Verizon

No more 3G multimedia device category for Verizon starting in Q4

posted by Alan F. / Sep 17, 2010, 6:22 PM

No more 3G multimedia device category for Verizon starting in Q4

A leaked internal letter meant to be spread throughout the Verizon retail network has some interesting information. Starting next month with the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2010, Big Red will no longer place newly launched phones in the "3G Multimedia device" category. The good news for customers of Big Red is that new feature phones will no longer require a monthly charge for a data package. While the new feature phones will not require the $9.99 monthly charge, because they will offer the same functionality as 3G Multimedia devices, Verizon is telling its reps that they should still continue to offer the data package to new feature phone buyers

Current phones that fall into the 3G Multimedia category, like the LG enV3, will still require buyers to pay the $9.99 monthly while new feature phones like the Pantech Crux and the LG Octane can be bought without having to pay the data package charge.

The letter also noted that Verizon plans on offering 3G/4G data cards in the fourth quarter, which it suggests customers purchase to have 4G capability when the service is available in their region.

Pantech Crux Preliminary Specifications
LG Octane VN530 Preliminary Specifications
LG enV3 Specifications | Review

source: BGR

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18 Comments

1. Joshing4fun

Posts: 1245; Member since: Aug 13, 2010

They should have never done it in the first place. Bout time they learn their lesson.

posted on Oct 20, 2010, 1:48 AM 0

2. Mandatory Dataman unregistered

People should have lost their jobs over this. The irony is, somebody did. The poor CEO at LG, who watched handset sales plummet, all to be blamed on Verizon. Still screwing the Env crowd, though, I see. Lowell McAdams and his crew are the ultimate money grubbers. Love it when a plan backfires.

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 8:35 PM 0

3. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

a business's only function is to make money. It lasted this long because people were buying it. If they stopped it its probably because they are about to roll out new pricing for the LTE tier and they want to seperate it better. Oi... must be an obama voter and an iphone holder. :)

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 9:11 PM 0

4. PhoenixLAU

Posts: 15; Member since: Mar 18, 2010

Wrong, "it lasted this long" ("this long" being a mere 8 months) because it took time for people's contracts to expire and face this mandatory data extortion fee. Some of the effects were immediate (e.g. LG getting reamed in Q1 by their suddenly radioactive lineup like the previously popular VX8360 flip phone). Some of the effects filtered in over time as customers reacted with their wallets come contract renewal time. Obviously they have been reacting negatively, otherwise why else would Verizon abandon it now? For instance, it wasn't until this month that our family plan contracts finished. We ported the major cash cow texting/email line to AT&T because "I might as well get an I-phone if I have to pay for data", and I ported my minimal usage line to Page Plus. The two lines that heavily use thousands of M2M minutes each stayed with Verizon, and we downgraded the family plan from 1400 minute family plan to the 550 Loyalty plan. So because of Verizon's stupid shenanigans, their monthly take from us dropped from around $135 to about $65. They also get a small fraction of the $2.50/month I will pay to Page Plus MNVO. Furthermore, I'm going to make it a point to churn out annual upgrades on the primary line to provide a continual stream of subsidized phones for my Page Plus line. Funny thing is, even with this news of abandoning the greedy extortion plan, Verizon will not be able to draw our departed lines back. By trying to extort us, they "forced" us to research better options that we never would have bothered to look into in the first place. Nice job, Verizon!

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 10:39 PM 0

5. PhoenixLAU

Posts: 15; Member since: Mar 18, 2010

EDIT: Actually dropped from $135/month to around $50 (forgot to factor in employee discount).

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 10:58 PM 0

6. PapaJay224

Posts: 866; Member since: Feb 08, 2009

Besides being a complete doosh bag, your a pyscho. If you really think your little "plan" sends any kind of signal to a company that has 93,000,000 (yeah million) customers, what makes you think they're going to notice your arrogant ass'd bull shit plan? Do you really think some satellite TV program of your stupid ass has wasted its time honing in on your life like it some sort of TV show and your the star of Money Magazines "stick it to the rich" addition? No, your a pussy and whiny bag of hormones and tampons. Ooh wow, you dropped the plan and figured out how to subsidize, all in the while YOU LOSE, because your on some half wit 2 bit pre paid job, just to "stick it to the man", wow you really waisted your time. Do you sit out on your porch and wait for your grass to grow, so when you cut it, you can teach it a lesson about how your always there to cut it down? NOBODY CARES!

posted on Sep 17, 2010, 11:31 PM 0

7. PhoenixLAU

Posts: 15; Member since: Mar 18, 2010

Well, obviously YOU care a great deal, based on your ragefail. Settle down, you're going to blow a blood vessel. My anecdote is but one drop in the bucket, but clearly there are many drops in the bucket out there that felt the exact same way over the course of January to now, and either downgraded or left Verizon directly because of this data extortion scheme. Why else would Verizon back down only 8 months later if not because they have experienced significant negative repercussions from this? Why have they repeatedly had to make data exceptions on 3G multimedia phones that otherwise couldn't possibly sell (Motorola Entice, Casio Exilim, most recently LG VX8360 a few weeks ago)?

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 2:48 AM 0

9. cc16177

Posts: 312; Member since: May 09, 2010

First off, you must be one of the producers of the new Facebook movie because clearly you like to write stories about something no one gives half a flying fuck about. "Data extortion scheme" could be the title of your new horror movie about Verizon robbing it's customers $9.99/mo for internet access. I can tell you first-hand that the majority of customers do not really mind the data plan. Many customers have had to pay overage charges because their kids "accidentally" went on the web a few times and $9.99/mo prevents something like 90% of our customers on that plan from going over. I wonder how much time you have spent developing your little plan to avoid these charges. Depending on how much you value your time at (I like to think my time is worth around $10-20/hr minimum) you actually just cost yourself money, and now you have an iPhone on At&t's crappy network to make everything even more exciting. Congratulations.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 8:22 AM 0

11. glen... unregistered

yeah, having your lines on three different carriers must've made your life so much easier.... bet your a pain in the ass to all three there are 4 phones on verizon that have full keyboards, music player capability, bluetooth and cameras. that is in addition to the 4-5 flip phones that don't require data. If you are complaining about the data package, you are just complaining to be a loud mouth. "Some of the effects filtered in over time as customers reacted with their wallets come contract renewal time".....the multi media phones aren't going away because you complained it out of existence, it's because the segment was already declining due to the popularity of smartphones and of course Verizon wants to sell more smartphones. why give a bunch of 9.99 middle ground options? it gives people on the fence a reason not to buy a smartphone as someone mentioned above, corporations are around to make money. If you don't understand the concept of profits, you're clueless.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 1:17 PM 0

12. VZWbamf

Posts: 61; Member since: Oct 11, 2009

Verizon does not FORCE anyone to buy a data plan. You want a fast car? Guess what, you pay higher insurance and more on gas. You want a fancy touchscreen phone that does internet? Guess what, you pay a lousy $9.99 a month for a data plan. I want a Ferrari but dont plan on driving fast. Guess what, the car still costs $350K, so I don't buy one. I buy a cheaper Toyota. You want a fancy phone for only making calls? Then you pay for the data plan or get a cheaper phone... Why does normal logic go out the window when talking about cellphones?!

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 1:28 PM 0

13. Dicksucka Killa unregistered

I have Verizon, but I am nowhere near the level of these little fanboy corporate employees on here. Phoenix and Dataman hit the nail on the head, though. It is a bullsh*t deal. They did drop a ton of customers over this as well. You're an arrogant fool if you think otherwise.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 4:12 PM 0

15. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

And your a complete dumbass if you think it did.. they dropped so many customers they added millions of new customers each year for every customer that got aggrivated by it. And its been going on a lot longer than 8 months. i dont know where u keep getting that rediculous quote. They had that going on when I worked at verizon 1.5 years ago. So yea, its been there for A GOOD WHILE. The ferrari arguement is spot on. Why do you want a phone thats capable of more if your not going to use it? Lets buy a corvette and never take it over 1500 RPMs.. lol.. take out the V8 and put in a 4banger. I just want people to THINK im driving a corvette.

posted on Sep 19, 2010, 7:53 PM 0

16. Cypress unregistered

Worst analogy ever, fanboy.

posted on Sep 20, 2010, 4:35 PM 0

8. fishpower187

Posts: 88; Member since: Feb 22, 2010

I dunno. The wording only states that no new 3G multimedia devices will be launched in Q4. It also says existing 3G multimedia devices are still subject to the requisite $9.99 data plans. Its obvious that the hardware focus is on smartphones; maybe this is just another way to get a Droid or BlackBerry into grandma's hands.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 2:52 AM 0

10. 123456789 unregistered

phoenixLAU is slowly but surely dying from lack of verizon service. page plus? at&t? hahaha, fail = your life story about your cell provider woes. Tool.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 8:47 AM 0

14. XxVerbalxX unregistered

Wow. some of you are flat out brainwashed vzw employees. They are still making "3g multimedia" type phones so why wouldnt they keep requiring the $9.99 fee if it worked and increased their profit? If anything I used those phones as a tool to get people into an LG ally or other droid phones. "if your willing to pay 9.99 anyway y not get a phone MADE to really rip through the web? plus look at all the free stuff!" I have many friends in wireless and I keep hearing "what is up with verizon? I keep activating people all day long who say they have to have a data package on a flip phone!" They do get complaints about it, I hear it every day all day at the store level. It has been an epic fail as our sales of multimedia phones have plummeted since the requirement. (Smart phones waaay up...be it the data charge or the increasingly strong droid line-up) 93,000,000 customers is great but im sure many people reacted like PhoenixLAU did. Its not like buying a fast car or whatever. Its like buying an average car and watching ur rates go up like ur driving a bmw. The feature phones dont even do video clips for christ sake. The program made people pay more for less than what they already had. It only lasted 8 months, more multimedia type phones are coming out. It failed. get over it.

posted on Sep 18, 2010, 5:02 PM 0

17. kllenoir unregistered

Well... my best friend works for Verizon, and he has graciously informed me that the future "3G Multimedia" phones will now be sold without a data requirement. BUT... 90% percent of them will not be sold in stores... they will only be sold online, or by d-fill (special order) for a simple person wants to visit a store. Only the "construction-type" phones that businesses get on a local level, will be readily available in stores. Also, the features of these devices will be data intensive, so anything other than making calls and using basic features, such as texting, will charge you that $1.99 per magabyte rate. Even sending pictures (even with a messaging plan) will use data. AND, Verizon is making plans to launch "Smartphones" only, with a tiered data plan, just like AT&T, when the LTE network officially launches next year. SO, this is just the calm before the storm.... Verizon, and all of the other cell phone companies out there... will ultimately WIN.

posted on Sep 21, 2010, 8:48 PM 0

18. VZWGuyFL unregistered

I think all of you are made of 50% dumb-ass and 50% idiot. The 3G Multi-Media phones are made for a better data experience. That is what the cell phone market is moving in to -- data. If you want a phone that is made to browse the web at the speed of white-water rapids you pay $9.99 a month, if you want a phone that is made to browse the web at lightning speed you pay $29.99 a month. If your intention is to make and receive calls purchase a flip phone. If you want to make and receive calls and text messages buy a simple feature phone with the full QWERTY keypad that does not require a data package. Verizon is not losing money to this, if you think we are you are insane. I've not had one customer say, "oooooooh....10 bucks a month....I think I'll go to ATT or like the retard above, Page Plus." By the way, do you think Verizon cares what you do with the device after you sign another 2-year contract? Hell no. So take your Verizon phone and use it on Page Plus and keep renewing your contract with us, more money in our pocket. Can I get an Amen? Thank you.