Verizon Wireless announces new prepaid data packages for smartphones

By on Sep 2, 2010 at 12:06 PM
General September 2, 2010

We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Today, Verizon Wireless announced that it would be “expanding its portfolio of prepaid offerings to include a new 3G Prepaid data package that lets customers access unlimited data on select 3G Smartphones and Multimedia phones for $30 monthly access.” Here is the official list of prepaid smartphone devices Verizon Wireless will offer: BlackBerry Curve 8330, BlackBerry Curve 8530, BlackBerry Storm 9530, BlackBerry Storm2 9550, BlackBerry Tour 9630, BlackBerry Bold 9650, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixi Plus, DROID by Motorola, Motorola DEVOUR, DROID X by Motorola, DROID 2 by Motorola, DROID Eris by HTC, DROID Incredible by HTC, and the LG Ally. The new prepaid offerings will be available in stores and online beginning on September 28th.

Read

Tags:
, , , , , , ,
37 Comments

Related Articles

  • MRCUR

    Maybe I’ll be able to get a Droid X now, although it seems like VZW is still forcing you to have a ridiculous amount of minutes when all I really want is data-only.

  • Eric

    That is not a bad deal at all.

  • Verizzon

    All the slow 3G you can bear to stand, um, we mean eat.

    In the future, 4G, forget about it.

  • Dan Hesse

    So can you just get a smartphone, no voice and just pay 30 a month? Use skype or whatever voip instead????????

    • captain_dl

      It would be nice, but I doubt they would let that happen. If so, I’m cancelling my minute plan, getting the unlimited data and cranking out the Google Voice baby!

      • jhk

        Google Voice on Android still requires voice call minutes and cannot be used with data alone, so it still cannot replace your voice plan. Skype should work however. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on any of this.

      • S T

        With the recent feature allowing gmail users to make calls to landlines and cellphones you should be able to make calls without using minutes.

      • S T

        Would any of those who marked my comment down care to correct my oversight?? I may be wrong, but can’t you use gmail to make calls over voip? I guess you’d have to have the browser open to receive calls, but if you’re that frugal you can utilize a number of ways to get around that.

      • Brandon

        I marked you comment down. I don’t know of any way to make calls from my cell phone with Gmail without using remote desktop to a computer. The “cost” of that solution is much higher than paying for minutes at this point. If you have a better solution I’m all ears.

      • S T

        Brandon- fair enough, I should have tried it first. Assumed you could get the same features in the iPhone safari browser as you could on a PC and choose to call a phone. I’d mark myself down if I could.

    • james

      good question was wondering that two or maybe just talk and text and no data use use wifi at work and home

  • dp

    humm, maybe i’m missing something but i’ve always paid $30 for unlimited data… so now there is a pre-paid option?! why and who cares? don’t you need a contract to have all those phones anyway? what’s the deal?

    • David

      I think the point is that their prepaid phone options are expanding. So, now those phones are available as a contract free option.

      • no_vaseline

        Those phones have always been available contract free.

      • dp

        the headline reads “Verizon Wireless announces new prepaid data packages for smartphones” so i thought we were talking about “data packages” not contract options. still not seeing it…

    • no_vaseline

      ditto

    • http://laptopmemo.com Stefan Etienne

      Listen dude. The idea is that you DON’T need to have a contract if you DON’T want to.

      That way, I can stride in to a VZW store, grab a DROID X, and pay $30 for a 3G plan, and another $30-45 for a voice plan. But I can break off the “contract” whenever I like.

      And all the phones seen in the leaked shot above are the ones you can have.

      • no_vaseline

        So then how much do you pay for the phone?

      • Verizon Guy

        The important thing to remember is that you’ll be paying $570 for that Droid X to enjoy the privilege of stopping your plan whenever you want!

        What I don’t understand is that the Droid X is $569.99 contract free, or $199+$350 ($549) for breaking a contract and paying the full ETF. Am I missing something here??

      • no_vaseline

        Vz Guy – That is they way I understand it. I have been off contract for a year. I bought a Droid (version 1) about 6 months ago off Craigslist and paid verizon month to month. $30 for the data and 50something for the voice plan. SO this news is nothing new.

      • iknowthings

        Listen Dude, you have always been able to do that.

  • Jim

    Unlimited/Prepaid plans are popping up all over: Boost, Virgin Mobile, Page Plus, Total Call, Simple and many, many others. Verizon has been watching its MVNO, Page Plus and Sprint’s Boost grow and decided it was time to wade in for themselves. In many parts of the country Boost is over 50% of the Unlimited/Prepaid market and is stealing postpaid customers from the carriers. The carriers really do not have much choice. They need to compete with their own Unlimited plans. Fortunately for the consumer, the Unlimited/Prepaids are driving down prices.

  • Gee

    $30 for the slowest 3G service out of the big 4. While you can get unlimted fast 3G service from sprint and T-mobile for less than $30. No thanks verizon.

  • JedizenMaster

    Well this is great for people who don’t want to pay a hefty deposit or sign their life over to a wireless carrier.

  • http://music.kwaping.com Kwaping

    The only thing I can think of is, this is for people with bad credit who can’t get a regular smartphone contract. I imagine the people who fit that demographic are probably not going to be buying expensive, off-contract phones though. Maybe there’s something we’re all missing here?

  • tormenta78

    yes you could always get a “contract plan” on verizon and go month to month but pay full price for phone and no etf. the new thing here is that you can now put these high end phones on the actual pre pay service/pre pay coverage. but again you are still paying full retail price for these phones

  • mingkee

    ATT gets ass chewed. Their smartphone internet price is too ridiculous comprared with other 3.

  • Quint

    Currently, the month to month plans where you pay full retail still requires a credit check and the possibility of a deposit still hangs out there. On prepaid, no credit check and no contract … and possibly a somewhat reduced price on the phones. I bet these smartphone will be north of $300 but not quite full retail.

  • MG

    Everything will be cheaper when LTE becomes more available. They are just getting people to buy up the 3g phones so they can make more money on prepay. When 4G is more appealing they will get you with the contracts for one of those phones. Either way the money is there’s. In the end if you want any of the phones listed above just buy them on Craigslist or EBay. Unfortunately we are still at the mercy of retail for this stuff, not like china where they treat cell phones like fortune cookies.

    • http://music.kwaping.com Kwaping

      What do they do in China – crack them open and eat them?

  • PAPINYC

    Not to burst anyone’s bubble but, I still have the old grandfathered Verizon Unlimited Data for Smartphone Plan without usage cap of $49.99 ($42.50 after discount) without minimum voice plan attached; any voice calls are billed at 25 cents per minute. I decided to hold onto it for a few months after getting my EVOOO to wait and see if Verizon would get off their ‘twat’ and release a phone without one of their crippled ROMs, unlike that Touch Pro 2 fiasco I sent back in October ’09. These prepaid plans can only serve to bring down costs on all carriers for everyone, especially the post-paid market. I love my EVO but, like the gentleman stated above, I only use data.

  • http://contemplatingandroid.blogspot.com DaveM

    If you can use Skype and not get a voice plan then this would be great.

  • webby

    So does this mean if you are not currently a Verizon customer, you could buy one of those phones on ebay or craigslist with a clean ESN, and walk into a Big Red corporate store and activate month-to-month service on it?

    If so, this is great, because this is something NONE of the carriers used to let you do. I have called them and asked them before. They always said NO. They always required the new customer to buy the friggin fone from them.

    The carriers just don’t want to be dumb pipes, which is what they are in many countries.

  • jon

    Don’t cell phone companies defend their hefty plan prices and ETFs because they need to recoup the phone subsidy? Wouldn’t it make sense then that the prepaid pricing should cost less than post paid that includes a phone subsidy?

    At least T-Mobile offers it.

    • WT

      T-Mobile charges the same prices for contract plans vs non-contract plans. Companies like Verizon would much rather lock you into a contract than let you off the hook with a prepaid plan, which is most likely why prepaid plans add up to be more expensive than a month to month plans.
      ETFs are there for them to recoup their subsidy, on a prepaid plan you are paying for the phone in full. Devices such as the Droid X is…I think, 549.99 without a contract and that’s what you’re most likely to pay if you’re on prepaid.

      • Correction

        Actually T-Mobile’s Even More + plans are contract free and cheaper than their with contract Even More plans. At least $10-15 cheaper too.

blog comments powered by Disqus