Okay. There's a lot of confusion going on around the Internet about the Motorola Droid's service plans.
Some people are saying that if you want to connect to a Microsoft Exchange account, data will cost $45 a month instead of $30.
This is wrong.
I checked with Verizon Wireless HQ and got the official response from spokeswoman Brenda Raney. First of all, the Droid uses the exact same data plans as every Windows Mobile phone on Verizon. There is no special Droid data plan.
Second, whether you pay $30 or $45 doesn't depend on what you're doing with the phone. You can hit Exchange email on the $30 plan just fine. It depends on what kind of Verizon Wireless account you have.
If you have a personal account or family plan, your data will cost $30/month. It doesn't matter if you're using Microsoft Exchange, Facebook, Gmail, or whatever - it's $30. This is the same for all Verizon Windows Mobile and Android phones.
Data on business accounts - "corporate liable," multiple lines, purchased through business sales, usually mediated by an IT department - costs $45/month. Once again, this is the same for every Windows Mobile and Android phone.
The same goes for AT&T's iPhones, by the way. Thousands if not millions of people access Microsoft Exchange email on personal, $30/month iPhone data plans, blissfully unaware that if they were a corporate-liable business account their data plan would cost $45. Once again, it's not down to the kind of e-mail you're accessing, it's down to whether you are classed as an "individual" or a "business" in the carrier's system.
So where's the confusion been coming from? Carrier definitions of "business" and normal human definitions of "business" are different. For carriers, it doesn't matter if you're doing business. They only care if you are a business. Are you a rogue operator, a lone wolf, using a personal credit card to activate your single line of service? Then plow right ahead with your Exchange email on the $30 plan - with your Droid or your iPhone.
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November 3, 2009 5:30 PM
Thank you for posting this article. I was getting sick of all the articles confusing this fact....YOU CAN ACCESS YOUR PERSONAL EXCHANGE ACCOUNT USING VERIZON'S $30/MONTH DATA PLAN.
The sad/funny thing is that I know a lot of people that said they aren't going to get the Droid because they thought Verizon was going to charge them $15/month extra to hit their personal exchange account due to the misleading articles that have been posted.
November 3, 2009 8:04 PM
Is it true that Visual Voice mail is going to cost $5 on top of everything else? I've been thinking about jumping ships but is getting very expensive to have an account at Verizon. Voice/Data/Txt and also charge for Visual Voice Mail?
Just a curious, may be... a future Verizon user.
November 3, 2009 11:57 PM
@Tony: Google has the service "Google Voice" that allows free texting and US-based calls. VzW's already said they won't block Google's Google Voice application, unlike what Crapular / AT&T and Apple did. If you get the unlimited data package with VzW and use the Google Voice service with the Google Voice app on MotoDroid, you shouldn't have to worry about paying for SMS (text). Also, if you were to use your Google Voice number as your primary, you won't need to sign up / pay for VzW's Visual Voicemail. All you'd have to be worried about then is not going over your airtime minutes, which, if you're using a VoIP app to route your calls through on wifi networks, etc., should not be an issue.
For more information about Google's Google Voice service, check out http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html. For the Google Voice app for Android-based phones - http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-voice-for-android-and-blackberry.html.
November 4, 2009 7:57 AM
But, doesn't Apple (not AT&T) provide Exchange connection free so that when you synch up, all of your exchange contacts, calendars, etc., show up on the iPhone?
November 4, 2009 8:50 AM
How does this compare with Verizon's Blackberry plans? I understand their data plan for a Blackberry is $30, but if you want to connect to the Blackberry Enterprise Service to get your Work (Exchange) email and calendar, it $45.
November 4, 2009 9:14 AM
To be (less) clear, there is a bit of a difference with AT&T's Blackberry data plans. AT&T charges $30/month for personal Blackberry data plans. Blackberries on these plans can in fact get Exchange email; however, for $45/month, you can optinally connect your Blackberry to a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), giving your device access to your corporate private network and your corporate IT staff much more control over your device.
As a Blackberry developer with AT&T service, I keep the $45/month plan, even though I have a personal account.
November 4, 2009 11:03 AM
I don't know if AT&T has the same restriction, but Verizon data plans are limited up to 5GB of traffic per month. Additionally, if you exceed that amount, Verizon will terminate your data plan without warning because they will assume that you are engaged in activities that they frown upon; such as viewing streaming video.
I would also think that Google Voice will cause that 5GB limit to be exceeded fairly easily.
I am a Verizon customer and the 5GB limit is for me the main reason why I will never buy the DROID because it defeats the whole purpose of the device and its ability to connect with the Internet. Too bad for me and for the DROID.
Maybe one of these days I'll switch over to AT&T (as soon as they improve their network) and get myself an iPhone.
November 4, 2009 12:57 PM
rrhb,
AT&T caps their unlimited plans at 5GB as well...
Also don't forget you get wi-fi to use which does not count against your 5gb...
The idea that any company is going to let you have completely unlimited data access is absurd...
even the ISP cap usage - Comcast (the number 1 ISP)limits usage to 250gb per month for example.
November 4, 2009 1:14 PM
Thanks for the update dram.
I tried looking for cap info on the AT&T site a couple of times before but it's always eluded me and generally in discussions about the iPhone no one seems to remember to put down the cap as a "feature" of AT&T's data plan.
So I can now put the DROID back on my radar screen.
November 4, 2009 1:31 PM
Thank you for the update.
So the pricing and policy is identical to AT&T smartphone and iPhone data plans. $30 for consumers (personal paid accounts,) $45 for business/corporate paid accounts.
Exchange use is completely ambiguous to pricing.
November 4, 2009 1:33 PM
AT&T only caps tethered data plans at 5GB.
iPhone and smartphone (non tethered) data plans are not capped, not limited. They are unlimited.
November 4, 2009 1:39 PM
Actually AT&T only caps data cards. Data on handsets is not capped at all. I work for AT&T so I know this to be true. Personally I use about 20GB per month on my WINMO phone, mainly becouse I download about 500mb of Podcasts each and every night on 3g network not WIFI.
November 4, 2009 1:40 PM
Thank-you RF9.
Your update does change my view of the state of things (again).
dram, would you agree with RF9's findings?
November 4, 2009 2:33 PM
Maybe I am missreading the plan terms but it seems to me that the clause
"If you are on a data plan that does not include a monthly MB/GB allowance and additional data usage rates, you agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 GB in a month; provided that, prior to the imposition of any additional charges, AT&T shall provide you with notice and you shall have the right to terminate your Service."
would apply to all customers - whether it be a data card or an iphone
read for youself...
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/plan-terms.jsp#features
November 4, 2009 3:11 PM
I currently use Sprint and just notice I'm on 2G this month and that just regular browsing/emails and looking up facebook and etc. Would they shut me down if I reach the 5G on the NOW network? hmmm
November 4, 2009 5:06 PM
good to hear this - I went to the verizon store monday night (in VA) and the rep told me that I need the $45 plan. I hope they get the word out.
November 4, 2009 7:38 PM
I'm new to the smart phones. I have a Razor and I am with Verizon. My family plan ends in December and I was going to go to AT&T for the iphone. Now that I have seen the Droid - I may be staying with Verizon.
I have some questions..
1.) What is the average GB used in a month ...????
I read a post above me that a user had used 2GB in a month... Now if I am at work, or at home I can go onto the internet using wifi and that will not count towards my GB used??? (correct me if I am wrong.)
NOW - what is really making me want to get the Droid is the Google navigation. This leads me to the next question.
2.) If I were to use the Google navigation in my truck on a dayley basis not using - how much GB would this total up to towards the 5GB cap.
3.) If I renew my contract and add the data plan/internet option to the plan for.....(a) me, and (b) my wife - with two droids ($35 or $45 plan...) I am assuming I have to pay the fee twice for two Droids(a)&(b) - Does my wife(b) and I(a) get 5GB each????
4.) This question may sound stupid but, since my contract is up in December and I will be a free agent. If I renew my contract with Verizon for two years do I apply for the $199 after rebate price???
November 4, 2009 9:02 PM
Is the whole $30 vs $45 new? Hope so otherwise I've been overcharged for more than a year. I wonder if i can talk verizon into getting me a credit. Oh well I'm happy i get a better phone and a cheaper data plan
November 5, 2009 3:04 PM
Brian or RF9,
Am I wrong on the 5gb cap?
I would love to hear that is the case since I am up for contract renewal soon...
In the end AT&T may never work for me as well as verizon though... cause where I live AT&T coverage is horrid
November 5, 2009 8:49 PM
If Verizon continues with limited webaccess with their dataplan as compared to at&t's unlimited, I go with iphone than droid...
November 6, 2009 7:40 PM
Exchange support is the same as activesync which is included in data plan
November 8, 2009 7:22 PM
just called verizon and they said there is no data cap on the Droid. the 5gb limit is only for broadband cards and mifi devices.
November 10, 2009 2:46 PM
OK, YES, we just configured a Droid on a personal plan with Verizon to connect to a corporate Exchange server.
The owner of the phone has a $110 voice plan + the $30 Droid surcharge...I mean data plan.
We also successfully connected an HTC Hero on a Sprint $100 anything plan with no Android surchare, I mean no additional data charge.
November 12, 2009 12:01 PM
iDon't charge extra for exchange support.