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79 Comments
- Maynza, on 07/11/2009, -2/+38It will cost 99 cents a minute and be capped at 500 megs.
- drifter, on 07/11/2009, -1/+20Will Verizon also realize sim cards are the way to go? I can't believe having Wi-fi is regarded as something new for these cheapskate companies.
- prisoner24601, on 07/11/2009, -1/+14Even if was cheap, until they enable WiFi-based VoIP/UMA *calling* functionality like T-Mobile does, they won't get my interest. For $10 a month I can make unlimited calls from my house over my broadband connection with the WiFi on my (fairly basic Nokia) handset.
Every other cell provider is completely slacking in my opinion. It's like they don't grasp that this is 2009. The cost of calls should be WAY down from 10 years ago, but AT&T/Verizon are trying to live in the past. It's like only T-Mobile has accepted the reality of the pricing situation. If only they had put WiFi calling on the Googlephone / G1 / MyTouch then they would *really* have been able to compete with the iPhone. Nobody likes AT&T's pricing or service. The WiFi calling is finally a reasonable cost plan, and the quality over broadband is actually a lot better than over cell connections anyway. Some people think "it'll sound like Skype" but it's quite the opposite. My calls are MORE clear over WiFi than they have ever been (with any provider and I've tried pretty much all of them) over cell towers. - or3n, on 07/11/2009, -0/+12It's about time, but Wi-fi probably won't make a huge difference to customers if they are still required to purchase a data plan to use any sort of data (including wi-fi) on the phone at all. :/
- immatellyouwhat, on 07/11/2009, -1/+13What a late move, didn't they realize by having wifi they relieve some of the Network data traffic?
- MScrip, on 07/11/2009, -1/+13"Verizon has also indicated that all devices the company releases, after the BlackBerry Tour next week, will include Wi-Fi."
***** - ViperX116, on 07/11/2009, -2/+11And how much will they charge for it?
- mcmerk, on 07/11/2009, -3/+11Why did it have to be right after the Blackberry Tour?
freakin verizon - brettotte1, on 07/11/2009, -0/+8This article is incorrect in assuming that including Wi-Fi suddenly means you won't have to get a data plan. ALL smartphones on VZW required a data plan of $29.99/mo for unlimited data as of November 18th, 2008 except for a couple remaining. Blackberries have had this requirement because it protects consumers bills. Blackberries and push-email phones are constantly accessing the network and without an unlimited plan I've seen bills for $1000's/mo without it. That's why you bought the phone right? They're $500-$600 full retail.
- MyTakes, on 07/11/2009, -0/+8I suppose you're right. What were they ever thinking? They've been charging people $1/byte when they could have just relieved their network data traffic.
- MScrip, on 07/11/2009, -0/+7Since Verizon is already getting $30-$45 a month extra from Blackberry users... adding WIFI to reduce the network traffic load IS a great movie for Verizon.
Verizon gets their money... and you might never use their data network and use WIFI instead.
Genius! - osko2052, on 07/11/2009, -0/+6Now they just need to have unlimited UMA WiFi calls for $9.99 a month like T-Mobile.
- brettotte1, on 07/11/2009, -0/+6Sim cards are coming with LTE in 2010
- TheJuggernaut, on 07/11/2009, -0/+6Not a fanboyish comment, but folks probably have Apple/iPhone to thank for this move. Sprint and Verizon aren't doing it to foster warm fuzzies for their customers — they're doing it because the iPhone is their biggest competitor, and it has wi-fi.
- My571k, on 07/11/2009, -1/+7psh. And you all say AT&T sucks...
- cawpin, on 07/11/2009, -1/+7"I bought my Q9c to find out that the verizon version had been altered removing the built in wifi capability,"
No, the Q9c didn't have built in wifi. Look it up. - Undertakernv, on 07/11/2009, -1/+7HTC Touch Pro, HTC Diamond, Treo Pro, and Palm Pre.
- enrq, on 07/11/2009, -0/+6ditch the iPod Touch. play with your gf.
- HurricaneDC, on 07/11/2009, -2/+7Yep, good old phone-crippling Verizon. I love their network but I hate some of their practices. Hell, they released the HTC Touch Pro with half the RAM for no apparent reason. Just for the ***** of it.
- roguewriter, on 07/11/2009, -2/+6You gotta love Verizon, one of the few companies with worse ethics than Sony or Comcast. The masters of crippleware. I can only imagine how pissed the marketing people at RIM are over the statement about "after the Blackberry Tour."
Helpful hint to Verizon and the other American cell providers: Stop making choosing a cell phone provider all about finding who screws you the least. Collusion to control a market is supposed to be illegal. - MScrip, on 07/11/2009, -0/+4I'd still pay for the data plan even if it wasn't required with my Blackberry. Why? Because there are *many* times I want to use data outside of a WIFI hotspot.
I play with my girlfriend's iPod Touch if we are at a restaurant that has WIFI. But the only place I can use it is indoors near WIFI... so it's only a once in a while thing.
If I have a data-capable phone... I want to use that data everywhere.
Sure, I'd use WIFI if I could... but I'd still get a data plan (as it will probably be required for quite some time)
I'll probably still get the Tour... I've loved my Verizon Curve. - celotil, on 07/11/2009, -0/+4So buy a phone from overseas that works on the networks you use. You'll get all those little extras that the US phone companies don't want you to have, plus a phone will very likely work almost anywhere in the world.
- STPZ, on 07/11/2009, -2/+6Finally for ***** sake I bought my Q9c to find out that the verizon version had been altered removing the built in wifi capability, at least it came with a nice warning from the salesman when I refused a data plan.
"Are you sure!?, without the $40/month data plan on top of ur $120/month plan (Family) you could be charge THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. NEVER and I mean NEVER BROWSE THE INTERNET!!!." - MooseOfReason, on 07/11/2009, -0/+4"With consumers increasingly turning away from phones that don’t have Wi-Fi, Verizon and Sprint may have had little choice but to do what it takes to offer this feature to users."
We're powerless, I tell you! Powerless! - MtheoryX, on 07/11/2009, -0/+3"GSM providers do not."
Providers like ATT? On phones like the iPhone? oh, wait - HurricaneDC, on 07/11/2009, -0/+3What bret said. I'm pretty sure SIMs are a feature of GSM networks.
- thaprinze, on 07/11/2009, -0/+3Hey Sprint, where the hell is the Touch Pro 2 already??!!
- sarcasticmango, on 07/11/2009, -0/+3I was amazed that my carrier Sprint only had one phone with WiFi capability after trying to find one to upgrade my three-year-old cell phone last week. WiFi isn't exactly cutting edge...
- EtherGnat, on 07/11/2009, -0/+3Maybe I'm the exception, but I've had wi-fi on my Verizon smart phones for years and I never use it. 3G data is fast enough, always available, and doesn't kill my battery.
Well, actually I do use it it, but only for tethering my laptop to my 3G connection, which I'm not suppoesd to do anyway. - Undertakernv, on 07/11/2009, -2/+4You're complaining about cell carriers being stuck in the past and you're praising T-Mobile? How's 3G going for you?
- thathappycat, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2Can it be that we're finally ready to enter the 21st century?
- 123bucklemyshow, on 07/11/2009, -3/+5If they don't have an unlimited data/minutes plan, the carrier makes an enormous percent profit off of the user when they use the carrier's network. The compatibility with Wi-Fi is just to keep up with the iPhones.
- colincornaby, on 07/11/2009, -1/+3Sim cards don't mean much when you can't use Verizon phones on overseas networks anyway.
- osok, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2uma rocks!
i would never even consider a phone/provider that doesn't offer it. that's the main reason i wont touch an iphone - inactive, on 07/13/2009, -0/+2This is good, but I'm pretty sure WiFi is just a short-term fix until the cellphone companies get their high speed wireless networks in order.
- EtherGnat, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2More likely one of Verizon's "world phones" which support both CDMA and GSM networks. They've had those for years.
- keraneuology, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2The smartphones come with WiFi - you don't *NEED* to use Verizon's network to browse the net. But I don't even want to browse the net - I want the calendar, the notes, and the ability to use Mobireader.
- MScrip, on 07/12/2009, -1/+3You HAVE to get a data plan when you get a Blackberry. Either the $30 a month personal plan or the $45 a month corporate plan.
It just would have been nice to get one with WIFI on Verizon. After the Tour... I will.
My friend on T-Mobile has a BB with WIFI now. - TheBigBentley, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2and Omnia
- kevnaca, on 07/11/2009, -1/+3So what's the point of having a BB? Is it so that you can say I have a BB because w/o data it's almost useless.
- brettotte1, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2Um...there's no law that says you can't sell a product with a subscription required. That's how most products are sold now in the U.S. Consumers don't want to pay full price for a TiVo, phone, etc so they say they'll agree to pay a monthly fee for a service they need/want to lower the price of the hardware. How is this illegal? If you don't want a data plan then why are you buying a smartphone INTENDED for using the internet & other data services?
- HonoredMule, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2Yup, you're totally right. Without a data plan, the pleasant keyboard and apps are rendered totally inert. My wife cannot effectively
- quickly type up notes, text messages, task and grocery lists
- record and organize her schedule
- sync this data with other resources over USB or Bluetooth
- kill time with some cheap games that are actually mildly enjoyable
- or quickly and pleasantly navigate through her phone's UI
all because she has no data plan. o_O How utterly frivolous and shallow it was of her to pick the free Blackberry over other free phones. So was the point of your comment to blindly criticize, or did you just want to say something on digg? - kevnaca, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2No it's for use outside the U.S.
- aserer511, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2most BB users tend to opt for the data plan, though. corporate ones certainly for email connectivity
- MtheoryX, on 07/11/2009, -0/+2They lied to you then.
As Undertaernv illustrated, several models have WiFi. The HTC Touch Pro has been out for several months, hell the Touch Pro 2 is coming out soon.
The combination of you're turning in a 3 year old phone, and not being able to use the Sprint website to see WiFi listed as features on several phones leads me to believe you don't need WiFi anyway.
Enjoy your Jitterbug and huge buttons. - freakFlag, on 07/11/2009, -1/+3I have been disappointed by Sprint before, my wife and I have been with the carrier for 10 years and we have looked elsewhere but have you ever tried determining which pile of ***** doesn't smell as bad or which pile of ***** is more pleasant because the wireless carriers are all piles of *****. The charges, the caps on downloads, phones using UMTC chips to cripple upload speeds and $60/month for 5GB downloads. This business is a racket but we all will bow to these companies because they have something we want perhaps need. These companies will always charge for everything they are told they can charge for so you better pony up your extra cash for the next big thing ... WiFi on a phone.
- bbqribs, on 07/11/2009, -0/+1My BlackBerry Curve 8320 has Wifi, and UMA. That's what has saved us a ton of money on T-Mobile bills... unlimited wifi/uma calling.
- TheBigBentley, on 07/12/2009, -1/+2How about open GPS instead? Verizon unlock the OMNIA's GPS!!!!!!
- custangro, on 07/12/2009, -0/+1...why do you guys gotta squash my hopes and dreams?
- sb2uk, on 07/12/2009, -0/+1Maybe we'll see the same from Vodafone. The old rationale was justified on the basis of fear that wifi would be used for VoIP calls and the desire to always to force customers to use an overpriced data plan. Two problems with this were:
a) Wifi isn't that ubiquitous that it can replace the use of a cell phone to make calls. The mobile network is far more convenient for day to day voice calls.
b) Certainly in the case of the blackberry and applications they made a poor call: There is a difference between apps that can be delivered entirely over a mobile infrastructure where size is an issue and larger, richer applications that have data capabilities. Without Wifi - vendors were making smaller self contained applications. -
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