Verizon iPhone - mobile hotspot and other questions about the data options

Michael Levin wrote:
1) Unlimited corporate email & Web (business and personal email) vs. Unlimited email and web for smartphones (personal email) - what's the difference?

Verizon will be able to explain the difference between the obvious - one is for business use and the other is for personal.

2) "3G Mobile Hotspot 2GB" - does this mean that there's no way I can share my 3G connection via wifi without paying the extra $20/month?? How about tethering to a single computer (USB, BT, or WiFi) - does that also require this extra option?

That is correct. Tethering and wifi hotspot will cost you extra.

3) equipment protection - what's the difference between Extended Warranty, Asurion Wireless Phone Protection, and Total Equipment Coverage?

Extended warranty is Applecare and extends the warranty to a second year. You'll have to ask Verizon what the other two are.

I have the Droid now...but also just ordered the iPhone. My Droid has Corporate email and I'm only paying $29.99. WHY is it more with the iPhone (another $15)? I'm pretty sure I also have access to wi-fi on my Droid...so why another $20 for it on the iPhone?? Also noticed the Navigator is another $5 a month!! That's an extra $40 a month for the iPhone using the applications I currently have... That is rediculous!

Good question for Verizon, but I believe I know the answer which is the same with AT&T regarding personal and corporate data plans.

Accessing a corporate or company email account with the iPhone's Mail app alone does not require having the corporate data plan. The corporate data plan is required for a company that purchases an iPhone for an employee and/or pays the monthly bill for the iPhone - the monthly bill for the iPhone is in the company's name.

Michael Levin wrote:
3) equipment protection - what's the difference between Extended Warranty, Asurion Wireless Phone Protection, and Total Equipment Coverage?

Both Extended Warranty and Wireless Phone Protection are products offered by Verizon. Total Equipment Coverage is the name of the two products bundled together.

Extended Warranty is not Applecare. Verizon will also sell you Applecare if you want it. There are a couple of important differences between the two. Without Applecare, you get one complimentary call to Apple Tech support within the first 90 days of ownership, after that calls are $29.99. With Apple Care, you get free calls for the entire two years. The Extended Warrany sold by Verizon does not give you that. If you need a phone replaced under Applecare, you deal with Apple. If you need a phone replaced under warranty through the Extended Warranty, you deal with Verizon. They will not have replacement phones on site. You will be shipped a replacement overnight.

Neither Applecare nor the Extended warranty cover loss, theft or damage. For that you need the Wireless Phone Protection , either by itself or bundled with the Extended Warranty in Total Equipment Coverage. If your phone is lost, stolen or damaged, you will get it replaced by Asurion. There is a deductible. You will be shipped a phone overnight.

eichelme wrote:
I have the Droid now...but also just ordered the iPhone. My Droid has Corporate email and I'm only paying $29.99. WHY is it more with the iPhone (another $15)? I'm pretty sure I also have access to wi-fi on my Droid...so why another $20 for it on the iPhone?? Also noticed the Navigator is another $5 a month!!

In most cases, the $29.99 plan will work fine with business email. It's really more of an issue with Blackberries which require all sorts of additional licensing to work with corporate email.

With the Droid, the 3G Mobile hotspot is $20 dollars a month, just like on the iPhone.

Google Navigation is free on the Droid. However, if you want to get VZ Navigator, which is a different product, on your Droid, you will pay the additional fee. As far as I know, Google Naviation is not available on the iPhone. If that program is important to you, the iPhone may not be the device you need.

The bottom line is that the pricing for data features on the VZW iPhone is identical to the pricing for data features on the Droids and (most) Blackberries that VZW sells.

Hi

Regarding your #2 question; yes, you must pay $20/mo to use the 3G Hotspot aspect of the iPhone, same as with any of Verizon's phones that offer this feature such as the Droid X, HTC phones, etc. And, there is NO additional charge to tether it to your computer; it's $20/mo regardless. You can still use the iPhone's WiFi feature to search the web which is part of the regular data plan. We're only talking about paying the $20/mo for the "up to 5 devices" jumping on your phone as a hot spot.

I'm an Apple fan, have my MacBook Pro, but my phone is a Droid X. I've been a Verizon member since a year before they became Verizon. Additionally, I am part of the Verizon & Motorola test forum; testing new software updates as they come along.

Something you should know about Verizon's 3G Hot Spot feature; it has issues. Those of us in the Motorola & HTC forums have experienced identical issues with regard to the 3G Hot Spot feature; it disconnects every 2 minutes, even when you are actively surfing the net. Verizon & Motorola Support have been very helpful to provide what they believe are fixes, including: changing the channel, hard resets, clearing cache, etc. It does not work. Most of us believe, this is NOT a Verizon issue, but a phone maker issue.

I also have Verizon's MiFi 2200. It costs $59/mo and is purely a hot spot device; again up to 5 devices. I use it at home, for my lap top and for those who need connectivity. It outperforms the 3G hot spot feature of the Motorola & HTC phones by leaps & bounds, and I suspect it will out perform the 3G hot spot feature on the iPhone. Additionally, you get 5GB of download with the MiFi which Verizon is planning on offering increases to 8GB & 10GB. There is NO plan to increase the 2GB download limitation on the 3G Hot spot of the iPhone & other phones, and anyone who does basic software downloads & pics, knows 2GBS is not a lot space.

So, I would recommend not paying the $20 until this is resolved. If you do, you could pay $39 more for a total of $59/mo for the MiFi, download the software to you home computer & notebook, and end up canceling your home internet service. I did this and have saved $70/mo in my total utilities.

One other important note: Verizon's VZManager Software for their phones & MiFi. If you did pay the $20/mo for the iPhone and decided to tether to your USB port (for power while using) and you were to use the 3G hot spot feature, it will NOT work on 64 Bit computers, regardless if you are using the WiFi feature or directly using VZManager. The MiFi has this same issue. It will only work on 32 Bit when tethered. So, you'd have to reboot your computer to 32 Bit, if you have that ability. On a Macbook Pro, simply restart holding down the "3" & "2" keys.

I have no idea why Verizon can't simply upgrade the firmware, even recent firmware upgrades have not resolved this. Most new computers are 64 Bit now.

Despite this, I use my MiFi 100% untethered and carry my charge cord in my bag as it also works on my Droid, and I presume they may do the same for the iPhone; reduces the need for multiple power cords.

I really looked forward to the 3G feature of the Motorola & HTC phones, but honestly, it's just not there yet; mine was slower than Dial Up, and I'm not kidding.

I'm really fuming about this. There is absolutely NO reason for there to be an additional charge for corporate email. Most people are NOT re-imbursed by their companies for the additional expense. $15 for what? It's all data over the internet. It's not something special that needs to be routed through the CIA's satellites.

I had a user come to me this morning (the reason I found out about this) and she selected only the personal email option (you can have up to 10 PERSONAL accounts, but one biz account costs $$$???). Yet, the MS Exchange connector still shows up. So, I'd love to know if they automatically bump up your monthly $ if you activate that account....

Copied from my previous post.

Good question for Verizon, but I believe I know the answer which is the same with AT&T regarding personal and corporate data plans.

Accessing a corporate or company email account with the iPhone's Mail app alone does not require having the corporate data plan. The corporate data plan is required for a company that purchases an iPhone for an employee and/or pays the monthly bill for the iPhone - the monthly bill for the iPhone is in the company's name.

Yep. Sorry. I tried to edit my post. It said saved, but for some reason it didn't... 🙂 Thanks for the clarification!