Why You Shouldn’t Trade In Your Mobile Device
Mobile device retailers like Apple, Best Buy, Amazon & Verizon want you to recycle or trade-in your mobile devices. They even offer a good chunk of change to do so.
Bonus: Check out the terrible alien/ Michael Jackson-esque photoshopping of this woman! Good job Verizon.
It’s usually not a terrible deal, but there is one big reason why you should keep your retired mobile device:
Mobile devices break.
They are portable, small, handled often, and as a result are easy to drop.
The screens are prone to glitches and wear-out over the course of a year or two.
Replacement
When they die, you may have a warranty, and your retailer will get you a refurbished one, but it will take a few days to a few weeks.
During that time you will either have to pay for a loaner (which is usually a shitty Droid Eris or something equally crappy), or you can use your own old phone.
You will be much better off with your own phone, but you won’t have your old phone if you don’t keep it.
Verizon Ending Unlimited Data Plans (All you need to know)
Beginning July 7, 2011, Verizon is following AT&T into the murky waters of tiered data plans.
What does the new pricing model look like?
Basically you’re paying for usage. If you want to tether or hotspot, you must pay separately for the privilege (which doesn’t make sense because data is data regardless of the screen you’re using to view it).
I’m sure that if you go over your monthly data allotment, the fees will be huge, or they will bump you up into the next tier which will still be expensive.
(Image via Engadget)
How does this impact current Verizon customers?
Existing data plan customers may keep their unlimited data plans through an upgrade. If you have a dumb phone, this will not apply to you when you upgrade to a smart phone.
I have no idea what will happen two upgrades from now, or if you want to spin your current phone out of an existing family plan.
It seems to me that Verizon is trying to use tiered data to blackmail current customers into staying with Verizon. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if a year from now they apply tiered data to us current customers.
(Image via Droid Life)
You can exit your contract
On July 1st, the regulatory charge on your Verizon bill will increase from $0.13 to $0.16 per month. This three cent increase is enough for you to back out of your contract without paying an outrageous cancellation fee.
You will have 60 days to end your contract should you choose to.
(Via Droid Life)
Why’s tiered data bad?
Increased Cost for Consumers
These plans will inevitably cost consumers more money. Very few people will save as a result of tiered data, and many will break even.
Wrong Direction
Mobile users have been consuming more data, not less.
More of the economy is tied to the growth of mobile data usage than ever before, and tiered data could slow that growth.
Tiered data is a big step backwards, and this is the kind of thing that will become the norm if we choose to put up with it.
What will I do?
This is a tough decision. I’m morally opposed to tiered data, but financially Verizon tiered data doesn’t impact me yet.
Verizon 4G is the best available, but there aren’t any Verizon 4G phones worth buying. Verizon is also very consistent in my area, but Sprint seems pretty damn good too.
AT&T isn’t an option because they are already on tiered data, and so long as AT&T is trying to buy T-Mobile, I won’t switch to T-Mobile either.
If I abandon Verizon, I will switch to Sprint because they offer unlimited data, and have excellent Android phones.
Verizon iPhone – All You Need to Know
The wait has been tremendous, and the rumors numerous.
The Verizon iPhone is finally a reality, and here is everything you need to know.
Specs
It’s an iPhone 4, and the Verizon version is basically identical to the AT&T model.
Network:
This is a 3G phone. It is not 4G LTE compatible.
Software:
Stock iOS 4.2.5 just like AT&T. Apple is not allowing Verizon to add any custom software like V Cast.
This is a good thing.
Hardware Changes:
- The antenna is CDMA which makes it compatible with Verizon’s network.
- The volume buttons are in a slightly different location. As a result, AT&T iPhone 4 cases will probably not work on the Verizon iPhone 4.
- There is no SIM-Card slot.
New Functionality:
- Mobile hot-spotting – You can use your phone to provide wi-fi Internet Access for up to six other devices.
- Tethering – You can plug your phone into your computer with a USB cable and use your phone to provide Internet access for your laptop.
Contract & Plan
$200 for the 16GB model with a two year contract.
$300 for the 32GB model with a two year contract.
There is no official word on the cost of adding tethering or mobile hot-spoting, but you can assume that it will cost more.
Release
Pre-orders begin on Thursday, February 3, 2011.
The iPhone will be officially available on Thursday, February 10, 2011.
Everything is first come, first serve, so expect a free for all.
To Buy or Not To Buy?
It’s great that Apple finally ended this AT&T exclusivity garbage. That being said, I don’t believe it’s the best time to buy an iPhone. The iPhone 4 is six month old hardware, and that’s about a quarter of the life of a mobile device.
I will be shocked if Apple doesn’t release 4G capable iPhones this Spring.
As a result, my recommendation is to wait a few months more and get the next-gen hardware.
Or buy an Android phone
Sources
Verizon iPhone 4 Notes: Hotspot, Antenna, iOS 4.2.5, White iPhone 4 Images Removed
This is the Droid You Are Looking For
Let’s add to the hype, shall we?
I’m so excited about the Motorola Droid that I stopped by a local Verizon Store to check and make sure that nothing with my account would prevent me from getting one. No joke. In case you worried for me, I will have no problems attaining one… except for the fact that my friend just has to get married on Droid’s release date (seriously Eric, WTF?).
So on that note, we do have a release date for the Droid, and it’s November 6th. It will cost $199.00 with a contract after a $100.00 mail-in rebate. That’s more good news because I budgeted a bunch more money than I will need.
Engadget got their hands on the Droid, and this is what they had to say:
“* That big screen is killer. Bright, crisp, and tons of room for your icons and widgets.
* Speed is noticeably improved — particularly when moving from app to app. We did notice that some of the home screen scrolling looked laggy.
* Android 2.0 is definitely cleaned up — but it’s most definitely still Android
* The browser seems significantly improved — pages now load up in a fully zoomed-out mode, and the load times and scrolling are way snappier.
* The keyboard takes some getting used to, and it suffers from a similar hand-position issue as the G1, but it’s fairly usable. We think it’ll be second nature once we spend some time with it.
* Facebook is integrated into accounts, which means some of that BLUR functionality is here (though now it’s part of Android 2.0 natively). The good news is that when you add a Facebook account you can choose to pull all Facebook info and contacts, or just info related to your existing contacts — a real clutter buster.”
They also have some video of the phone, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Finally, Droid is going to have free Google Maps GPS Navigation. Score. Again.
Smart Phone & Data Plan Comparison Chart
This is incredibly an incredibly useful chart if you are looking to buy a new mobile device.
AT&T doesn’t even look good on paper.
Thanks to @takabanana for making and sharing this spreadsheet.
Droid Cometh (UPDATED)
The first real challenger to the iPhone looks like it will be Droid. I haven’t read anything but great stuff coming from the people who have seen the über smart.
It has an iPhone look complete with touch screen, but it also has a slide out QWERTY keyboard (WIN)
The device is made by Motorola; powered by Google’s mobile operating system, Android; and it will be sold through Verizon, thus it will be on Verizon’s awesome network.
Droid will run the latest version of Android, which looks incredible (see The Boy Genius’s write-up).
If the hardware reports are true, then Droid will have the same processor core as the iPhone, making it far more powerful than previous Android phones (Engadget).
Google CEO Eric Schmidt is decrying Android’s imminent explosion in the marketplace, while analysts’ are talking about Android’s potential for market domination by 2012.
Verizon is also going all out with their marketing. In the lead up to the announcement of Droid, they have been bashing AT&T’s flimsy network with their cleaver, “There’s a map for that” ads.
Then their Droid announcement ad launched a flurry of attacks on the iPhone’s limitations.
“The Droid poses a different and more significant challenge to the iPhone than any other phone to date. The Palm Pre could have been that challenger, but it lacked the Verizon network, and users were unimpressed with the hardware. According to people who’ve handled the device, the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint. When you combine that with the Verizon network, you’ve got something that is most definitely a challenger to the Jesus phone” (TechCrunch).
If Droid is everything that Motorola, Google, Verizon, and the tech writers are claiming it should be incredibly exciting (The claims are pretty much confirmed). Better still, Droid should be available within a few weeks.
Pay close attention to the oddly placed umlaut under the "r"
It’s clear to me that Droid means business because it has an unnecessary umlaut in its name.
~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com
