Cingular Doesn't Include SMS in Its PDA Data Plan
Martin O'Donnell sent me a test SMS message from his T-Mobile Sidekick II yesterday. When I received the message I replied, then I thought that I wasn't sure how many SMS messages my new Cingular billing plan included, so I texted, "Let me find out about SMS and I'll get back to you."
I called 611 and asked. I found out that my billing plan has zero included SMS messages and each message costs me $0.10. If I want to buy SMS message packages, the prices are as follows:
- $2.99 for 50 messages per month
- $4.99 for 200 messages per month
- $9.99 for 1000 messages per month
- $19.99 for 2500 messages per month
It doesn't make sense that the unlimited PDA data plan doesn't have any included SMS messages, while the Cingular MEdia Net plans (which cost substantially less) include SMS messages.
I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do. I may choose to run an Instant Messaging client on my Treo 650 that channels its communication over the EDGE network. The problem is that some of the people with whom I communicate by mobile phone don't use IM.
Comments
SMS has never been that big here in the U.S. I think I've sent half a dozen in my life! No one has ever suggested that I get in touch with them via SMS or tried to SMS me, although I've tried SMS'ing others based on their phone number and never gotten a response or even a mention by them that they received it.
SMS, from what I know, is not really considered "data" because it does not get transmitted via GPRS, EDGE, EVDO, etc. It gets transmitted via the regular phone connection, although it's not a voice call of course. This may be part of the rationalle for not offering it even though it may seem logically to be a data service. Or maybe it's a marketing thing. Maybe very few people who purchase the PDA plan feel like they need SMS because they can simply email or instant message a recipient. Also, theoretically, you could avoid having to pay extra entirely. Most cariers have a web "portal" where you can type in messages that will go to a phone on their network via SMS (if it's set up for SMS at least), so you might just be able to go to that page via your Treos' browsers and enter your message in a form. It's not as elegant as using the SMS application itself, but at least it avoids having to pay extra for the priveledge...
Posted by: Levi Wallach | April 1, 2005 11:57 AM
T-Mobile is exactly the same. I pay a few bucks a month to get 300 sms messages which covers the text alerts I like as well as back and forth with a few friends. What it does NOT cover though is MMS... those are .25 per message. I believe you can also buy a plan for pictures.
I've been seriously considering a move to Cingular... I "need" EDGE. TMO has made no formal announcements regarding a quicker network and it's been driving me a bit bonkers knowing my phone can go faster than I am allowed to travel.
Posted by: Jonathan Greene | April 1, 2005 1:36 PM
BTW - If you really are considering IM, Verichat is the way to go in my book. It's by far the best. The UI is simple, with full 5-way support and you can log on to all services, keeping them active in the background. There are also bots which can do YP or weather among other snippets of info.
Posted by: Jonathan Greene | April 1, 2005 11:19 PM