Mobile Data: How much do you actually use?

[Umbran]

Complacency can be costly.

My wife and I aren't early-adopters. We are still feature-phone users. So, we were a tad surprised when a $50 charge for data use came up on our phone bill. Long story short, our current carrier is not interested in cutting us slack, so we are looking at other providers.

In doing so, I discovered that other major providers seem able to give us equivalent coverage for much less money. Or, we might continue to spend the same amount (since it fits in our budget) but become part of the modern era, and get smartphones.

The question of how much data we need then arises (and helps determine whether this would be a smart move).

So, a question for the collected folks of EN World - for those of you who use smartphones, how much data do you actually use in a month? And, are you streaming media on a regular basis?

 

[Morrus]

A couple of Gb per month; that includes a lot of podcasts and the like. All that's included in my deal, so I don't get charged extra.

Of course, wifi reduces those amounts a lot. Add in the wifi and I couldn't even begin to guess the total data amount.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I get 2.5 Gb included in my plan. Generally I don't use much. Lately, though, I've gotten pretty close to reaching that 2.5 limit. I've been playing that game Ingress, and it connects to the GPS, so it uses more data than I normally use. Fortunately, I have T-Mobile, so I actually get unlimited data. The first 2.5 Gb are 4G, anything after that gets slowed down, but at least I don't get charged anything for going over. T-mobile is hit or miss, though. Sometimes the reception isn't what I'd like it to be. Sometimes it's actually pretty good.

 

[Kramodlog]

From people around me, 5 Gb is a large quantity that you shouldn't bust.

 

[Dioltach]

I'm self-employed and work from home, so not being on the road much I suppose I'm not very representative. But I recently switched from pay-as-you-go to a subscription: before I had 200MB/month, and rarely ever went beyond 40MB. Now I have 750MB, because that was cheaper than less.

 

[Janx]

good question, ironically, I don't know how much I use, but I have the AT&T 4g data plan that iPhones usually get ($30/month).

I do not stream video, though sometimes I stream music.

Generally, I am at home with wifi than I am out wandering using 4g data.

So at most, my data plan helps me google something, map something or look up a movie time.

My android is being retarded at fetching my work email without me clicking a button to do so, so I don't use that for email at all really anymore.

I'd be wary of the smallest plans, especially when they are a 10th or less of the size of the next one up (AT&T's was like that, where it was so small, you could be assumed your first http request's header would use up the byte count.)

Otherwise, the middle ammount is likely good enough, assuming you'll be using wifi more than not.

 

[sabrinathecat]

I regret buying a smartphone.
Sure, it has saved me a couple of times when I forgot to do something ahead of time, but do I really need it? no.
Sadly, the phone companies here stopped stocking regular phones in their stores, on the assumption that people would only buy smartphones.
When my phone accidentally fell into a bucket of cleaner, I could buy a smartphone, or I could wait a week for my new phone to arrive in the mail. Yeah.
When this one starts to die, if I have advanced notice, I'll be switching back to as simple a phone as I can get.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Sadly, the phone companies here stopped stocking regular phones in their stores, on the assumption that people would only buy smartphones.

I'm pretty sure they did that so you would have to buy a smartphone, and they could sell you more expensive plans. I know some companies will require that you buy a data plan if you have a smartphone. So if you bought and iPhone, you'd have to buy whatever data plan they sold along with it. It's an easy way for them to bend you over.

 

[Umbran]

I regret buying a smartphone.
Sure, it has saved me a couple of times when I forgot to do something ahead of time, but do I really need it? no.

We are currently feature-phone users for just that reason. We just didn't need them.

My wife, however, has developed a need - a small device that will act as a GPS while on her motorcycle. Smartphone + Bluetooth earpiece in her helmet = turn-by-turn directions while on her bike. We can also replace her old iPod in the same action.

Coupled with being jerked around by our current provider, it seems like time for her at least to adopt new tech.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I use between 10-16 GB/month.

In fairness, there are reasons for that, like how I'm running a hotspot that is often providing wifi for others in my family- typically while in waiting rooms of doctors, etc.

But the other reason is that our in-home wifi does not cover the whole house, so I often use my hotspot at home. We have a wifi booster, which should alleviate that problem, but someone (not me) misplaced the instruction manual before I could do the setup. So right now, I'm trying to find the manual online...

And, while I have an iPhone4S, most of my personal usage is on my old iPod Touch and my iPad2. I have no love for smartphones, but it was actually cheaper for me to get the iPhone than a feature phone during my last upgrade.