[EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] fachadick:
quite :)

The fact that you have a sero plan complicates things - on the simply everything plan or the everything data plans, it really is unlimited data - no cap at all, so there's no chance that you would be charged for any data, ever (as long as it's in network). I brought up the increased data usage as a reason why Sprint isn't able to keep the same price points on their plans and still offer the phone at that magical sub$200 price that consumers love. BTW, if you do plan on getting the evo on the sero plan, make sure you get something in writing about how the sero data cap works on the evo - becasue that $10 fee has nothing to do with unlimited data.

And again, you're right about that too. it is a **** deal for a minority of their customers. And it does suck that they couldn't afford to keep the plans the samefor everyone and still offer the phoen at $200. But they could have done it much worse - and sprint would be out of business in 2 years. Remeber how much money they've been losing, and how many customers have been leaving every quarter over the past few years? Even with that $10 fee, the evo actually turned all of that around for them, and now they're (almost) actually making money.

no worries

1. I would agree to that (in that the $10 does not specifically cover any actual hardware), but turn it around. You can pay full price for the evo and not get it activated, and just use it on wifi. The fee only comes into play when you activate that hardware (that you do rightfully own) on Sprint service. It's the usage of that hardware that comes into play.

2. i would not agree to that. The simple fact that the evo supports flash and the tp2 doesn't means that right off the bat, the stock browser will be using more data and giving you an arguably richer experience. Add to that all of the widgets and syncing involved with an android device, and the fact that the bigger screen makes streaming video much more enjoyable, and the fact that the evo gives you access to wifi tethering if you want/need it, and I would say that the experiences are in fact, different. And I hesitate to bring it up again, but although I would never use the front facing camera on my phone, to a deaf person without wifi, it makes video chat (over the sprint network) a MUCH different experience - they simply don't have anything close to that type of solution with the tp2 (and you don't even have to be deaf, but it makes for a better argument :)). Again, it's what you can do with the hardware on sprints network, otherwise just use it on wifi and avoid all monthly fees.

3. correct - the $10 has nothing to do with bandwidth/data caps.

What you're getting is access to certain things that admitedly may not be important to you, or even matter. It it does suck that they force us to pay an extra fee. But why stop there? I never travel - why should I have to pay to get long distance or roaming included in my plan? I don't text message often, why do I pay for that in my plan? I use barely 150 minutes every month, why do I have to pay for a minumum of 450? I don't have 4g or use any of the features that the $10 is supposed to be for, why do I have to pay that? The answer to all of those questions is the same. Sprint has specific plans and charges set up and features that are required on certain devices. As much as it sucks, we have to pay the fee in order to use their service on the phone we want. Also keep in mind that isn't a a company lining their pockets with money from extra fees. The fact is, they needed to do this just to stay afloat, and rather than increase prices across the board, or increase the cost of the phone itself, they've limited the fee to just those who want a flagship device.

long story short (too late! :)), it sucks that theres a fee, but as long as sprint requires it, we'll have to pay it. It's no more unfair than any other fee, or rate increase, or additional charge, from any carrier, and at the end of the day, they still have the lowest priced rates, even with the extra fee.