Smartphones

[GAME05]

Here is a data calculator to help you determine about how much you'll end up using per month. http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/datacalculatorPopup.jsp?null

[thebruce44]

For a single person 1GB is good if you only use it occassionally. I use it quite a bit and won't ever go over two.

 

As far as trying not to go over Apple doesn't have a setting for that? On my phone(HTC One M8) you can get warnings and even force it to stop once it hits a certain point.

 

IIRC, that is a year old feature on Android and I don't think iOS has caught up yet.

[jerichoholicninja]

Here is a data calculator to help you determine about how much you'll end up using per month. http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/datacalculatorPopup.jsp?null

 

We've used a couple of those, but never having had smartphones we have no clue how to answer most of those questions.

[gypcasino]

For a single person 1GB is good if you only use it occassionally. I use it quite a bit and won't ever go over two.

 

"Occasionally" and "quite a bit" are kind of vague as far as quantifying purposes go.

I used mine what I'd consider to be less than "quite a bit" last month and still used 6GB.

[MrTPlush]

For a single person 1GB is good if you only use it occassionally. I use it quite a bit and won't ever go over two.

 

"Occasionally" and "quite a bit" are kind of vague as far as quantifying purposes go.

I used mine what I'd consider to be less than "quite a bit" last month and still used 6GB.

 

I guess it depends on what you do too. If you start listening to Pandora(music app) or start watching baseball videos/YouTube you will burn data fast. Just to use it for internet browsing and things like that will use it much slower.

[LouisEly]

What kind of data plans does everyone have? I know between my wife and I we probably won't be using a ton of data and you can find wifi just about anywhere you go nowadays.

The questions to ask yourself are:

 

1) Will you be able to connect to WiFi at work? Assuming you have WiFi at home, if you can connect at work then you will probably not need a big data plan. If you can't, or have an outside job (such as outside sales), and you frequently need to download big files/audio/video then you might need a bigger data plan.

 

2) How much do you intend to stream music/video to your phone? If you are on WiFi it does not count against your data plan, but if you aren't on WiFi you can use up a lot of data quickly this way.

 

3) How much do you intend to use your phone for navigation? Navigation uses a ton of data. But if you have navigation in your vehicles, or have a TomTom/etc., then this isn't an issue.

 

Generally speaking, semi-aware grown adults usually only need 1-2 GB of data per month (unless they have a job requiring downloading/streaming when not on WiFi or need to use the phone for navigation). Typically those that use a ton of data are teens who HAVE to have that song/video/download RIGHT NOW (or their lives will be ruined FOREVER). If you know not to download/stream when not on WiFi you should rarely if ever exceed 1GB.

 

I'd say try 1 GB at first (or share 3-5 GB between the two of you) and monitor usage - you can do this on your phone at any time. If you go over, cell providers will always allow you to change to a more expensive plan. They don't like it when you try to go to a cheaper plan.

[1992casey]

I think that the biggest potential data eater is to use the phone as a hotspot for a PC or Mac.

 

My gut says that 2GB would be the sweet spot for two people to start with. That might translate into buying 3GB on some carriers.

 

I get by well with 1GB. I'm not anal about hooking up to WiFi for basic things, but I'm careful about the big stuff. I've come close to exceeding my 1GB when I've been on trips and the WiFi options sucked. The only time I've actually had to buy more data was the month I moved and cellular was my only Internet access for a couple of weeks.

 

It appears that T-Mobile has the most user-friendly deals when it comes to data. Leftover data is banked for future use over the next six months. They also let you stream from numerous music services without counting the streaming against your usage. I believe AT&T will carry over leftover data for a month.

 

Of course, there are other things to consider. Verizon seems to have the best coverage, for instance. T-Mobile has a lot of holes, and AT&T falls somewhere in between.

[MrTPlush]

Despite popular belief the GPS Navigation shouldn't use very much data. On my Android Google Maps uses little to no data. I think you can actually use virtually no data if you load your plans while on Wi-Fi. The biggest burner is loading the maps right at the start. It could add up if you are using it all day on the job which I have no experience with. Now I would assume it is the same for IPhone's, but I could be wrong.

 

Like stated start with the smallest plan. You can always increase it if need be and your provider will be quite fine.

[logan82]

Verizon sucks outside of Madison and Milwaukee. US Cellular is the only realistic option outside of large cities. I don't abvocate them unless there is no other option, but they have the best coverage in rural Wisconsin.

[zurch1818]

Verizon sucks outside of Madison and Milwaukee. US Cellular is the only realistic option outside of large cities. I don't abvocate them unless there is no other option, but they have the best coverage in rural Wisconsin.

Being a structural engineer that works in telecom I can say this is only partially true. Our main clients are Verizon, US Cellular and Cellcom. We used to do more work with AT&T...but since they just merged with a satellite company, their network upgrades have dried up. T-Mobile and Sprint are really cheap on the engineering side of things...which is why I wouldn't use them but I have no experience with them as a carrier.

 

US Cellular is great in SOUTHERN Wisconsin. North of Green Bay/Marshfield is outside of their market and you won't get 4g or good battery life because you will be roaming. If you live above this line, then Cellcom has very good 4g coverage. Verizon is literally everywhere in the state and should have excellent coverage. I know this because I've worked on a lot of their sites in the middle of nowhere.

 

Right now US Cell is aggressively updating while Verizon is very aggressively upgrading their sites. Verizon is changing their loading on sites faster than it can be installed. They can't keep up. I know Cellcom is adding 4g to sites now...but they don't run structurals on their towers so I don't have a pulse on that.

 

Bottom line is Verizon is probably the best...but they are expensive. I personally have US Cell because their coverage is top notch in southern WI and I rarely go north.

[1992casey]

North of Green Bay/Marshfield is outside of their market and you won't get 4g or good battery life because you will be roaming.

 

That's what I based my observation on. At my house up north, Verizon is the most reliable connection. AT&T will probably work. Coverage is non-existent for Sprint and T-Mobile. Also, Verizon is the only network that offers 3G. AT&T is still stuck on 2G up there.

 

I've never noticed GPS to be a drain on data, but it definitely drains the battery. Since you're in the car anyway, it's easy enough to plug the device into power when you use it.

[MrTPlush]

Verizon sucks outside of Madison and Milwaukee. US Cellular is the only realistic option outside of large cities. I don't abvocate them unless there is no other option, but they have the best coverage in rural Wisconsin.

 

I live in the northern/central area of Wisconsin in a rural area and I don't even know a single person with US Cellular. So either that statement isn't true or we are all doing it wrong. Majority up here have Verizon and some have AT&T...As someone who moves around Wisconsin quite a bit Verizon works almost everywhere I go.

[1992casey]

The bottom line is that you have to compare notes with your friends and neighbors. It's also good to check with people who are in the areas you travel to. Everyone's coverage needs are different, and a carrier can be are a better match for some than for others. Certainly, everyone's observations are valid under the circumstances that they've personally experienced.

[TheCrew07]

That's what I based my observation on. At my house up north, Verizon is the most reliable connection. AT&T will probably work. Coverage is non-existent for Sprint and T-Mobile. Also, Verizon is the only network that offers 3G. AT&T is still stuck on 2G up there.

 

Actually, I know this because I had to do signal strength testing to determine the best carrier for our VPN cellular backup to our hardwired internal network, AT&T is the best carrier all of the way up 41 into MI. I live in and am based out of GB and we got 4G not long after Milwaukee did. My sister has Sprint and as far as I know they still don't offer 4G north of Milwaukee.

 

The Manitowoc area is a dead spot for both Verizon and AT&T, those are the 2 providers we use for work, I would recommend Cellcom or US Cellular in that area.

 

AT&T's advantage may simply due to fewer phones on the network so there's more bandwidth, but there's really no comparison in the download and upload times even if I managed to get similar signal strength. Corporate incorrectly sent me 2 Verizon modems anyway and in Marinette I had to put an external antenna on the building to make the signal strength good enough.

[logan82]

I've never noticed GPS to be a drain on data, but it definitely drains the battery. Since you're in the car anyway, it's easy enough to plug the device into power when you use it.

My GPS on the phone uses data. Not much but I don't use it much. If you plan to use GPS a lot a dedicated GPS would probably be much much less expensive in the long run.

 

My dad had Verizon for quite a while and his signal was pretty poor. I have heard similar things from other people. That was a couple years ago so maybe things have improved. US Cellular is the only one I would trust outside of larger cities areas.

 

I agree that the best way to choose a carrier would be to talk to friends and neighbors in the area. Coverage can get pretty spotty. If you are lucky you may be able to choose between a couple different carriers.

[GAME05]

My phone was supposedly supposed to last many days on standby without needing a charge. Though I barely ever use it, it loses 50% of its power every day. What the heck?

[zurch1818]

My phone was supposedly supposed to last many days on standby without needing a charge. Though I barely ever use it, it loses 50% of its power every day. What the heck?

Is your WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS on? Also I've noticed that I need to either turn off mobile data or at least turn off 4g data if I'm in a spot outside of US Cell's network or with poor coverage. Otherwise your phone will try to connect to something that doesn't exist. It will also always try to connect to a home network.

 

I've had success with "smart WiFi toggler" in the past but it quit working in May and I haven't tried it since.

 

If you are on Android, there is a battery tracker that keeps track of pesky apps that run in the background. I have never used ios...but im guessing that exists on that platform too. I also think the best practice is uninstall any app that is rarely used.

 

A side note here...I refuse to use the Facebook app (among others) because of all of the background permissions I don't think it needs...If I really need to use it, the mobile website works just fine. Do these freak anybody else out?

[1992casey]

If you are on Android, there is a battery tracker that keeps track of pesky apps that run in the background.

 

iOS 9, which will be available in a few weeks, will be adding this feature. (It's been on Macs for a couple of years.) It'll also be adding a low power mode. You'll be able to leave this on all the time if you'd like. Otherwise, you'll be prompted to enable it when the battery level becomes low.

 

Definitely turn off Bluetooth if you're not using it. Newer phones have Bluetooth LE (low energy), which should be a whole lot better, but if you don't need it, it doesn't make sense to have it activated. Also check to see which apps run in the background and disable the ones that don't need to do that.

[logan82]

If you use the cloud, you should never run out of room for storage on a phone.

[1992casey]

Storage management depends on how conscientious a user wants to be. It's also somewhat reliant on a user's technical comfort level. But yeah, the cloud and your PC/Mac are both options for keeping storage under control.

 

Movies are a biggie. They can get out of control fast. Because of file size, they can take some time to move to the cloud. You definitely don't want to do this on paid bandwidth.

 

Photos can be a problem if you keep them to the extreme. One of my friends had 16GB of Photos on his phone. I haven't found a cloud option for photos that I really like. Either privacy, file size reduction, or cost has put me off, so I move most photos over to my Mac. I keep a few in the Photos app and a handful in Dropbox.

 

Apps can be the toughest thing to keep under control. If you regularly use several large apps, 16GB won't cover you. Most apps don't use a lot of storage, but there are some significant exceptions.

[zurch1818]

Photos can be a problem if you keep them to the extreme. One of my friends had 16GB of Photos on his phone. I haven't found a cloud option for photos that I really like. Either privacy, file size reduction, or cost has put me off, so I move most photos over to my Mac. I keep a few in the Photos app and a handful in Dropbox.

 

I'm a fan of One Drive for the volume of pictures I have. They gave me 30 gigs for free. I'm not sure if they offer this to Mac users...but I'm guessing there has to be a way.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2686566/how-to-double-your-free-onedrive-storage-to-30gb.html

[DHonks]

For a single person 1GB is good if you only use it occassionally. I use it quite a bit and won't ever go over two.

 

As far as trying not to go over Apple doesn't have a setting for that? On my phone(HTC One M8) you can get warnings and even force it to stop once it hits a certain point.

 

IIRC, that is a year old feature on Android and I don't think iOS has caught up yet.

 

no clue, I've had this setting active on AT&T for years. never considered it as an iOS or Android feature, when it's the service provider that tracks it. I'd check for you on my iPhone, but I'm too busy

[DHonks]

Despite popular belief the GPS Navigation shouldn't use very much data. On my Android Google Maps uses little to no data. I think you can actually use virtually no data if you load your plans while on Wi-Fi. The biggest burner is loading the maps right at the start. It could add up if you are using it all day on the job which I have no experience with. Now I would assume it is the same for IPhone's, but I could be wrong.

 

Not sure of google maps on Android, but Apple's maps uses less data than Google Maps on iOS.

[jjfanec]

Photos can be a problem if you keep them to the extreme. One of my friends had 16GB of Photos on his phone. I haven't found a cloud option for photos that I really like. Either privacy, file size reduction, or cost has put me off, so I move most photos over to my Mac. I keep a few in the Photos app and a handful in Dropbox.

 

I'm a fan of One Drive for the volume of pictures I have. They gave me 30 gigs for free. I'm not sure if they offer this to Mac users...but I'm guessing there has to be a way.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2686566/how-to-double-your-free-onedrive-storage-to-30gb.html

 

I second One Drive. Seemlessly upload photos as they are taken or once WiFi is established. I have all my photos there and with the app I can access them very easily.

[jerichoholicninja]

For the epilogue, since everyone is on the edge of their seat...

 

We went on Saturday. We with Sprint since that is the carrier my wife already had. Both of us got the iPhone 6. So far I have no complaints. Well, except for the fact that my wife is constantly wanting to take selfies of us but I knew that was a risk going in. The only thing we need now are phone cases. I know Otterbox is or was the thing to have. Any good ones or bad ones? Is Amazon probably the best place to get them?