Verizon Treo 700p pricing: $400 with 2-year contract
By Marc Perton 
posted May 17th 2006 11:43AM
posted May 17th 2006 11:43AM
If you were hoping to play Sprint and Verizon off of each other and try to get a better deal on the Treo 700p, the jig is up. Verizon's pricing is now out, and the company is charging the same price as Sprint for the new Palm-based smartphone: $400 (with a two-year contract, that is). Calling plans with unlimited data start at $80 a month, and if you want to use your Treo as an EV-DO modem with your laptop (which we suspect you just might), be prepared to add an extra $15 a month. And, no, it still doesn't have WiFi.
how will they enforce the ev-do charge if it has bluetooth and spidermite can hack the bluetooth DUN?
Great pricing!
So how do you guys figure poans with data would be $80 a month. Sprint doesnt assign different rate plans based on your phone. Plans ACTUALLY would start at $29.99 (very basic minute plan) plus $15 for Power Vision (unlimited access). Now if you want to tether it, it wouldn't be an additional $15, no, it would be $59.99 INSTEAD of the $15 Power Vision Pack. Lets recap, $45/mo a month for phone and unlimited evdo, and $90/mo for a basic plan and unlimited evdo on phone and tethering.
that is all.
If you were talking about Verizon then forget everything I said
_will
Is this pricing scheme for EVDO new? I seem to remeber a 45 dollar EVDO plan for the phone with 15 dollars more for the laptop usage. I also remember being able to get a discount if it was ordered with a phone line (like 5-15 dollars).
Sprint Unlimited data for life! Or SERO program which is even better!
It's $80 with a $40 dollar plan so $40 for 450 minutes plus $40 for internet. You save $5. I still don't get why they charge so much. Yea they have a great network and maybe they do that because of business customers. They would get more users if they charges like $25 or $30 though. Also, call Verizon and see if you qualify for a discount. I work for a school (as a student in a lab) and I get 15% off my bill. Lot's of retail employees get it to like Best Buy and such. It helps with some of the costs.
Man, I cannot believe it, I waited and waited for this new Treo and there isn't a GSM version. So if I want it, I have to change providers and lock into a two year contract, sigh...
i know they will sell at least 1.....to me....i dont mind the plan structure that much either...partly cause my work uses vzw and all calls are free....but 450 for 80.00 is kinda steep..but the internet helps set that off...the regular internet (non-highspeed) runs 40.00 for the 650...and i have that on top of the 900 minute plan and and out the door w/ insurance (6.00) and txt (10.00) im running 125 a month. so its about 15.00 more in total a month w/ a better phone, tether ability, higher speed internet and more minutes. i wont complain at all...plus w/ verizon u can get a 1 year contract (35.00 activation fee) so that alone makes it worth it!! and my treo 650 plan is up may 31st!!! :) AWESOME TIMING!!
It's about time us CDMA guys get a little lovin'!
Ross,
This is what happened with the Treo 650 too. We GSM phone users really don't get any love. :(
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i just posted above....the pricing in my example was w/ the 1300 min plan as that seems to be the better deal compared to the 80.00 450
Don't forget $15 for a hacksaw to get rid of the crotch poker.
Ross,
I think the big issue is that Cingular doesn't have UMTS or HSDPA ready for all the big markets yet. Once that happens, I imagine we'll see a GSM/UMTS or HSDPA version of the 700.
and who wants a phone without a SIM card anyway - so i have to lug around my treo and i can't even take it over seas...
So according to Arsenio (#5) an Internet plan with Verizon is an extra $40 per month. With Sprint it's only $15 per month. Why such a huge difference?
Assuming both Verizon & Sprint have EVDO coverage in your area can anyone say why anyone would choose Verizon over Sprint? With Sprint you'd be saving $25 per month which really adds up.
I am really dissapointed in Verizon. I love the quality of service, but having to pay 45.00 plus 15.00 to have unlimited data and DUN is almost not worth it when you consider Sprint offers the sames features, for 25.00 total.
I know that you get what you pay for, and Sprint is garbage, but if VZW would drop the price even a little they would more than make up for the discount with the extra sales.
Damn... no WiFi is a deal breaker for me. That really irritates me. No WiFi is absolutely nothing more than Sprint and Verizon trying to nickle and dime you into spending as much as possible.
Fuck 'em.
I'm a treo newb.. I have a sidekick, and I really enjoy the IM service they got on there (AIM & Yahoo). Does the Treo offer those IM services? And would it be included in the unlimited data plan? Thanks!
In reply to #15, $25 is for unlimited evdo access AND Sprint TV Ultimate, I think most savvy users wouldnt give a damn about Sprint's "SprintTV becasue its boring stuff, clips not exceeding a few minutes and any good content is only available on channels you have to pay upwards of $4 each a month. Like adultswim channel etc. Savvy users would know you can stream pretty much any internet video one way or another and thats only $15 for unlimited access. Screw SprintTV. MobiTV for Palm is actually better for clips and entertainment.
"I am really dissapointed in Verizon. I love the quality of service, but having to pay 45.00 plus 15.00 to have unlimited data and DUN is almost not worth it when you consider Sprint offers the sames features, for 25.00 total."
This really ticks me off, too. I'm with Verizon, and lately I've been thinking about switching providers. Verizon's costs are simply ridiculous, and despite Verizon repeatedly sayings "it's the network", I'm starting to think that it's not worth it.
I've been lusting after a smartphone for some time now. Eh, now that the 700p is out, maybe the 650 will go for a decent price on eBay? EVDO doesn't matter to me, as I could never afford it as long as I'm with Verizon!
I had the 700w for a while and also had the EVDO. It was great when I needed to look something up but, I just didn't use it enough to justify the $40 a month. That's enough to cover a couple of other bills or my broadband bill at home. Verizon is trying to milk their business customers who they end up cutting a deal with for large orders anyways. So, we individual users pick up the bill. I have my family under Verizon with a family share. The only reason is reception. But I would in an instant get EVDO again only if they offered it at a lower price. They will only do it when competition gets tight enough.
#19,
You'll notice that I didn't reference the $25 option by Sprint because as you point out it is basically garbage. I was talking about the $15 unlimited data option by Sprint versus the $40 unlimited data option by Verizon (a $25 difference). What I'd like to know is why anyone would choose Verizon with unlimited data over Sprint's plan. Does Verizon offer some amazing feature that Sprint doesn't to justify such a price difference?
I can't see why anyone would choose Verizon so I'm wondering if there is anyone out there that does use Verizon's unlimited data plan.
Incidentally, I'm currently a Sprint customer looking to get the Treo 700p. I'm not loyal to Sprint in any way and my contract with them was up long ago. I started looking into Verizon to see if they'd be a better option for the 700p with unlimited data and was shocked to see how expensive it was.
Also, I currently have unlimited data (Sprint) with my phone for only $10 a month. I wonder if I'll be able to keep my current plan and get a 700p. My guess is that to keep my current plan I wouldn't be able to get the phone for a discount because the $399 price requires a 2-year contract which would likely require me to change my plan. In the long run it would probably be cheaper to buy the Treo at full price and keep the cheaper plan.
#18,
It's the Palm OS...
I am pretty sure you can find, well, everything for the phone... things your sidekick only dreams of doing... [Emulators anyone?]
As of me writing this, I am pretty sure it can run AIM [There is a version of AIM I used to run on my OS5 Clie, so unless someone tells me thats wrong, I am going to go with it can] and, I am pretty sure theres a way to do the Yahoo too, though you'd have to search around...
You can check out Handago.com for PalmOS software, and see what you've been missing. :D
Kuran,
I have Verizon, but not the data plan. I do know people who do have the plan, though. Simply put, Verizon is the most reliable network. If you depend on your cell phone to talk to clients, etc, the extra monthly cost is pocket change compared to the business you'll lose by irritating customers with constant poor reception or dropped calls. So it costs a few bucks (or a few dozen bucks) more a month...what's the cost of losing a client?
This is really way overpriced for technology that isn't new. Its a slight improvement over the last Treo. The PPC 6700 really is the Treo Killer!
DT (#24),
I don't talk to clients so that's a non-issue. My phone plan is for only 300 minutes which I rarely even come close to using. And as far as reliability goes, the only dropped calls that I ever get are when talking with the one person I know with a BlackBerry. I don't want to start a religious war on who's network is better, I don't use my phone enough to care.
I am a big 'net-freak though so having email/web/AIM/MSN access with EVDO does interest me greatly. So if a better network is the only reason Verizon has to justify their $40 unlimited data option then I'm much better off sticking with anyone else who is cheaper. In this case that is Sprint.
I used to have a Sidekick I & II, when I thought it would be cool to have email and IM with me all the time. But the novelty wore off pretty quick. Plus, I sit in front of a computer all day, making EVDO kind of redundant to the T1 line sitting right in front of me.
SMS is a good alternative to IM. And if I absolutely need to look something up in the wild, I don't mind paying per KB. So I got a treo 650 without the data plan, and I'm finding that I don't miss having the internet in my pocket.
It's kind of a relief, actually.
Also, the "better network" thing is pretty much location specific. Where I am, Verizon is pretty useless, whereas Sprint is pretty good (Cingular has them both beat, and T-Mobile comes in a distant distant fourth).
Does anyone know when Verizon is going to start shipping these suckers? I just got a 700w and am not too happy with it. I'm on like day 11 of my 15 day trial, so it would be nice if I could change this out.
On hold with Verizon now... *sigh*.
I pay only $39/month for unlimited Blackberry email and internet.
These Treo service plans cost a lot more and less reliable than the Blackberry service.
I am new to the Verizon and very dissapointed with their customer service.
I bought my Treo 700w from Circuit City and when I asked the seller that if I could use my PDA's modem to connect internet with my laptop-he said yes. After 2 months, I needed to give it a try. No luck. I called the customer service and customer service rep. told me that I either need to have Blackbery or new Treo 700p. After then he called the Circuit City store and have it replaced. I had to pay $59 extra :(
I came home installed the modem, bluetooh was able to see the phone and establish a connection. I had to call customer service again. They told me that I had to pay extra $15 for laptop connection. I was very angry, because if they told me that earlier, I wouldn't replace my 700w with 700p and would keep my $59. Moreover, I am already paying $79+$30, why would I have to pay extra $15. If it is the case I would by the internet card for $59 and I would use in some many ways with convenience in my laptop.
I called the customer service again to discuss the situation, the rep. was a kind of new and couldn't help much. I asked her to connect me to her manager, which she did after 30 minutes. When she connect me to her boss, I had to explain everything from start (20 minutes of explanation). He told me that I don't need to pay $15 extra. He said laptop connection is enabled on my account. When I asked why I can not connect to internet with my laptop using Treo 700p, he said there is a national connection outage in the system. I asked his name because his answer was very suspicios and not professional. His name is Jeffry Brueb.
This company is not good as far as customer service. I will return my phone back and switch to Sprint.
Verizon- "It is the bad-work"
I tried to upgrade with Verizon's "New Every Two" plan which gives you $100 off the price of a new phone every two years. He still quoted me a price of over $400, even with a new two year service agreement. I could get that price from either Sprint or Verizon new, w/o the replacement plans. Add to this the drastic price difference between the data plans and Verizon is in grave danger of losing my business to Sprint.
Has anyone else had trouble trying to get the phone from Verizon w/o a data plan?
I work for a company that has around 600 data devices and I have ordered most of them. I order from both Cingular and now Verizon, and I support the devices. I have ordered two Verizon Treo 700p devices, and both were defective right out of the box. On the one the wireless wouldn't turn on even after being charged overnight, and on the other it kept shutting off and after about four hours would never come back on again. On this device that died over the four hour period, I got a replacement from Verizon, and now the replacement stops receiving email, and gives errors every day. The user has to take the battery out in order to reset the device, and start receiving email againevery day.
I have probably order about 100 Treo 650s through Cingular, and they have been far more reliable than the 700p, except if you hit a dead spot, the wireless signal has to be manually turned back on, it wont pick back up on its own.
A word of warning about Verizon:
Verizon did not tell us they are split up into four separate companies through the US: Verizon North East, Verizon East, Verizon Midwest, and Verizon South. We signed up for a pooled plan, and were told that all of our employees would be in a pooled plan across the US. Then after we were in a contract, we found out Verizon North East wouldn't even recognize our contract with the Verizon branch we signed up with. Unless you have 200 users, they split your bill up between the four companies, and you dont get much of a pooled plan.