The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

If you are ripped off enough to begin with, you can get a lot of stuff for $20. I think that you are required to have a phone plan before you can get the data plan. That is what the deal was when I worked with Sprint a while back.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

On Verizon, unlimited data is called VCAST and is a $15/month charge.

Every provider, with the exception of T-Mobile, has a separate tier for Smartphones, since they expect higher data usage. Usually it's nearly $20/month for unlimited data on a "phone" and $40/month for unlimited smartphone data.

These all, of course, just like the iPhone, require an existing cellular contract for voice.

The only revelation here is that the iPhone isn't being considered as a smartphone. There are rather good reasons for this: it has no 3G. :) Reviews have called the cellular internet "painfully slow" (NYTimes) and have otherwise lead me to believe it's just as unusable as I'd expect!

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I'm paying unlimited EDGE data on T-mobile for 20 bucks a month but its a grandfather plan. Although I've heard you can get the blackberry plan for the same price and use it to tether.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't V Cast basically restrict you to videos that Verizon offers you?

And doesn't allow you to access the web on your Nokia Internet Tablet but only on the phone?

And actually has a cap on usage, even though it's called "unlimited"?

I don't want "video on my phone" but "access to the internet by connecting my tablet via my phone."

If Verizon offers that in VCast, I really don't see it.

Roger

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Internet Data Plans from Cell Companies are absolutely stupid, the US Data Plans are actually some of the best in the World...

Here in Toronto they have "OneZone" which covers an approx 5 mile radius for wifi internet access in the metro area. This unlimited access costs around $30 CDN ($25USD) per month, except it is not limited to a particular device.

The only downside to it, is inside office buildings the receptions rather average.

Now if you are on Rogers/Fido the data plans are ridiculous, you can get great "music" downloads etc but other data plans are just there to milk the consumer DRY...

It's really a big joke, it is amazing to me how companies just treat people to plans these days that suit them rather than the customer....

Not enough consumer approved organizations ensuring the regular people are protected from these ridiculous contracts and such.

Anyhow... your better off walking down the street and accessing someones home connection at least that way the data speed may be alright.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Actually on AT&T you can get a pda with a stand alone data plan same with blackberries. I don't however believe that this is applicable to the iPhone or any of the smartphones of which AT&T only considers non qwerty devices as such. At least among the current line up.


Yes I work for the company. No I did not drink the kool-aide.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

A $20 "unlimited" data plan that can only be used by the 2G iPhone and cannot be used by a laptop doesn't sound like such a great deal to be honest - you're hardly likely to rack up much bandwidth with such a pitiful cellular connection, so the carriers aren't giving much away. The $20 deal looks good on the surface but when you realise the shortcomings of the iPhone to which this plan is locked it loses some of it's sheen.

On the other hand in the UK, for $25 (on top of any voice plan) I can surf a countrywide 3G HSDPA (3.6Mb/s) cellular network (T-Mobile) using my laptop or NIT (or desktop PC and bluetooth dongle!) with a 3GB monthly cap. Now that's a good deal, and is good enough for some people to give up their landline based broadband connection entirely.

A US carrier offering 3G/HSDPA unlimited - realistically speaking this means a fair use cap - access for ~$20-30 would really be something, particularly if "laptop" access is allowed. I doubt it will happen any time soon though as the US cellular networks seem to be a long, long way behind the European networks for some reason.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I believe that the main reason that the us cell carriers are behind in this area is due to an unspoken agreement between carriers in part. Also the lack of competition. Same with broadband.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I have Cingular/ATT, for "unlimited" bluetooth connection while I am driving etc which data plan should I pick. This device isn't a PDA and its certainly not a notebook so it is unclear as to which plan one needs to pick. Obviously I'd prefer the PDA unlimited, but even at $40/month its not easy on the wallet but certainly easier to do than $60 for the laptop data connect which is all on top of VOICE service :(

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

The party line reads data connect unlimited 59.99/mo. That being said i am using my blackberry to tether on my unlimited bb plan. This does violate my tos. I have noticed that if the transfer rates aren't very high and you are connecting through wap.cingular as opposed to isp.cingular it doesn't seem to raise any flags. Then again, they might just concede that some people will do this regardless and they seem to be in the minority and tend to be profitable customers overall, so the turn the blind eye. course I could be just babbleing.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Thanks Nef919, nice to finally get an uncomplicated answer...the numerous reps I spoke with went back and forth between the two. I know what I now need to do, once my 770 gets in my hands!

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I have the $20/mo unlimited MediaMAX plan from Cingular/AT&T and I tether my N800 to my N93 for web access. So far, I haven't had any issues with the company, but we'll see. EDGE speeds are pretty slow, but bearable if you expect it. I'm going to be upgrading to a Samsung A717 handset when my contract runs out which supports HSDPA at 1.8mbps.

If anybody has any information on what the max bluetooth throughput on the N800 is and whether it'll be worthwhile to wait for the 3.6mbps handsets to start coming out later this year (I hate Razrs), let me know!

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Um, the one-syllable word for this is "greed."

If competition brings the price down to the $20-$25 range elsewhere, then the prices here aren't based on cost but on the ability to exploit obstacles to competition.

In one of the articles I read this week, the author compared the situation to TV or the internet -- what if you could only watch "American Idol" on an RCA TV? Or only get to Yahoo on a Sony laptop? That's the kind of situation the telecoms have arranged for themselves here.

I'm not advocating revolution and nationalization of the telecoms. Not saying Apple doesn't play the same game with iPods and iTunes. Just expressing my disgust. "Free speech" and "free markets" go hand in hand -- if you want true capitalism you have to have transparency and frictionless information.

Roger

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

That's interesting...

I'm using a Cingular data plan with my 6682 that I pay 20/month for. I might be grandfathered in though, as I signed up 2 years ago. I am able to tether my n800 to my 6682 to get a nice GPRS connection on my n800. It's not speedy, but it sure is usable.

Any other 6682 owners out there that think nokia only made our phones as prototypes for different nXX technologies? That's my line of thought.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I have something thats close to the $20 plan... Alltel wireless.

Alltel allows tethering and it takes away minutes vs. pay per byte. And you get unlimited access after 7pm and on the weekends.

Hmmm, not to bad.

I have just ordered 2 of the 770s from Woot.com and I plan on using it everywhere. Even as I live in the northwoods of wisconsin, my Alltel Motorola v3c Razr will work almost anywhere.

I have previously used a laptop tethered to the phone with their data (sometimes EvDO depending on the area) and will now use the BT connection for the 770.

Data plans ARE expensive, but there are some companies which do it right.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I signed up for the Sprint SERO 500 plan: 500 minutes anytime, unlimited nights/weekends 7PM-7AM, unlimited roaming, unlimited domestic long distance, unlimited mobile to mobile, unlimited data (not tetherable), and unlimited texting. $30/month... ~$37/month after taxes.
Data is on EvDO, so it's fast.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I can't surf on a cellphone screen.

I tried it often enough (once) to know that the frustration index of cell surfing is way beyond what my system can handle.

So I can't even consider this sort of deal. Health reasons, you see.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I use Ampd mobile (www.ampd.com), a virtual reseller of Verizon services. The data plan for the Moto Q is $29.95 a month (in addition to the voice plan), and it tethers just fine using PdaNet. Service, so far (I've been with them for 2 months) has been fine.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Sorry, I kinda misunderstood the spirit of the thread... yeah, no tether means no N770 for web browsing. I use Gmail Mobile to quickly check email and Google Maps Mobile to find the next wi-fi spot so I can respond. ;)

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

So Im just out of college and getting a new cell phone package and I was wondering if it would be possible to hook up a usb cell phone modem (like the kind plug into laptops) into the n800. I know you at least would need to get USB host mod working and that the cords are not correct (male/female and USBa/b wise) but is it totally impossible?

Im hopping that the allure of constantly having the n800 be constantly connected to the internet without a cellphone, which would allow it to become my cellphone, will inspire some of you more intrepid n800 users to venture a hack/mod:D

Barring that is there any clear cut winner from all the above suggestions for a suitable (cheap cheap cheap) data plan cell phone partner for my n800??

All i need is a phone that will connect it to the internet via bluetooth sync

Thanks

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I'm not sure you could hook up a laptop usb 3g modem to a net tablet, even with the host mod, because I'm pretty sure you need drivers for those, especially if you are running linux, maemo of all things, because you know theres no way the drivers are included and they probably don't exist, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure that the 770 and 800 talk to the phone through the Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking) profile, so theoretically any cell phone that supports DUN (do a google for the phone model, a place called phonescoop nearly always has these details) could be used to tether to the tablet. Of course theres always the nasty chance that the carrier might disable the DUN profile on the phone if you dont have a 'tethering' plan, or might catch you for violation of the TOS if you dont have the plan but tether anyway and use a suspicious amount of data for a 'normal' cellphone. I'm pretty sure AT&T has a 'normal phone' data plan, a 'pda phone' data plan, and a laptop connect plan. I'm pretty sure one of the later two is required for tethering. What I'm trying to figure out, is that if I buy a laptop connect card from ATT and pay the $60/mo for unlimited data (backstory for this crazy behavior is where I go to college our network is crap and constantly tcp flooded to death by the idiots using bt and not configuring it right, to the point I cant even play a game of starcraft) and then a normal cellphone with 3g, do I get unlimited data on my cell so that I can tether my 770, or do they expect me to buy a seperate plan for the phone since it has a different sim?

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

it is not entirely impossible if USB Host mode is working.
The additional power required for the transmitter is another issue.
See my previous posts with links to research.
http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=5597

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

It's ironic and irritating to see the "capitalist" US more restricted marketwise than the "socialist" EU.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

There are 5 cities in the US with city-wide wifi deployed with pricing of $20 usd/month. Speeds they advertise are 'up to 1mbps'. I am currently paying for two dsl lines (one home, one siblings' business). The business will be relocating at the end of the month so i'll be canceling that service and subscribe to Philadelphia's wifi service to see how well it lives up to with my little 770 by early august.

More information about it in the news is here:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...nch-nears.html

More information on the pricing, coverage, and service here:

https://home.feather.net/philadelphia/plans_html

it's the 'next-best' thing than sitting around for the US to migrate over to hsdpa for us data-plan users.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Actually, I think you're a lot closer to the real point of the thread than anyone else. It's about getting the best internet connectivity anywhere, all the time for as little as possible.

The best deal in the US (remember, best deal, not best service) is a Sprint SERO plan using the new HTC Mogul cellular phone. You pay $30, you get 500 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends (starting at 7PM) and very, very importantly, UNLIMITED DATA.

If you use this data plan with the HTC Mogul, you are getting the ability to tether your N800 to your phone on EvDO Rev. 0. This is nice. But the far more important issue is that the Mogul handles Bluetooth 2.0. This is the stopping block usually. Most phones handle BT 1.2 which will slow you down. The BT 2.0 in the Mogul and in the N800 will allow you to take advantage of the higher EvDO speeds. Additionally, the Mogul will be software upgradable to EvDO Rev. A later in the year. While this will not dramatically improve the download speed, it WILL significantly improve upload speeds and reduce latency, both of which should be a considerable benefit to Skype calling on the N800.

The one hitch is that tethering is an additional charge over the $30. But there are applications (PDANet) that allow you to get around that limitation if you are so inclined.

I'm not saying Sprint is the best service. In my opinion, they're not. But on a pure value proposition, they're outstanding. Personally, I use Verizon with my Treo 700P. But the lack of BT 2.0 and the EvDO Rev. A means that I'll be looking very closely at the Mogul when it is released on the Verizon network later this year as the XV6800 unless I hear something more interesting with a rumored Treo 800W.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I would seriously consider an umlimited 3G plan, if it wasn't for the fact that being located in Europe I'm mostly in some other country if I'm not in my own town.. and the mobile phone data plans switches to highway robbery mode as soon as you cross a border. At least for now (the EU commision smashed down on the voice roaming rates recently, hopefully they'll go for the data part too at some stage). wi-fi hotspots seem to be the only option for now.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

The best value data plan is T-Mobile. For $5.99 a month (yes, that little), you get to use their T Mobile Web plan. Tether your N800 to your phone and you get unlimited web surfing at decent EDGE speeds. Not bad. T Mobile don't have the best service - there again, every company's service is total crap IMHO - but they do offer the cheapest rates.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

The HTC Mogul is a Windows Mobile 6 device. Most WM6 devices do not support DUN over bluetooth, only PAN. I do not know if the Mogul is somehow different and does support DUN (sign me up!), but my guess is that it does not. If it doesn't do DUN, it's useless to the N770/N800 for tethering unless you hack the Mogul or figure out the PAN scripting for your Nokia.

There are many, many people that use the standard AT&T MediaMax 200 plan ($19.99/month) and get away with tethering without any added cost. There are hundreds (thousands?) of posts about this topic over on HowardForums.com.

The point is, AT&T wants you to pay the $59.99 tethering plan, but tethering works and at the same speed with the simple $19.99 mediaMax plans. There have been years of rumors that people can get hit with $5,000 phone bills by doing it, but it rarely happens. In the years that I've followed this debate and discussion, I've only read of a few people getting that kind of bill, and it's mostly been because their account wasn't set up correctly (PPU enabled & they used the wrong APN). In a few cases they were seriously abusing their plan by using many many gigs/month and doing things that no phone can (bittorents, etc).

The 'rule of thumb' that seems most prevalent is that basically AT&T doesn't care so long as you don't abuse it. It's anyone's guess what constitutes abuse (rumored to be a few hundred mb=ok,>1GB is not), and if/when AT&T will ever change their mind. It's all heresay and conjecture, so YMMV.

But I completely agree with the OP. Apparently, the market supports mobile tethered internet access at >$50/month, but I think it's a pretty steep price for what are, in many areas, a 115kbs EDGE connection. Carriers have a right to protect their bandwidth of course, and to that end perhaps the $50/unlimited is justified. But they just need plans that make sense for 'normal' users that just want to check the news and their email from time-to-time, but who need more than a paltry 5 or 10mb per month. I'd gladly subscribe to a $20-$30/month for a 'tethering allowed' 3G plan that was capped at 500mb/month...

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Those prices really suck, in Finland you can get a unlimited 384kbit/s (WCDMA) option for your GSM for 10€/month. 2mbit/s (HSDPA) costs 30€/month.

Oh and whats this bs about not being allowed to tether? What's the point then?

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

The point is that US carriers see tethering as a 'business-user only' kind of thing, and charge appropriately. With the $10-$30/month plans, all you're supposed to do is internet activities on the handset itself. The other kicker is that most carriers remove the built-in email functions from phones as well. So you're basically left with crummy internet portals to carrier-specific email, and the built-in usually-terrible web browser. That's about it.

In the carrier's eyes, paying the $10-$30/month data plan really just enables you to spend more money by buying their ring tones or subscribing to 'premium' services (for another $5-$10/month) that let you stream TV or radio. A user watching hours of MobiTV streamed on their handset is perfectly fine, but tethering to another device to check your email is not. That's just the way it is here, and it's stupid.

It's nothing new: the cell phone business model sucks in the US.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

When my dslextreme subscription runs out, I'll be switching to at&t dsl. Their $29.99 3mbps plans includes access to their WiFi network. I'll have to wait till April.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

who do you have to blow to get that plan? i don't even see it anywhere on their websites?

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Sprint first to offer EV-DO Rev. A-Capable Handset

Sprint said Monday it was releasing a software update for the Mogul phone, made by HTC Corp. of Taiwan, that will enable the phone to connect at Rev. A speeds. Downloads speeds should be 600 kilobits per second to 1,400 kbps, up from a range of 400 kbps to 700 kbps with Rev. 0. It will be capable of uploads of 350 to 500 kbps, up from 50 kbps to 70 kbps.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

ok, here is how I have my UNLIMITED EVDO RevA service for $49.99/mo. w/no tax or added fees. i have service from 3rd party ISP reselling Sprint EVDO. It includes a Franklin CDU680 USB modem which includes drivers/config for XP/OSX/Ubuntu. it works and looks the system like a dial-up AT/extended AT Modem. I have been able to get it working to the point of it being poweeed on my n800. but better i use a full mobile battery powered wifi hotspot router from cradlepoint ctr350. the cdu680 connects directly to the router and the tablet connects via wifi.

Oh, also i have no contract for the service, just month to month. Rumor is the cost will increase by about $10/mo soon. still with no need for a long term deal and the modem it's a great deal. i might also add it also means i never have to deal with sprints billing nightmare.

you can google MILLENICOM and look into them on their site or over on http://DSLReports.com. there is info in both the sprint mbb form as well as under 'other~M~MILLENICOM.

my setup lasts me all day, weighs almost nothing and all can fit in small waist pack or front pockets of a bookbag.

here is a pic of everything i carry sans pack as that can vary:


http://www.brecklundin.com/tmp/mbbsetup.jpg


and here is a simple net diagram how it is all setup:


http://www.brecklundin.com/tmp/mbbdiag.gif


sure i carry extra equipment, BUT, i have full unllimited web access all day long pretty
much anywhere i go. Additionally I can share with friends via the pretty advanced router as well, as use my laptopss all i want too.,stream hideo, use voip/sip, skype, whatever. last month i used about 100GB OF BANDWIDTH. for me that is about my avg or a tad higher and i do not use any torrent stuff, ever.

worth a look if you find the Sprint customer service and billing tedious or frustrating.

Oh, there is a $49.99 setup fee. still since then modem is part of the deal it a was, easily.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

after over 8 years of perfect service, i will never leave DSLx. Especially for at&t. when my contract runs out i'll just re-up at the new lower rates. DSLx allows servers or pretty much whatever you might want to legally use you connection for...

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

I have Sprint's EVDO "Phone As Modem" (PAM) plan for $39.99 on top of my voice service. It works very well with my Treo 700p. It was difficult to get set up because Sprint did not configure my account right and it took three phone calls TOTALING 10 HOURS to get them to do it right... Their phone support SUCKS! Apparently they have no way of tracking customer calls so they know what's already been done/tried. Every time I called, they started at step 1 and forced me to install the software, uninstall the software, take out the battery, reset the phone, etc. MULTIPLE TIMES. I was just about to cancel my service (and take a $200 early cancellation hit) when they finally fixed it. I will not go through this again! (Are you listening, Sprint?) The next time I get this kind of service, I'm gone... (But for now, it works well.)

My buddy has an unlimited (tethered) EVDO data plan for $20 on top of his phone service. I'm going to see how this works out for him. There may be a change to Alltel in my future.

Gary Walborn
gwalborn@gmail.com

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

You guys are all lucky! Where I live data plans are another way to get raped! Unlimited data is over 60 dollars a month on top of the voice plan which is 50 dollars and if you choose the pay per use u end up paying $0.4 cents per minute plus $0.002 per kilobyte, F*(^&* RAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So to actually cope with that fact I just had to hack my way into as many Wifi hotspots as possible! went out with my laptop/kismet/aircrack around where I mostly hangout thru out the city and added all the wifi connections found to my n800 :) No worries about laws and such since my country is as corrupt as I am LOL

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Wait, I'm paying $20 a month for their Edge service. I heard rumors of this working at one point but that it was stopped. I even called tmobile up to ask and they said it would not work. The $5.99 is for crappy T-zones, basic phone browsing. Do you actually have this working? I wouldn't mind paying less if you can prove it works.

Re: The $20 unlimited data plan
 

Choose wisely...

Sprint SERO = FREE Unlimited High Speed EVDO
(Proof SERO works)

vs.

T-mobile plan for $5.99