PhoneNews.com continues to beat the rest of the mobile media to the punch on covering the 5 GB of free Mobile Hotspot on Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. Today, we’re happy to announce the great deal that Palm customers enjoy, just got a whole lot better.
The often-ignored feature allows Verizon customers to get free Wi-Fi hotspot access. Android customers on Verizon pay $20/month for an optional 2 GB of Mobile Hotspot coverage, thus saving webOS customers on Verizon up to $720/year in tethering charges (when compared to using 5 GB/month on an aircard or Android mobile hotspot tethering).
The same day that Verizon rolled out new iPad MiFi hotspot data plans, which undercut their own standard mobile broadband pricing, they wound up slipping in an even better deal. We’re proud to be the first to uncover it, as we teased on our Twitter feed a few days ago. PhoneNews.com held off on reporting this, until the new plans took effect, in order to prevent pre-launch exposure to the offering that might have caused it to be pulled.
Essentially, Verizon touted in national ads that all Pre Plus and Pixi Plus customers would get 5 GB of Mobile Hotspot at “no additional charge” for life. Verizon appears to legally have had no choice but to extend that to the new, cheaper $15/month, 150 MB data plans. Customers with these devices can switch to the $15/month data plan, and continue to receive 5,120 MB of mobile hotspot data.
For customers with Verizon voice service, it is hard to justify not switching to a Pre Plus or a Pixi Plus for this deal. Paired with an iPod touch, iPad, or laptop, you can enjoy over 5 GB of data for only $15/month, on what is typically considered a more premium network than the competition. With Pixi Plus devices selling for under $100 on eBay, even those locked into a contract already can tap into this offering, and wind up saving month from the reduced monthly charges.
PhoneNews.com has already successfully activated a Palm Pre Plus on the new data plan, and we had no problem also selecting the 3G Mobile Hotspot feature, which was offered as a $0 add-on in the online activation process. The confirmation pages then confirmed that our account has 150 MB of handset data, as well as 5 GB of mobile hotspot data, for $15 per month.
Of course, webOS users should take appropriate measures to ensure they do not go over 150 MB of data, such as disabling webOS’s cloud sync abilities, or setting them to manual mode to control when, and how much data that they use. Verizon customers can monitor data usage online, as well as by dialing #3282 (#DATA) from their phones.
While Verizon is expected to be the first carrier to launch the Palm Pre 2 in the United States, the device will have some shortcomings. Sources expect that the Palm Pre 2 will not receive the same 5 GB Mobile Hotspot benefits that the Pre Plus or Pixi Plus do, and will instead fall in-line with the Android 2 GB, $20/month add-on. However, with Verizon continuing to offer the Pixi Plus, which does have free Mobile Hotspot, customers may be torn between a more-powerful and competitive webOS phone, or an older device that has free Mobile Hotspot.
PhoneNews.com awarded the Palm Pre Plus on Verizon Wireless the 2010 Phone of the Year.
Verizon is going to find a way to stop this if the masses start switching. Even if they breach peoples contract. They are going to lose too much money on this. This is too good to last forever.
[…] Hotspot to anyone with a Pre Plus or Pixi Plus. We’ve gone farther, and explained how you can combine that with their $15, 150 MB data plan. In fact, we saw this as such a game changer, we gave the Pre Plus our Phone of The Year award for […]
[…] and mobile hotspot, the monthly charge would add $50 on top of a voice plan per month. Another, much less costly alternative for the time being would be purchasing the Palm Pixi on prepaid for $79.99 and adding the $15 150MB […]
“Of course, webOS users should take appropriate measures to ensure they do not go over 150 MB of data, such as disabling webOS’s cloud sync abilities, or setting them to manual mode to control when, and how much data that they use”
Sorry to ask a dumb question, but how do you do this? The PPP is my first smartphone, I’ve had it for a couple weeks so I am still learning the ropes. Thanks! 🙂
[…] a great purpose for Verizon customers in 3G-only areas. Even on metered data plans, you get 5 GB of free mobile hotspot that’s more reliable than LTE tethering on […]