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Jacubious
05:48 AM

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
It could be worse, you could be stuck with Canadian pricing. #wireless
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UnderLoK
11/15/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
I'm on a family plan with 3 other people and long story short, it's $35'ish a month for unlimited everything.

People really should leverage the family plans as much as possible. I lucked out awhile back and pay $10 for 2 more phones on my account. It's worked out well.
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Edited by UnderLoK at 11/15/09 10:58 AM UnderLoK was starred UnderLoK was unstarred

Digo
11/15/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
The cost per minute/text might be cheaper but that's because here you are charged for both making and receiving them, in much of the rest of the world only the caller/texter is charged. So, you might be paying less per minute but you are spending a lot more minutes. #wireless
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uchendunwachukwu
11/15/09

@Digo: The reason Americans pay both to make and receive calls (whereas the rest of the world only pay to make calls) is because, in America, wireless phone numbers are mixed in with landline numbers (eg. 212-462-5622 could just as easily be a landline or wireless number.)

In the rest of the world, wireless numbers are allocated into their own special area code, usually 080 or some variation thereof. So the telco can say "all calls to 080 get charged more than calls to other area codes." And the caller winds up paying for wireless calls.

In America, they can't do that. So instead of charging the caller, they charge the receiver. #wireless
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dragon:ONE
11/15/09

@uchendunwachukwu: We have our own prefixes for wireless carriers, though.

For examples...

315-854-XXXX is Verizon Wireless. 315-528-XXXX is AT&T. And so on.

So, why don't we just charge the caller? :P #wireless
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AmphetamineCrown
11/15/09

@dragon: ONE: Because what you said isn't true and hasn't been true for a long time. First, NXX exhaust led to below 1000 number block allocation. And, you can port your number, so what might originally have been a Verizon landline might now be a T-Mobile wireless number. #wireless
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JAlexoid
11/15/09

@AmphetamineCrown: But that still does not explain why you are charged for incoming messages. To my knowledge, sending a message to a landline phone is impossible, therefore the sender should be charged 100% of the service. #wireless
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AmphetamineCrown
07:11 AM

@JAlexoid: @rwalford79: I don't think there is any question that carriers could implement calling party pays as a technical matter. The problem is that consumers in the US has always lived with mobile called party pays and no one seems to be asking for that to be changed. Part of the reason might have been addressed by the article, in fact, which is that Americans seem to prefer predictability. If you go calling party pays, there is a much greater variation in your telco bill depending upon whom you call.

With large minute bucket plans, larger and larger pools of non-charged minute (in-network, mobile-to-mobile), and niche carriers offering all-you-can-eat voice, it isn't going to be too long before voice isn't really a per minute service anyway. #wireless
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The Lab
11/14/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
This argument makes the assumption that telecoms can only have either a fixed price plans OR a variable plans. That is not the case, Sprint could offer multiple types of plans without much difficulty and let the consumer decide. The telecoms seem like they are colluding. #wireless
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Communist Pope
11/14/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
Fortunately, Sprint grandfathered its "Fair and Flexible" plans (the one referenced in the write-up) if you had one before they discontinued them. Don't know if it's indefinite, but I still have mine after two handset upgrades since the discontinuation. Unfortunately, there's no way to get their "Power Vision," which includes Sprint Navigation, without signing up for one of the newer plans. Sprint Nav is $10/month extra (or $3/day) if you want to get it on their regular data plan.

Slightly off-topic, but Sprint is now offering $150 upgrade discount annually, instead of biennially as they used to do. Or maybe they're only doing it for customers that have been around for awhile, but either way I appreciate the change. Even if I do have to commit to another two-year contract every time I upgrade. #wireless
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diesel828
11/14/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
America this, America that. I take it, Chris, that when you refer to America you're doing so in comparison with other countries, namely the ones in Europe and Asia. What I took away from that NYT article is completely different from what you did: yes, we pay a bit more in the U.S. but it's far less when compared to the rest of the world because we get more minutes and more text messages. And we have unlimited, all-you-can-eat data plans. Those points were explicitly mentioned in the Times. #wireless
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Mannyatic
11/14/09

@diesel828: Umm... I dunno if I agree if you got more minutes, because you get charged on the minutes of outgoing and ALSO incoming calls, so you are wasting all those many minutes on calls you are not making but receiving. In Costa Rica we pay just for outgoing and 60min costs about $8. Yes I know we have one of the world's cheapeast telecom, but I don't think about paying for calls that are paid by the person that is calling me, sounds pretty ridiculous. We got now 3G and here runs just 1 telecom company. #wireless
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faulknerswhiskey
11/14/09

@diesel828: Chris isn't ignoring the NYT article's points on the relative cheap plans in the U.S. I think Chris's point is that while you get a great deal in the U.S. on the price per minute and data, most people just don't use their minutes or data to the extent that they actually see any savings.

I had plans with Cingular/AT&T for years. Nothing fancy, but it cost me about $60 per month after taxes. I never used my minutes or text messages. All I got out of it was a crappy dumb phone for $30.

Now, I'm in Asia. I bought my Nokia E71 for $350. I pay for my minutes and texts as I use them. I don't use data plans since I have Wi-Fi at work and most places I travel. On average, I spend less than $10 per month for everything I use.

Now if you take the total cost of the phone and monthly fees, I will have spent $590 on my phone and connection here in Asia over the course of 2 years. In the States, I spent $1510 over the course of 2 years.

I actually cringe when I think that when I move back to the U.S., I will be forced back into monthly plans. I really just want to be able to buy my phone independent of the plan if I could get the option of a discounted montly rate. Yet, that option really doesn't exist since pay-as-you-go users are punished with inflated per minute costs. #wireless
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dragon:ONE
11/14/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
Ugh. And prepaid still bends you over. For example... Page Plus, a Verizon MVNO.

1200 minutes, 1200 text messages, $29/mo. Sounds reasonable. But they only give you all of 50 megabytes of data. OR pay $39/mo for unlimited voice/text... and 20 MB. WTF, prepaid companies?

I'd die for just straight-up prepaid data - be able to plunk down, say, $25/mo for unlimited data barring voice. I can sure as hell do it on a 2-year with AT&T via a Premier discount ($26/mo before taxes), but I'm locked in with the rest of my family for an out-of-date smartphone I got in June. That is... until June of 2011. (Thanks for coming out with the TP2, AT&T, right after I bought my FUZE!) #wireless
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Seth Roberson
11/15/09

@dragon: ONE: Wow. Pageplus has some crappy phones but that 1200 minutes deal is amazing. I'm kind of torn. I want a Pixi but at the same time I don't like cell contracts and this is waaay cheaper. Hmm... I don't really NEED a smartphone.
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dragon:ONE promoted this comment Edited by Seth Roberson at 11/15/09 10:07 AM Seth Roberson was starred Seth Roberson was unstarred

dragon:ONE
11/15/09

@Seth Roberson: You can bring over any CDMA phone, provided you can program it. Even DROID works. #wireless
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crackel
11/14/09

In reply to Why U.S. Wireless Pricing Sucks
There's no incentive to charge less. Everyone "needs" a cell phone, and there's only 4 1/2 companies than can reasonably do so. Therein lies the problem. Blaming the consumer is a classic deflection tactic, but it was on the NYT so it must be true, right? #wireless
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parkur
11/14/09

@crackel: RIGHT . People didn't like sprint's plan because it was with SPRINT not because of some idiotic need for a consistently high bill. It seems like there is no reason a 20 something dollar plan shouldn't be available on the major carriers. #wireless
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crackel
11/15/09

@parkur: yes there is. Companies seek to raise prices, and resist lowering them. Until there is significant downward pressure on pricing, it will continue to rise. And often, pressure is not enough, since companies often believe they have something that differentiates them from others that's worth the premium. For example, AT&T dropping prices by 10% would cause VZW to retain their structure and claim that 10% is worth having a 3G signal everywhere. #wireless
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blankmind13
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
I love how the fact that HTC's unit growth is not even mentioned. If anything, this chart shows that HTC is the one to look out for. Who gives a shit about apple and the iphone. They released the same product three years in a row. Its innovators like HTC that are going to own the playing field. And apple is barely beating out rim with its almighty iphone. And let also ignorantly assume that the only reason why HTC is on the board is because of android. It can't possibly be the fact that HTC has about a thousand different windows mobile phones. Everyone I know with a winmo phone has an HTC, and the people I know with winmo way out number the people I know with android. I'm not saying one os is better than the other, I am just saying thats what people have from what I've seen. Great job Gizmodo, for being fair and balanced again, always trying to help apple out while kicking Microsoft to the curb. Oh, I loved the review on the leo aka touchhd 2. You guys said its the best phone ever, in terms of both software and hardware, but the mere fact that it has winmo, which can barely be seen btw thanks to HTC,ultimately makes it a fail. I'm running a custom Leo rom on my touchpro2 right now, and I can tell you that I love this os, its a hell of a lot better than the iphones, and its on par with android and even better in some respects. You guys should actually try these phones out and give htc's winmo a chance instead of bashing it because you hate winmo so much. I know I am ranting now, but you guys really piss me off so this is what happens. #smartphonemarketshare
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Kaiser-Machead
11/13/09

@blankmind13: It's curious that you completely ignore the fact that achieving that kind of growth against dozens of different models from other hardware vendors, spanning over more than one wireless is a mighty tall feat, while using that same fact to dismiss the product. If anything, Apple's is the most significant here because of the fact that it's one basic phone with 3 different capacity options on a single exclusive carrier.

To claim that they released the same product in 3 years is a tad disingenuous. #smartphonemarketshare
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blankmind13
11/14/09

@Kaiser-Machead: yea you know what, your right. apple really took the hard and noble route of only making one piece of shit phone instead of a bunch. that can't possibly be an advantage right? wrong, that's one of the reason why the iphone is so popular, because there is only one. so apple makes one good product and this way everyone who buys it is satisfied. people don't have to chose between different models it makes buying easier for the consumer. in my opinion htc is doing the amazing feat by pushing phones with an os that is apparently a piece of shit, according to gizmodo. not only that but many of their phones are high end, and are on the expensive side. the iphone targets a much larger market than htc does, so yes i think its amazing feat that htc has been growing so well. i mean a few years ago i didn't even know who the hell htc was. with apples, amazing marketing no one should even be close, but the fact is that there product is becoming outdated, and thank god for the idiots at gizmodo who keep spreading the word that the iphone is better than ever, all its doing is making apple believe that its ahead of the pack when its actually falling behind.

oh, and to claim that apple DID release a new product every year, id have to say is a "tad disingenuous." #smartphonemarketshare
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Monty
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
Interesting stats, but I would be truly interested in seeing a smart phone to compete with BlackBerry in the corporate marketplace. That is where the "real" money is, and as long as RIM is alone with the BES and BlackBerry devices, they will continue to grow in the market place creating some acceptable but hardly overwhelming products.

Apple, on the other hand, is going to have serious competition in the years ahead from Android.

In any case, it is neat to see the market shifting so dramatically in such a relatively short period of time. #smartphonemarketshare
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CraigJ
11/13/09

@Monty: How is the "real" money in the corporate marketplace? there are over 100 million people in the US who are potential smartphone users. The potential number of device sales to corporate America can't be more than 20% of that. #smartphonemarketshare
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Monty
11/13/09

@CraigJ: Well, okay - I exaggerated slightly. That said, the focus in the media and nearly every web site is the iPhone, which is still behind the BlackBerry in sales. It is not because the BlackBerry is a better device - it is because the corporate marketplace has no choice but to stick with it. I would love to see Apple release a corporate iPhone (and server for managing a fleet of iPhones), or an Android entry into the space - but it has not happened. So, as Apple is competing for the consumer marketplace where there are numerous competitors, RIM will continue to have their profit pouring in. Great for those lovely folks in Canada, but maybe not the greatest for innovation in the business world. #smartphonemarketshare
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Justin Paulson
11/13/09

@Monty: What is holding corporate accounts away from iPhone? I could see it before exchange support and remote wipe, but what is the big draw to a blackberry over an iPhone for corporate use now? File editing? Is there decent office support on BB? #smartphonemarketshare
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Googlo
11/13/09

@Monty: IMO...( gulp! ..dont hit me!! ) WinMo phones could have done it ...I think they still have a small chance if they can manage to update their OS and do a little smart advertising ... If you ( not you per say) consider the fact that you can grab a phone with all the aplications needed with out having to shell out money for them...(like BB).... and just go.

My dissatisfaction with BB led me to use a Korean made WinMo phone and it's surprisingly good (for business aplications, and a few other things).... compared to RIM.... what nightmare they were. #smartphonemarketshare
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Monty
11/13/09

@Justin Paulson: The reason the iPhone is not only not an option for corporate support but is now actively considered Abaddon in slick black is related to the following:

1. Apple made it seem their device locally encrypted information and never told anyone that it did not.

2. Apple lied to Exchange Servers saying it was locally encrypting the data when it was not.

(FYI: These two lies put corporations in litigation peril since they are held to confidentiality agreements and encryption standards, such as national HIPAA regulations. In other words - major problem.)

3. Apple released a patch that was an insignificant fix for problems that "fixed" this little white lie.

4. That "fix" that was not communicated broke all earlier iPhones from being able to connect to properly configured Exchange 2007 servers.

5. Tech departments from all over the world received countless trouble tickets saying their iPhones no longer worked and blamed it on the corporation, not their beloved company in Cupertino.

6. After getting the facts, companies everywhere started denying access to email data (for obvious reasons) to any iPhone devices, many setting it as company policy.

Oh, sure, there are other problems, too - like being able to control what functions of the iPhone are available to staff - being able to remotely destory the data (corporate necessity), being able to push out applications to each device, etc and so on.

I could go on, but you get the idea.. The iPhone is not a corporate device. Not yet, at least, and given the track record, probably not for a long time. #smartphonemarketshare
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Monty
11/13/09

@Googlo: We have a few staff in our office that love WinMo devices. I do think that WinMo had an opportunity in the business world to compete with RIM, but right now Microsoft is virtually ignored. Unfortunate. #smartphonemarketshare
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liebermojo
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
"So, uh, who's losing?"
It's clear to me that the color orange is the real looser in this graph. It's sooo "last year". And everybody knows that Red is the new Orange.
Android may need to spread it's legs to get a little more of the market share but Nokia will have to bend over for that to happen. Everything else is rising faster than a thrill up Chris Mathews leg. #smartphonemarketshare
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TheSonOfKrypton
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
iPhone says: "Nom Nom Nom NOM NOM NOM!!!" #smartphonemarketshare
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Keighvin
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
I think you mean stretch its legs. #smartphonemarketshare
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ripfire
11/13/09

@Keighvin: Hm. No. I think "spread its legs" sounds better. #smartphonemarketshare
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ebob
11/13/09

@ripfire: so you can f**k it? #smartphonemarketshare
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ripfire
11/13/09

@ebob: No. So you can deliver its offspring. #smartphonemarketshare
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shooga
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
Hmm... 0.1% of the market share was unaccounted for in Q3 2008... #smartphonemarketshare
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John Herrman
11/13/09

@shooga: World, shattered #smartphonemarketshare
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Rejexted
11/13/09

In reply to The Year Apple and RIM Ate Everyone Else's Lunch
...Who is RIM? #smartphonemarketshare
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SQLGuru
11/13/09

@Rejexted: Research In Motion. They're Canadian (eh). You might have heard of their most popular product.....the Blackberry line of phones? #smartphonemarketshare
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
11/13/09

@Rejexted: Research In Motion.

[www.rim.com] #smartphonemarketshare
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Rejexted
11/13/09

@SQLGuru: I've never owned a Blackberry but I definitely know what they are, thanks. #smartphonemarketshare
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Rejexted
11/13/09

@Jrsy Devil's Advocate®: thanks #smartphonemarketshare
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