Verizon 4G Devices Get Free Data in Temporary Promotion

If you are planning on buying the soon-to-be-released Droid Razr or Galaxy Nexus, then Verizon has just the promotion to get you to purchase a contract before the devices launch.

For a limited time, Verizon is offering to double a capped data plan for 4G users. Starting Nov. 8, Verizon will offer 4 gigabytes of data per month for $30. Also available are plans for 10 gigabytes and 20 gigabytes for $50 and $80 per month respectively. Normally, those plans would be for two, five and 10 gigabytes each, but the promotion doubles them, and there is no timetable given for how long the promotion will last, PC Magazine said in a blog post.

Verizon will debut the Droid Razr on Nov. 11, so this plan seems tailor-made for the new super thin device. Furthermore, sometime later this month the Galaxy Nexus will also debut on Verizon, although that device may not be exclusive to the carrier. Those details haven't been announced yet by the Samsung/Google team who are working on the Nexus.

Galaxy Nexus and Droid Razr are both next-generation devices that have the potential to use data very quickly on a 4G network, so Verizon's move here seems quite merciful. They could easily move to restrict data even more, but instead are loosening the reins on the U.S. fastest mobile network. Verizon isn't alone in its use of capped data plans. In fact, Sprint is the only major U.S. carrier to allow unlimited data plans for new customers.

Verizon has a data calculator where you can calculate exactly how much data you'll need. It looks at how many emails you send, how much music and especially video you stream. Video streaming is very data intensive and so is sending and downloading photos. If you upload and download just a couple photos per day, that's already 180MB per month or about 10% of a 2 gigabyte per month plan.

Tell us in the comments if you find the data cap a nuisance or if you've managed to keep your usage in check every month.

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