Connect with us

Editorials

New Droid RAZR Phones Can Do More…if You Can Afford the Data

Published

on

Motorola Mobility showed off a trio of attractive Android phones at its launch event today, touting extended battery life, the latest version of Android and fast Verizon 4G LTE data speeds, painting a picture of mobile Nirvana. Verizon has the most mature 4G LTE network in the United States. Its speeds are blazing fast, eclipsing many home and office Internet connections. But Droid RAZR buyers may be in for a bit of bill shock unless they’re already dialed into a rare unlimited data plan. Streaming videos, uploading video clips and streaming music all day costs a bundle on Verizon’s metered 4G LTE plans.

Unlimited voice and messaging are included in its Share Everything Plans, but Verizon is all about selling GBs these days. The base Share Everything Plan costs $90 for a single smartphone and includes 1GB of data. Another $10 will bump the data limit up to 2GB. For $110 you can get 4GB of data. Verizon’s published rates top out at $140 per month for 10GB of data and a single smartphone, but you can opt for extra 2GB buckets of data for $10 per month each. Each additional smartphone on users’ accounts costs $40 per month.

razr-hd-motorola-verizon

4G LTE devices like the new Droid RAZR MAXX HD can quickly blow through Verizon’s Share Everything Plans’ data limits. At the RAZR event, a Motorola exec bragged that the RAZR MAXX HD could stream  27 hours of music on a single charge, which is long enough to play every Beatles and Rolling Stones album back to back. If you were to do that you’d blow through more than 2GB of data through Spotify or Pandora. That 2GB cap could also be blown by streaming a single high-definition Netflix movie or downloading a handful of Android games from Google Play. ‘

Once users blow through their data limits, Verizon charges $15 per GB in overage fees. And that’s when the fastest mobile data connection in the country isn’t so much fun any more. Is downloading that hot new Android game really worth an extra $15 up charge? Or can it wait until you get back to the shelter of a free Wi-Fi network? Is watching your favorite sports team play a single game on your commute home worth another $15? Sure, subscribers can limit the damage somewhat by upgrading to a higher data tier, but the nagging overage charges mean people will think twice before hitting play.

Truly unlimited 4G LTE is liberating and something we wish Verizon would bring back in some fashion. Verizon promoted unlimited 4G LTE plans when it launched the HTC Thunderbolt, its first 4G LTE-capable phone, a year and a half ago, but the unlimited offer was short lived. Some subscriber who signed up early for 4G LTE, including myself, still enjoy unlimited 4G LTE. But Verizon is wiping away unlimited data plans as those users upgrade to subsidized devices.The only way to keep unlimited 4G LTE is for Verizon customers to pay full price for new devices or keep their original 4G LTE devices long term.

As good as Motorola’s and Verizon’s take on the future of mobility sounds, it’s only a reality for those with deep pockets. Everyone else will find limited data very limiting.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. RyanBcrazymon

    09/07/2012 at 12:43 pm

    Oh Xavier, you act like this is “Breaking News” and Motorola has something to do with the way Verizon does their data plans. I noticed you use an iPhone so you don’t grasp the concept of downloading to the sd card for watching whatever when needed. Also, AT&T has a share everything plan as well. I dont know if they charge full price on phones to people, like Verizon, on unlimited data even tho its time for their upgrade. Also, most people have the wits to know if they plan to download something large it will be done over wifi. Good day to ya.

    • Jack

      09/08/2012 at 9:36 pm

      @RyanBcrazymon It appears you are completely ignorant to where the current trends are taking technology and communications. Everything is going to the cloud and it is being pushed more and more every day. iPhone, Android, WP7/8, it doesn’t matter. all your entertainment, music, movies, games, etc. will be stored in the cloud and will use your connection to access them which will eat away at data. Yes, caching all your entertainment for the day while you are on wifi could ease the data you use, but are you really going to plan out everything you want to use on your phone for the whole day? I certainly won’t. Video chat is also very data intensive and is getting more and more popular with the faster 4G speeds. Also, there is a reason why carriers are giving out more unlimited calling and txts plans, traditional voice will be going away!! I don’t expect you to understand this, but VoLTE will be how calls will be made and it will use data, not minutes. Now your data will be eaten every time you use your phone for the primary purpose you have the device. Carriers see the writing on the wall and know that they won’t be able to rape people like they have in the past for per minute plans since data is getting fast enough you can place a voip call that will use only data, like skype or any other of the many apps out there. Carriers are trying to push their customers off of unlimited data so they can make the jump to VoLTE and still rape you all the while reducing their costs. Verizon will have to pry my unlimited data plan away from my cold dead fingers. Enjoy your raping… hope you have some Vaseline. Good day to ya!

      • RyanBcrazymon

        09/09/2012 at 10:21 am

        Yo Jack Off! The idea of my response was to answer the questions proposed in the above article. Something you didn’t either take the time to do or lack the ability for you to comprehend. Congrats on reading the atircle about VoLTE. Btw, if you own your own business you can still get unlimited data and you also get around 1/4discount on your plan as well as phones and accessories. The same if you work for a large corporation. I have a plan like this which is payed for so we will have to hear it from you what it is like to be raped, to use your sick under educated choice of words, because you will be paying full price for a phone while I’m getting 25% off my contract upgrade price. How U like them Apples? STILL the article implies Motorola has something to do with this data problem because phones are getting faster? Which it doesn’t. So, basically I think that as before when the phone companies would scam us on minutes we have to speak with our wallets either by leaving places like Verizon and AT&T to places with unmetered data and/or find other ways to get what we want. For now we can limit how much data our phone uses at least.

  2. Andy

    09/12/2012 at 7:15 pm

    I have a plan through a large company what do I need to be aware of so I can keep unlimited Ryan? I believe some of the people on my plan have already made the change may be too late

  3. Cade

    10/20/2012 at 10:32 am

    Hey anyone, I have been trying to figure out if NEED a data plan for a Droid Razr. I am thinking about getting one but unfortunately at my mothers whim. She told me that I would only be able to get the phone if she didn’t have to pay for data. She already has a unlimited talk and text plan that I could use so I am wondering if I could opt out the data plans and just use the wifi in my home. If anyone could help it would be much appreciated!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.