Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'm not sure, though, that there are many people who need "unlimited" data. I have a contract for 1GB/month on my iPhone. I use it all day, every day, as a mobile internet device, and I've never yet hit 300MB in a month; in a typical month I'll use around 200-250MB. Mind you, having said that, I don't use sites like YouTube; perhaps it's sites like that which eat data allowances!
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My VZW account gives me unlimited data for US$30 a month. Actually, mine gets $6 knocked off the top for one reason or another but my wife's is the "full" $30. The $45 plan includes a bunch of corporate email jazz that I (currently) have no use for.
My Droid X is rooted and I do the tether thing, as well as browsing, VPN, YouTube, Google Nav, and (until recently) Pandora. While looking for something else on my VZW account I noticed my usage-to-date was just south of 500MB. Considering the unofficial limit for the unlimited plan is 5GB, I'm not too worried; the speed at which you can move data on a 3G network negates worrying much about capacity. LTE will be a different story.
As far as the market share thing goes, I don't suspect the presence of the iPhone on VZW is going to magically double the number of iPhone users, as there will be:
1. Those who sprang for the iPhone 4, who will still have some 18 months left on their AT&T contract;
2. Those who are gambling that service on AT&T's network will improve as some leave for VZW.
Further, my observation over the last year has been that for many Android users it's not an either-or proposition; the decision being made was whether to invest in an Android phone, not to choose between it and an iPhone. In fact, everyone I know personally with an iPhone is a repeat customer, whereas everyone I know with an Android phone either came from another smartphone or were first-time smartphone buyers. Admittedly I don't work for Neilsen or IPC, but I know a pretty well-rounded demographic. Grain of salt not included, YMMV, etc etc.