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You are too Stupid to understand the REAL reason for the $10 Evo upcharge (its a good one) ***Update: I was WRONG***

I spent several hours reading over the HTC EVO reviews, speculations, rumors, and forums – just like some of you guys did.  Then I heard about the mandatory $10 upcharge for “premium data services”.  I read that and thought 4G – which I don’t have because I’m in the Phoenix area.  So I called Sprint to ask why its mandatory and what I will personally receive for the additional charge.  After getting nowhere with the customer service, I send a letter to Dan Hesse (Sprints CEO).

That letter certainly did recieve attention from Sprint as I was called and emailed by two different teams from Dan’s offices.  It was nice to know that there is a way to get noticed – but I didn’t exactly get the answer I was looking for.  But I did get an answer.

Sprint has good reason for the $10 charge EVEN when you are not in a 4G area – but it would not be understood or go over well with the general population.  They say “premium data services” and in a 4G city – I’m not guessing many people complain.  But in a 4G VOID, a lot of people have complained – even didicated entire websites to the issue (http://www.noevofee.com/).  BTW – Thanks goes to NoEVOFee.com for giving me the contact information I needed to raise attention at Sprint.

When you call Sprint – they will quickly tell you that the charge is NOT for 4G access but instead for the “rich user experience” provided by the Evo.  Like me, you are thinking, “hmmmm…. that sounds like they are charging monthly for features provided by the hardware that I already paid for!”  The short answer is, yes they are.  But allow me to try to do a better job explaining why that actually does make sense.

The office of Dan Hesse was able to give me enough information to understand the charge – but only after a LOT of questions.  If you will endulge me – I’ll explain what I understand the reason for the charge REALLY is using an analogy:

Imagine you are a utility company that delivers water.  Your customers want an unlimited amount of water delivery for a single monthly fee.  You have one inch pipes to deliver the water and a faucet with the turn style valve.  Accordingly you price your unlimited option based in part on the maximum amount of water a one inch pipe can deliver in a month, but also considering the average amount of time your customer will spend drawling water using the turn style valve.

Now imagine you install a new three inch pipe for some clients and a brand new valve that is easier to use, easier to turn on, easier to leave running, and can handle the new three inch pipe.  The customers with the three inch upgrades are very pleased and understand that you have to adjust the pricing plans accordingly.  Those customers with the one inch pipe are able to purchase the new valve, but will still have the one inch pipe.  In theory, they have the same access to the water as before – but because the valve is easier to use, even these customers are going to use the current pipes to consume more water than before.  Do you charge those customers with the new valve more for better access to the water?  How would you react if they were upset despite their new “rich user experience”?  They may feel since they paid for the valve, they shouldn’t have to pay more for the additional water consumption…

Now – if I lost you in the analogy, then either I am a poor communicator or the title of this post is true.  I’ll concede that my communication skills are weak – you are most likely brilliant.  Personally – I’ve already seen an increase in my own data consumption…

*** Update: I was WRONG ***
I was completely off – the REAL reason seems to be the agreement Sprint has with Clearwire – for every 4G device Sprint has activated on their network, they are paying a fee to Clearwire. That’s right – a fee to Clearwire EVEN if the device is not in a 4G area. I was wrong.

42 replies on “You are too Stupid to understand the REAL reason for the $10 Evo upcharge (its a good one) ***Update: I was WRONG***”

@Chris N – I’m glad it made sense to you – personally, my calls with Sprint were challenging at best… they are really fumbling the ball here with the scripts they handed out for the EVO charge…

Makes sense, but the underlined fact of the matter is greed. There is no justifying that!”

@Dre – Did you think Sprint was a charity? Do you volunteer at work – or do you expect a paycheck? When does it stop being business and become greed? Where do you define the line? Sprint is cheaper than any of the other major carriers – if you can find a non-profit wireless provider – please do share…

No that’s not a good reason. You pay more for gold hdmi cables but you don’t pay extra for gold hdmi channels once you have hd its yours and you can upgrade any way you want. Say you have sirius satelite radio, you pay more for big subwoofers but you don’t have to pay more for extra bass. The list goes on and on but the truth remains the same you’re paying extra money every month for the hardware which you already paid extra money for. So it is very understandable for people to not understand the reason they’re being charged an extra 10 bux a month because they already paid for their 12 inch subwoofers (like that analogy?) What it boils down to is you paid more for a better portal to access their data service and since you paid more for a better portal they are going to charge you for using more.
So for you to say people are too stupid to understand is ignorant. It sounds like you got fed some corporate b.s. and believed it which would make you the stupid one.

You are right, people should be charged for better access, hence the $200 hardware cost. Should the cable company charge you more when you go out and buy a new TV? You will get clearer picture and will probably spend a lot more time watching TV? But you still have the same channels! You spent money on hardware to make your experience better. Now- when you buy an HD TV, you may CHOOSE to sign up for HD or movie channels, these are additional channels and you should be charged for them.

To use water in a completely different, yet very similar analogy:

My apartment includes utilities, I pay a flat fee for water every month. That is what I signed up for, regardless of usage. Some months that may be in my favor, others to my detriment, but it balances out and we agreed on it. Now if I redo my shower so that it has a nice new massaging showerhead and spend a few more minutes in there everyday, I don’t expect to pay the apartments for my massage, I paid home depot for that. Or if I buy a hose for the faucet outside so I can give my dog a bath, I don’t expect a bathing fee.

If you fail to see the logic in my analogies, that is fine: we can either continue discussing it or we can agree to disagree.

However, please do not insult my intelligence by calling me stupid. I can assure you – I am not.

I refuse to accept sprint’s reasoning; when I upgraded from my Samsung behold to my myTouch slide the gates were openned, this is a smartphone and I use a LOT more internet, yet the bill for my UNLIMITED internet has remained unchanged.

I apologize for any typos, I’m on my Nexus One at the moment.

If you have a rebuttal, I would be happy to hear it, but as I said, please refrain from calling me stupid again.

@Rob – the title of the post is meant in jest – no offense intended. I think your water bill is a good analogy – but consider this – if after you and several other members of the community purchased new showerheads, the apartment complex did raise the “flat rate” stating higher consumption than projected as the reason? You may not like the decision, but I suggestion you would at least understand it.

Now you may suggest that Sprint didn’t follow this model – because they didn’t wait until they saw increased use and then raise the rates of everyone based on that fact. That’s true – but also way analogies are just analogies – in this case Sprint is making the new “showerheads” available with full knowledge that it will increase “water consumption” and have decided to increase rates only for those who purchase the new equipment. You may not like the model – but considering your ability to articulate your own thoughts in your prior comment – I’m guessing you are intelligent enough to understand their logic – even if you disagree with it.

@gangstaron Great point with the sound system analogies. I’m not much of an audiophile, so that one didn’t come to me.

Again, great point.

Thanx rob and I hope you don’t think I was calling you stupid. But, I too do not like to have my intelligence insulted, but it seems as if the author is one of those types that thinks anyone who disagrees with his logic is stupid. Which is probably why I wrote the dang post in the first place. Your analogies work just as well and I commend you.

@gangstaron – I know the title of my post is outrageous – I don’t actually know you and I’m guessing even if I did – I wouldn’t think you are stupid. I’m ok if we disagree – if you re-read the end of my orginal post – I don’t say if you disagree with me you are stupid – I suggest that not being able to follow my analogy is either my bad communication skills or the insult that is truly meant in jest.

I do think your analogy regarding the sound system is flawed in one important way – sirius isn’t affected by your increased consumption of their signal – neither are their other customers. When you consume more of the 3G band – you do affect other users of the spectrum. This is a concept most people aren’t going to get – which is why I think Sprint has decided to market the $10 up charge as “premium data services” instead of just saying – you are going to consume more of our bandwidth.

Most people would reply – “but I have unlimited data so why would my extra usage cost more”. My analogy is meant to help articulate that the current pricing plans consider the limitations of the existing hardware – new hardware with greater capabilities change the model and rightly change the pricing plans.

Thank you mr sackrider, believe it or not that made more sense than the analogy in the article and I can understand moreso (I am still going to think sprint is just trying to get my money I’m biased I know) why they would charge more. But do wireless routers put more strain on a cable company than a standard modem? And if so why don’t the cable companies charge more for that strain?

I’m just being difficult you don’t have to answer that last question but what does sackrider mean? It sounds kinda fruity…

@dsackr -> “When you consume more of the 3G band – you do affect other users of the spectrum. This is a concept most people aren’t going to get”…. With respect, I dont think it’s a concept you get. Nobody is ‘cosuming more of the 3G band/spectrum’ regardless of the transport bandwidth being consumed. And is the EVOs 4g speed really any faster than the 4g speed of any other of their devices, in short..no. That said your statement “My analogy is meant to help articulate that the current pricing plans consider the limitations of the existing hardware – new hardware with greater capabilities change the model and rightly change the pricing plans.” is also very misleading and misinformed.

@Rob, excellent analogy to the TV because that is exactly the best model of what Sprint is charging for. It really is just their way of accruing higher data ARPU without simply saying “we need to raise our prices”

@Mark – Respectfully – are you wrong that no one is consuming more of the spectrum – feel free to read more about the capacity crunch of the 3G spectrum here or do your own google search.

the EVO is the first 4G phone they offer… your question about the EVO being faster than other 4g devices isn’t even on point with the discussion – no one is talking about speed here… The only other 4G devices they have are mifi devices – which require a dedicated plan costing $60 a month.

@gangstaron -> PERFECTLY stated, “But do wireless routers put more strain on a cable company than a standard modem? And if so why don’t the cable companies charge more for that strain?”… If you plug one computer into the one available port on those cable modems you can consume up to the maximum alloted speed of the pipe… if you connect a router and plug 4 computers into that, the combined speed is still limited by the maximum data throughput you pay for. It would make more sense for sprint to charge an extra $10/mo for 4g access over 3g access, but it makes no sense whatsoever to charge it due to hardware, nor to make it mandatory unless for other underlying reasons

Horrible analogy, because you were able to buy Android 2.1 handsets (“the new valve”) on Sprint before. The $10/mo extra charge is for the 3 inch pipe to their house, while the price of the valve itself should not carry an extra fee if you can’t use the extra water. The new valve with a larger opening and 3″ flange is $449.99 off contract, and should require no more for water than any other valve. “You will use more water than before”, who says? I think your logic is terrible, email me if you care to discuss it further.

Your analogy sucks. Let’s say I do have a 3″ water line coming in to my house (instead of the 1.5″ I have now). Guess what, my faucets can only allow so much water through. I could have a 10″ line coming in to my house, I still get no more water and my consumption isn’t going to increase simply because it’s available. Surfing the web at 56k or surfing the web at 3MB doesn’t matter. A 1MB file is still only 1MB.

If they want to cap data, cap data. If they want to throttle data, throttle data. But if you think lying about what the $10 surcharge is for is OK, you must work for Sprint’s PR department. And if you think a $10 surcharge because it’s the “hot” phone and they’re taking advantage of early adopters is OK, get off my internet.

@McHale – I think you missed the point. The price plan for data is based on the bottlenecks of the system (the phone, the towers, etc). In some cities they upgraded the towers to 4G – in all cities they made a new phone available. The current price plan doesn’t cover the new capabilities and so they adjusted the plan. If you think you can do better with another provider – feel free to (i’m paraphrasing you now) get off my network! :o)

I got your point. I appreciate you have an opinion and even have a place to state your opinion, but you have such a flawed view on this. 4G is nothing buy hype as far as the customer is concerned. It offers NO benefit over the competitors and they have it how a couple dozen markets. The $10 premium is simply a punishment for early adopters. T-Mobile could have done the same with the HD2 but since they don’t suck and are trying to build a customer base, wouldn’t have dreamed of something this stupid. It’s decisions like this (and horrible coverage) why they have the largest percentage of churn quarter after quarter after quarter after quarter after…

1. You’re saying the price plan is based on the BOTTLENECKS and not the potential features and value? WHAT?!?!? SERIOUSLY?!?!? That would sound great in an ad. YOU PAY FOR OUR SUCKY NETWORK (on towers we no longer own).

2. They didn’t give the phones away for free to compensate for their horrible network, they charged a premium price. Charging a usage fee for the phone is incredibly short sighted of them.

3. You do realize that Sprint has been hemorrhaging customers for the past few years, right? They should be going door to door to the few that they have remaining and beg them to stay and they better bring cookies and beer with them. For the new customers, they should do the same but take them in a limo first. They have NO room to charge this type of fee and should be thankful that for ONCE they have customers signing new contracts and not canceling them.

4. The sad reality for Sprint is, NOBODY joined Sprint for the 4G (which is slower than T-Mobile’s 3G but that’s for another day). They joined for the phone. Had Verizon gotten it at the same time as Sprint, they’d still have lost customers to Verizon for the EVO.

I seriously considered switching to Sprint for the EVO. But once I saw the premium fee and inquired about it since I live in a low populated area, I told them to keep it. I’m not about to pay for the privilege of having a new phone on a crappy network who may not exist in 2 years. Because of this, I hope they don’t. They don’t deserve to.

You should check out my site about this.. http://explainthefee.com

I understand the REAL reason for the fee, but Sprint is continually stating that the fee is for the hardware.

Let them come out and say, “Yes, the fee is to increase our network”.. but no, they say “it’s for a wicked fast cpu”.

We’re not stupid, just give it to us straight.

@explainthefee i applaud your effort and conviction about this issue. i hope that something good comes of it if nothing but education the consumer. i’ve talked to a couple of sprint retail reps (one at radio shack and one at a “premium” franchise, not a corporate store) and both were frustrated with the bs that sprint gave them but still tried to defend the fee. the rs guy was at least able to concede that it was bs after a while although he said that the people who come in for the phone weren’t dissuaded by the fee and bought the phone anyway.

i get your point and i think that sprint should just admit their “error” and tell people the fee is for the phone and not the “premium DATA” because it isn’t.

i’m not sure what the “life” of this phone is, but if you were able to get four years out of it-with TEP, you technically could–then you’d be paying them back $480 + the $199 that you gave them initially, totaling $679 for a $449 phone!

@McHale Although we essentially are on the same side AGAINST the fee, I must respectfully disagree with your point #4. As someone pointed out, the EVO is the first 4G phone. so some did come for the network. Whether or not that was a wise decision is debatable, but supposedly some of the features (such as the front facing camera for video conferencing) won’t work UNLESS there is a 4G network. Anyone out there with a EVO on the 4G network can feel free to comment here. I’m not saying that there wasn’t ANYONE who came for the phone (and not the network) I’m just saying that there is/were some who responded to Sprint marketing this as the FIRST 4G PHONE.

Okay, I get it. Sprint IS here to make money. I want them to….really. However, the money they earn must be PROPORTIONAL to the services they provide.

I also understand that they have to amend their plans to adjust for costs. Even potential costs. This is okay with me as well.

However…. I have a few problems with Sprint. One, was the marketing, Two, was charging everyone who bought the phone, and Three the definition of the fee.

Let’s start with the marketing. I think it had the intent of making money / selling phones (obviously) but I feel it had a bit of a dark undertone that deliberately baited to PERMANENTLY change their plans they could no longer get back to if they removed the EVO from service and went back to the old phone.

This really hurts the long time users of Sprint I think. Because they have had had a better plan that they were HAPPY with and since they can’t get back, especially under the circumstances may effect retention. I know it has for me. I’m already looking elsewhere.

Now I know there are plans out there in the past probably don’t make as much money as the new ones and vice versa, however, I think it’s still a profit leader because of the fact that many people don’t ever change their plans. I know someone paying over $500 a month for a LINE. Why? Because he never updated his plan.

Second point. Charging everyone. I have an issue with this for a couple reasons. One, not everyone is in a 4g area. Dan says that per GB it costs less on 4g than 3g. So I think people using MORE data than before is really a was if it’s cheaper for 4g users.

As far as 3g, you’re right. If 3g users are using MORE fata than before it will cost more. Correct. However, you already have an UNLIMITED PLAN. Okay, I’ll buy into the whole point of where Unlimited was based upon the possible use of the phone on the market at the time. Fine…

However, How much data DO you expect us to use? I like what ATT did. At least they are honest with what they have alloted for the price you are paying. For those of us who use the EVO within that realm of what you expect us to use for UNLIMITED let the UNLIMITED plan cover is. For those who go over that limit.. CHARGE THEM! NOT EVERYONE.

You can’t tell me that you expect EVERYONE to use $10 worth of data. No way. EVERYONE? Common now. What that tells me is that they wanted to make hand over fist with these fees, OR, they expected that most people to use MORE than the $10 worth of data and the $10 fee for EVERYONE is offsetting the costs of the users who go above and beyond.(Yea right).

They should have said that the unlimited plan was never designed for a phone of this caliber because it has the POTENTIAL to be a data hog. However, becuase we value your service we will give you 4gb of data a month. If you find yourself in need of more than that it’s another $10 bucks for unlimited. Doesn’t that sound AWESOME? Like Sprint CARES?

A sports car has the POTENTIAL of being a gas hog. Doesn’t mean I’m going to drive it to every day or all day. I love that analogy because the way the government charges for wear and tear on the roads is through gas tax. The more gas you use the more tax you pay. PER USAGE. It’s a fair way to differ the costs. Don’t just charge everyone.

Third point. The fee definition. For the love of God at least make it seem like we are getting SOMETHING for the $10. ANYTHING. Make it sound compelling or *gasp* logical. I mean really? HD, the screen, etc. IT’s weak. Not to mention the fees for tethering, and the premium data fee were so misunderstood by both the customers (If they were told at all before pre ordering) and by the staff of Sprint.

For these reasons, the marketing potentially jumping into a new contract which should only be a surcharge not a new plan, charging everyone when it’s really not applicable to EVERYONE, and the definition of the fee and the explanation given by sprint resulted in a catastrophic problem for sprint customer service and customers alike. I mean heck, it too you numerous phone calls and emails to the CEO to get an answer.. that’s foggy at best. Haha. I mean that has to say SOMETHING :)

Now let me give my analogy: The definition of UNLIMITED is 1. Having no restrictions or controls;
2. Having or seeming to have no boundaries;
3. Without qualification or exception.
PERIOD!!!.
So, whether I use more or I use less is totally irrelevant.
I am very hungry and I go to a Restaurant that offers a ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT for $7.99 and I eat, and eat and eat and then a waiter approaches me and tells me, Sir you are eating too much I am going to have to charge you extra. My answer will be but, your sign says ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT for $7.99? WAITER:Yes but we did not think you would eat that much. Me: Well that is too bad your plan says unlimited.

@Danny – when do you feel it is appropriate that a company increase their prices?

If the all you can eat place sold bigger plates – but using the bigger plate meant everytime you eat there you pay $8.99 instead of $7.99 – you may say no to the bigger plate – but would you be angry at the restaurant for the new plate offering? Its all you can eat already – and you pay for the bigger plate – so should they be required to keep the price the same? EVEN if you actually did consume more food because you could get more on your bigger plate with less trips to the bar?

Originally – I was very upset about the charge – not because they were charging it – but because I felt it was for 4G access which I am not receiving in my area. I used my Palm Pre without concern for the amount of data I consumed because I have an unlimited plan. The new phone didn’t increase the cap of my data plan – but it did make my access to data better – and I have since increased my consumption of data.

You could argue that this increase in traffic does not increase the cost to Sprint and they shouldn’t charge more. But that comes down to when you feel it is appropriate for a company to increase their prices.

I obviousness haven’t done a better job of explaining the charge than Sprint has – but if you have an Evo – check your monthly data usage before and after you got the phone. If you are using more data – you can’t argue that you aren’t receiving a monthly benefit for having the phone.

You may argue that this “premium data access” isn’t relevant because you already bought the phone itself but let me pose this question – assuming we agree that you will/do consume more data – is that benefit delivered to you from HTC or Sprint? HTC was paid when you buy the phone – But isn’t it Sprit that provides you with the monthly access?

@Danny if I may further add to your analogy, the restaurant assumes that some will eat more and some will eat less, so that they order the AVERAGE amount of food that will be consumed (and probably a little more, restaurants waste lots of food to the dumpster). While some customers will use LOTS of bandwidth, some wont use much at all. But all pay the same price. The logical and honest thing to do would be to wait until the bandwidth reaches its capacity (presumably after 4G kicks in) and THEN charge a surcharge for DATA or adjust the rates (like AT&T) rather than trying to stick to this bogus explanation about the charge being for the equipment. OR just be honest and say that the charge is for the equipment and NOT the data. If this phone REALLY is that great, then don’t even bother offering the rebates. Honestly, though, if people want this phone so bad that they are willing to put up with this crap, then they can have it. Too bad it ends up affecting the rest of us in the end, though, because Sprint realizes that they can pretty much get away with what they want.

Boost Mobile is sounding pretty good right now…lol.

@dknight247 – I’ll assume the Boost Mobile comment is just a joke since if you are ok with NOT owning an Evo – the $10 upcharge is irrelevant. Sprint is still the cheapest carrier out of the big four – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. You could always go with Criket or some other provider with an even cheaper plan – but at that point you really are sacrificing more than just the total lack of a smart phone offering…

@dsackr yes, you are correct that i was joking about tmobile (hence the “lol,”) and, yes, you are also correct about sprint being more “economical” than the other three–i’m SO sick of hearing that. but, no, you do not get the point. i’m not arguing sprint’s “sovreign right” to charge whatever the heck they want for devices, data, etc. i’m simply pointing out that it’s obvious to everyone that the charge has NOTHING TO DO WITH PREMIUM DATA. For that reason, they should call it something else such as “Premium device fee” or “rebate reversal fee” because that’s exactly what it is.”

I actually won a free Cricket phone service for a year. Worst phone I ever owned. They should’ve PAID me to take that phone.

@dknight247 I laughed out loud at “rebate reversal fee”… Seriously – I love it…

I believe the fee is b/c I use the phone more but I’m going to start calling it the “rebate reversal fee” just because I think that is brilliant!

@dsackr: aah but nobody is questioning that a corporate has the right to increase their prices. That is not what happened now was it? and now by bigger plate you mean hardware right? it is still the same all-you-can- eat but in a bigger plate. The only difference is that you are paying extra to eat in that plate. All SPRINT had to do to increase their prices was just to get a better phone and so they did, next it will be to tell the public this: From now on all smartphone that share the same characteristics of the EVO will have $10 fee to extra so your plan will be $79.99 now isn’t this an easier method? Now what do you thing is going to happen when sprint gets a hold of another premium phone like the HTC EVO? well!! let me tell you they will just add that absurd fee again instead of just adjusting their pricing.
And while we are at it. Can you explain to me how is it that SPRINT is cheaper? Give me a comparison please. I want 3 HTC incredible from VERIZON with 1400mins unlimited text and unlimited web and I want them all to be able to connect to a laptop and please (do not give the any mobile thing from Sprint I barely use my minutes anyway.)Now I want 3 HTC EVO with the same features. Run the numbers for me please, where should I go VERIZON or SPRINT?

@Danny from NJ – have you run the numbers? forget minutes and mobile to mobile for a second – you want 3 phones with unlimited text and web – Verizon’s cheapest family plan for unlimited text is $99.99 for the first 2 lines – add $9.99 for the third line and you are at $109.99. That’s the easy part – now you say you want web… Allow me to quote directly from the Verizon website: “Data package of $29.99 or higher required for 3G Smartphones” – go through the checkout process on their site – you have to select the Data Package for EACH OF YOUR NEW SMARTPHONES! That’s an extra $89.97 a month my friend… At checkout with all three HTC incredible phones in the cart – the CHEAPEST family plan they offer (BTW thats 700 mins) – the CHEAPEST Data Plan they offer – and declining insurance on all three phones – After all discounts and fees – Total monthly bill $199.95…

Lets take a look at Sprint – 3 Evo’s – cheapest shared plan (1500 mins BTW) – monthly fee BEFORE the Evo upcharge – $149.98 – AFTER the upcharge – $179.98…

Lets do some quick math here… hmmm… monthly bill at Big Red – $199.95 minus the monthly bill at Sprint – $179.98… monthly savings DESPITE paying the the $10 upcharge PER PHONE – $19.97…

Wait – that’s not really fair – you said you needed 1400 mins a month… New Big Red Price per month $219.95! And there is NO WAY you would buy these phones without insurance – so lets tack on their total protection plan for $7.99 per phone – new monthly plan $243.92…

Sprint with the total protection plan (we already had 1500 mins) @ $7.00 per phone per month – new monthly bill – $200.98… whip out your calculator boys – Sprint Savings over Verizon is $42.94 per month… feel free to run out and pick up that less than Incredible phone w/o the front facing camera, the 8 mp back side camera, or the 4.3 inch screen for all 3 of your phones – it will only cost you an extra $1030.56 over the next two years than my amazing HTC EVO WITH THE $10 FEE!!!

All rates quoted directly off Verizon’s and Sprint’s websites this morning…

@dsackr – ooh!!! But you forgot something very important for $219.95 with VERIZON all 3 phones can be used as modem to connect to a laptop or desktop, but do not tell me that one phone is enough to connect 3 laptops that is not the point here when all 3 phones are in 3 different places. Now let’s run those numbers again shall we?…
Verizon: 3 Phones family plan $219.95 no need to specify as you have done so and your precious post anyway( No insurance just straight numbers) now let’s go to Sprint: 3 HTC EVO’s $129.99+19.99 added line = $149.98 + the brilliant PREMIUM DATA $10+$10+$10=$30 brilliant. That equals to $179.98 just like you said but wait, what about the hotspot? I want to use my phones to connect to 3 laptops. You can not assume that all 3 laptops are going to be in the house right? now let’s run those numbers again!!
$179.98+$29.99+$29.99+$29.99=$269.95 You could root your HTC EVO but I do not think SPRINT will be happy.
With Verizon I can do all this things for $219.95 and believe me I have used my phone as modem before and I have never seen a cap limitation and if there is one I did not see it in the fine print.
This is a very Important note: I am in no way defending VERIZON, SPRINT or any other provider out there; to me they all suck. You and me go to them thinking that we are getting a good DEAL but in the END they are making all the money and we are just being screwed. Agree?.
I read your previous post and I know you are upset about the charges and I know you are paying anyway ’cause you like the phone but, what can we do? I like that phone too and a lot!! and I would probably end up getting 3 HTC EVO’s as well. BUT THE FACT REMAINS, THEY DO WHATEVER THEY WANT!!!!(All Providers) and we just bend over because we like it…lol

ah – thank you for pointing out that I missed one of your requirements – however you failed to mention one thing – Verizon charges the same fee that Sprint does – right from their site:

5 GB (5,120 MB) of data usage for Internet access through your notebook or Netbook. $0.05/MB after allowance. Must be added to a voice plan with a $29.99 data option. = drum roll please… $30 per phone!

You could just use the phone without paying the plan – but so can I with sprint. I don’t have to root – pdanet offers that functionality from the Market – but since rooting isn’t a violation of my agreement with Sprint – I would rather root. Using my phone as a modem without paying for it does violate my agreement – but as far as apples to apples goes – it does on Verizon as well.

Looks like Verizon ZERO – Sprint HERO!

I don’t think I can agree that we are getting screwed by the providers – I have no expectation that they are a nonprofit company – I expect them to make money. Customer Server may be bad – coverage may or may not be bad – but in all cases – as long as they are upfront with the fees – and I agree to pay them – and I receive the services they said they would offer – then everyone is getting exactly what they agreed on – nobody is screwed…

BTW – I have enjoyed the banter…

@dsackr – What are you talking about? I do not understand the $29.99 is already included in the $219.95 there is no 5GB cap? at least in my case and I have never seen an overcharge in that part. I guess you are right; you like you buy it no matter the cost as long as you agree with it. ANY provider would love to have you as customer. Good Riddance

@Danny – nope – the $29.99 is the data plan cost for the phone only – according to verizon’s website – in order to use your phone’s internet connection on your notebook or netbook – you must pay an additional $30 (it actually does list $30, not 29.99 and it states you must already have the 29.99 data option on your voice plan. That’s right my friend – you are violating your terms and conditions when you tether your phone without paying the additional $30 bucks! With Sprint’s $29.99 verses Verizon’s $30 tethering fees – you can add 3 cents per month or an additional $0.72 over the next two years to the Sprint savings column…

that analogy its pure bull, the phone is still a phone people rather use a computer to operate 95% of the time when they want to use internet access,the phone just comes in handy,the 10 extra won’t make the connection faster since its the same connection , its like me getting a new computer yeah it may be faster but won’t download files faster because it has nothing to do with my hardware but the “internet connection itself” 10$ extra for the same connection is bull, by the way they still don’t have analysis to prove that people with evo are going to consume more bandwidth

dsackr- I read everyone post here and everyone make great sense except the author of the article (man I really have to say this guy MUST work for sprint PR Department or is getting Paid by Sprint to speak in there favor)

Here is my point. I don’t care if they want to charge more. I’m a sprint fan boy have been for over 15 years. Haven’t had another company but Sprint. Like everyone is saying here, it not a matter of them charging is more of the Bull excuse they gave.

The fact that they say you are going to use more data is also bull. I have not used more data then i use to with my Touch Pro 2 and there are two reasons. 1. I still have the same job and the same life style 2. the Battery on this phone suck even worst then on the Touch Pro 2.

I ran my own test. I turned all the radios off (but the Sprint) on the evo and TP2 and went to a local Radio stations website and started to stream there feed, guess which phone ran out of battery first……………..YOU GUESTED the Evo did and the TP2 was able to last other 40 mins. after i check the bandwidth calculator guess which phone used LESS data…………… YOU GUESTED again Evo wins. So as you can see this is total bull shit. Also people never think about battery but sprint knows people need to work and they know you cant be on the phone for 8hr. so they know that people can only use there phone for a couple of hrs a day. they are not stupid. the only reason they are charging this i because they wanted more money which is fine. I dont mind but please not the bull shit excuse.

I love the router example. it make total sense.

I currently have an Evo, Overdrive and a Blackberry on my account. and Guess again which one uses more data, if you guessed the Blackberry then you are right. I get so much email from work is not a Joke. on the other hand on the evo all i do is check my personal email ones in a while. update Facebook and make and receive personal calls Which mean I DON’T USE THAT MUCH DATA and after i got my evo i’m also talking less on the phone due to the battery (sprint is happy about this part because i talk more on the phone then anything). But i still have to pay the 10 for having an evo. Managing battery on this Evo it like having a second job.

Like everyone here is saying dsackr (Sprint PR Rep) is not the fact that they are charging more is the fact that they are giving a BS excuse. just say they will charge you more because they need the money to expan there network. And use a F(()ing different name for it.

When i called sprint up regarding this charge all i asked them is to give me a refund for all the months i will not be using your 4G after it becomes available in my area i would be more then happy to pay for it. Please UNDERSTAND THIS dsackr. Every one is discussed at the fact that sprint is giving a BULL answer.

Our apples cost 20-$10 (this is letting you know that your apples are going to cost .50 each) but when i get to the counter the lady tells me i there will be an extra .10 because you are using this nice recyclable bag which you purchased separately.

What happen to people like me which purchased the phone flat out. I’m F’d paying for the $10 dollars and there is not evo service. I ok with them forcing me to have this IF I HAD 4G in my area which was the real reason for them to make this Premium Data.

Like i have said in so many different places if you want to rape me at lease dont use a Cold metal pipe with out KY/Vaseline…..

HERE IS THE KICKER MY SISTER IN PA ASK WHAT IS THE FEE FOR AND GUESS WHAT THEY SAY…………..dsackr………. I think you got this one >>>>>4G<<<<< Not because her phone has snapdragon processor

@Nootrak NYC – I don’t work for Sprint (they couldn’t afford me even with the $10 upcharges!) I am a Sprint fanboy and a bigger Google fanboy and likely one of the biggest Evo fanboys out there. I agree with you that people have an issue with the fee because of the reason they gave for charging it. I believe some people will actually leave Sprint because of it – which I find to be very interesting. Sprint is cheaper than Verizon or AT&T hands down even after the $10 charge. In addition to be cheaper – their coverage is way better than AT&T and par with Verizon – Verizon disagrees, but personally I have never lost service in an area where Verizon works (specifically because if no Sprint tower is available, I have free roaming and will connect to the closest Verizon tower!). Leaving Sprint due to a bad marketing situation is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

The HTC Evo is still the best phone* you can buy in the US today. The Droid X doesn’t have a front facing camera, the iPhone only has a 3.7 inch screen, the HD2 runs Windows and doesn’t have a front facing camera, and Evo is the only phone with a kickstand – call it gay if you want – its a very cool feature that I personal have used many many times. Evo’s ugly downside is battery life, but coming from the Palm Pre – the Evo is an improvement.

Your example of battery life and data usage is flawed. Of course streaming the same data over two phones until their batteries die will show the phone with the longer battery life will use more data… but that isn’t how anyone uses their phones. You are equally wrong about only being able to use the phone a few hours a day – despite the fact that without plugging in my phone lasts me about 7 to 10 hours (depending on usage) – I do plug in. So does everyone else with a phone that has a short battery life. Check your data usage before and after you got the Evo – if it hasn’t gone up – then trade the Evo in because you have a phone with more features than you need. Personally I have almost tripled my data usage.

Regarding your sister’s conversation with Sprint – If I did work for Sprint and someone in a 4G city asked me what the charge was for – I would say 4G too… its too easy even if its not true.

* Sidenote: The iPhone 4 is a nice phone – the screen resolution is extremely nice (better than the Evo) and the video capture capability is higher than the 30fps cap that the Evo has – AND it has a battery life to die for (or should I say NEVER DIE FOR)… BUT it runs the iPhone OS – requires iTunes to manage content, only has a 3.7 inch screen, has the death grip issues, and runs on the crappy AT&T network – and the real deal breaker for me – it doesn’t have a kickstand!

Does anyone know which sort of video files are supported? I keep in mind the Instinct solely might dl 3gp using opera mini. I downloaded the twist ap, perhaps that is the problem? How can I watch movies from websites apart from youtube? Which file sorts? Often I am given the choice of 3gp or mpeg4. Can’t get both to work. Thank you in your time! Damn I want I used to be eligible for the upgrade to EVO!

No, you’re not. I don’t know you, but I can guarantee you that you’re not even close, no matter what state you live in, or your lifestyle. Calculate it from actual payments, and get back to us. Simply adding up marginal tax rates uses the same logic as saying that saving 25% on each of four purchases means you saved 100%.

@Freddy – I was wrong about the reason they are charging the $10 fee. I am using more data but the reason Sprint is charging the fee is b/c they have a contractual agreement with Clearwire that requires them to pay a fee to Clearwire for every 4G device they have activated – regardless of the market they are in.

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