yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[EVO 4G General] mbaseball3:
Even with the fee and insurance, its cheaper than cheapest Verizon plan. No way in hell would I be complaining. Phone is already badass without 4G imo.

Sent from my Evo
[EVO 4G General] SilverZero:
Sigh . . . I'm loathe to keep pumping life into a thread like this, but I have to make a couple of points.

1) It's not a 4G fee. It's an extra fee imposed upon users of high-end smartphones that will probably be using a lot more bandwidth than other users. It's basically another tax that can be used to increase infrastructure and expand service, so someday we'll ALL have 4G (or whatever Sprint decides to use in the end). Call it unfair, call it pointless, call it a good thing, whatever . . . just don't call it a 4G fee. You might as well say it's a 4.3" screen fee.

2) When you say something like "$10 is nothing to complain about" you sound like a total douche. To some people, $10 is something. Some people are responsible and keep to a budget. Some people don't have their daddy paying their cell phone bill. Heck, some people are quite well-off but didn't get that way by throwing money around with no thought. I personally switched from T-Mobile to a Sprint family plan and I'm paying almost 40% less for my Evo and my wife's Hero than I was for our two calling-only plans and texting packages at T-Mo. For me, $10 is something, but I'm better off than I was before, so it's worth it. That's not to say I'm making a decision to spend that $10 extra so I can have my Evo, but I understand that it was a choice I made. Maybe $10 is nothing to you, but that's either because you've got plenty of money, have somebody else paying the bill, are on an allowance from your parents (or a trust fund), or you just don't understand how to manage your money - in which case you probably won't have that problem for long.

3) If you have an Evo, pay the fee. If you don't want to pay the fee, don't get an Evo or any other new superphone from Sprint, because they'll all have the fee from here on out. If you want to write something, write to Sprint and petition them to waive the fee in exchange for limited bandwidth or something.

Ah . . . mountain pine.
[EVO 4G General] pho75:
So instead of Sprint users paying the extra fee, you want everyone else to do also?. "Don't punch me in the stomach, but if everyone else gets punched also, then it's cool." Non thinking selfish tard.
[EVO 4G General] Brutal-Force:
This is the most quotable phrase I have heard this year. I hope you don't mind if I borrow it.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to be ripped off, but if your using a 400 dollar phone + 100 dollar service plan and can't afford it, then maybe you should start there instead of *****ing about the price. Its about bang for your buck, and while Sprint isn't exactly cheap, vs. The "Other 3" you certainly get better bang for your buck. I have yet to have anyone show me internet speeds on their phone that are even close to mine. Not to mention they have just upgraded the $7 dollar insurance plan.
[EVO 4G General] aggie6600:
If $10 is something to you then you shouldn't be buying a high end phone. It like buying a desiel truck and then complaining because desiel is $0.50/gal higher than gas. You should have known that before you bought it.
[EVO 4G General] Award Tour:
Oh, so it is a 4G fee because that's exactly what you explained. You have access to 4G, maybe not in your area but in others. And you're also paying for the 51% buyout of Clear and it's pending 4G infrastructure roll out so that 4G will eventually get to your area. How is that not a 4G fee?

..and to your second point, you're not being forced to pay for anything. Just don't get a 4G phone. Don't like the fact that all high end phones are 4G? Then go to another carrier. You see how that works? You're not even forced to use Sprint.
[EVO 4G General] fachadick:
The only point I'll add to this thread is that the fee is NOT for uncapped data (as someone mentioned earlier), the uncapped data is built into the unlimited data plans. The fee just gives you access to the 4g network, not how much data you get on that network.

Sent from my blah blah blah blah
[EVO 4G General] werxen:
Its a big bull**** fee for sure - these white knight Sprint zealots are mentally incapable of processing some things.

First argument:

Don't like the $10 don't get an Evo.

- Sure this may sound easy and expected but it boils down to more than this. The Evo and the Epic are pretty much the only decent smart phones that Sprint has. We can buy an outdated Pre or Hero but will be limited in our web access and experience. Not only are these phones hardware restricted which will prevent future Android updates, but are also limited in their current capabilities. Correct me if I'm wrong, is the Hero still rocking 2.1? All things considered when Android is open-source, someone is making bank off just supplying PHONES.

Second argument:

Don't like the $10 go with "x" carrier.

- This again is stupid. Sprint is the only carrier that gives service in my area. Need I say more? I had T-mobile prior and was getting 1 bar and constantly dropped calls.

Third argument:

Its for 4G.

- Great. Even removing the fact that MOST of us with Evos don't have 4G and probably won't get 4G - the service itself has proved not to be 4G. You might get lucky but after reviewing Engadgets speed averages Sprints 4G is comparable to ATTs fastest 3G but with a 1mbit upload cap. Nice.

All in all - if the $10 was actually justified aka I could see results from it I would have no problem. So far I have seen a medicre phone with good service and lousy 4G performance. I don't think its justified but seeing as how its Sprint or nothing I don't really have a choice.

Lastly, everyone will say oh well its STILL cheaper. Big deal. Just because America is more ethical than Saudi Arabia does it mean that we do everything ethical? No. I can smell better than a homeless person it does not mean that I don't still smell like ****. The amount of logical fallacies that are present in the arguments of the Sprint white knights is absolutely breath taking. On one hand we have average people asking wtf and getting flamed on the other hand we have people like DirtyShroomz who works for Sprint and pays $0 a month for this crap *****ing about people who actually HAVE to pay for this phone.

Get over it - I'm right you're wrong. Its not a matter of maturity its a matter of education.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
You're points are completely.... I can't even find a word for it.

It's as simple as many have said "you are not forced to Sprint, get another phone or switch carriers". Don't have any other carriers in your area, well then damn, you really are in a ****ty position at this point - deal with it, I'm sure there is a reason you live there (and it's not because of a phone). It's almost like that car commercial said "if your winters are tougher than this, you don't need a new car, you need a new place to live."

Asking questions to be educated is completely acceptable but constantly complaining about something you have complete control over (meaning you have CHOOSE something else) is not - it's just a stupid business decision on your part purchasing something you don't agree with. What you're doing is high-fiving your best friend for sleeping with your wife.
[EVO 4G General] Brutal-Force:
Just because you don't see it, means its not justified? I don't know but, your reaching. Its Sprint and every other's carrier's fault that you chose to live in a place where their cell signals can't penetrate? Every marketing strategy is based off of reaching the most people with the least amount of work. They are not going to cater to every remote hick living in the mountains of Alaska, and to even expect that is ridiculous.

The $10 fee is Sprint's cost of doing business (even if its not, that is how they calculate it). Every company strong arms us helpless consumers, and as it has already been pointed out, speak with your money, its what I do. You could go to Walmart and get a $50 phone plan and save back your Cancellation fee in 4 months, and have Cell/test/data. But you would complain about that too.

I do not think that $10 is chump change, but I want the best bang for my buck and a 500kbps download speed for $35-50 is not what I call bang for my buck.... but then I also live in a 4G area. If you don't live in a 4G area or one that would be getting it soon, then getting a EVO or a EPIC was STUPID. You would have been better off with a DROIDX, BUT GUESS WHAT?!?!? Verizon is more expensive. You could have gotten a G2, AGAIN, MORE EXPENSIVE. Get over it, Sprint is not ripping anyone off, anymore than another carrier. But unfortunately if you bought a EVO or EPIC in hopes of 4G (I hope you read up on this phone), then sorry to disappoint. The smartest thing to do would be cut your losses, sell your phone pay off the ETF and move to a different carrier.

FWIW, My mother, brother, sister in law, aunt, and grandmother are with Verizon. They all have recently bought the Droid (Not the X) and they love it. So if you want to be cutting edge and play with the newest toys. THEN PAY FOR IT AND QUIT CRYING!
[EVO 4G General] Sporkman:
wow the **** spewing from your mouth is unreal
[EVO 4G General] firemedic1343:
I hate paying the $10 bucks...but I hate paying for anything and everything...I like free!

Seriously, it's still the cheapest I could find...so, they can call it whatever they want, it's their business model and it attracted ALL of us!

That being said, if any of the other major carriers were cheaper I'd jump ship like a rat in fire.
[EVO 4G General] uniquenameevo:
I'm torn between whiny, childish, and stupid.

The dude running that website is wasting at least $50/month in his time (assuming he makes $10/hour) *****ing to Sprint and the world about it. Hell, I probably waste $10/month in my time reading this "$10 is stupid" crap.
[EVO 4G General] firemedic1343:
I'm one of those people who read the conclusion and then I go back and read the rest. After reading your closing argument...well...a I feel a bit stupider for being on this thread. I bet your momma raised you to think you were better than everyone else cause you edge-umacated :D Keep being you! It's hilarious! :D
[EVO 4G General] firemedic1343:
Haha, I know, why do I keep reading these stupid threads...it's like the rubber neckers on the freeway
[EVO 4G General] topdawgn8:
These $10 fee threads need a mandatory [FACEPALM] in the header.
[EVO 4G General] backdown:
I say we sue sprint for them telling us about the 10$/month fee before we signed our contgract. We didn't question it then, and we still got the phone. That's sue worthy, correct?!

/sattire.
[EVO 4G General] GaryJ51:
The best part is that no one is forced to buy anything. After all, it's still a fee country!
[EVO 4G General] backdown:
Not uh, having a cell phone through sprint is mandatory..right?
[EVO 4G General] tgruendler:
This thread is turning into the $0.01 case on Amazon thread!!! :)
[EVO 4G General] BrianDigital:
Get used to it guys almost everyone complains about everything on here nowadays, either a fee they agreed to, or the hardware in the phone in which they knew it was there in the first place
[EVO 4G General] Blitzpwnage:
I'm almost inclined to say yes in current america....the frivolous lawsuits that have taken place are proof that someone if in the right place could sue for this.
[EVO 4G General] GaryJ51:
This is as much fun as listening to Dennis Miller in the afternoon.

Just remember, you get what you pray for!
[EVO 4G General] firemedic1343:
Bump...this is an insightful post...can't let it die!

www.MeanCanary.com
[EVO 4G General] werxen:
Oh shiiii I forgot no Sprint rep I have ever talked about knows what the fee is for yet all the wiseguys in XDA/subsectionEvoGeneral know! Dayum what was I THINKING for possibly bringing up a concern about how a company is blatantly adding an extra charge for.....

The people flaming the complainers are the same yet the only difference is you guys complain about complainers. How sad is that. Enjoy your crying.
[EVO 4G General] Semantics:
I dont live in a 4G area, and I honestly don't mind paying the extra 10 dollars for the 'experience', but I will say in all honesty that when I purchased my phone they never told me there would be a 10 dollar premium free. It never came up, and when I saw it on my bill and called Sprint, someone from a distant land tried to explain it to me in a language resembling English, but I just gave up and I got over it in about five minutes.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
Why do you insist on complaining about something that you know you are completely wrong about? Does complaining to yourself make you feel better?

Sprint reps know what the fee is for, now how they explain it might not be what you want to hear. FYI they are strictly told to NEVER say it's for 4G, so don't expect that answer from any of them. Why is it so hard for you to cancel and go elsewhere if you hate your provider so much?
[EVO 4G General] Explainthefee:
I run the website in my spare time between juggling a full time job (that I get paid way more than $10/hour) and my 3 month old son.

I do not see my claims as "*****ing" to Sprint, but simply not backing down and just accepting any answer that they provide.. If you're told you must pay your cable company another $30 a month because you just purchased a new 60" LCD TV to replace your 32" LCD unit in the bedroom, would you just pay up or would you maybe ask "Why"?

On my site, there is an "About Me" section that the following comes from:

I understand that I'm not bound to Sprint and I understand that other companies might be cheaper, but again, that is not the point. There is a principle that many people might lose sight of. It's very easy to back down from something and just accept that things will always be that way. As long as I have time to make a new post here and there, I'll keep fighting.

I'm really shocked at the response of the replies on this thread. A lot of posters are simply bashing the people who would ever question a large corporation's institution of a fee. I know that the people who share that viewpoint is thankfully not the majority of people who I've spoken to, as I've received countless emails and comments on my site by consumers who were not either aware of the fee and/or understand my goal.

I understand that the phone is $200 and my family plan is well over $100 a month, but in my eyes, an additional $10 a month for something that they cannot clearly explain nor define is not acceptable.

If you read my latest post, you'll see that I outline this very clearly. They claim that the "Premium Data" fee are for these things: 4G, Faster Speeds, Hardware, Software, More Data usage and even the ability to use the Hotspot feature.

That's it. That's all they've been able to provide me. I hope that you understand my point and read my blog, but if you do not accept this and still wish to view this in another way - I understand and respect your decision.

*Edit - clarified TV analogy
[EVO 4G General] fachadick:
welcome to xda - my question to you is simply this. Why does it matter what they tell you the fee is for? A fee is a fee is a fee. Instead of raising the plan costs by $10 across the board, they only raised it for a subset of users buying the their flagship phones. Are you really this upset over a marketing message?
[EVO 4G General] Award Tour:
This is what I hear: wah, wah, wha. You don't like their explanation? Don't get a "Premium" phone or leave Sprint completely. Speak with your money and not your crying. Sprint may not clearly say so but the rest of us already know what this fee is about, it's WiMax by the way, and we've made our choice.

The bottom line is this: If Sprint just suddenly started charging people a $10 fee out of the blue with no major changes to service, then yeah, you'd have a point. But that didn't happen. What did happen is that WiMax came to the scene and so far every "Premium" phone has been a WiMax phone that gives you that ability to connect to their WiMax network. We all know what this fee is about so stop calling clueless Sprint reps who probably know less about this than you. We also all had the option of either getting or ignoring a WiMax phone.

Admittedly, Sprint's stance on this was a little lame but I understand it. Call it a 4G fee and you'd have EVO/Epic users in non-WiMax areas complaining but they had to pay for that 51% Clear investment and future WiMax/4G coverage expansions somehow.
[EVO 4G General] uniquenameevo:
I saw the TV analogy argued ad nauseum a while ago. Thing is, it IS more per month if you have an HDTV with cable and want them to feed you the same damn signal that comes free over the air. Call it a "premium experience" if you will that you can not get on that old B&W unit.
[EVO 4G General] werxen:
Post removed
[EVO 4G General] fachadick:
thats funny - now that I think about it, I did pay more for my cable package (for a buch of channels that I would never watch), and then I had to pay extra again when I needed a cablebox with hdmi out when I got my hdtv. So yeah, I don't know how great the hdtv analogy is...
[EVO 4G General] fachadick:
Post removed
[EVO 4G General] Explainthefee:
I apologize, where I live in New York there is no extra charge for HDTV channels. You pay for the service.

This might be a better analogy:

If I have a 32" LCD TV and upgrade to a 60" LCD TV, my cable company isn't going to charge more.

I apologize for the "different" approach, but my point is the same.
[EVO 4G General] uniquenameevo:
The electric company will ;)

How could I resist?

When I put a supercharger in my car, I don't pay more for license tags, but I paid more for gas. It's a premium experience :D
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
I don't know where in NY you live but every company charges extra for your HD channels. Let's fix that, I don't get charged extra for my HD channel's either here in Florida through Brighthouse, but guess what, I guarantee you pay extra for your HD box, or your HD/DVR box! Same with the phone, you don't get charged extra for the "data you use" but you get charged extra for the phone!

As I said in my last comment, quit calling and complaining - agent's are STRICTLY told to never admit the charge is for 4G so you will never hear that from anybody over the phone. Point is you have OPTIONS and are not forced to purchase this phone. The phone comes with a fee, don't like it, don't buy it. Why is that so damn hard to understand?
[EVO 4G General] Explainthefee:
I have Cablevision which does not charge extra for a HD box - http://www.optimum.com/io/hdtv/hdtv_channels.jsp

Also, I am not contacting regular agents. I've spoke with "Executive Analysts" in the corporate department, which are far from regular agents. This department answered my BBB complaints and my corporate escalation requests.

I understand that regular agents have no authority to make changes and I respectfully agree that it would be a waste of both of our times to discuss this at that level. Again, that's a reason why I made the site - to get this noticed by the higher-ups.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
Straight from their terms.

Would you look at that... sounds just like... a fee! Did you create a website for them too?
[EVO 4G General] sanjsrik:
I don't know what charge you think you're being charged for extra for the HD for your cable service, but it's the same price as non-HD. And, yes, I live in NY.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
Nah here in Florida we just get charged an extra $1.25 or something like that for an HD box a month or $5 for an HD/DVR, some crap like that I don't even remember. I wish it was free like in NY, or at least that company you guys have up there, but it's not :(. Though, I would never create a website for it lol. Though you guys' HD/DVR is $10 more a month... ouch
[EVO 4G General] Explainthefee:
I apologize, I feel that this has gotten off topic from the original point.

You might not be familiar with Cablevision's terms, but this is what it states:

iO TV Packages: A digital cable box, HD digital cable box or CableCARD (each at an additional monthly charge)is needed for each television set to receive certain standard digital and HD services above Broadcast Basic and for some Broadcast Basic channels.

A digital cable box (non-HD) or a HD digital cable box is required to watch certain channels above the basic channels.

Regardless of the box, you pay the same price.

This can be used in the following example:

Basic Channels = Non "Everything" plans

Above Basic = "Everything" plans

Using this example, you can see that a non-HD box (3G only phones) and a HD box (dual-band phones), both are charged the same rate.

Hopefully that breaks it down for you.
[EVO 4G General] DirtyShroomz:
It's not that is has gotten off topic, it's that every single company has a "premium" charge. Even your cable company charges an extra $9.98 for an HD/DVR... they might not charge extra for just a standard HD box, but they do for an HD/DVR. Just like Sprint with their Evo and every other company out there for a "smart phone" as "data plan is required". The fact of the matter is, you are purchasing a piece of equipment far superior to any other equipment out there and most customer WILL use more data as it is easier to consume it (video chatting, facebook/myspace uploads due to the beautiful camera, large amounts of memory means more applications downloads, ability to connect to 4G and then turn it into a hotspot plus all the extra bloatware like footprints and crap most of us don't use but regular consumer do). Not to mention flash is now available and people spend their days playing games on websites. It's highly accessible and easy to consume with these phones, so they charge for it. This will help develop and implement the technology in different areas.

Btw, you don't get charged extra for an HD box but your standard prices are about $30 more a month than us here WITH us having an HD/DVR - sound familiar?
[EVO 4G General] fachadick:
it has gone off point (as analogies usually do around here), but be aware that not all cable companies work that way. For some of them getting an HD box with access to the HD channels is more expensive. Luckily for you, you're able to go with a cable provider that doesn’t have additional fees to get the premier HD experience from them. It's nice to have that choice in the marketplace, isn't it?
[EVO 4G General] uniquenameevo:
Honestly, what blows me away is you seem rational and at least of average intelligence. With that, do you really think the higher-ups will give a crap? In my opinion, you are 100% wasting your time and raising your stress level for nothing. By "for nothing", I mean it will not change.

You mention you make well over $10/hour. How many hours have you spent on the phone, creating the site, and spreading the word?

Do what you want...it's still a free country. I just don't personally understand it.