Internet usage

Shelle

I am planning on a buying a new phone at the weekend (HTC Wildfire).

It will be the first time I have ever had a good phone (always had very basic PAYG phones in the past) and never been able to access the internet. Thus it is difficult for me to know just how much mb I will use each month.

I am trying to decide between a £15 a month package and £20 a month package, where the biggest difference is 250mb limit and 500gb limit. (There is also a difference in inclusive calls).

Even at home I rarely use youtube or download music which I know is the biggest offender.

The salesman in the shop said the average person on the street only uses up to 15mb a month. Is this true??

Any ideas how I can determine whether I need that extra 250mb a month?

Thanks in advance.

lozzaman

I would say go for the 500MB if either. The best bet for Android is T-Mobile, dependant on coverage as they come on 3GB fair use when buying direct.
20 minutes of browsing (this very site infact) earlier used 17.76MB. That'd average over 500MB a month straight off the bat.

zooks

I have a 500mb allowance on my contact. my nokia 5800 is perminantely connected to sky email, i use assisted gps, sporttracker, weather apps and use web access for about 1/2 to 1hr per day.
Ive never gone over 100mb of use except for when ive used my phone as a wifi modem for tethering my laptop which to be fair does eat data.

bubblesmoney

the wildfire is very much like the desire. it would be foolish to compare the desire / wildfire data usage and compare it to a lower spec nokia. to the OP please take data usage comments with a big pinch of salt as only you will pay the bills and suffer if it gets huge. just see recently on mse there was one thread about 4400£ bill for one desire and another for 1000+ in one month.

i can easily use on some days more than 100mb just in one day.

using one phone for email and another using for browsing will be a drastic difference between the phones for data use. it depends on the website, flash adverts on website, browser used etc. plus freq for mail updates and freq for updates for social network updates etc.

just 30mins of spotify will use up 25mb, so using spotify only and nothing else on phone data connection can use up 500mb in 20 days, thats just 10 hours of use of spotify. this has been confirmed on three network blog. so tread with extreme caution when using data services and use it wisely otherwise you will face the data bills. if possible if getting for similar rates then choose plan with biggest data bundle. tmobile (direct and with some resellers) gives 3gb as standard for android phones. 500mb is standard on three network but one can buy additional 2gb for 5£, while 5£ on vodafone will buy you 500mb extra. out of bundle charges can be exorbitant on most networks and most are clamping down on data use and charging mpre for out of bundle use now.

using web browsers like opera mini on android phones will lessen your data use as it is compressed unlike on the htc browser. i use the regular htc browser as i like it better. but i keep an eye on data use as i use app called netcounter to keep an eye on data use EVERYDAY. i have alerts set up on that app to warn me with different alerts set up for crossing daily limit and weekly and monthly limit. when at home i make sure to use wifi by using home screen widgets to switch connections religiously. just today i installed some apps that do the switching automaticaly based on location (gps / wifi) of my phone but will double check manually to see if the software does it automatically.

i dont tether the phone and never have done it, but my wifi use goes above 1gb a month and phone network data use is above 500mb a month easily but varies widely as on some days if i see youtube technology videos then my use exceeds 150mb on some days.

so please take other peoples comments saying 100mb etc is more than enough with a big punch of salt. as for the salesman telling you that 15mb a month is enough for average user, he needs to be strung from the nearest lamp pole (just figuratively speaking and not literally ) for giving such grossly misleading information designed to financially ruin you with huge phone data bills if you exceed limits unknowingly believing that chap. 30mins of spotify listening will take about 25mb as officially said on three blog on numerous occassions.

even doing a speedtest will take quite afew mb, just doing a speedtest a few times will exceed 25mb just in one day!

you can keep data use in check if you use the net sensibly and keep an eye on data use by using apps like netcounter or 3g watchdog etc and also use powre control widget and switch off the synch button when not needed and if needed also use the mobile network widget and switch off data connection if data connection not needed by you always for push email etc.

also gps itself wont use data but if you use web maps like google maps or navigation then data will be used. that wont apply if you have preinstalled maps you have bought like copilot etc.

Shelle

Thank you VERY much bubblesmoney for your advice, I really do appreciate it :beer:

With this being my first "proper" phone I guess I am a bit naive on how much data I will use.

I will certainly go for the 500mb minimum but maybe need to see if I can find another package with a higher limit. Trouble I am finding though is that the more expensive packages are also for more inclusive calls, which for me is not needed as I am deaf. Thus I am trying to find the cheapest package without paying extra for the calls that I will never make. I know it is impossible to have no calls included at all, but the package I was interested in was for only 50 mins inclusive calls or 100 mins.

As you obviously are worth your salt (unlike the saleman:mad:) do you have any advice as to what package I should look at? I was going for Orange (at CPW) Dolphin £15 a month 250mb, but after your comments it will now be £20 a month for 500mb, but maybe I can find better? Still want to stick with the Wildfire I think.

I am reasonably ok with pcs but the phones are driving me mad!!! I am getting more and more baffled every time I look!

Again thanks for your help :T

daindian

Hi you can get 300 mins 300 texts and unltd net on t mobile via buymonilephones.net for 15 month on a 24 month contract with free wildfire

lozzaman

Out of stock though. Remember to check topcashback/quidco.
T-Mobile 3G I have found to be good. It's usually quick at responding, one of the better of the networks for the 3G coverage (poor 2G coverage though in comparison to o2 for example) and 3GB data use, with no charge for overuse is definitely worth considering.

Is buying the phone outright something you'd consider? Giffgaff will do free internet until October, then £10 a month would get you unlimited texts and internet (no fair usage, as long as it's handset use only) No contract.

bubblesmoney

if you are fully deaf then why are you buying a phone? are you planning on just texting???

are you partially deaf and using the phone with other audio aids????

or are you planning on using the phone with apps like visual voicemail so that you can divert all calls to voicemail and then read the transcript via the visual voicemail app??? i havent used the visual voicemail sort of apps, but do know that some such apps exist. that sort of app might interest you if you plan on diverting all calls to voicemail and to read the visual transcript instead.

google voice launched in usa has also visual voicemail facility but i dont think it has been launched in the uk yet.

i dont know of anytother apps that might help you use the phone.

but another possibility for a person like you is to buy any internet capable device (any internet tablet or ipad like device or any internet capable device and use it with a data dongle or MiFi like device and pay only money for a data connection and use the internet capable device via the MiFi or similar portable internet dongle +/- portable internet router and use internet exclusively with apps like skype or yahoo messenger or WLM Fring etc and do video chat and you can lip read or type and chat using the data connection. you could still use it with a phone like the wildfire or any other internet capable phone that allows wifi access and use of apps like skype / yahoo messenger / WLM etc. that way you dont pay for calls that you never use because you are deaf and only pay for data connection via wifi. think about it.

but if you are partially deaf and use the phone with audio aids then the phone without wifi access device like mifi etc would still be an option for you.

Shelle

BUbblemoney, I dont really understand your statement "If you are fully deaf then why are you buying a phone"??

Yes I am almost totally deaf and dont make any calls whatsoever. I currently use a mobile for texting (and couldnt be without it just like emails), but want to be able to access the internet through the day (at work) and at weekends when out of the house (where I have a pc with broadband). Not intending to use the mobile to converse with people verbally.

I had no intentions of using any apps to convert voicemails to transcripts - didnt even know that existed until you mentioned that!!

My deafness is only really relevant in that I wouldnt make any calls, but that said as I will have inclusive calls I will just let whoever is with me to use my phone at times (within reason)!!

All I am trying to do is find a package that works best for me. Everyone has different needs, some need more calls than texts - there are packages for that, some need more texts than calls - again there are packages for that. I cant seem to find anything where it is basically just internet and texts, so I know I have to pay for to have x minutes of calls inclusive, and am simply trying to find the highest amount of internet access combined with the lowest amount of inclusive calls. Does that make sense???

Feel free to ask any more questions, the more advice I get the better to help me determine what the best thing out there is :beer:

si1965

Shelle wrote: »

I cant seem to find anything where it is basically just internet and texts

It's a shame T Mobile have no Wildfires showing in stock. You could go with a low call allowance and use the free unlimited text boost and 3Gb Internet. I have that and am paying £10/month on a retention deal.

Saying that I think you could pay £35 for the phone and get that deal for £15/month (subject to them having stock of course).

jay_1978

hi shelle .. I got my wildfire about a week or so ago, It was my first touch screen phone and it takes alot of getting used to, The wildfire is extremely sensitive on the screen so you do get frustrated at first but after a few days on it ie texting and emails, You will love it, Great phone ....