hi,
ive read the threads about recommended phones but i cant seem to find a clear answer about data plans.

ive read that some folks use the unlimited tether plan and others use the pda or phone data plan.

for example sprint offers the unlimited data plan for tethered devices for 49.99, but for the moto Q, you can get unlimited data for 24.99.

in cingular, the unlimited tethered plan is 60 dollars, unlimited pda is 44.99, and 3g video for phone is around 29.99 i believe.

ive spoken to sales reps and they say that i will need the expensive 49.99+ to tether to the N800.

for those using the cheaper plans like the 24.99 from sprint, how have you not been charged for the data?

thanks..

I have a Cingular's $20/month MediaMax 200 bundle with my voice plan that gives you 200 text messages plus "unlimited" 3G internet and Cingular Video on my phone. I tether my N800 to my phone via bluetooth and I'm pretty happy with the service so far (Only have had it about 2 months). I was in the same boat as you on deciding what plan to use. I read up a lot about tethering/data plans on HowardForums.com before I decided on the $20/month plan. Tethering for this plan is against Cingulars TOS, but from what I read they most likely won't go after you unless you are abusing their bandwidth. I haven't checked my data usage yet, but I'm guessing it's way less than 50MBs a month. I don't think you'd get in trouble for using 150MBs a month, but I would not use that plan for any P2P or BitTorrent use. That would probably raise a flag on their end. My first choice is always to look for an unsecured Wifi hotspot (which there are many where I live) and if not I use my phone's connection. Hope that helps.

thx1138,

that helps alot. im pretty sure your phone also tells you how much data you have already downloaded?

i will not be visiting any torrent, file sharing, video sites...my primary purpose is to do internet research, reading blogs, message forums, and some flickr. i havent really took into consideration how much data that would be on a daily bases.

thanks for sharing.

My phone logs how long the data calls are, but not the amount of data used. I just checked my account and I have used 20MBs of data 2 weeks into the billing cycle. A large chunk of it though appears to be from using Cingular Video one afternoon when I was bored. The rest of the log looks like its about 200k-1.5MBs each use. My use is similar to yours - Google, Wikipedia, gadget sites, news, and of course this site. I'm guessing even with heavy usage it would be hard to exceed 100MBs/month.

Usually you don't really need the expensive tether plans to get what you want. I have used cheap T-Mobile and Cingular plans to get data to my N800. For instance you can use the $5.99/mo T-Mobile unlimited plan (intended only for WAP browsing) and with a simple proxy setting, you have unlimited internet access for your tablet. I just purchased a V3XX Razr, since it supports EDGE and HSDPA. Right now I get 250 Kb/s download and once HSDPA is widespread, I should be able to get >1Mb/s.

Wow. I cant believe how much variety you have! And I cant believe how cheap it is.......

Up here in Canada, our service providers don't even offer unlimited plans. Our 100mb plans actually cost 100$...
And its like 60/mo for 25 mb..

I wish I could buy service from the states.

i just got back from the cingular store and they have a new plan for 20$ unlimited media 200 text messages. dropped 5 bucks...sprint is still the cheapeast i think for 29.99 basic + 15 dollars unlimited.

I'm interested in the v3xx as well, it's currently going for -$25 at Amazon.

I have an ATT carried over plan with Cingular, so my plan is $30 with 300 minutes and I can still get mmode unlimited for $24.99. I need a new phone though, so not sure if I should buy a new unlocked phone or give up this plan and sign a new contract with new phone.

Decisions, decisions...

i am in the exact same boat as you... not really sure if i should upgrade my current contract or sign a new one and get more discount on a phone.

ive read somewhere sprint is doing their hardest to cut down on all kinds of tethering. any truth to this?