Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[WiWavelength]

Jee wiz... I wonder what Clear was doing in 2012/2013 for Sprint. 

 

Gee whiz, Nobody Beats the Wiz -- except perhaps the Bee Gees and Cheez Whiz.  E. Gordon Gee need not apply.

 

Thus concludes today's old guy lesson to young people on spelling, idiom, and culture...

 

AJ

[Arysyn]

Question, do you dictate your posts or type all that?

 

I have a severe terminal neuropathy, and I type with my thumbs, because my fingers remain in a permanent constriction, almost to the point where they form a fist and can't loosen much past that, at least not nearly enough to be able to type with. So, I'm not going to be having to worry bout my typing style, unless there is a valid comment about something that is more fair about it, and less harsh of a criticism.

 

Look, it seems that just because I had a bad experience with Sprint, now people are at me for my writing style, something no one did prior to my mentioning my experience. If I'm overreacting, I apologize, though I thought there was a bit more tact around here than go after someone's style of writing, unless the person's writing were a clear indication of trolling or attacking others, neither which I've done at any point since my arrival as a member here just days ago.

 

Do people care to see just how bad a situation I'm in physically, just so you can lay off going after my typing skills? I really don't mind sharing the news articles I've been in with photos of me, and for those who might not believe its me, I can certainly prove it. I didn't come here to attack and criticise others and i don't expect it done to me.

[Dkoellerwx]

Do people care to see just how bad a situation I'm in physically, just so you can lay off going after my typing skills? I really don't mind sharing the news articles I've been in with photos of me, and for those who might not believe its me, I can certainly prove it. I didn't come here to attack and criticise others and i don't expect it done to me.

 

I don't think it was a jab at your typing skills, all of your posts are well written as far as I've noticed. However the long form, long winded nature of the posts was noticed and discussed before your situation with Sprint changed. 

[sbolen]

I don't think it was a jab at your typing skills, all of your posts are well written as far as I've noticed. However the long form, long winded nature of the posts was noticed and discussed before your situation with Sprint changed.

Yeah, we're generally a short-answer crowd when not diving into technical discussions. No jabs at form or format, just a general observation.

[Arysyn]

I don't think it was a jab at your typing skills, all of your posts are well written as far as I've noticed. However the long form, long winded nature of the posts was noticed and discussed before your situation with Sprint changed. 

 

I responded to the person above who responded to me, their response being right after a post I made that actually was pretty short. So no, it was a jab, or else why post it. Besides, it was much different from the more tactful advice given recently, which was the first time I had seen anything mentioned about my writing publicly, but was after I had posted about some of my issues started with the Nexus 6.

[Arysyn]

Yeah, we're generally a short-answer crowd when not diving into technical discussions. No jabs at form or format, just a general observation.

 

In all my time reading thousands and thousands of comments and posts regarding various topics since around 2006, when I started being online regularly, I've never seen any commentary being made about a person's typing "style" or long posts, except when there were issues such as caps, long blocks/walls of texts (I use proper paragraphing short enough most of the time), then the only other kind of complaints have to do with content issues, such as spamming or trolling by people who don't respect the sites they are on

 

I'm respectful, and would never intentionally do something to break the rules, nor criticize someone because of how they write. Maybe it is because I'm use to seeing and experiencing things far worse in life than long posts on a website.

 

Anyways, I think better that we all drop the subject now, as this isn't an appropriate thread to discuss it. I addressed the comments made about it, now it should be done.

 

Staff, if you have an issue with my writing, please respect me as I respect your site, and pm to me of any issues you have about my posts. It is what I did when I was staff/admin on forums in the past. 

[WiWavelength]

Certainly people "could" cheat the system by using various methods in getting several weeks/months of free service through the test drive programs, but it isn't as convenient and satisfactory for people, say unlike buying/returning clothing, etc. However, people would not be able to use/port their telephone numbers between devices, and would be restricted to services such as Google Voice and Skype to make/receive voice calls.

Here is the problem.  People do not make phone calls so often any longer.  That is one reason why wireless providers have no qualms now about practically giving away "unlimited" voice.  I can go for weeks, even months without making any calls.  And when I do, I prefer VoIP from my laptop.

 

While mobile, so much communication is now asynchronous messaging:  e-mail, SMS, MMS, chat.  Those methods do not require a consistent phone number.  If the "test drive" is via an iPhone, as T-Mobile's is now, iMessage takes over.

 

To offer another personal illustration, I bought an iPad mini last year only to serve as the remote control in my high end audio system.  My parents have an iPad, and my dad uses an iPhone, but I did not tell them that I had an iPad mini.  Then, one random day, I discovered an iMessage from my dad on the iPad mini -- simply because he has my Apple registered e-mail address in his iPad address book.  I did not want that, as I had no intention of using the iPad mini for communication.  However, to Apple and my dad, it was automatic.  And I manually had to disable iMessage to prevent any future communication that should instead be directed to my Google Voice integrated Sprint line.

 

Another thing, besides the hassles of having to spend time doing the apps and going into the stores every other week to get new trial periods, they'd have a really suspicious looking credit card history, which is much more obvious than buying cheaper stuff. Eventually the credit card companies would take notice of this, even if the wireless carriers do not, though I'd imagine it wouldn't be difficult for them to crack down on it, as it is in electronic record keeping of these "transactions".

I fail to see how doing many "test drives" would affect a person's credit history.  I have temporary holds put on my credit cards all the time, for example, whenever I purchase gas or check in to a hotel.  Those temporary holds either get canceled or get converted to full transactions.  So, I think that you are mistaken in this assertion.

 

AJ

[Arysyn]

I ought to have been more clear about my thinking in regards to the credit issue. I wasn't thinking so much about credit history, but the sudden charges that appear on a credit card for security deposits that are needed for these test drives. If there are so many of these deposits happening, I would imagine that it would set off a flag, but I'm not certain about that.

 

I've been trying for years to get a credit card for myself, but my mother who manages my banking is very against the idea and lets me use her card when I want to purchase something. I definitely don't have personal experience managing my own money and credit, so I'm just going by what I think would alert credit card companies from what I hear on the news regarding the credit security issues and how closely monitored charges are nowadays. 

[lou99/maximus1987]

Here is the problem. People do not make phone calls so often any longer. That is one reason why wireless providers have no qualms now about practically giving away "unlimited" voice. I can go for weeks, even months without making any calls. And when I do, I prefer VoIP from my laptop.

 

While mobile, so much communication is now asynchronous messaging: e-mail, SMS, MMS, chat. Those methods do not require a consistent phone number. If the "test drive" is via an iPhone, as T-Mobile's is now, iMessage takes over.

 

To offer another personal illustration, I bought an iPad mini last year only to serve as the remote control in my high end audio system. My parents have an iPad, and my dad uses an iPhone, but I did not tell them that I had an iPad mini. Then, one random day, I discovered an iMessage from my dad on the iPad mini -- simply because he has my Apple registered e-mail address in his iPad address book. I did not want that, as I had no intention of using the iPad mini for communication. However, to Apple and my dad, it was automatic. And I manually had to disable iMessage to prevent any future communication that should instead be directed to my Google Voice integrated Sprint line.

 

 

I fail to see how doing many "test drives" would affect a person's credit history. I have temporary holds put on my credit cards all the time, for example, whenever I purchase gas or check in to a hotel. Those temporary holds either get canceled or get converted to full transactions. So, I think that you are mistaken in this assertion.

 

AJ

I think doing the tmo test drive results in a credit check.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mr.Nuke]

I think doing the tmo test drive results in a credit check.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I doubt it, and their test drive page doesn't mention anything about it.They have no need to run a credit check given they have a hold on your credit card for the amount of the device. You have to return the device to a t-mobile store where you'd theoretically sign up for service. At that point they'd do a credit check.

I ought to have been more clear about my thinking in regards to the credit issue. I wasn't thinking so much about credit history, but the sudden charges that appear on a credit card for security deposits that are needed for these test drives. If there are so many of these deposits happening, I would imagine that it would set off a flag, but I'm not certain about that.

Having holds wouldn't raise red flags.  As AJ mentioned many gas stations put a temporary hold on a credit card, most hotels will, same with rental car companies, etc.

[Arysyn]

I just had another idea which might be better than all of the companies having a test drive program, while still addressing the issues of data coverage/signal, though not voice. Then again, voice isn't the important thing anymore anyways.

 

There ought to be an inexpensive device that checks data speeds/signals from all the wireless companies people could either purchase or loan from multi-carrier retailers, as I doubt corporate stores would want to carry this product, as it often would show other carriers as better than theirs, though certainly it could be available at other kind of outlets.

 

The device would have a screen and would do tests similar to what speedtest and signal check do, but there'd be an option to select various carrier signals, for comparative testing. That way, the user could choose what network works best for them, without any need for temporary devices given out by specific carriers and all of that, and would be less expensive, as it wouldn't have active internet and all the features of a smartphone.

[lou99/maximus1987]

I just had another idea which might be better than all of the companies having a test drive program, while still addressing the issues of data coverage/signal, though not voice. Then again, voice isn't the important thing anymore anyways.

 

There ought to be an inexpensive device that checks data speeds/signals from all the wireless companies people could either purchase or loan from multi-carrier retailers, as I doubt corporate stores would want to carry this product, as it often would show other carriers as better than theirs, though certainly it could be available at other kind of outlets.

 

The device would have a screen and would do tests similar to what speedtest and signal check do, but there'd be an option to select various carrier signals, for comparative testing. That way, the user could choose what network works best for them, without any need for temporary devices given out by specific carriers and all of that, and would be less expensive, as it wouldn't have active internet and all the features of a smartphone.

You're overthinking things. Normal people wouldn't care about this only wireless geeks.

 

Normal people pick a carrier based on PERCEIVED quality, experience/word of mouth, and price.

 

What you're suggesting is a quad sim device which would be a low volume super high cost device.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

You're overthinking things. Normal people wouldn't care about this only wireless geeks.

 

Normal people pick a carrier based on PERCEIVED quality, experience/word of mouth, and price.

 

What you're suggesting is a quad sim device which would be a low volume super high cost device.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

If it is some sort of engineering grade quality product, then yes, it would be very expensive.

 

What I'm thinking about is some sort of device that uses nothing but common apps already on Android, or something similar to them, such as Speedtest and Signalcheck. The screen could be a cheap low res screen, something like 320x240 on a 2-3 inch display, doesn't even have to be a color screen, though better if it were.

 

The main cost of it, I imagine, would be the chip reading all the carrier's signals. Still, it wouldn't make the device that much more expensive, which at the total cost of the device probably wouldn't be any more than $100, and can be leased out cheaply too.

[EvanA]

If it is some sort of engineering grade quality product, then yes, it would be very expensive.

 

What I'm thinking about is some sort of device that uses nothing but common apps already on Android, or something similar to them, such as Speedtest and Signalcheck. The screen could be a cheap low res screen, something like 320x240 on a 2-3 inch display, doesn't even have to be a color screen, though better if it were.

 

The main cost of it, I imagine, would be the chip reading all the carrier's signals. Still, it wouldn't make the device that much more expensive, which at the total cost of the device probably wouldn't be any more than $100, and can be leased out cheaply too.

You severely underestimate the engineering cost and effort required to produce such a device. The device would easily cost $700-$800.

 

Also as stated before, it wouldn't really make much sense. Who would sell it? Who would buy it? Your average consumer wouldn't be interested in a device to compare all 4 major carriers, making it even more of a niche product and driving up cost.

[lou99/maximus1987]

You severely underestimate the engineering cost and effort required to produce such a device. The device would easily cost $700-$800.

Depends how compact you want it.

Qualcomm CPU+baseband+rf (same one as iPhone 6),

Quad sim interface,

Basic display.

Basic software to indicate chart.

 

Materials isn't so much.

 

The biggest cost is to hire a Chinese contract engineering to put it all together and as engineering projects go, this one would be very low cost.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EvanA]

Depends how compact you want it.

Qualcomm CPU+baseband+rf (same one as iPhone 6),

Quad sim interface,

Basic display.

Basic software to indicate chart.

 

Materials isn't so much.

 

The biggest cost is to hire a Chinese contract engineering to put it all together and as engineering projects go, this one would be very low cost.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No Chinese company licenses Qualcomm stuff. You would probably have to find an OEM who licenses and buys Qualcomm parts already and was willing to devote engineering efforts to such a phone... Not to mention the specialized software and hardware that would have to be designed to support 4 SIM cards at once.

 

No such thing as cheap when you're designing specialized equipment.

[lou99/maximus1987]

No Chinese company licenses Qualcomm stuff. You would probably have to find an OEM who licenses and buys Qualcomm parts already and was willing to devote engineering efforts to such a phone... Not to mention the specialized software and hardware that would have to be designed to support 4 SIM cards at once.

 

No such thing as cheap when you're designing specialized equipment.

Wouldn't license it you'd buy the same chips in iPhone 6. You don't need a special license to do that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EvanA]

Wouldn't license it you'd buy the same chips in iPhone 6. You don't need a special license to do that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It doesn't work like that. OEMs wishing to purchase and use Qualcomm chips must pay licensing fees to Qualcomm and purchase directly through them. Qualcomm also provides the board support, software drivers, chip data sheets, etc, all of which are required to design a device on the Qualcomm platform.

 

You can't just buy a Snapdragon 800 off the shelf...

[WiWavelength]

Depends how compact you want it.

Qualcomm CPU+baseband+rf (same one as iPhone 6),

Quad sim interface,

Basic display.

Basic software to indicate chart.

 

No SIM interface would be needed.  A SIM card is not required just to monitor an LTE downlink signal.

 

Other than that, this cellular signal monitor for the general public is a preposterous, pie in the sky idea.  It would require the baseband guts of a cellphone or spectrum analyzer -- neither of which would be cost effective.  It would require antennas equally covering all bands -- something no device does.  And it would have to monitor all deployed bands for all operators all at once.  In my neck of the woods, just for LTE, that would be at least two for VZW, at least two for AT&T, at least one for T-Mobile, and three for Sprint.  Bare minimum, eight simultaneous bands.   

 

Arysyn, I mean no offense, but you should slow down on hatching these grandiose ideas.  Your solutions generally are not practical nor feasible -- or they simply are not going to be implemented.  You are like Kramer on "Seinfeld," thinking that your rubber bladder system for oil tankers is "about to solve the world's energy problems."

 

 

AJ

[kg4icg]

Plus it would require the necessary licenses for using such products which wasn't spoke of and it would require FCC certification which isn't cheap either. Do you really think something like this doesn't already exist, Rhodes and Schwartz

[Arysyn]

You severely underestimate the engineering cost and effort required to produce such a device. The device would easily cost $700-$800.

 

Also as stated before, it wouldn't really make much sense. Who would sell it? Who would buy it? Your average consumer wouldn't be interested in a device to compare all 4 major carriers, making it even more of a niche product and driving up cost.

 

 

The only reason I mentioned this idea, was as an alternative to the test drive idea, which could check all carriers network quality in one device, rather than there being the need for test drives, which this also possibly could help ease up on returns, due to network dissatisfaction during the trial periods.

[Arysyn]

No SIM interface would be needed.  A SIM card is not required just to monitor an LTE downlink signal.

 

Other than that, this cellular signal monitor for the general public is a preposterous, pie in the sky idea.  It would require the baseband guts of a cellphone or spectrum analyzer -- neither of which would be cost effective.  It would require antennas equally covering all bands -- something no device does.  And it would have to monitor all deployed bands for all operators all at once.  In my neck of the woods, just for LTE, that would be at least two for VZW, at least two for AT&T, at least one for T-Mobile, and three for Sprint.  Bare minimum, eight simultaneous bands.   

 

Arysyn, I mean no offense, but you should slow down on hatching these grandiose ideas.  Your solutions generally are not practical nor feasible -- or they simply are not going to be implemented.  You are like Kramer on "Seinfeld," thinking that your rubber bladder system for oil tankers is "about to solve the world's energy problems."

 

 

AJ

 

No offense taken, AJ,

 

I'll try limiting posting of these ideas so much here on S4GRU, other than ones with more likelihood to be possible in the current system of things. The reason I think this way so much is because there are a lot, and I mean a lot of things I'm severely limited on in life. I won't go into detail about it here on the forum, though if anyone is interested, i wouldn't mind sharing some of my background through pm. However, I'll say that I'm almost to the point of not being able to walk at all, likely end up bedridden in a few years, which is dependant on if my body still is able to let me breathe on my own by that time keeping me alive by then or not. I'm in near chronic pain and have no chance at ever being employed.

 

So taken into consideration, most of what I can do is imagine things that would be helpful to society, even if they aren't practical or even possible in real world terms. It helps me get through the day.

[travismheim]

You are right about the over two years part. I was considering that aspect, but then realized I could get an extension to that at the two year point, with a new phone subsidy for a new device, as I'm hoping by the 4k display screens will be available, along with carrier aggregation and VoLTE being pretty much standard and widely available.

The total plan cost is always going to be similar, and probably in favor of the new plans slightly unless you happen to find a really good deal (free or really cheap) on a subsidized phone. Something to keep in mind though, is Sprint also has sale prices on easy pay purchased phones as well. I recently bought a HTC One M8 for my sister on easy pay and it was heavily discounted. The original price of the M8 was $650 and they offered a $322 discount for buying with easy pay and also later a $50 loyalty bill credit for upgrading that line using easy pay. Your plan is $20 higher per month because of the subsidy, if you add in the upfront cost of the phone and you are almost always paying the full price or in your case slightly more for the device.

[Arysyn]

Another consideration I've had, which would be the best of both worlds, and still let me help some around here with Sprint, though not actually paying service through them directly. I've mentioned before many times how my mother really dislikes the idea of going to Verizon, almost as she has a deep disdain for the company. I don't really want to go with T-Mobile, though my opinions of T-Mobile don't seem to be as seriously against them, in contrast with my mother's disdain for Verizon.

 

The idea is, if I can do the less important stuff I need to do on wifi at home, using a wireless device, which I'd also preload music downloaded from music streaming services such as Tidal, Deezer, and Google Play All Access, I wouldn't have to use so much data for streaming. One of the main reasons I wanted a wireless device and service, besides emergency use, was to replace a several years old mp3 video player made by Creative, that gets around 5-10 minutes of battery life. I wanted something that could actively stream music to the device, though these services have really good offline modes that would save me several gbs monthly.

 

With that, i still would need around 5gb monthly, as a safe figure in the meantime, which with Google Project Fi, I could get it all for $70 monthly (5gb for $50, plus $20 for the basic stuff), same as what Sprint charges. I also figure there will be months where I'll use less data than 5gb, which eventually would pay off the cost of the device, or I could sell it for a future less expensive Google Nexus, as being speculated that the upcoming models will be. My mother seems fine with the idea of buying it outright from Sprint, then making back the money over time.

 

At least with Google Fi, I'll have both Sprint and T-Mobile, so a definite plus regarding the network coverage I really want. 

[runagun]

Ooooh,  Claure is headed to Japan to finalize New Network plan with Masa.  

 

https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/597685514255212544