verizon's World Phones have had UMTS-3G for a year or two now. Heck, HSPA as well.

The trouble with "world standard" GSM is that there are so many frequencies around the world to support, since various major countries allocated different ones. So I don't think Verizon's phone support most USA UMTS 3G freqs.

Nermal said:

I can't speak for Verizon, but one of the tricks that Telecom used here is that even with a local SIM, the phones would always connect via CDMA if it was available. In other words, if you went to the US and put an AT&T SIM in, you'd still connect via Verizon or Sprint.

Click to expand...

On most Verizon World Phones you can set them to be Automatic, CDMA only, or GSM only, with GPRS/UMTS selection.

In addition, Verizon will give you the unlock code for the GSM side, so you can use other SIMs. Some people have done that to use their Verizon World Phones on T-Mobile or AT&T, albeit without 3G.

In other words, Verizon's World Phone are a better deal than AT&T's totally locked up iPhone, since you can use VZW's network in the USA, and cheaper SIMs overseas.

juicedropsdeuce said:

Steve is basically gone. He's just doing housekeeping now before he goes. That's why companies are no longer scared to say what they want, in their own interest.

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Steve is just in stealth mode. He'll deliver his slap-down soon, don't you worry

RTP.

sounds good, except no more unlimited data. why should i switch to verizon then? i still have unlimited data with at&t right now

Born Again said:

let me ask....

they said you can keep it.

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lol. that is funny a** sh**. made my day.

FYI, I'm pretty sure verizon will only let you grandfather in a particular phone and once you switch, you'll lose that.

brsboarder said:

FYI, I'm pretty sure verizon will only let you grandfather in a particular phone and once you switch, you'll lose that.

Click to expand...

lame if true, i've kept my unlimited data through each iphone purchase.

NoExpectations said:

So, the next Verizon iPhone still won't be able to multitask (voice/data). LTE won't be here until 2012.

Click to expand...

Depends on where you live, that is, the geo area may not have LTE for quite some time.

Yes, the company with some of the highest gross margins in the world is looking out for us and trying to save us money. While the telcos with much smaller margins are greedy

r00fus said:

will be good for those who watch their data usage, but BAD for parents who put kids on the plan...

Remember those families racking up hundreds or thousands of overage charges of texting because teenager unaware of the cost implications (and really they shouldn't have to). Lather, rinse, repeat.

This is just another way to charge overage. I think VZ's business model, like a bank's model is based on some degree of overage charges per person... Once I was charged $300 for a month of just pure voice overage, and VZ would do little to address my concerns or reduce the charges (this was in mid 2k7 and I even threatened to switch for the iPhone which I eventually did later that year).

Imagine having to not only monitor your SMS usage (which thankfully now have unlimited plans to "insure" against overage charges) but to also monitor data usage for spikes?

Did you see the article about AT&T allegedly overbilling for data?
http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/05/19/lawsuit-claims-att-overcharges-iphone-data-users-up-to-300/

I "trust" my utility company to meter my service because there is public utility commission (PUC) which is supposed to keep abuses in check.

I DO NOT trust mobile operators (cartel of rent-seeking greedy SOBs) to police themselves. Even Apple's strong-arming won't help here.

So yes, if you're careful and take even more time out of your day to monitor something that shouldn't be metered, sure... you'll save some money.

In the meanwhile, you kids could be doing some data-intensive activities racking up charges, you'd never know until it's too late.

Click to expand...

brsboarder said:

FYI, I'm pretty sure verizon will only let you grandfather in a particular phone and once you switch, you'll lose that.

Click to expand...

Probably. Still, it's making me think really hard about getting a Thunderbolt with the unlimited 3G/4G data plan before this all happens. I could use one for a couple of years, if they fix the little buglets.

I wonder what they're going for on CL/eBay. Time to look!

2012 Right??

brsboarder said:

FYI, I'm pretty sure verizon will only let you grandfather in a particular phone and once you switch, you'll lose that.

Click to expand...

There's no way man...I didn't sign an Unlimited Plan with restrictions to a phone...I signed an Unlimited Plan. Period.

My upgrade is going to be due when the new iPhone comes out so there's no way their going to say "You can still get Unlimited with the i4, but the new i4s/i5 is a new Limited contract."

If so I could see a lawsuit/many users dropping Verizon.

bbplayer5 said:

Try our new LTE networks! Oh btw, you only get 2gbs of data that you will use in the first 2 days.


Thank you and come again!

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Just to be clear here, there's nothing about 4G that will cause you to use more data. If you browse the same websites, do the same emailing, etc, you will use exactly the same amount of data, it will just be a lot less waiting.

There seems to be lots of implying that 4G will cause you to use more data.

johndoejohndoes said:

There's no way man...I didn't sign an Unlimited Plan with restrictions to a phone...I signed an Unlimited Plan. Period.

My upgrade is going to be due when the new iPhone comes out so there's no way their going to say "You can still get Unlimited with the i4, but the new i4s/i5 is a new Limited contract."

If so I could see a lawsuit/many users dropping Verizon.

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i don't think you can sue them, they have a right to change their ToS at any time they want, if you don't want to agree to the new terms you can opt out of your contract with no ETF.

xxBURT0Nxx said:

i don't think you can sue them, they have a right to change their ToS at any time they want, if you don't want to agree to the new terms you can opt out of your contract with no ETF.

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How can they change a contract? If I break the contract I have to pay.
If they break the contract there's no ETF? The ETF was for me cancelling the contract...so if they break it they should pay. And if they somehow do this to the millions of customers who were grandfathered in, that could = a lawsuit.

I mean how can they let me keep my grandfathered plan for an older phone? That makes no sense and the courts would see how they're ripping off their customers who logically want to use their upgrades on newer phones opposed to older ones.

Either way, if I loose my grandfathered plan of 10 years because they want to charge me with the new Limited Plan when I get my new i5...I would switch over to AT&T and pay their Limited Plan just so Verizon loses my business of $300 a month (including cable, internet, home phone, cell phone.)

johndoejohndoes said:

How can they change a contract? If I break the contract I have to pay.
If they break the contract there's no ETF? The ETF was for me cancelling the contract...so if they break it they should pay. And if they somehow do this to the millions of customers who were grandfathered in, that could = a lawsuit.

I mean how can they let me keep my grandfathered plan for an older phone? That makes no sense and the courts would see how they're ripping off their customers who logically want to use their upgrades on newer phones opposed to older ones.

Either way, if I loose my grandfathered plan of 10 years because they want to charge me with the new Limited Plan when I get my new i5...I would switch over to AT&T and pay their Limited Plan just so Verizon loses my business of $300 a month (including cable, internet, home phone, cell phone.)

Click to expand...

i'm not saying you have to agree with it, that's just the way it works man. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time. SMS used to be free back in the day, now you have to pay for it. Nobody seemed to get grandfathered in when that happened. Part of their ToS is that they can change it at any time. If you don't agree to the new terms, you have the right to opt out of the contract and they won't charge you an ETF.

xxBURT0Nxx said:

i'm not saying you have to agree with it, that's just the way it works man. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time. SMS used to be free back in the day, now you have to pay for it. Nobody seemed to get grandfathered in when that happened. Part of their ToS is that they can change it at any time. If you don't agree to the new terms, you have the right to opt out of the contract and they won't charge you an ETF.

Click to expand...

Do you honestly think they would do that for the i4s/i5 in September?
If they do I'd rather get the i4 now and hold onto it for two years (with my Unlimited Plan) and hope in 2 years I could get grandfathered in for the i7 (or w/e) since I have the i4.

But then again, I think the only reason they would do that is to bump up i4 sales which is BS. I've know the guy at my Verizon store for a long time and he's always hooked it up...I'd probably see if he could hook it up again!