Comments on: So what is a gigabyte for mobile users, anyway?

By: Coolrocks

Coolrocks — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:37:33 +0000

According to my monthly bill, I use less than 600MB non-wifi data per month. I use wifi on my device at home. I stream music, watch YouTube, almost everyday.

By: Steve Crowley

Steve Crowley — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 20:27:37 +0000

These tools help but assume all smartphones are the same; they’re not. A Blackberry will use less data for web browsing compared to other smartphones, for example, due to the compression used in the RIM network. There is also reported to be an operating system dependency — iOS vs. RIM vs. Android.

By: Janisys

Janisys — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:28:29 +0000

This sounds like a conspiracy to me. Data caps make smartphones to be underutilized. It was good when phones were downloading files in kilobytes. The caps just take the smart out of smart phones. The carriers are just exploiting us because of our data dependent phones.

By: Luscious

Luscious — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:31:15 +0000

Carriers in the US still don’t get it – people are sick and tired of counting geebees and sick and tired of paying overage charges!!! Give me a data plan that let’s me use my smartphone, netbook and 4G MiFi device the way it was designed to work, simple as that!

I seriously doubt that it costs a Hamilton to deliver a gigabyte when carriers such as Clearwire and Sprint still offer uncapped 4G, and in some cases can do it for as low as $19/month. I really don’t think Verizon would be promoting a 10GB plan at $8/GB if they were loosing money over it.

The blame here I feel lies to a heavier degree on the FCC. Every handset/data device sold in the US must go through them for approval first. Millions of these devices are in use today. Yet the commission has failed to regulate or enforce carriers to have in place a network infrastructure capable of handling the data traffic these devices require, and provide consumers with a satisfactory experience.

I don’t consider myself a heavy user, but I do work on the road frequently, and I use well over 10GB per month. My usage is in fact well closer to 25GB. Where does that leave me as a tech-savvy mobile professional in the carrier’s marketing materials?

I’m certain Verizon would not have created such a big stink if they would have matched Clearwire and Sprint with an unlimited 4G plan.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:52:16 +0000

You can’t install Need for Speed Shift on iPhone over 3G. There’s a 20MB limit – unless you’re jailbroken… :) Just saying. Also, why are Verizon’s overages @$10 per GB cheaper than the initial plan??? That’s absurd.

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Roaming’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax, but you’re right. ;) I’m fixing the calcs as noted in my comment to VW. Thanks, Paul!

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:00:00 +0000

VW, you’re correct; I see an issue in my calcs and fixing now. Thx!

By: Danilo

Danilo — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:52:30 +0000

In Brazil we are Ph.D on tiered data plans. Here in some carriers we use 300Mb, 1Gb or more(Depending on the plan) after that we have to use mere 64Kbps or pay a high price to maintain the same speed/capacity.

By: VW

VW — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:11:44 +0000

Your numbers are woefully low. A 720P video should be around a gig an hour. I had slingbox on for an hour and a half the other day on Sprint Wimax and it consumed over a gig. Streaming an hours work of music at 192 will be around 86 megs not 8.6

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:09:10 +0000

Are you sure these calculations are correct? 192kbps*3600 seconds = 86.4MB according to my Win7 calculator. 40 hours of commuting a month while listening to music gets you 2.5GB of traffic right there.

And if you’re roaming in Canada, 1GB will cost you around $10,000.