Alright, you ultrafast mobile broadband zealots, whip out your calendars and draw a big red tick around the middle of 2011. Verizon's CTO Anthony Melone has identified next summer as the carrier's release window for its first LTE handset, which should be preceded by the 4G service being rolled out by the end of this year. If you're wondering what you'll be using on that
"faster than 3G" network while waiting for the
vanguard handset, we saw plenty of
LTE-equipped gear at CES and let's not forget about that
1080p-decodin' NVIDIA tablet that was teased during the show. The one bit of bogus news from Melone was the statement that contracts with "as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change." Verizon seems resolutely set on introducing some type of tiered or metered price plans, which is unfortunately the same path
AT&T is headed down. The message from the networks is therefore clear: with great (downloading) power comes great (bill-paying) responsibility.
posted March 11th 2010 3:45AM
Can only see this going downhill in a bad way. Will allow them to charge you more for the 5gig limit you are getting now. Meh, might get good for people who only want a 1gig plan though. (PS. 5gigs is still too little, if you plan to use skype or stream anything during the month, eats bandwidth fast) (PSS. the 5gigs is download + upload combined, so even less than you think you are getting)
i am agree what minions is saying
Oh, so this must mean you're going to be offering data only on any device I choose?
Am i the only one who really fucking wanted a NGage when they came out?
Whats wrong with talking into a taco?
@NeonMonster
that's what he said to her.
4G, next summer?
4G exists today in Stockholm (in a country called Sweden). Not too cheap though.
http://telia4g.se/om-4g
As long as the cap is in place I would never get any of these services. I used a Verizon based DayPass card for a week, it worked really well until I woke up one morning and saw an additional 1.7 Gigs of data usage on my card in one day! A day my computer was turned OFF. The aholes at Verizon refused to credit my account claiming their server information is never wrong. So f em. I'll NEVER get wireless broadband with a cap.
There may be four (five if you count Crickett) Big Cell Companies in the US that should be charged for collusion and price fixing. I don't understand why there isn't a Single Cell Phone provider out there that bucks the pricing trends by offering real unlimited plans. Even if it's a premium price like $100 a month, you'd think at least one of these companies would offer this.
How can these weasels get away with continuing to hype their plans as Unlimited and not get sued by SOMEONE, ANYONE?
Regarding data caps, the funny thing is the carriers think they actually provide unlimited data. What bogus BS. They already have caps because their definition of unlimited is 5GB max. This really should be addressed by the FCC as false advertising. Unlimited means unlimited.
@mhammo15 I do agree with you that unlimited means unlimited! But, more companies other than the four big cell phone companies are doing this scam. Such as Subway, they state any footlong for five dollars even though you visit some subways (not all) they only have a limited selection of footlongs for five dollars! Unless I missed some 2 point font stating only at participating locations.
@mad0maxx
at subway any "REGULAR" footlongs are $5. "PREMIUM" footlongs cost more. unfortunately, they made most sandwiches "premium" before advertising that all regular footlongs were $5.
LOL 5GB is a problem? Bug off Verizon with your over priced plans.
Personally, I think tiered pricing plans are a great idea for the consumer. We don't all use crazy amounts of data, so why should we pay the same price?
But, will they be reasonable, or does $30 become the super-basic plan? That's too much if it does. It should remain the ~5gb plan, with unlimited data for your phone and tethering at $50. And sprinkle in a 2-3gb plan for $15-20. Now you're talking, and fixing your bandwidth problem.
But, as we all know, they just want to cut usage, not their income.
They will be 1 year behind Sprint 4G!
take that VZW...
If they feel they need to charge pay-as-you-go, that's fine. I just won't go.
That's not some bull-headed spite-the-nose notion either. If I was made of money, fine. But I'm not, and I just don't have the time and energy to try to figure out what each action I take on the Net is going to cost me. I have enough stress in my life, and that would just make the pain greater than the gain of having 3G or 4G.
the detail of Ngage picture is simply amazing :D
I never use VZW, because they are the most expansive for years. I never use ATT, even though I always want an iPhone, but I hate to "lease" an iPhonee for the duration of the contract. To me if you are in Los Angeles, the best deals are Sprint and MetroPCS (if you are a saver). I have both, Sprint is faster and much better sound quality. MetroPCS is slow and voice quality choppy from time to time, and drops calls sometimes. I never any service issues with both, and phones are good. I have the Samsung Code (WM 6.1) from MetroPCS, and I got the Blackberry Tour from Sprint. Sprint has UNLIMITED plan for $69.99 (any mobile, unlimited data and 450 land line), plus all the fees and taxes, you will be paying about $85 a month. MetroPCS is $50 with unlimited everything, that's $50 flat with no taxes or fees!!!!!! After Sprint and MetroPCS, the best deal plan is from T-mobile. Never VZW or ATT. Do your math and you will see why. You can get yourself of nice 42" or bigger LCD TV on the money you saved from VZW or ATT for 2 years.
@Tony Montana I live 20 mins from Los Angeles and at&t is the only option. at&t has the best coverage (constant 5 bars, practically everywhere, except malls), then Sprint (constant 4 bars, where I live, but drops dramatically anywhere else), then T-Mo (3-4 bars on average, but Wifi coverage booster), and Verizon is disappointing with 2 bars or less on average, EVERYWHERE.
I had a fisrt gen ngage, there was so much promise! Playing multiplayer over Bluetooth, just no one to play with :( and more dissapointment from threre:(
You know what guys, I think Nokia needs to give the Ngage one last try. Times have changed. Nokia could very will possibly make a good gaming phone now. I think the best way for Nokia to make a good gaming phone. Is to do something like the Nokia Surge or the Samsung Comeback in layout and style. Thus eliminating the Taco talking.
How the hell are they going to cap data when an LTE network is all-ip? Everything, including phone calls and texts is data. Doesn't make sense.
IT'S TACO TALKIN' TIME YALL. GATHER ROUND, KIDS.
As much as LTE is getting by a large the majority of carrier support for 4G, it's interesting to note how far behind WiMax they are. WiMax modems are already pretty widely available, and they have coverage in a number of major areas. Not to mention we're probably getting the first WiMax phone this Summer/Fall. With LTE, if we're lucky and all things go according to plan, we might see a handset *next* summer.
Wait a second. I just forgot something. I don't actually fucking care. I'm not paying $30 a month for a data plan, let alone one that's not even unlimited.
oh!! i loved this phone.. memories..
@kenny goo:
You should care, because you could always be using Sprint on a family plan, and pay about $30 for everything. I pay $25.60 as part of a family plan with 5gb of 3g data, BIS, Sprint Navigation, Sprint Radio, Sprint tv, Unlimited texting, basically everything they offer unlimited, except minutes. I share 1,600 minutes with five phones... do I have an issue with that? No, would you? Not unless you call a lot of land lines, because my service comes with unlimited mobile to mobile any carrier. Now, I'm on an employee referral plan, but you could be as well. It just takes some extra effort, but nothing is stopping you. Dan Hesse, Sprint's CEO, is already on the record as saying that 4g with Sprint will be uncapped, and not cost extra. So a recap, you can put a little more effort into getting cheap Sprint service (find four friends and get an employee referral plan) and pay about $35 a month for service (I have extra discounts, not currently available)... or you can pay $30 a month just for data with another carrier. For some reason, most of you still want to pay $30 a month just for data... I can't imagine why.