So I purchased my cell phone when Bush Jr. was president. It's old and battered and doesn't hold a charge well and I feel like it's time to get a smartphone.
In unrelated news, Apple just announced it's releasing a super-sized iPhone that will fit quite comfortably in my large, meaty hands.
However, having a smartphone means I need a data plan of some sort if I hope to truly have the internet in my pants. I have no idea what a reasonable data limit should be. I believe I'd be fairly light on the bandwidth, but I might find more data intensive uses for my phone. So how much data is on your plan?
5 gig and I use it mostly on audio streaming on my commute. I used 1 gig and it was music last month.
ReplyDeletewe share a 500MB plan from VZ, after checking our usage for the year. the only time usage went over 100MB was the first month when they activated my phone, and it tried pulling over my tablet apps from the Play Store across 4G. we pretty much only have smart phones because the dumb phones we were shown sucked (grandma-style 0-features)
ReplyDeleteRead the fine print for your carrier to understand what happens if you exceed the limit. Usually there's a charge based on how much you exceed, but on some carriers (T-mobile) there's a maximum to the charge (I.e., your maximum penalty for picking won't is small).
ReplyDeleteSome carriers will alert you if you Gert close to your limit and/or have a highly visible app for your phone to keep track of your usage. On those carriers, it's pretty easy to upgrade your plan if you chose too low.
Big users of data are streaming music, streaming video, and using your phone to create a WiFi hotspot then downloading huge file on your laptop.
If you spend most of your life near a WiFi network, you will probably use very little data on the cell network.
I have a unlimited plan with T-Mobile. I used between 1-3.5 GB per month according to my phone. More when I'm not at a friend's home with WiFi. I also use more when I'm using Google maps navigation a lot.
ReplyDeleteI also have T-mobile with the unlimited plan. I have no idea how much I actually use, because ignorance is apparently how I roll.
ReplyDeleteI've got an unlimited plan, but I've never used more than 5GB in a month. Most months is less than 2 for the two of us.
ReplyDeleteAnd the cell carriers totally missed the "Internet in my pants" marketing opportunity.
Erika, my phone has a report I can roll back month by month to look at.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting over at the T-Mobile table as well, unlimited plan. I use my phone for navigation, texting, several email accounts, constant Internet and social media (seriously, I gotta stop that), camera, and occasional phone call. I also run a usability test on it every now and then. I imagine that's a lot of data, but I don't actually check the amount. T-Mobile also has unlimited data in Canada for my use.
ReplyDeleteI have AT&T (half based on inertia, half on being the only carrier that got coverage in my previous place of employment) and have a 1GB/month plan. Since I'm usually near wifi that I can use and don't stream media, I've yet to come close to reaching my limit. Most of what I do with it is (gasp!) talk on the phone but do regularly check FB and use GPS. I suspect that if you aren't committed to streaming netflix on your phone or video chatting when out of wifi range, you'd be fine with 1GB or less. I'd recommend starting low and if you find yourself reaching a limit, your carrier is likely to be more than happy to bump you up to a bigger data plan without penalty.
ReplyDeleteIf TMobile's good in your area, start off with their 1GB plan. When you hit the limit, they'll just slow down the speed rather than cut you off or bill you for more. Up it later if you need to. (I'm on a 200MB AT&T plan, but I'm about to switch to 1GB TMo.)
ReplyDeleteI have a grandfathered unlimited AT&T plan with three phones on it (me, Susan, my mom). We have never gone over 10 GB a month collectively and usually don't come close to that. I do between 1.5 and 3 GB a month.
ReplyDeleteI bumped down to T-Mobile's half-gig plan because I wasn't using any more than that each month. Even though I get close each month, there's basically no penalty for overage.
ReplyDelete