[kwlug-disc] android phone, anyone?

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

The catch? They charge more for data than on the original phone. They can
>> easily detect that because the IMEI number is different. But there is a
>> business
>> reason for this: the Motorola used a WAP proxy and hence the pages I
>> browsed
>> were converted to a very small size byte wise. With the HTC phone, I was
>> browsing
>> the web as it is, graphics and all. So the $0.05 per page price no longer
>> applies.
>>
>> Bottom line: they detect that you changed the phone, not via any hidden
>> firmware
>> or all that, but a simple match of the SIM vs. the IMEI number. They let
>> you use the
>> handset you chose, with the above caveat re: data.
>>
>
> I don't think what you're saying is strictly true. I asked Rogers about
> this recently when they were advertising $1/day PAYG (Pay As You Go)
> maximums.
>
> Turns out that the different charges you talk about result from which of
> two proxies your phone is programmed to use. (No reason you can't program
> both in, and choose which data connection you want when you initiate a data
> connection. I'm suspect - never tried it though.)
>
> I'm not yet convinced it's the hardware itself.
>
> One is the wide open internet you talk about, and the resulting charges,
> and the other uses 'goam'.
>
> See below. They claim I can't 'goam' because I have a PDA, but I suspect
> it's merely that I haven't (yet?) programmed that gateway in.
>

The way it happened is that I was getting the $0.05 per page rate on my Pay
As You Go plan when I was on the Motorola phone. That phone had no keyboard
and typing on phone pad drove me crazy, plus the tiny screen, ...etc.

So, I got an unlocked HTC with a keyboard. I got Opera Mobile, and then went
online. When I checked my transactions online, I saw the rate was no longer
$0.05 per page, but rather closer to $2 per page or so. When I called them
they said "Are you using a phone that is not a Rogers phone"? So they did
detect that somehow. Could be the fact that I did not have a proxy, or could
be the IMEI, but they did detect it.


> wireless.inq at rci.rogers.com wrote, On 11/04/2009 3:34 PM:
> > Dear Sir/Madam
> >
> > The Palm Treo 680 is a PDA and therefore not compatible with the
> > $1/day (24 hrs) for unlimited browsing.
> >
> > Text messages or email to text are not included with the $1/day (24
> > hrs) for unlimited browsing.
> >
> > The $1/day (24 hrs) unlimited on-device browsing provides access to
> > GOAM (goam.com) WAP browsing.
> >
> > Thank you for choosing Rogers, we appreciate your business. If you
> > have further questions do not hesitate to reply to this email or
> > contact us at 1-800-575-9090 Monday-Friday 9am-6pm local time.
> >
> > For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please
> >
> > Regards,
> > Terry D.
> > Rogers Online Customer Service
> > http://www.rogers.com
>
>
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-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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