Android comes to Verizon

gprellwitz said:
On the negative side, unlike my old "dumbphone", when hooked in with BlueTooth I cannot just hit the button on the BT headset and say "CALL LESLIE" to initiate the call. I have to pick up the handset and start the Voice Dial app. Nor is there an external button on the unit that I can use to accomplish the same thing.
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If you had an iPhone, you could simply hold the one and only button for a couple of seconds to launch Voice Control (which not only dials, but also can control the iPod, etc... I haven't even figured out the extent of its capabilities yet.)

:D :D :D
 
TMetzinger said:
What I've read is that with VZW droid:

You pay $30 per month for "unlimited" (5GB) data.
You will pay an ADDITIONAL $30 per month for the VZW option to tether it, and that gets you an additional 5GB of unlmited data.

So for $60 per month (which, surprise, is the basic montly cost of a VZW PC card data plan), you'll be able to use your Android instead of a USB or PC data link device.

I'm in the purist camp that says "you sell me 5 GB of IP connectivity per month for $30. Doesn't make a damn bit of difference if I use the phone, a laptop, or a LAN to consume that data - you give it to me. It's none of your damn business what devices consume it."

Wireless pricing is the biggest con/shell game I've seen in ages.
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Yup. Verizon never met a fee they didn't like. Rumor has it that AT&T is going to have the same plan, you know, if they ever get around to allowing tethering at all.

They really like this $60 for phone tethering compared to their $60 PC card plan because they only have ONE device to subsidize, increasing profit. I don't mind them increasing profit - They are a business, after all - But I'd really like it if they'd split the difference with me.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yup. Verizon never met a fee they didn't like. Rumor has it that AT&T is going to have the same plan, you know, if they ever get around to allowing tethering at all.

They really like this $60 for phone tethering compared to their $60 PC card plan because they only have ONE device to subsidize, increasing profit. I don't mind them increasing profit - They are a business, after all - But I'd really like it if they'd split the difference with me.
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Uh-uh, if they're gonna charge me $30 bucks for 5 GB to the droid, and then 30 bucks for another 5 GB to the PC... I better be able to do both at once. If that's actually the case, I won't object.
 
TMetzinger said:
Uh-uh, if they're gonna charge me $30 bucks for 5 GB to the droid, and then 30 bucks for another 5 GB to the PC... I better be able to do both at once. If that's actually the case, I won't object.
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I do both at once on the iPhone... Not sure what you mean. :dunno:
 
TMetzinger said:
I didn't think you could tether the iPhone?
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Not if you ask AT&T, or if you've done the 3.1 upgrade (though I haven't checked on the status of that for a while, they may have gotten it working). All you have to do is browse to http://help.benm.at/ on the iPhone, tell it you're in the US on AT&T, and it'll download and install a profile (with your permission, of course). When that's done, you go to Settings -> Network and there'll be a new switch for "Internet Tethering." When you click it to "on" it'll ask if you want USB and Bluetooth, or USB only.

Then, you simply plug the cable into your laptop (at least on a Mac), and poof - It just works. Awesome.

I'm talking about browsing the web on the phone WHILE it's tethered to a PC and you're using it for internet access on the PC too.
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So am I. In fact, I can use it for internet access on my laptop, browse the web on the phone, AND TALK ON THE PHONE all at the same time, though I've only done it once so far. (Talk about ADD, sheesh. :rofl:)
 
TMetzinger said:
I didn't think you could tether the iPhone?

I'm talking about browsing the web on the phone WHILE it's tethered to a PC and you're using it for internet access on the PC too.
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Those were my issues too so I got a Verizon USB card. I had already downloaded the iPhone 3.1 upgrade plus I'm not confident about screwing around with my device software, and I was sick of waiting for AT&T to officially come out with iPhone tethering. Then there was the issue of having the iPhone connected to the computer when I wanted to use it...
 
Grant, Why not just put the voice dialer as a button on the main screen? Thatis what I did, and I put it in a spot so all I have to do is pick up the phone and where I naturally put my thumb is where the icon is for it.
 
EdFred said:
Grant, Why not just put the voice dialer as a button on the main screen? Thatis what I did, and I put it in a spot so all I have to do is pick up the phone and where I naturally put my thumb is where the icon is for it.
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Yeah, I've done that, but it's not quite what I had with my old dumb phone.
Best scenario: I press the BlueTooth button on the BlueTooth headset and it kicks off the voice dialer. I say who I want to call, it reads the entry to me, I verbally confirm, and the call is placed. I used to be able to do exactly that with my old LG. Note that I never even touch the phone itself.

Second-best scenario is that I have to press a button on the phone to start the above process.

The scenario I have, however, is the following: Press the power button on the phone to wake it up. Slide the unlock icon across the screen to unlock the screen. (This can be disabled with the 'Awake Stay' widget.) Press the 'Voice Dial' shortcut on the main screen. It finds the match and prompts me on the phone screen if it's the right number. I have to acknowledge by pressing on the phone screen. Note that this is a lot more heads-down on the phone than what I used to have. And my car doesn't have autopilot! :)

The solution would seem to require better BlueTooth integration (to be able to use the BlueTooth device to start an application) and a better voice dialing application. So it doesn't seem insurmountable, and I expect it to be fixed at some point.
 
Mine is just a bit more complicated.

I hear there is a good deal of grab and run thefts of these things, so I have an unlock pattern.

Sounds like a good app to write.

Joe
 
As an aside.

I was with Alltel...now with Verizon since they bought alltel.

I typically ran with a 3000 minute plan at $139 but downgraded in August to a 2000 minute plan for $99 because I planned to take the rest of the year off.

I'm now gearing back up and just logged onto verizon's site to ramp my service back up to 3000 minutes. I see that verizon is about $40 a month higher than Alltel was across the board. They're currently honoring my $99 2000 minute plan but as soon as I change anything, wham, $40 more per month.

It might be time to shop around.
 
timwinters said:
As an aside.

I was with Alltel...now with Verizon since they bought alltel.

I typically ran with a 3000 minute plan at $139 but downgraded in August to a 2000 minute plan for $99 because I planned to take the rest of the year off.

I'm now gearing back up and just logged onto verizon's site to ramp my service back up to 3000 minutes. I see that verizon is about $40 a month higher than Alltel was across the board. They're currently honoring my $99 2000 minute plan but as soon as I change anything, wham, $40 more per month.


It might be time to shop around.
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But if you go back to a 3000 minute plan it's $40 more? $99 + $40 = $139. Looks like the 300 minute plan costs the same as the ALLTEL plan did, unless I'm missing something in your post.
 
Keith Lane said:
But if you go back to a 3000 minute plan it's $40 more? $99 + $40 = $139. Looks like the 300 minute plan costs the same as the ALLTEL plan did, unless I'm missing something in your post.
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Keith,

When I logged on this morning to my account my options were verizon's 2000 minute plan @ $139 & the 3000 minute plan @ $179. They're honoring my current 2000 minute plan at $99...but I can't change anything without taking the $40 hit.

It's probably cheaper to keep my current plan and pay for any overages because I seldom actually hit 3000 but alway go over 2000 when I'm busy.

Edit: I just called them and was told that I can still get the alltel prices...I just upgraded to 4000 minutes @ $149.00. When my current contract expires next July, THEN I'll be subject to Verizon's pricing structure. so, I have a 6 month reprieve.
 
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timwinters said:
Keith,

When I logged on this morning to my account my options were verizon's 2000 minute plan @ $139 & the 3000 minute plan @ $179. They're honoring my current 2000 minute plan at $99...but I can't change anything without taking the $40 hit.

It's probably cheaper to keep my current plan and pay for any overages because I seldom actually hit 3000 but alway go over 2000 when I'm busy.

Edit: I just called them and was told that I can still get the alltel prices...I just upgraded to 4000 minutes @ $149.00. When my current contract expires next July, THEN I'll be subject to Verizon's pricing structure. so, I have a 6 month reprieve.
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OK, Thanks.
We are in the process of determining if it's wise to scrap the landline, and add another wireless line with our old landline number.
The only hesitation is the 911 access if my kids are at home alone, and need 911 services, would response go to the right spot. Maybe if the old number still resides in the 911 database as our street address, it would ( I guess). Otherwise, economically, it is a win to drop the local POTS line. I don't even have texting in my present VZW plan, but everybody seems to assume I do and texts me anyway at $0.25 per message. I guess we will be forced to upgrade to a plan that includes text anyway. Besides I have Google Voice now and to take advantage of the SMS features I need the upgrade.
 
gprellwitz said:
Yeah, I've done that, but it's not quite what I had with my old dumb phone.
Best scenario: I press the BlueTooth button on the BlueTooth headset and it kicks off the voice dialer. I say who I want to call, it reads the entry to me, I verbally confirm, and the call is placed. I used to be able to do exactly that with my old LG. Note that I never even touch the phone itself.

Second-best scenario is that I have to press a button on the phone to start the above process.

The scenario I have, however, is the following: Press the power button on the phone to wake it up. Slide the unlock icon across the screen to unlock the screen. (This can be disabled with the 'Awake Stay' widget.) Press the 'Voice Dial' shortcut on the main screen. It finds the match and prompts me on the phone screen if it's the right number. I have to acknowledge by pressing on the phone screen. Note that this is a lot more heads-down on the phone than what I used to have. And my car doesn't have autopilot! :)

The solution would seem to require better BlueTooth integration (to be able to use the BlueTooth device to start an application) and a better voice dialing application. So it doesn't seem insurmountable, and I expect it to be fixed at some point.
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Good discussion on this (many pages) at this site. Dropping you in partway into the thread so you can see the links to the Google Android bug reports about it.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Good discussion on this (many pages) at this site. Dropping you in partway into the thread so you can see the links to the Google Android bug reports about it.
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Thanks, Troy. It's only 356 posts so far. Clearly, not much interest in the issue!:rolleyes: To me, it's important, but not a deal-breaker. I don't plan to return the phone in the 30-day return period at this point.
 
Grant, I just picked up my Droid last night. Still exploring it, but had to bookmark and try POA. It's definitely the best mobile browsing experience I've had. Renders this site as it appears on mu desktop. Authoring this post was interrupted by an incoming call, and when the call ended I was right back here with no loss of input data. Just discovered that I can use the soft keypad very accurately and fast if I hold the Droid in my left hand and punch one-fingered instead of holding it with both hands and using my thumbs.

Now, if they'd only support voice recognition for text input, that'd be the bomb. (Can I say 'bomb' on an aviation forum, over a mobile device, without winning a visit from a three-letter Federal agency?)
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Grant, I just picked up my Droid last night. Still exploring it, but had to bookmark and try POA. It's definitely the best mobile browsing experience I've had. Renders this site as it appears on mu desktop. Authoring this post was interrupted by an incoming call, and when the call ended I was right back here with no loss of input data. Just discovered that I can use the soft keypad very accurately and fast if I hold the Droid in my left hand and punch one-fingered instead of holding it with both hands and using my thumbs.

Now, if they'd only support voice recognition for text input, that'd be the bomb. (Can I say 'bomb' on an aviation forum, over a mobile device, without winning a visit from a three-letter Federal agency?)
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The only wierd thing I've experienced with the forum on the droid is that when I do a "quick reply", I always seem to get a message about putting in a duplicate post, even if I hit "submit reply" only once. It's a very minor annoyance, though.
 
My biggest annoyance so far is related to the fact my Droid spends a lot of time sitting on my dek plugged into the USB on my laptop. I'm not sure why but it either the vibrations form typing, or swatting the cat activates the touch screen. I've sent a few text messages to random people in my address book like "qpx ".

The trick is to always lock it before setting it down.

OBTW, I've also gotten a few phone calls from iPhones sitting in somebody's pocket in a car.

Joe
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Now, if they'd only support voice recognition for text input, that'd be the bomb.
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There's an (iPhone) app for that! :D

It was done by the Dragon NaturallySpeaking folks. I wanted to try it, but it requires iPhone OS 3.1 and I've left mine at 3.0 so that I can tether, as 3.1 breaks tethering. (Thanks, AT&T. :mad3::mad2:)
 
Kent, I'm able to use voice recognition for a lot of stuff--dialing numbers, navigation (we tried "take me to the museum that has Michaelangelo's first painting" and it processed that and came up with "Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth TX" as the first choice--CORRECT!), web search, etc. I think there's an app you can download for voice input, too, as I do see alternate entry methods apps in the Marketplace; Android's SDK seems to have hooks to allow alternate entry methods. Makes me want to try writing a "Palm" entry method (remember those gesture symbols for writing text? I was pretty fast with that at the time).

Grant, on the "start voice dialing hands-free" thing; I haven't tried the bluetooth headset with it yet, but I do have it paired with the Microsoft Sync system in my wife's Ford Escape, and it works perfectly hands free without touching the Droid; I press the Phone button, say "Dial" or "Phone", then either numbers or a name in my phonebook, and it dials it properly, even from a locked Droid screen.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Kent, I'm able to use voice recognition for a lot of stuff--dialing numbers, navigation (we tried "take me to the museum that has Michaelangelo's first painting" and it processed that and came up with "Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth TX" as the first choice--CORRECT!), web search, etc.
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Yeah, that's similar to the Voice Connect app that's on the iPhone 3GS (and 3G? I dunno). I just thought that the speech-to-text that the Dragon app can do is really pretty freakin' insane for being on a cell phone! Amazing what they can do these days...
 
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