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Project Fi by Google

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Re: Project Fi by Google

#491

Post by duaneb »

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.

That's after a $50 charge for unlimited calls and texts, and unlimited edge data. Not that it's a trivial service, but I would save about ~$30-40 a month with no service loss. Probably a service gain, especially if they get AT&T or even a certain CDMA service provider (I can dream).

Re: Project Fi by Google

#492

Post by khuey »

bgc wrote: post #359
peeters wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their support for the Nexus line of phones has been outstanding That hasn't been my experience, particularly with this issue: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949 Basically you have to roll a dice whether you'll have sound in voice calls on a Nexus 4 running Lollipop. 500 comments, 1200 stars, and the issue is simply closed as "wrong forum" with no other comment than "contact customer support".…

Android support != Nexus hardware support. It seems like you're much better off support-wise if your phone's screen is shattered than if you are having any sort of issue with the software...

Ironic given that Google is generally believed to be a software company.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#493

Post by jaredmcateer »

fpgeek wrote: post #489
jessaustin wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.5" of "wasted" space? That surprises me.

There's this thing called the home button...

On most android phones that thing is part of the display that contextually hides itself, and doesn't take up extra physical space

Re: Project Fi by Google

#494

Post by jaredmcateer »

rlu wrote: post #363
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…

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)

I'm really hoping for a Nexus 5 2015. It's the best phone, for me, I've encountered including this generation of phones. Otherwise I'm probably going to have to get a Moto G 2nd gen if they come out with the LTE edition.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#495

Post by laurentoget »

imaginenore wrote: post #383
laurentoget wrote: post #79

In my experience, video chat through Google hangout uses about 1G/hour. $10/G translates to $10/hour. This is a significant cost for a remote worker using video chat as a routine meeting venue.

1 Gigabyte per hour? Are you really chatting at 22 Mbit/s? That's like half Bluray quality.

I am just reporting a ballpark figure from the data usage i get when actually using hangout for meetings on 4G on my phone.

That said at 3600s per hour 1GB/h would be 2.2Mb/s, which does not seem outrageous for a 8 people meeting

Re: Project Fi by Google

#496

Post by amalag »

mr337 wrote: post #371
amalag wrote: post #23

This is doing the same things as Republic Wireless. Calls and texts over wifi to keep their carrier costs down. RW is cheaper at $10 a month without data and $25 for unlimited 3G. With RW you need their customized android phone but they are cheap. $650 for the phone is steep (or a credit pull).

Do keep in mind they actively are against tethering, which stinks if your in a pinch and need internet for a laptop or w/e. Also afaik the phone you get from them can't really be used anywhere else. Other Sprint MVNO like ting won't accept RW phone. Maybe Spring themselves will but I'm currently in the process of moving and have a dud for a phone now.

Sell it on ebay to another RW person. I sold my two old ones when I moved to the Moto G and got some money for them. I was surprised because the Moto G is totally worth it and I would not have recommended those old models to anyone.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#497

Post by FireBeyond »

unprepare wrote: post #330
pluma wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is $10/GB and $0.2/min normal within the US? I'm not familiar with American (non-roaming) pricing. For comparison: In Germany I have an LTE data plan for my tablet where I pay €24.99 for 7.5GB (~$3.57/GB), the lowest plan being €6.99 for 1GB (~$7.50/GB). Unlimited calls in Germany including 1GB data would cost me €19.99/month (~$21.48) at the same provider and unlimited text in Germany would be an additional €4.99/mo…

A carrier in germany has to build 26 times less towers than a carrier in the US, because germany is more than 26 times smaller than the US. I would think the increased expenditure of 26 times more towers would increase the cost of plans. Europe also never had the culture of carrier subsidized phones, and so were never accustomed to paying more in monthly fees in exchange for low to no cost upgrades of hardware. Tethe…

There are HUGE, VAST swathes of the US with zero coverage whatsoever - there's literally 2 million square miles with no population or coverage - that's nearly 58% of the lower 48. So that'd reduce your ratio to 13 times. Then you figure that the US population is 4 times that of Germany, so saying that it's 26 times more painful for a US carrier to tower the US than a German is entirely inaccurate.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#498

Post by Dylan16807 »

foobarqux wrote: post #216
miahi wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's Google, they have plenty of cash, do they really need to invest the float of a $20 data plan?

No, they could make a business unit less profitable than it could be. They can also afford to throw money away, it doesn't mean that they should.

The point is they don't need to do that to such an extent that it will affect the plans offered. It's a nice bonus, but no more than a bonus.
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