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Project Fi by Google

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Re: Project Fi by Google

#401

Post by dalanmiller »

laurencerowe wrote: post #220
smacktoward wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't get is, what's in this for Sprint and T-Mobile? Currently a user of their network is a customer they "own" -- they deal with that customer directly. Now they have Google sitting between them and the user, which effectively commoditizes their service; Google could switch them out for another network down the road without the user ever knowing or caring. That's great for Google, and probably also great for…

Google is charging a significant markup over T-Mobile's existing rates ($30/month for 5Gb vs $70/month through Gooogle.) So Fi is really only interesting for people doing significant international roaming.

Yeah but as a T-Mobile customer myself, that plan which is only available if you purchase the SIM card online or through Walmart, isn't sufficient for my needs. As much as I like being able to call via the Hangouts Dialer WiFi calling is still not of very good quality.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#402

Post by gareim »

nevir wrote: post #374
rlu wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ahhh soooo annoying that it requires a Nexus 6. This sounds so awesome but I do not want a 6" phone. I'm hoping the next Nexus phone will have a smaller variant (and it will undoubtedly support Project Fi)

Agree. Edit: Looks like the Sony Z3C is a (and the only?) contender! --- But, I've also given up on that front. The last phone that was (barely) usable one-handed for me was the original Moto X. At this point, there is literally not a single phone on the market that (that I can find): * Runs a recent version of Android (or iOS) * Is * Has a recent/"fast" CPU/GPU So, fuck it, time to give in and go with a phablet.

Sony Z3 Compact. Is 5.01 inches tall, but your original Moto X was 5.09 and you seemed to like it fine. Fast/recent specs. Runs a recent version of Android.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#403

Post by bduerst »

tomhschmidt wrote: post #93
MBlume wrote: post #40

"We refund the data you don't use" is basically a way of saying "you pay by the megabyte for the data you do use" -- which is actually really great, I've been frustrated that everyone's settled on "all-you-can-eat" data as the standard, it doesn't align incentives well at all. And they really are refunding it: if you use 1.2GB per month, it doesn't matter whether you sign up for 2, 5, or 10GB, your bill comes out exa…

This plan actually makes no sense. Overage charges are the same rate ($10 / GB), so why am I buying a "plan" at all? Why don't they just charge $10 * x gigs / month instead of all this buying / refunding business?

Maybe it's a purchasing nuance with the data supply chain?

As in, it's more expensive to meter everyone's data and charge per 100 MB, and cheaper to charge in 10 GB blocks and then refund retroactively. They are piggybacking off of other networks, which may not accept 100 MB purchases.

I can see them doing a purchasing scheme with the suppliers and then transferring the savings to the customer.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#405

Post by jsz0 »

wiremine wrote: post #92

For those who don't want to read the FAQ or find the video incredibly unhelpful [1]: a. It only supports the Nexus 6 out of the gate. b. It automatically switches you to the "fastest" network available. Partners out of the gate are Sprint and T-mobile. Sounds like it prefers Wifi, then 4G LTE, and then degrades down to 3G or 2G. c. Pricing is $20 for unlimited talk (domestic) and text (domestic and international) and…

> automatically switches you to the "fastest" network available.

It'll be interesting to see what type of impact this has on battery life / reliability.

> refunding data

I'm surprised they didn't go with data roll over or just lower price per GB. Refunds add a layer of guilt / buyers remorse to the process. I suspect a lot of customers will cross a 1GB boundary and feel obligated to use less data to lower their bill.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#406

Post by jmilloy »

wtallis wrote: post #282
kqr2 wrote: post #34

Republic Wireless has been doing hybrid wifi / cell calling for some time: https://republicwireless.com/ Their unlimited 3G plan is $25. Republic Wireless is owned by Bandwidth.com which also manages Google Voice numbers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth.com

And Republic announced earlier this week that they're going to be beta-testing basically everything that Google Fi will offer that isn't currently part of Republic's service: more flexible billing for data plans, adding a second cellular provider (almost certainly T-Mobile), a new handset (the Nexus 6 is the most likely candidate), cell-to-WiFi handover. The only thing Google's promising that Republic isn't is the in…

> The only thing Google's promising that Republic isn't is the international service.

Can you comment on tethering? IIRC, my Moto X through Republic doesn't allow tethering.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#408

Post by [deleted] »

jessaustin wrote: post #399
fragmede wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4.7" is the screen diagonal. The total height, including the top and bottom border is listed as 5.44". This is according to Apple. http://www.apple.com/iphone-6/specs/

This seems unlikely, as cell phones are generally rectangular and have flat screens. EDIT: maybe you could try drawing a screen with a 5.44" height and 4.7" diagonal. Euclid will not be your friend.

[deleted]

Re: Project Fi by Google

#410

Post by darkmighty »

Vraxx wrote: post #361
pyrocat wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a pretty big assumption.

Seems like a reasonable assumption to me. I doubt they pay a flat rate to all providers they borrow from with Google charging by the 100 MB.

Even then a good strategy for the networks would be to build capacity on crowded areas where infrastructure is cheap and neglect all other areas for the second carrier.
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