$29.99 unlimited data worth it?

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

:sheesh: I'm glad I swung by here today. I had completely missed this news! Just signed up, not because I think I need it, but because I don't actually know how much I'll need, since I've only had it a month...

Is there a thread here that outlines the announcement? I'd like to submit it for Front Page.

this one
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85548

but this here thread (that we're in) points out the GOTCHAs best.

[=X=]

Prior to my BlackBerry I use to use about 60MB and thought I was a power user on months when I surged to 260MB


Since my BlackBerry I average about 2GB a month and have had several months when I exceeded 5GB.

I don't do anything elaborate or out of the norm so ATT has pretty much excluded me from ever joining them

Some of the activities I do on my phone are listen to music steam (Pandora/Slacker), download podcasts, books, email, and surf the web.


I guess is you plan on carring the iPad with you a lot you can easily eat up MB with such apps but if you only use it at home (where you have WIFI then it is not worth the price.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The only situation in which I suupose you might need a huge allownace would be for things like downloading movies.

Yep streaming a movie can be up to 3 GB for an HD movie--at least from what I've read about the netflix app on the Xbox 360 and about other streaming sources on PCs etc--I'd think it would be the same on the iPad, at least on WiFi. You get a lower quality stream over 3G so it uses less.

So unlimited is important if you stream a lot of video over 3G you may need it. If you don't and/or only stream on WiFi then most will probably never get close to the lower caps, much less the new 2GB cap for people not grandfathered in.

[kjk]

Clicker.com did an interesting test to see how much video you could stream under the new plans:
http://www.clicker.com/blog/how-much...ew-data-plans/

I don't really stream over 3G that much (mostly because AT&T just isn't that reliable in my area), but...I think I'm going to switch to an unlimited plan this weekend...just in case.

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by kjk

Clicker.com did an interesting test to see how much video you could stream under the new plans:
http://www.clicker.com/blog/how-much...ew-data-plans/

I don't really stream over 3G that much (mostly because AT&T just isn't that reliable in my area), but...I think I'm going to switch to an unlimited plan this weekend...just in case.

With the world cup coming up and the ability to stream all uk free channels via a few different apps on iDevices then this would be awful in the UK I believe streaming 100 mins of live football could be around 250 mb and there are like 20 matches next week.

US mobile deals seem extortionate.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by kjk

Clicker.com did an interesting test to see how much video you could stream under the new plans:
http://www.clicker.com/blog/how-much...ew-data-plans/

I don't really stream over 3G that much (mostly because AT&T just isn't that reliable in my area), but...I think I'm going to switch to an unlimited plan this weekend...just in case.

Just an update:
I had the $15/250M plan when I got my iPad in May, and actually ran out around the 25th, so re-signed up for the same $15/250M plan. Of course, a week later, AT&T changed their plans. I wavered, and decided to swallow that $15/250M plan I was in the middle of and switch to the unlimited plan before the June 7th deadline, just to be grandfathered in to the old plans.

I figured, given that it was AT&T, they would immediately start me on the $30/Unlimited plan and bill me again. But, surprisingly, they notified me that my 250M plan would stay in effect until the end of June, at which point they would switch me over to the Unlimited plan. Which, I thought was pretty decent of them

[Maggie Leung]

I signed up for unlimited. I'll probably keep it. I'm liking using my iPad whenever, however. I might ditch my iPhone when my contract ends. Not using it much because of iPad.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

I signed up for unlimited. I'll probably keep it. I'm liking using my iPad whenever, however. I might ditch my iPhone when my contract ends. Not using it much because of iPad.

Maggie, I have to say, with the 250M plan, I was constantly thinking about whether to use 3G or not...I'm reasonably sure the new 2G plan would have worked out fine for me, but having the unlimited option really has me relaxed now about just using the iPad everywhere and at all times.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kjk

Maggie, I have to say, with the 250M plan, I was constantly thinking about whether to use 3G or not...I'm reasonably sure the new 2G plan would have worked out fine for me, but having the unlimited option really has me relaxed now about just using the iPad everywhere and at all times.

Yup, exactly!

[stustaff]

Never realized before but the amount you guys pay for data is crazy! We wer just talking in the iPhone 4 thread and in the UK tmobile do a sim with unlimited data for £20 for 6 months use! That's what less than $30!

Are all the options over their so expensive or is it just the iPhone/iPad related deals?

[badgoodDeb]

Someone compared it to another smart phone recently, on another carrier. Verizon, I think. Cost seemed similar there.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by stustaff

Never realized before but the amount you guys pay for data is crazy! We wer just talking in the iPhone 4 thread and in the UK tmobile do a sim with unlimited data for £20 for 6 months use! That's what less than $30!

Are all the options over their so expensive or is it just the iPhone/iPad related deals?

The key word here, stustaff, is "options"

[VictoriaP]

"Options" would be nice, wouldn't they? What a concept.

To be fair though, I've been with AT&T for around ten years, and am fortunate to have no real complaints; coverage in my area has been pretty decent.

Although I doubt I'll ever, ever need it, for now I'm planning to lock in unlimited data on my new iPhone since I qualify for grandfathering in. I'll track usage over the course of the next few months, which includes a few trips, and then reevaluate in the fall or so. I know on the current iPhone, I've never even come close to the 2 GB total, but since that's an original, slower-than-molasses Edge network model, I figure my usage patterns might not be the same with the new iPhone 4.

[scottjl]

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/06/17/ipad-...-mifi-innards/

have your wi-fi cake and eat the 3g too..

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by scottjl

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/06/17/ipad-...-mifi-innards/

have your wi-fi cake and eat the 3g too..

Ouch, no more GPS? Not like I have the tech ability or interest to try such an experiment, but GPS is a key reason I bought a 3G model. Many of the apps I like best for travel (and elsewise on the go) rely on GPS.