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Just as leaked documents suggested earlier in the week, Verizon has officially announced the arrival of pre-paid data plans for their 3G devices, including BlackBerry and Android smartphones. The new deal provides unlimited data at a contract-free rate of $30 per month. For feature phones they are also making available a $10/25 MB per month plan.
The list of devices covers every Android device on VZW, if I’m not mistaken. The Droids 1, 2, X, Eris, and Incredible are all eligible, as well as the LG Ally and Motorola Devour. No mention is made of the Samsung Fascinate, though the same leaked information that originally brought wind of this news mentions it among devices that are available for the plan.
The new rates are available today at Verizon stores and will be making their way to online purchases on September 28th. $30 a month for unlimited isn’t bad considering there is no contract involved, but the lumps of cash required to purchase one of the above devices from Verizon sans commitment isn’t exactly reeling in the savings.
Wow.
Verizon, you fucking rock.
I was expecting the exact opposite. That’s why I got my Droid X a month ago. Just to be sure I could keep my unlimited data. And here, Verizon actually makes my life /easier/.
Nice job. This is why I’m sticking with Verizon.
What if you already own a droid from vsw, can it be used or do you have buy a certain type for prepaid? Cause I could really use the prepaid once my contract ends lol
Can someone please explain how these $30 unlimited prepaid plans are better than the $30 unlimited regular data plans?
I’m not being sarcastic, I really want to know. Thanks!
That $10 for 25MB is a joke though…
Also by unlimited do they mean unlimited because isn’t their unlimited plan max at 5gb?
no voice plan required?
@Kwaping
I was wondering the same thing.
You get the same service for the same money.
But you don’t have to sign a 2 year contract to get it. If I want to send my kid away for the weekend, I can give her my spare phone and put a prepaid card on it. There’s no need to activate and pay for a second phone for just a few days’ worth of service.
The advantage of pre-paid service is that you can turn it on when you need it, and you don’t need to pay for service you don’t use. PP also makes the service available to those people who can’t get smartphones because of bad credit or people who would prefer to pay with cash.
Don’t forget to mention that prepay phones usually have a higher per-minute charge for phone usage. While the data plans are the same, I doubt that the voice plans are nearly the same price. If it was, nobody would sign contracts.
Anthony-
My co worker and many of my cellular customers use over 5gb regularly. However, if you were to go WAY over that (probably because of tethering) they may kindly ask that you attempt to lower your usage or something. Like i said, though, my co-worker uses over 5gb a month without any trouble from them.
So basically, as a current Verizon customer, I’m unaffected? Awesome!
The only reason this could be better is if you do not need a phone plan. Then you can use Skype for all your calls.
@Dave – I hope Skype, Gmail to phone, or other VoIP technology will one day replace mobile carriers voice call plans. Carriers will still make money on data plans but can not rip us off if we over use our minutes for making or receiving voice calls. Thank goodness for MagicJack, I no longer need Verizon landline or Comcast VoIp. I pay $19.99/yr for unlimited calls to anywhere in the US.
looking to see if vzw will roll out a 12 1/2 mb data plan and a droid z with a six inch screen.
….and people …some people say Verizon sucks…
Seriously if they offer $30 for a data plan, and pre-paid at that… I will use my Google Voice for texting and calling
But I still love and cannot decide between T-Mobile and HSPA+ or Sprint and Wimax. (I am one of those that believes Verizon sucks.) Magenta or Starburst yellow?
loving this!
but i’m wondering how they will do pricing for minutes. there must be a voice plan involved. i highly doubt we would be allowed to just pay for $30 data plan only. if so… gv + sip + fring = free calling
@droid $20/year for landline?! i prefer free
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ae8glDUXDsh9ZGR2eG43cjRfMzNkOTM4ZjNjeA&hl=en
sadly sipsorcery shut down registration (servers got too bloated) so you won’t be able to this all as of right now… but i’m sure they’ll open registration again. you can still initiate the calls on a “cordless phone” via gv on your computer… just can’t call out directly from the phone because of lack of sipsorcery. i’m rambling.