09-08-2011, 04:03 AM
Trouble,
Interesting perspective. Thank you. One quibble, this is not a new feature. Tethering has been around for years. People even tethered their non smartphones (I did for quite a while, with EDGE and basic UMTS, aka slowest GSM 3G).
+1 to your mention of text messaging. MMS does require a data connection, the reason why CDMA and GSM standards prior to 3G can't send and receive MMS while talking on the phone. However, SMS seems to be built to have the least amount of impact as possible and essentially is free to the carriers (yes, yes, there are gateways and such, but that would seem to be a fixed cost).
My carrier gives me unlimited SMS and calling for one low rate ($45 for one line, $25 for each additional line, up to four additional lines, five lines total). Data (including MMS) costs extra. Luckily, you get 100MB per line when you sign up. The data never expires and is pooled between all phones. When you run out of data, you can refill for a fairly low rate ($10 for 200MB, $25 for 500MB, $40 for 1GB) given the data is pooled between lines and never expires. I use the savings to add a WiMAX mobile Hostpot.
Between my home ISP, mobile hotspot, and three phone lines I slide in around $181/month. My goal is to get down to $150 for all of the above, but that my be wishful thinking without heavily cutting into my mobile phone usage.
Interesting perspective. Thank you. One quibble, this is not a new feature. Tethering has been around for years. People even tethered their non smartphones (I did for quite a while, with EDGE and basic UMTS, aka slowest GSM 3G).
+1 to your mention of text messaging. MMS does require a data connection, the reason why CDMA and GSM standards prior to 3G can't send and receive MMS while talking on the phone. However, SMS seems to be built to have the least amount of impact as possible and essentially is free to the carriers (yes, yes, there are gateways and such, but that would seem to be a fixed cost).
My carrier gives me unlimited SMS and calling for one low rate ($45 for one line, $25 for each additional line, up to four additional lines, five lines total). Data (including MMS) costs extra. Luckily, you get 100MB per line when you sign up. The data never expires and is pooled between all phones. When you run out of data, you can refill for a fairly low rate ($10 for 200MB, $25 for 500MB, $40 for 1GB) given the data is pooled between lines and never expires. I use the savings to add a WiMAX mobile Hostpot.
Between my home ISP, mobile hotspot, and three phone lines I slide in around $181/month. My goal is to get down to $150 for all of the above, but that my be wishful thinking without heavily cutting into my mobile phone usage.