Cingular data: $44 vs $79?

[stevenf]

I'm confused as to why the Cingular data plan through Sony costs $79/mo for unlimited use.

Can't I just go to any Cingular store, and buy a SIM activated with their unlimited data plan for $44/mo and have the exact same service?

Anyone enlighten me?

[NytStryk]

I'm confused as to why the Cingular data plan through Sony costs $79/mo for unlimited use.

Can't I just go to any Cingular store, and buy a SIM activated with their unlimited data plan for $44/mo and have the exact same service?

Anyone enlighten me?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can. I think the big catch is the 30 trial period Cingular is offering. Personally, I could give a rats...about the trial. If I were going to get the service, I would just do as you suggested. Hell, if that is the case, you could even do the trial, cancel service within 30 days and go down to a Cingular store and get a new SIM at the $44.95 rate. Unless there is something in the contract that says you can't cancel and sign up again. If I were them, I'd rather have some money than none.

Again, if I am wrong, somebody correct me. :cool:

[RchGrav]

Actually I think the $44 rate is for the PDA connect and is meant for PDA's. It will technically work, but it is in violation of the service terms and they can decide to bill you per KB used and there are stories of Cingular doing just that. That being said, there are people who have gotten away with the $44 service plan, or even gotten away with the $19.99 unlimited plan meant only for cell phones.

[stevenf]

Hm.

Well they have two plans on their site: a "Data Connect" plan ($45 unlimited) and a "Laptop Connect" plan ($79 unlimited) which must be what is offered through Sony.

The page for "Data Connect" does say "Requires usage with a Cingular Wireless PDA".

But on the other hand, "Laptop Connect" says "Requires usage with a Cingular Wireless PC card" which isn't right either.

I've been trying to read their Terms of Service (Try it! It's harder than you might think!)

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/common/legal/pop-planterms.jsp?q_planterms=postpaid#cn2

There's all kinds of weird stuff in there, including prohibited usage such as "web camera posts" (could that be any more vague?), streaming media, and VOIP!

I can't find anything that specifically says you have to get Laptop Connect. At least not on this page.

It says tethering is prohibited but then specifically excludes unlimited plans from that.

So, now I'm even more confused than when I started.

[stevenf]

Actually there is a line:

PDA CONNECT: May only be used with eligible Cingular-certified PDAs/Pocket PCs. Not available on RIM® devices and LaptopConnect cards.

But there is no longer any plan called "PDA Connect". If this refers to Data Connect, then you're right: use with the VAIO would be against ToS.

[NytStryk]

I guess you could always go to T-Mobile for a somewhat more reasonable price on an Unlimited plan...

[NytStryk]

If you are student, you can get like 12% off service. Not much but hey, every bit helps I guess.

From the Cingular site with a student login:

Data Connect Plans for PC Cards

Access your e-mail, corporate intranet, and the Internet while on the go by wirelessly connecting your laptop to the Internet using a PC card as your modem. Requires a Cingular Wireless PC card. Certain usage restrictions apply. See Explanation of Rates and Charges for details.

Data Connect 5MB
$17.59 originally $19.99

Data Connect 10MB
$26.39 originally $29.99

Data Connect 20MB
$35.19 originally $39.99

Data Connect 50MB
$43.99 originally $49.99

Data Connect PC Unlimited $59.99(requires a $39.99 or higher voice rate plan)
$52.79 originally $59.99 Unlimited

Data Connect Unlimited
$70.39 originally $79.99 Unlimited

[stevenf]

But those are the Laptop Connect prices... Why aren't they self-consistent with their plan naming? This is so silly.

I'd call them, but of course they're going to tell me I need the more expensive plan. Not even their own ToS seems to know for sure.

[Nak]

I just "upgraded" my 50MB/mo Sony data plan to the unlimited $59.99/mo plan since I have a Cingular phone.

This is still expensive compared to T-Mobile, but I'm really happy with the broad coverage of Cingular.

This was done by walking into a Cingular store and asking about unlimited plans.

Nak

[NytStryk]

I just "upgraded" my 50MB/mo Sony data plan to the unlimited $59.99/mo plan since I have a Cingular phone.

This is still expensive compared to T-Mobile, but I'm really happy with the broad coverage of Cingular.

This was done by walking into a Cingular store and asking about unlimited plans.

Nak


How is your speed? I haven't signed up for the plan but am interested in the throughput.

[Klavisha]

I am in the US and am considering getting the new UX280P. I don't know how much I would use the Cingular data service, so am thinking of activating their limited data plan, 50MB. Can anyone tell me how much that is, in terms of how much I could use the service? I'm technologically challenged.

[stevenf]

That's an odd question. It's a bit like asking how much water is 2 gallons -- it's 2 gallons. :)

An average web page is probably going to be anywhere from 20 KB to 100 KB, or more if it has a lot of graphics. (1 MB = about 1000 KB) A single MP3 is about 4 MB. Video can be huge.

It depends on what you plan to do with the connection, and how often you plan to use it. I could easily do 50 MB before breakfast, so it wouldn't be a good plan for me. :)

[Klavisha]

Thanks, stevenf. I guess I phrased my question badly. To use your water analogy, I am asking how long a shower I could take using your 2 gallons. From your answer I gather that unless I only connect to EDGE rarely (like taking a VERY short shower), it wouldn't be worth it to get the limited service.

[3xternal]

It's not really about how often you connect. Say for instance all you do with your connection is check your gmail. Gmail is almost entirely text, and if your system was caching images, you coudl avoid downloading thier banner over and over. I would imagine you could check your mail alot of times for 50MB. However, anything different than text (as stevenf mentioned, like video or many images on a web page) will chew up that 50MB fast.

[JackAttak]

I have VZW's unlimited tethered data plan $59/Mon and put 162MB thru my phone in the first day and a half. Thats just web & email. No streaming or leeching. Of course after the novelty wore off my usage dropped quite a bit but I'm still over 64MB so far this month. I wouldn't want to try to constrain myself to 50MB a month!

[daplumber]

The other problem is that none of the carriers warn you are about to go over your limit and get raped by huge overage fees.

I'd suggest you look at unlocking your modem and getting T-mobile's $30/month unlimited plan. A search on "T-mobile" here will turn up a lot of information.

James

[v1s]

I had the PDA connect $44 plan for about 1.5 years I just used the bluetooth connection from my fone to laptop. No problem ever.

[daplumber]

Just be aware that you are probably violating your Contract and/or Terms Of Service. Bastard <bleep>ing Cell carriers...

James

[v1s]

I know.. <bleep> them :)

[computercowboy]

I have VZW's unlimited tethered data plan $59/Mon and put 162MB thru my phone in the first day and a half. Thats just web & email. No streaming or leeching. Of course after the novelty wore off my usage dropped quite a bit but I'm still over 64MB so far this month. I wouldn't want to try to constrain myself to 50MB a month!

I don't have cingular or T-Mobile in my area (Vermont, USA), we do have a great GSM provider by the name of Unicel (Rural Communications Corp)
Verizon is available also but no EvDO.

Anyway I started with a Sony PCMCIA card in the laptop in '05 (GC83 I think) their Laptop service, which they call aircard, is $75 a month unlimited nationwide or $60 a month in network (which is useless because the card gets used most when roaming)

I had that for a while then I got an HTC PDA which I can tether to the LT to get data there. So I kept the same plan and used the PDA for dat only no phone. The came out with a PDA plan about a year and a half ago which they call mail2go which can be added to a voice line for $35 a month ($15 in network only) so I added a linked line to my cell sim for voice and got the mail2go which brought the price down a lot. $20 for the linked line + $35 for unlimited data. So now I get voice and data for $55 instead of just data for $75.

So now I will come to the point. I am getting a UX sometime soon (would have had one already except I got scammed on ebay and the money is tied up in paypal)
In anticipation of getting the UX I added another linked line and the mail2go instead of getting the aircard data only plan. This is technically not allowed but I don't think they will notice because I use about 2Gb a month on the PDA with mail2go.

The point I was trying to make is that (A) an unlimited plan is needed because when there is data to be had in the pocket one tends to use it, (B) I think we all can get away with PDA plans for the UX (or other LT) if there is enough other activity on the account. If I didn't have voice lines with 2500 minutes shared plus all the extras and data spread out over 4 SIMs but instead tried to get a voice/data plan and used no voice I think they might catch on. My plan is so complicated and has so many features that whenever I call in to change something it takes like 30 minutes for the agent just to figure out what is going on.

O and one more thing that I did to get one over on the cell company, and you guys will love this. I went to the kiosk in the local mall where unicel has their setup and started shooting the shit with the guy there and we pulled up my account on the screen. I asked him about prefered customer discounts and that kind of thing and showed him the HTC PDA I got from Germany. Anyway after a little while he told me about access credits that can be applied to the account to offset the balance, I was then able to get him to apply a $5 per month credit to each line (4 total) for a savings of $20 a month. I would recomend going to your local store in person and trying to find a cool techy dude that hook up your account or perhaps a young lady to seduce so you can get a monthly discount.