What is Sunbeam Premium?

Sunbeam Premium adds additional premium features available on your device. (The exact feature-set depends on the phone model). Sunbeam Premium and a data connection is needed for the following features:

Voice-to-Text: Consists of voice-to-text transcription for writing text messages. You simply press and hold the Message button while speaking, and your message is accurately typed out as text.

Weather:  Adds access to extended forecasts, additional hourly forecast, and radar in Weather.

Navigation: Adds Live Traffic, a POI Search (Points of Interest, such as businesses), and truck routing.

For pricing and purchase information, go here: https://sunbeamwireless.com/product/sunbeam-f1-premium-service/ 

Am I required to subscribe to the Sunbeam Premium subscription?

No. You can continue using the free version of weather and navigation without a subscription. You will need to subscribe to Sunbeam Premium to continue using the hourly weather and radar map functions in Weather and points-of-interest searching in Navigation beyond the 30-day free trial.

Do I still need a cellular service plan if I have Sunbeam Premium?

Yes, the Sunbeam Premium subscription is separate from a cellular service plan. You will need to purchase a cellular plan from a supported carrier, that includes data. Sunbeam Premium will not function without a stable data connection.

How much cellular data can I expect to use each month?

Well, it’s hard to say for sure, because it depends on the usage. I use an Orchid for my personal phone and do a lot of texting with it, almost exclusively using Voice-to-Text input, because it’s fast and accurate. Over the last several months my total data used for the month ranged from 116MB at the lowest to 220MB at the highest.  (The phone is not on WiFi either). The Voice-to-Text function is very frugal and only consumes a few kilobytes every time it’s used, so that doesn’t add up very quickly at all. The Weather service is also quite frugal with the data consumed if only getting the weather forecast. If the weather radar function is used (which I do a fair bit of) and there is a lot of panning and zooming of the map, as well as running the animated radar function, it can add up to a few MB per session. The Navigation service has the option to download the map data in advance (which I have done). If this is done, it cuts the Navigation data consumption down to almost zero. If this is not done, the Navigation function will download the map data on an as-needed basis and could add up, depending on how much it’s used.