Get Ready to Be Gouged, Verizon Plans on Tiered 4G Data Pricing

We were a little worried that the change over to 4G mobile data standards like LTE and WiMAX would get expensive for consumers. ON the heels of Sprint's announcement that users of the EVO 4G would have to pay a $10 premium for data, Verizon is talking about a tiered pricing model for LTE data when it launches. Instead of allowing "unlimited" plans (5GB data cap), Big Red may instead charge different fees based on the amount of data used.

This might be a good deal for people that only use a little data, but in the future with much faster data connections, who's only going to use a little data? The thing to be aware of is that LTE data networks are expected to be much more efficient at delivering data. Carriers may only incur a half or one-third of the costs per megabyte of data on LTE as they do now. All things considered, we'd be surprised if even the cheap plans are a good deal.

Of course, we won't know how bad of a deal we're getting until LTE rolls out. Verizon is expecting the first round of LTE handsets to be available in early 2011. These will be LTE for data only, much like the EVO 4G uses WiMAX only for data. Verizon expects to be using LTE for voice calls by 2012. How much wireless data do you use in a month? Would you like a tiered pricing structure?

Nexus One for Sale by at Least One Third Party

Google announced last week that the Nexus One would soon be making an appearance in third-party retail channels, and now we've seen the first example of that. An online phone retailer and T-Mobile affiliate called iWireless is now offering the Nexus One, but it's going to cost you. The iWireless price for the Nexus One is $299.95 AFTER 2 year contract discount. By comparison, Google is only charging $179 for customers that agree to a new contact.

Google did say they hoped to get the Nexus One into more retail channels, but they also said people wanted to try the phone in real life. This iWireless deal doesn't really change anything about how people get the phone, other than costing them more. It's possible we'll see the Nexus show up in T-Mobile retail stores. The carrier does not currently have a similar high end Android handset like Verizon and Sprint do.

The only benefit customers on the iWireless site have is the ability to choose more inexpensive plans than the Even More 500 Google requires. But that small savings is dwarfed by the $121 premium you'll be charged.

Google Announces Android 2.2 "Froyo" at I/O Event

Google has officially announced Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo. The new smartphone software comes with a plethora of improvements. One big addition to the platform is the new Just In Time (JIT) compiler. Google is claiming this new system will be able to run apps 2-5 times faster than the old Dalvik compiler. Google is also rolling out a cloud-to-device messaging API that looks like a sort of push notification system on steroids. Instead of just popping up a message, the system can launch apps or deliver data like map coordinates.

The rumored W-Fi hotspot functionality is on board as well. But the browser can make better use of that data as well. Google is updating the browser with the new V8 JavaScript engine which should double the speed of code execution. Flash 10.1 is on track for a public release next month, but will require Froyo. The Android Market is getting a boost with auto updates, and a web-based store with over the air downloads. Apps can also be moved to the SD card, but this feature must be enabled by developers. Finally, there is a slightly revamped home screen with links at the bottom of the screen that open the phone and web browser.

No word on official release dates. Google just said the new software would be out in the coming weeks. We assume that means it will be out for the Nexus one and maybe the Droid. Phones running a modified version of Android are likely in for a longer wait. Did you hear what you wanted from Google today?