Google Fi

[bandrews]

So, new Google wireless service.

Say hi to Fi: A new way to say hello

Good if you:

- Have a Nexus 6

- Live in the US

- Have Sprint/T-Mobile coverage

The number of people in the centre of that Venn diagram can't be massive.

 

[MRU]

Typical .... chances of seeing it in Ireland despite Google HQ being here? Non. Were only good for tax evasion purposes

 

[pdqgp]

How can google be so big and so bad at the same time?

IMO Google needs to hire a marketing team. They come up with some crazy things but can't market or promote them to save their life. I watched the video and still had no idea what it was promoting. Not until I read some comments here. Spit it out already.

Also, am I to understand that you have to buy a new phone to make this work? Is the pricing per device or a family plan?

Dear Google.....you suck at marketing and promoting even cool ideas. Hire Apple, split some profits and perhaps you will succeed.

 

[bandrews]

Typical .... chances of seeing it in Ireland despite Google HQ being here? Non. Were only good for tax evasion purposes

Can't see UK getting it any time soon either. Much like Apple Pay/Google Wallet and loads of other things.

----------

IMO Google needs to hire a marketing team. They come up with some crazy things but can't market or promote them to save their life. I watched the video and still had no idea what it was promoting. Not until I read some comments here. Spit it out already.

Also, am I to understand that you have to buy a new phone to make this work? Is the pricing per device or a family plan?

Dear Google.....you suck at marketing and promoting even cool ideas. Hire Apple, split some profits and perhaps you will succeed.

If you have a Nexus 6, no.

But you're spot on about everything else!

 

[Michael Goff]

If you have good Sprint coverage, why not just pause 60$ for unlimited everything?

 

[Breaking Good]

I've already requested an invite. So soon as I get it I'm buying a Nexus 6 and going all in.

OK. I'm not really going all in. I'm going to set up a new number. If it ends up working I'll cancel my AT&T line and stick with Google Fi. If it doesn' work I'll cancel my Google Fi account and replace my HTC One M7 with the Nexus 6.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have an employer provide iPhone 4 on AT&T with UTnT. So most people call/text me on that any way.

Still, I'm excited about this.

 

[AppleRobert]

Quoted:

"Since it's hard to predict your data usage, you'll get credit for the full value of your unused data. Let's say you go with 3GB for $30 and only use 1.4GB one month. You'll get $16 back, so you only pay for what you use."

Me likes, better than T-Mobile's stash which many will never use.

 

[Breaking Good]

If you have good Sprint coverage, why not just pause 60$ for unlimited everything?

I think that Google Fi only makes sense for somone using 2 GB of data or less a month.

As you point out, once you get above that, the pricing is pretty much on par with other T-mo and Sprint prepaid or with the various MVNO's already out there.

With that said, I believe that Verizon once stated that most of its customers are using less than 2 GB a month.

I just looked at Data Manager on my employer provided iPhone 4 and I'm using less than half a Gig a month.

Now that is just me, other people will obviously have different usage levels. But if you are checking e-mail, using a navigation app and occasionally surfing the Web, you are probably hard pressed to use more that a Gig of data in a month.

 

[bandrews]

One thing that's quite interesting is how they talk about international usage - data costing no more abroad than in the US. It would be great if they eventually roll this out internationally as the first global wireless service. I have friends all over the globe and have to make the choice of either getting a new local payg sim or swallowing the roaming charges.

 

[Lloydbm41]

IMO Google needs to hire a marketing team. They come up with some crazy things but can't market or promote them to save their life. I watched the video and still had no idea what it was promoting. Not until I read some comments here. Spit it out already.

Also, am I to understand that you have to buy a new phone to make this work? Is the pricing per device or a family plan?

Dear Google.....you suck at marketing and promoting even cool ideas. Hire Apple, split some profits and perhaps you will succeed.

Google has never really been into marketing or promoting anything. They seem content to build stuff and then see if it takes off. Or build stuff just to see if it can be done. Project Ara, Loon, Tango, Glass, etc are just a few of those projects.

And to be fair, Apple only has one product that they have to worry about and market, and that is the iphone. Over 2/3 of the profit comes from that one device. For Google, it is search and Chrome, and Google owns the category.

Success isn't always measured in the days profits, but in tomorrow's ideas.

 

[akuma13]

I think this service is useless for moderate/heavy smartphone users. The tiered data pricing is horrible for data hogs (which I am). The coverage and basic phone pricing is great though. I hope they introduce different plans later on. Doesn't make sense for Nexus users.

 

[Michael Goff]

I think that Google Fi only makes sense for somone using 2 GB of data or less a month.

As you point out, once you get above that, the pricing is pretty much on par with other T-mo and Sprint prepaid or with the various MVNO's already out there.

With that said, I believe that Verizon once stated that most of its customers are using less than 2 GB a month.

I just looked at Data Manager on my employer provided iPhone 4 and I'm using less than half a Gig a month.

Now that is just me, other people will obviously have different usage levels. But if you are checking e-mail, using a navigation app and occasionally surfing the Web, you are probably hard pressed to use more that a Gig of data in a month.

I have used over two gigs so far this month, sadly. I have 25 more days in this billing period.

 

[pdqgp]

Success isn't always measured in the days profits, but in tomorrow's ideas.

I see the point you're trying to make but in business, especially public entities, it's profits both today and in the future. I'm hardly a fanboy of either but when it comes to making money, Google is far from successful like Apple. They need to really sharpen up how they function IMO.

 

[Lloydbm41]

I see the point you're trying to make but in business, especially public entities, it's profits both today and in the future. I'm hardly a fanboy of either but when it comes to making money, Google is far from successful like Apple. They need to really sharpen up how they function IMO.

Wait, you are measuring a company that has been in the business for 40 years and has been building a war chest of profits and loyal fanbase since 2001 to a company younger than the invention of the iPod? How many billions in profits does Google have to make to be considered successful in your eyes?

 

[lazard]

I see the point you're trying to make but in business, especially public entities, it's profits both today and in the future. I'm hardly a fanboy of either but when it comes to making money, Google is far from successful like Apple. They need to really sharpen up how they function IMO.

not sure how a $367B company that dominates the industry that they're in is far from successful.

 

[sniffies]

We're only good for tax evasion purposes

Oh, and some beer too.

 

[pdqgp]

Wait, you are measuring a company that has been in the business for 40 years and has been building a war chest of profits and loyal fanbase since 2001 to a company younger than the invention of the iPod?

Yes. That's life. Also, the Apple we know today really didn't come about to be what they are until much later in their life.

How many billions in profits does Google have to make to be considered successful in your eyes?

when compare to Apple......more than Apple or at least as much as Apple. Why....because my comment was specifically about Google vs Apple.

not sure how a $367B company that dominates the industry that they're in is far from successful.

I noted "Google is far from successful like Apple" thus compared to Apple. Revenue is one thing but profitability is THE thing. Again, not a fanboy of Apple, but kudos to them for doing what they have done.

The whole point of my original comment still stands. Google is the king of data collection but they are horrible at marketing and I don't really see the value in this except perhaps speed of their service which for high capacity users like their deal with Starbucks will be good.

 

[diamond.g]

I signed up, get a new number just as a trial. To be honest this is the route I was hoping Apple would have gone back in 2007. Shoot if anything Apple would likely have more success doing this with the next iPhone than Google will with the Nexus 6...

 

[Fernandez21]

It doesn't seem like that great of a deal. Currently I'm paying $150 for 30gb with at&t, and that also includes unlimited calls and text.

 

[Lloydbm41]

It doesn't seem like that great of a deal. Currently I'm paying $150 for 30gb with at&t, and that also includes unlimited calls and text.

$150 for just 30gb? Ouch.

I have 2 phones with 1 Petabyte of data for $100 per month. I usually use about 1/100000 of that allotment.

 

[Fernandez21]

$150 for just 30gb? Ouch.

I have 2 phones with 1 Petabyte of data for $100 per month. I usually use about 1/100000 of that allotment.

Well, I was coming from unlimited when I switched to that when at&t had double the data deal, but I guess I was just hoping Google was going to really blow things up, but instead have pricing that's slight better for light users.

And I do routinely use around 20gb a month, and last month I actually hit 40gb, luckily I had a little over 10gb rollover from the month before.

 

[rui no onna]

I have 2 phones with 1 Petabyte of data for $100 per month. I usually use about 1/100000 of that allotment.

Even with unlimited data, unless your mobile data speed is ~3 Gbps, you don't have 1 PiB of data per month. At most, you have 31 TiB (assuming constant 100 Mbps throughput for 30 days, 24/7).

 

[Cnasty]

So clarify my dumb question, you dont need to have Sprint or TMobile to utilize this? I would basically cancel my ATT and join this Google Fi stuff.

Seems Texas is all LTE or at least on their coverage map where I am in the DFW area which is awesome.

 

[rui no onna]

So clarify my dumb question, you dont need to have Sprint or TMobile to utilize this?

Seems like it. Looks like Google is acting as MVNO for Sprint and T-Mobile but with the ability to dynamically switch between the two networks as well as wifi.

 

[Cnasty]

Problem for me is my wife will never own a Nexus 6.

So unless she stays on ATT and I use this, we will always have 2 bills and not sure if the cost savings is there.