Need Experience-based Advice September 30, 2011, 05:55:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125596Thinking about buying a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet. We would like to use the tablet as a wi-fi hotspot to run the laptop (deleting our current Verizon aircard). We currently have an unlimited GB contract on the aircard for $60/pm and would replace that with a 5GB plan for tablet (and thusly the laptop) for $50 per month. Anyone have experience with this configuration? Good news/bad news would be appreciated.Bill & TinaP 2006 MB "Wild Thing"
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #1 – September 30, 2011, 06:25:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125597Speaking just about the plans. I've come close going over my 5GB plan several times. It's all how you surf. Video eats up the 5G real fast. I can't watch many Netflix movies on my Mac laptop using my Verizon MiFi2200 and my 5Gig plan. I would stick with an unlimited plan. One good thing is Verizon will send you a text or email notifying you that you have used X amount of your allotment.
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #2 – September 30, 2011, 06:42:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125599QuoteOne good thing is Verizon will send you a text or email notifying you that you have used X amount of your allotment. Only three times, Edward. After that no notice.
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #3 – September 30, 2011, 08:45:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 12560320Gb on Verizon's network is $60 with no contract through Millenicom. http://www.millenicom.com/page/plans#advanced_planSteve
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #4 – October 01, 2011, 09:51:35 am Yahoo Message Number: 125612Is that 3 times in one month, or 3 times total? I have received emails from Verizon when I've used more than 2.5 GB in my billing period (a rare occurrence). I don't remember how many I've received over the years that I've been using our Verizon USB modem...*maybe* 3? Does that mean I'll never get another email from Verizon telling me I've used over half my 5 GB? That really makes no sense, if true.Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #5 – October 01, 2011, 10:36:18 am Yahoo Message Number: 125614Tina, you might also want to use Verizon's data use calculator to see how much more you will use on a 4G plan vs 3G. It does make a considerable difference.The link is here. http://www.verizonwireless.com/splash_includes/datacalculator.htmlJim C
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #6 – October 01, 2011, 11:25:43 am Yahoo Message Number: 125617Hey Wild Thing, We have been using an Android phone with every conceivable feature from Sprint for our hot spot connection. It has worked flawlessly for a year now. There is no limit to the plan and it costs $30.00 per month. Steve
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #7 – October 01, 2011, 12:21:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125619Could you be more specific about exactly which plan? Is that $30 an additional charge to your voice plan?Eric Greenwell
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #8 – October 01, 2011, 03:53:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125623"Is that 3 times in one month, or 3 times total?" In one month. They'll email and text you when your account reaches 50%, 75% and 90% of its permitted bandwidth, as I recall.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #9 – October 01, 2011, 04:21:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125624My recall is three times total. That was what the customer rep told me after I went over the fourth time. Happily using Millenicom since then,On Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:53:08 -0000, "Andy Baird" andybaird@...> wrote:
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #10 – October 01, 2011, 05:20:43 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125627Thanks, Andy. I've received two or three "50%" emails and I think I received a 75% email when I got my new computer recently and was spending a lot of bandwidth doing updates and downloading programs. That's over a 4+ year period since I've been using a Verizon USB modem, so that's not bad.Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #11 – October 01, 2011, 05:44:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125629We also have the unlimited data plan on a USB 720 VZW modem, and I would never consider a change that would affect my plan. Although I seldom go over 5 GB, it sure is reassuring to know I don't have to worry about it if I do. A few months ago, while working on the Ultimate CG Project, I hit 8 GB (GoogleEarth eats up bandwidth) - no extra charge. For the $10 a month difference, I'd keep the unlimited plan.Ted H. NE-13 @ Rock Springs, WY
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #12 – October 01, 2011, 06:14:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125630Thanks, everyone. The real issue for us is whether or not anyone has had experience using the Galaxy's wi-fi to provide internet service to the laptop...we barely hit 2.5 GB per month, never download movies, occasionally do Google Earth. Don't want to pay for a second internet connection (well, third really because of the Android phone) for the laptop when we would buy it for the Galaxy, but want to use both for internet access. I'm hoping to use the Galaxy to check out CGs along the way and the 17" screen laptop (2006 vintage) is way to much for me to juggle, etc., while underway. And the smartphone may be smarter than me, but these aging eyes find it too small for the kind of info-gathering I want to do. So, bottom-line, we're hoping to add a third method to connect to the internet, but hoping to cap the monthly connex fees to a total of two. Verizon works for us pretty much wherever we have been, and we're able to take advantage of not only the paperless bills discount, but also a retiree discount.TIA.TinaP 2006 MB "Wild Thing"....getting ready to take off for parts known and unknown for 7 months! Yippee!!![Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #13 – October 01, 2011, 06:58:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125632I'm unable to find an unlimited mobile broadband plan on the Verizon site. Can you be more specific about the plan, or give a link to it?Eric Greenwell
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #14 – October 01, 2011, 08:49:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125637Quote I'm unable to find an unlimited mobile broadband plan on the Verizon site. Can you be more specific about the plan, or give a link to it?Eric Greenwell QuoteMaybe that's because there aren't any??? Try this group for addtl info:Chris
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #15 – October 01, 2011, 10:34:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125638Our Verizon aircard and plan are from around 2006, possibly 2005, and this plan has been discontinued. However, since we have made no changes to the plan by way of upgrades of equipment, etc., this has remained in place for us (and was confirmed at the local Verizon store only yesterday). So, sorry to say, not something one can find on offer, but rather something some of us have simply be left alone by virtue of allow most technology to pass us by!TinaP.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Need Experience-based Advice Reply #16 – October 01, 2011, 10:59:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125639Eric: Sorry but it's no longer available. There was a brief 3-4 month period
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #17 – October 01, 2011, 11:58:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125642On 10/1/2011 5:49 PM, chorst_2000 wrote:
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #18 – October 04, 2011, 05:36:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125737Eric, Don't give up hope. Earlier this year when Verizon was making a strong push to get ATT customers they offered the unlimited plan for a short while. I was lucky and signed up at that time. Who knows, they may do it again.Terry Reitz 23.5 TK at the Balloon FIesta -> Well, shoot, I was hoping it was low-grade senility making me unable to
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #19 – October 04, 2011, 05:49:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125738Thanks, Terry, I'll watch for a repeat, as we don't really need it till March. Sometimes, when I get to fussing over broadband coverage and cost, I think about when all we had was dialup, and we had to search around for a phone we could hook onto. What pain that was!Eric
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #20 – October 05, 2011, 12:08:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125746"We've been using Verizon's prepaid plan, which works fine, but thought an unlimited plan would work better when we travel more often next year." Bad news for those of us who have "unlimited" data plans, and a warning to those looking for such a plan: unlimited, they're not. Bandwidth caps are going into effect this month at Verizon and most other carriers. Here's how it works. All cell phone plans have legal fine print that lets the carrier limit usage in "extreme" cases, in order to prevent the network from being brought to its knees by a few irresponsible users who think it's fun to constantly download reams of huge files, such as pirated HD movies from BitTorrent sites. Most users are unaware of these provisions, but if you read the legalese in your terms of service, they are almost certainly there. This isn't unreasonable in principle. The question is where the line is drawn as to what is "extreme" bandwidth usage. Verizon says that 95% of their cell phone customers use less than 2 GB per month, so they are going to punish the remaining 5%. How? By slowing down their connections drastically for "the remainder of the current billing period and all of the next billing period." Translation: if you use more than 2 GB--that's just two or three Netflix streaming movies--in a given month, Verizon will slow your connection to a crawl for the next 1 to 2 months. Here's what it boils down to: your "unlimited" Verizon data plan (and mine) just became a 2 GB data plan. It's important to note that this affects those who are grandfathered in under old "unlimited" plans, as some of us are. It's perfectly legal for them to do this. How can that be? Well, the plan is still technically "unlimited" in the sense that you can use unlimited amounts of bandwidth without paying extra. You just won't be able to use it at normal speed. As I said earlier, all the carriers are doing this. Details vary, but the result is the same: for practical purposes, "unlimited" is now meaningless. Bottom line: don't waste time looking for an "unlimited" plan. No matter what it's labeled, it's limited. Oh, one more note: the 3G models of Amazon's b&w Kindle ereaders have always had unlimited free internet connectivity (via Sprint's network) for book downloads and for use of their "experimental" (read "extremely limited") web browser. No longer: the ability to use the Kindle browser on a 3G connection is going away, although book downloads will still be free. None of this is good news, of course. But it's a commercial reality; we'll just have to get used to it.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Reply #21 – October 05, 2011, 12:20:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125748QuoteOn Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:08:04 -0000, Andy Baird wrote:" Bad news for those of us who have "unlimited" data plans, and a warning to those looking for such a plan: unlimited, they're not. Bandwidth caps are going into effect this month at Verizon and most other carriers. Here's how it works."Andy's correct on this.. Even those grandfathered in under AT&T's old unlimited plan are getting pinged if you're in the top 5% of data users out there as of 5 days ago (10/1/2011).. if you get a text message from AT&T identifying you...By the way, in reading about the "free" 3G Kindle service, I gather that you've got unlimited web browsing on ... drum roll please... only Wikipedia's site.. Doh!You can read up more about it here..: http://tinyurl.com/6ha4mcxUnfortunately even the hard-wired services at home may be in jeopardy at some point as Time Warner Cable/Road Runner among others have been playing around with caps more than a year ago but their customers were NOT happy and they removed the caps... for now.. I suspect we'll all be moving to metered service at some point whether you're via wireless or hard-wired at home.
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