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What amount of data usage to expect?

KlaymenDK

KlaymenDK

Android Expert
Hi,
I'm planning to buy the Galaxy when it comes out here in Denmark. I will be able to get a subscription with one of a number of tiers -- fixed monthly price, and corresponding max monthly data usage -- but I have no idea of what my expected data usage will be. Help!

[Disclaimer: Yes, I know this is not T-Mobile related per se; I would have posted in the "Android Carriers" forum if it were possible.]

I come from a Palm where everything is local, and I don't expect to be doing a lot of web surfing or radio streaming or whatever. I don't twit or face or whachammacallit, I just need a modern pda+phone solution -- but I will need frequent access to my address book, calendar, and note book (you know, pda-style usage), and I understand that all this will affect the data usage.

Also, I'm a little worried about the stories that an Android phone will 'ping' the network (which server? what for?) even if you have apparently disabled everything. I know there's the APNdroid, but I haven't understood if that also disconnects phone/texting ability.

So, what amount of data are you all consuming? Do you even know that figure, I mean, can you even tell from the phone or your bill?

I wouldn't mind going for a very low-tier subscription, but I imagine that I'd be charged severely for any additional usage, so there definitely is some sort of balance to be struck.

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Data points so far:
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20-40 Mb/mo -- typical email, a little web browsing, and the occasional Google Maps.
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just under 100 Mb/mo (but much is over WIFI which doesn't count) -- developers working on PC Remote software.
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Hoping for your insights,
Klay
 
KlaymenDK said:
Hi,
I'm planning to buy the Galaxy when it comes out here in Denmark. I will be able to get a subscription with one of a number of tiers -- fixed monthly price, and corresponding max monthly data usage -- but I have no idea of what my expected data usage will be. Help!

[Disclaimer: Yes, I know this is not T-Mobile related per se; I would have posted in the "Android Carriers" forum if it were possible.]

I come from a Palm where everything is local, and I don't expect to be doing a lot of web surfing or radio streaming or whatever. I don't twit or face or whachammacallit, I just need a modern pda+phone solution -- but I will need frequent access to my address book, calendar, and note book (you know, pda-style usage), and I understand that all this will affect the data usage.

Also, I'm a little worried about the stories that an Android phone will 'ping' the network (which server? what for?) even if you have apparently disabled everything. I know there's the APNdroid, but I haven't understood if that also disconnects phone/texting ability.

So, what amount of data are you all consuming? Do you even know that figure, I mean, can you even tell from the phone or your bill?

I wouldn't mind going for a very low-tier subscription, but I imagine that I'd be charged severely for any additional usage, so there definitely is some sort of balance to be struck.

Hoping for your insights,
Klay
Click to expand...

well, if you can ?? start high and then scale back if the carrier will allow that
In the US we also have a FlexPay so no contract so you can change things fairly easily
 
Hello,

Well, let's see...

Here we have several developers working on our PC Remote software (see my signature). We use on average a little less than 100 MB/month per person, but much of our "higher bandwidth" consumption is over WIFI (which, of course, doesn't count).

My wife has a G1 and does typical email, a little web browsing, and the occasional Google Maps use. She typically uses between 20 and 40 MB/month.

Your usage will depend on what software you use. If you get a lower plan, just be sure to keep an eye on what permissions the applications you download request: if they want "Full Internet Access," they will consume "some" bandwidth.

Check with your carrier. Most allow you to check usage on their website, and a weekly check for the first couple months will help keep you out of trouble.

Hope this helps!

Scott
 
(Bump)

I'd love to hear from a number of users about your monthly data consumption in relation to your usage pattern, so I can make an educated guess as to which subscription tier I should pick.

I can not start high and scale back (well, yes, after 6 months), but I could start low and scale up. But the lower tier I start with, the greater the bill for the phone itself (so it would be a less than ideal thing to do).

Scott, thanks for your input.

Meanwhile, I have confirmed with one telco (TDC) that 'over the limit' data usage is not insanely expensive, and I have finally had a short hands-on session with a Magic and have found it very nice and quite acceptable.
 
You might have realized that US users are less concerned due to unlimited data (the only way it is sold for us). But I always enjoy looking at my bill and seeing if I am getting my money's worth.

I have two G1s with varying usage patterns for both. Uploading say 1 video to youtube every 2 weeks. Uploading 5 photos to picasa web a week. Surfing, email, calendar, address book daily mulitple times. Maps 4 times a week. Some online gaming, weather pull every few hours. I would call one G1, moderate to heavy and the other moderate.

Last bill July 8:
Heavy - 440+ MB
Moderate - 191+ MB

June 8:
Heavy - 227+
Moderate - 170+

May 8:
Heavy - 376+
Moderate - 103+

If you need more data, let me know it does take a few minutes to pull it. Hope this helps (and doesn't scare you off.)
 
I use my data every chance I get, and have only ever been able to reach 1.4 GB of use.
Keep in mind that is with constant internet radio, data intensive sites, and basically trying anything to see how high I can get the data usage.

You would probably never go over 500 MB if you just use email, and occasional web browsing and Maps.

Good Luck with everything!
 
Demio said:
I use my data every chance I get, and have only ever been able to reach 1.4 GB of use.
Keep in mind that is with constant internet radio, data intensive sites, and basically trying anything to see how high I can get the data usage.

You would probably never go over 500 MB if you just use email, and occasional web browsing and Maps.

Good Luck with everything!
Click to expand...

Demio, did you just try downloading yt video constantly? I wonder what that would be like data wise.

Or try Qik, which is video uploading.

I wonder if you could shatter past the 1.4 GB mark with a tactic like that.
 
I'd say that how often you have access to WiFi is the biggest issue. I almost always have WiFi so I use no more than 20mb in a month but I use around a gig on WiFi.
 
samuelmaskell said:
I'd say that how often you have access to WiFi is the biggest issue. I almost always have WiFi so I use no more than 20mb in a month but I use around a gig on WiFi.
Click to expand...

You are the perfect person to ask. I have wifi access a lot and 3g access, but mostly I leave the phone edge. I want my battery to last as long as possible. Do you find wifi all the time impact battery?
 
As long as you have a connection it doesn't hurt the battery too much. If it's searching for a signal all the time it will really drain it. Still it does make a difference either way. If I have WiFi on all day the battery is almost dead by the time I go to bed or sometimes late evenings. Without WiFi I would probably have around 15-20% left.
 
samuelmaskell said:
As long as you have a connection it doesn't hurt the battery too much. If it's searching for a signal all the time it will really drain it. Still it does make a difference either way. If I have WiFi on all day the battery is almost dead by the time I go to bed or sometimes late evenings. Without WiFi I would probably have around 15-20% left.
Click to expand...

Thanks, not worth the hit. But great info.
 
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