The AP sheds light on Verizon's decision to migrate toward shared phone plans:

Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest cellphone company, is dropping nearly all of its phone plans in favor of pricing schemes that encourage consumers to connect their non-phone devices, like tablets and PCs, to Verizon's network.

Verizon's new "Share Everything" plans, announced Tuesday, include unlimited phone calls and texting, and will start at $90 per month for one smartphone and 1 gigabyte of data. If used only with a smartphone, "Share Everything" prices are lower than for current plans with unlimited calling and texting, but higher than plans with limited calling and texting.

Color me less than enthused. When most consumers think of shareable data plans, they imagine adding unlimited devices to a set data limit. Yet Verizon is attempting to skirt around the issue by offering unlimited voice and text (who really needs that anymore?), while still capping data across all devices. Plus, one smartphone with 1GB starts at $90, and additional smartphones add another $40 to the bill.

Since Verizon will only leave one "dumbphone" plan alive after the transition, this move will prove very costly to customers who have used the company's cheaper phone plans.

Which is exactly what Verizon wants. The best value for the consumer rarely provides the greatest profit.