vB Easy Archive - Sprint Data Plan? Why?

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Sprint Data Plan? Why?
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Posted by: Johnie Arch

I can not understand why someone would go with something other than Vision? Verizon and Cingular's plans are two or three times more (for unlimited). Are data speeds much faster on the other carriers? Quality?
Some other things I have notice doing a “search”:
GSM you can take a phone call while send/ receive data.
Verizon has better coverage.
What am I missing that causes the substancial price gap?
Is anyone using a Treo 650 with Sprint Vision in Chicago?

Posted by: addiarmadar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnie Arch

I can not understand why someone would go with something other than Vision? Verizon and Cingular's plans are two or three times more (for unlimited). Are data speeds much faster on the other carriers? Quality?
Some other things I have notice doing a “search”:
GSM you can take a phone call while send/ receive data.
Verizon has better coverage.
What am I missing that causes the substancial price gap?
Is anyone using a Treo 650 with Sprint Vision in Chicago?

Sprint's unlimited plan is the cheapest of them all cause it is much slower than Verizon's and GSM carriers' service. Of course, this is all releative to the signal you have and the tower you are on is bogged down.

Im using Cingular's price-gouging unlimited plan right now and some days I'll get 128kbps downstream and others I'll get 3kbps. Doesn' really matter right now since Cingular is slow fricking bogged down from the 20million plus ATT customers got dumper over and the Verizon T650 does not support EVDO. Just base your decision on coverage in your area.

Posted by: LetsGoFlyers

Quote:

Originally Posted by addiarmadar

I wouldn't say Sprint is "much slower" than Verizon and Cingular. Verizon doesn't have EV-DO nationwide and they only have a few EV-DO devices. Everything else 1xRTT which is identical to Vision in terms of speed and latency. I will admit that Cingular's EDGE is faster than 1xRTT but it's not that big of a difference. You're correct that it's relative to your location but if both carriers had optimal signal, Cingular wouldn't be that much faster than Sprint. One of my friends has a Cingular Treo 650 and I have a Sprint 650. We run speed tests when we're out from time to time and he's NEVER beaten me in speed. And Cingular's pretty good around these parts, Sprint's just better.

That being the case and unlimited Vision being about one third of data plans for other carriers, I'm not going anywhere.

Posted by: ilvla2

Well, for areas like mine, where Sprint doesn't have service, they're not an option

I'm happy with Cingular's data services though.

Posted by: LetsGoFlyers

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilvla2

Well, for areas like mine, where Sprint doesn't have service, they're not an option

I'm happy with Cingular's data services though.

Well obviously Sprint wouldn't be the carrier for you.

But I share the original poster's sentiment that if you have decent coverage on Sprint and you're worried about data prices, I don't think Cingular is worth it.

Posted by: cfdofficer

What you have to find out is, Does Sprint Vision restrict you to just the web sites included in that plan. If you have a treo and want to surf anywhere unlimited does vision allow this. I don't think so. They have an other data connect plan, which is I believe $50 or $80 a month. More than Cingular or Verizon. When in doubt go into a dealer andsee what kind of corporate babble they give you on plans. Keep us posted because I to live in Chicago and my present plan is up in October.

Posted by: DigitalJEM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfdofficer

What you have to find out is, Does Sprint Vision restrict you to just the web sites included in that plan. If you have a treo and want to surf anywhere unlimited does vision allow this. I don't think so. They have an other data connect plan, which is I believe $50 or $80 a month. More than Cingular or Verizon. When in doubt go into a dealer andsee what kind of corporate babble they give you on plans. Keep us posted because I to live in Chicago and my present plan is up in October.

Vision is just the connection to the internet.. it's not limited in any way from what I can tell.. I have not had any issue going to any website on my Treo (Sprint). And i've done surfing using the Treo's built in software, and used it via Teathering.. havn't ever had any issues of "Sorry, you can't go there"

Posted by: dumwaldo

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfdofficer

sprint does not restrict your use with vision. it is a full internet connection the same as you would get from an ISP.

the data connection plans are for data cards that are used in a laptop. the rates that sprint charges for that service is the exact same rate as every other carrier. so no those rates are not more than cingular or verizon because they have the exact same rates.

there are a few reasons why sprint can sell data for so much less than verizon and cingular. one reason is network continuity. the fact that sprint built their entire network and it is a consistant network keeps down costs. the fact that sprint sells more data add on services than any other carrier despite half the customer base is another reason why they can sell data for less.

sprints vision service also carries a restriction that other do not carry when you are paying the higher price. if you are paying $45 per month for data on verizon you are absolutly permitted to use that to connect a laptop. on sprint you can connect a laptop but it is a violation of the terms of service. ironically the Vcast (EV-DO) service that verizon sells for $15 a month has the same restrictions as vision regarding tethered usage.

that all might make it sound pretty simple but the price structures are actually far more complicated than it seems depending on the device. for instance you can get EV-DO service through verizon on a non pda phone for the same price as sprint's vision. but if you have a pda phone the same unlimited data service will cost you 3 times as much and in the case of the treo 650 that premium price does not include access on the EV-DO network. so verizon will give you unlimited data on an LG 8000 for only $15 but for slower 1Xrtt service on the trteo 650 it will cost $45 bundled on top of a voice plan.

then there are situations like a microsoft brand phone will cost double for use on sprint. so thats $30 for vision on a microsoft device but on cingular you can get unlimited data on a microsoft based device for $25.

what it comes down to is what works best for you and the paticular phone you want to use.

peace,
dumwaldo