Verizon's Dirty Little Treo 650 Secret - Page 2

Antoine of MMM · 06-01-2005, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobR

We're honored have you here and registered at MobileRead Antoine! Your views are always interesting, whether on one of the sites you write for, or comments in forums like this one!

Thank ya much

Bob Russell · 06-01-2005, 07:13 PM

It may have a happy ending. cnek has made a point that might save me. I am on an old plan (no longer offered by Verizon). I had requested an upgrade from my current 300mins/mo to 450mins/mo plus free in-Verizon and prevention of roaming fees. Both have free long distance, and free unlimited off peak. I wanted the better plan, but have cancelled the switch and am staying with the old one.

It seems that on this ancient plan I appear to have (still not sure), it charges MOU for data (Minutes Of Use, ie airtime charges only). Like cnek said, I have to take steps to be careful about airtime charges if data connections persist accidentally, or can wake up without my knowledge. And I'm not sure exactly how it will work for me, but I will give it a try and see. I may have become lucky. But I'd still rather have bought a Treo tied to a wireless company that has a public, supported and promoted plan that I can live with.

In case you're wondering, I've also taken this page off the front page. I think the point has been made, and to be honest, I'm embarrassed by the tone of the writing. It's not horrible, so I'll leave it as-is in terms of the text, but I should never have written while in the heat of the emotions. It spoils what could have been a really great article if done with a positive approach. Sure, it's information that needs to get out, but I just wish I had packaged it differently. Lesson learned.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'll let you know over the next couple of months what happens. I hope to learn soon because I need to decide about my choice of plans so I don't have to extend my contract much if I switch. Who knows? Maybe the 450min plan will also handle my data needs as MOU?

I do want to provide a little balance once again...

Verizon has frustrated me with the Treo and data plans, but they have been a great carrier as far as wireless voice goes. The rates are approximately competitive for voice plans. The customer service is great on the voice side. I have, until now, had less unpleasant surprises than with the competition. Many of the people I know have Verizon phones, which makes in-Verizon promotions very nice. And most of all, they have the best signal coverage. So no matter how much I don't think they're a good fit for small budget Treo data users, I'd say overall they are a decent carrier in a business that doesn't exactly promote trust, goodwill and joy.

And finally, lest anyone misconstrue any of this to mean that the Treo 650 is not spectacular, let me make it perfectly clear.. I love my Treo, and like it better every day. PalmOne did a wonderful job with it, and despite the smartphone neccesitated compromises like screen size and memory, it's pretty much everything I need, and an excellent tradeoff.

I heartily recommend a Treo 650. However I would warn everyone to (1) Check carefully into all charges for data, and (2) Consider a non-Verizon Treo 650 if you are interested in a data plan and are on a budget.

Okay, enough clarification! I'm done.

cnek · 06-02-2005, 12:44 PM

Some hints for using "minutes of use" for Verizon data:
1. Go ahead and change your plan to 450 minutes if you want the extra time. MOU is not a plan per se, but a feature that can be turned on for any "National Access" or "America's Choice" plan. You may need to be persistent with the customer service people. Keep saying, "I do not want a data plan. I want 'minutes of use.'"
2. Some programs like SnapperMail have a feature where they automatically disconnect when they are done.
3. As I said before, get Battery Doctor:
http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fu...1&prodID=60548
It's five bucks. It absolutely saves you from blowing billions of minutes (and $$) when you forget to disconnect.
4. Use #646 to check how many minutes you have left in the current billing cycle.

It sounds like everything will work out, but Verizon does offer a 15-day window for terminating the new service w/o penalty: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/g...turnPolicy.jsp
It seems that you didn't buy your 650 directly from Verizon, but I imagine that it would still be returnable.

Bob Russell · 06-02-2005, 03:56 PM

Thanks cnek. It almost works. I did already buy Battery Doctor.. it's very nice!

But Verizon apparently does audits that would find people on MOU, and supposedly they will charge you for data usage as if you were on the pay per meg plan. You might be able to fight with cust service to get charges removed, but that's not a nice result.

So Verizon's tactics are too good for me. I resign myself to no data or $45/mo data, just like they wanted me to. This great smart phone was designed for data connectivity it was built for, and that side of it may just be wasted on me unless I splurge on the data plan. Quite a shame, and extremely frustrating. I hope some real information gets out about the data access costs for various carriers so future consumers can be educated by a simple web search.

For a little perspective, my last two (cheap) Verizon phones had unlimited WAP web data access for $5/mo, and if I went back to them I could still do it. My friend has a Cingular phone with 500meg data for $5/mo. I've heard Sprint's unlimited data plan is $15/mo, and it works with the Treo. Those numbers are all just rumor because I didn't check on them, but Verizon gives a measly 10meg for $25/mo!

So here's the situation as I understand it:

1) Verizon requires a data plan with the Treo 650. But sometimes CSRs will just add one and delete it because they don't know better, or because they are pushed to do it by customers.

2) If someone uses wireless data with the Treo (which I can right now), Verizon supposedly will charge for it eventually because they are beginning to audit data usage. I've heard that twice now so it seems real.

3) Some Treo owners are hoping that by altering network connection settings to be on another data network they can only incur MOU. Similar to what cnek spotted. It's intruguing, but I'm not convinced, and I'm afraid it may just lead to problems when audited anyway. There's really no way to confirm all this with Verizon.

Okay, for balance...

Verizon does have good cust srvc for voice calling, and they have great signal coverage, and they have in-Verizon free minutes in some plans. One more nice Verizon option is insurance for the Treo for about $5/mo. Same price as every other phone they have, and it covers up to 3 claims per one year period. That could be reasons why people might want Verizon to be their carrier even with a Treo.

I regret my choice of carrier, but I don't regret getting the Treo one bit, even without wireless data. It's a great little smartphone, and it's really growing on me.

Jordanevan · 08-29-2005, 02:44 AM

Still, verizon has something going for them! They do have great service and you hardly lose service like I constantly did with sprint. Plus the type of people you see with the Treo 650 usually write it off as a business expense. So, let their businesses worry about that. Its a phone for "corporate users."

-Jordan
Editor at www.2hot2handheld.com

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06-01-2005, 07:13 PM	#17
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	It may have a happy ending. cnek has made a point that might save me. I am on an old plan (no longer offered by Verizon). I had requested an upgrade from my current 300mins/mo to 450mins/mo plus free in-Verizon and prevention of roaming fees. Both have free long distance, and free unlimited off peak. I wanted the better plan, but have cancelled the switch and am staying with the old one. It seems that on this ancient plan I appear to have (still not sure), it charges MOU for data (Minutes Of Use, ie airtime charges only). Like cnek said, I have to take steps to be careful about airtime charges if data connections persist accidentally, or can wake up without my knowledge. And I'm not sure exactly how it will work for me, but I will give it a try and see. I may have become lucky. But I'd still rather have bought a Treo tied to a wireless company that has a public, supported and promoted plan that I can live with. In case you're wondering, I've also taken this page off the front page. I think the point has been made, and to be honest, I'm embarrassed by the tone of the writing. It's not horrible, so I'll leave it as-is in terms of the text, but I should never have written while in the heat of the emotions. It spoils what could have been a really great article if done with a positive approach. Sure, it's information that needs to get out, but I just wish I had packaged it differently. Lesson learned. Thanks for everyone's input. I'll let you know over the next couple of months what happens. I hope to learn soon because I need to decide about my choice of plans so I don't have to extend my contract much if I switch. Who knows? Maybe the 450min plan will also handle my data needs as MOU? I do want to provide a little balance once again... Verizon has frustrated me with the Treo and data plans, but they have been a great carrier as far as wireless voice goes. The rates are approximately competitive for voice plans. The customer service is great on the voice side. I have, until now, had less unpleasant surprises than with the competition. Many of the people I know have Verizon phones, which makes in-Verizon promotions very nice. And most of all, they have the best signal coverage. So no matter how much I don't think they're a good fit for small budget Treo data users, I'd say overall they are a decent carrier in a business that doesn't exactly promote trust, goodwill and joy. And finally, lest anyone misconstrue any of this to mean that the Treo 650 is not spectacular, let me make it perfectly clear.. I love my Treo, and like it better every day. PalmOne did a wonderful job with it, and despite the smartphone neccesitated compromises like screen size and memory, it's pretty much everything I need, and an excellent tradeoff. I heartily recommend a Treo 650. However I would warn everyone to (1) Check carefully into all charges for data, and (2) Consider a non-Verizon Treo 650 if you are interested in a data plan and are on a budget. Okay, enough clarification! I'm done.

06-02-2005, 12:44 PM	#18
cnek Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2004 Device: Treo 600	Some hints for using "minutes of use" for Verizon data: 1. Go ahead and change your plan to 450 minutes if you want the extra time. MOU is not a plan per se, but a feature that can be turned on for any "National Access" or "America's Choice" plan. You may need to be persistent with the customer service people. Keep saying, "I do not want a data plan. I want 'minutes of use.'" 2. Some programs like SnapperMail have a feature where they automatically disconnect when they are done. 3. As I said before, get Battery Doctor: http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fu...1&prodID=60548 It's five bucks. It absolutely saves you from blowing billions of minutes (and $$) when you forget to disconnect. 4. Use #646 to check how many minutes you have left in the current billing cycle. It sounds like everything will work out, but Verizon does offer a 15-day window for terminating the new service w/o penalty: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/g...turnPolicy.jsp It seems that you didn't buy your 650 directly from Verizon, but I imagine that it would still be returnable.

06-02-2005, 03:56 PM	#19
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Thanks cnek. It almost works. I did already buy Battery Doctor.. it's very nice! But Verizon apparently does audits that would find people on MOU, and supposedly they will charge you for data usage as if you were on the pay per meg plan. You might be able to fight with cust service to get charges removed, but that's not a nice result. So Verizon's tactics are too good for me. I resign myself to no data or $45/mo data, just like they wanted me to. This great smart phone was designed for data connectivity it was built for, and that side of it may just be wasted on me unless I splurge on the data plan. Quite a shame, and extremely frustrating. I hope some real information gets out about the data access costs for various carriers so future consumers can be educated by a simple web search. For a little perspective, my last two (cheap) Verizon phones had unlimited WAP web data access for $5/mo, and if I went back to them I could still do it. My friend has a Cingular phone with 500meg data for $5/mo. I've heard Sprint's unlimited data plan is $15/mo, and it works with the Treo. Those numbers are all just rumor because I didn't check on them, but Verizon gives a measly 10meg for $25/mo! So here's the situation as I understand it: 1) Verizon requires a data plan with the Treo 650. But sometimes CSRs will just add one and delete it because they don't know better, or because they are pushed to do it by customers. 2) If someone uses wireless data with the Treo (which I can right now), Verizon supposedly will charge for it eventually because they are beginning to audit data usage. I've heard that twice now so it seems real. 3) Some Treo owners are hoping that by altering network connection settings to be on another data network they can only incur MOU. Similar to what cnek spotted. It's intruguing, but I'm not convinced, and I'm afraid it may just lead to problems when audited anyway. There's really no way to confirm all this with Verizon. Okay, for balance... Verizon does have good cust srvc for voice calling, and they have great signal coverage, and they have in-Verizon free minutes in some plans. One more nice Verizon option is insurance for the Treo for about $5/mo. Same price as every other phone they have, and it covers up to 3 claims per one year period. That could be reasons why people might want Verizon to be their carrier even with a Treo. I regret my choice of carrier, but I don't regret getting the Treo one bit, even without wireless data. It's a great little smartphone, and it's really growing on me.

08-29-2005, 02:44 AM	#20
Jordanevan Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2005 Device: Treo 650	Still, verizon has something going for them! They do have great service and you hardly lose service like I constantly did with sprint. Plus the type of people you see with the Treo 650 usually write it off as a business expense. So, let their businesses worry about that. Its a phone for "corporate users." -Jordan Editor at www.2hot2handheld.com