N00b alert - why should i get a data plan for my desire?

tekken021

Hi folks

Got a HTC desire and was all set to switch over to bill pay as planned but am now having second thoughts. its an extra 10 a month, and as far as I can see all I get for that is 3g internet when im away, seeing as I have wireless at home, and its really not urgent for me to have internet 24/7/

What am I missing out on if i stay PAYG? Should I make the switch for an extra €10 a month?

M5

tekken021 wrote: »

Hi folks

Got a HTC desire and was all set to switch over to bill pay as planned but am now having second thoughts. its an extra 10 a month, and as far as I can see all I get for that is 3g internet when im away, seeing as I have wireless at home, and its really not urgent for me to have internet 24/7/

What am I missing out on if i stay PAYG? Should I make the switch for an extra €10 a month?

For me there is no point having a smart phone without 3g data. Otherwise your better off with a basic phone and a laptop. The whole idea is portability and connectivity away from home

tekken021

M5 wrote: »

For me there is no point having a smart phone without 3g data. Otherwise your better off with a basic phone and a laptop. The whole idea is portability and connectivity away from home

So all I'm missing out on is 3g access? I really dont see the big deal, I know horses for courses etc but its not worth it for me I dont think.

Can I still get apps, paid and free?

Random

if you're not getting a data plan then just make sure you have all data other than wifi disabled on your device or you will suffer bill shock.

tekken021

Random wrote: »

if you're not getting a data plan then just make sure you have all data other than wifi disabled on your device or you will suffer bill shock.

Cheers for the heads up.

what can they charge me for apart from paid apps and the mobile network, which I disabled?

choronzonix

Unless you've got the phone rooted you won't be able to buy paid apps anyway.

Kintarō Hattori

Having a smartphone and no data add-on just doesn't really make sense. I use mine for emails. Whenever I get an email the phone alerts me and I can keep my inbox organized. Being able to access the net anytime you want can be very handy. The other half and myself were going to view a house one time and we weren't certain of the house number. I loaded up Daft and got the information I needed from there.

If you have a Facebook or Flickr account it can be great. I don't use Facebook very often but I use Flickr everyday so again it's great to be able to check that whenever I want.


If you can spare the €10 extra per month it's well worth having.

Krusty_Clown

It would be like buying a Ferrari on the Island of Jersey (40mph speed limit across the island). Sure, it looks great in your drive-way, and you can potter around the roads, but you can't really use it for the purpose for which it was intended.

Keano

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Having a smartphone and no data add-on just doesn't really make sense. I use mine for emails. Whenever I get an email the phone alerts me and I can keep my inbox organized. Being able to access the net anytime you want can be very handy. The other half and myself were going to view a house one time and we weren't certain of the house number. I loaded up Daft and got the information I needed from there.

If you have a Facebook or Flickr account it can be great. I don't use Facebook very often but I use Flickr everyday so again it's great to be able to check that whenever I want.


If you can spare the €10 extra per month it's well worth having.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It would be like buying a Ferrari on the Island of Jersey (40mph speed limit across the island). Sure, it looks great in your drive-way, and you can potter around the roads, but you can't really use it for the purpose for which it was intended.

While I think you both make valid points I also think it depends on people's work situation. I have access to the internet from 8.30 to 5 Monday to Friday. Why would I want to be checking email on my phone when I have msn messenger telling me I have a mail? I go straight home and my phone picks up my WIFI.

For me a data plan would be a waste of money as many of the places I end up have free WIFI or if I call to a friends house I use theirs and they are free to use mine if they call around.

So my circumstances do not require a data plan and I still get the best out of my phone.

Krusty_Clown

Well, I suppose it's up to each individual to decide if they will make use of a data plan or not. The question really should be: If the speed limit on the island of Jersey is 40mph, why bother buying a Ferrari? Would you not be better off with a Toyota Yaris?

Ok, enough of the metaphors! If you are constantly surrounded by wireless networks and don't think you will use data on the go, do you really need a smart phone at all? Wouldn't you be better off with a cheapo Dell laptop, and a bog-standard phone (for an equivalent price?) The laptop will play games better, offer a far wider variety of apps, browse faster (with a marginally bigger screen!), offer far more storage space, and has a huge array of Linux distributions ready for tinkering.

BTW: Two weeks ago, it really hit home, why I had invested in the phone. I was getting a lift to the Dart station, to meet friends in a pub in town. I checked Next Train Ireland for the train timetable (and got my ETA from the app too, so I could tell the lads when I would arrive). I then realized I didn't know where we were meeting up. I got a text message from one of my friends, and then located the pub on google maps. Next I didn't know which Dart station I should get off at, as the pub is somewhere between Tara Street and Connolly, so I put together a quick route from each location to get the shortest distance. Finally, I sat down in comfort and browsed boards, while listening to the radio.

I didn't need to have data for any of the above, but it was convenient..

Kintarō Hattori

Keano A Legend wrote: »

I have access to the internet from 8.30 to 5 Monday to Friday. Why would I want to be checking email on my phone when I have msn messenger telling me I have a mail? I go straight home and my phone picks up my WIFI.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I didn't need to have data for any of the above, but it was convenient..

Like yourself Keano I have an office job where I have access to my email and then at home I have wireless. I don't need it on the phone but like Krusty it's just convenient.

Google Goggles, Google Sky Map, Layar, Google Maps and others are entertaining and useful. Apps are one of the fun things about having a smartphone. Plus we'll only see the number of Apps available continue to grow.

tekken021

Keano A Legend wrote: »

While I think you both make valid points I also think it depends on people's work situation. I have access to the internet from 8.30 to 5 Monday to Friday. Why would I want to be checking email on my phone when I have msn messenger telling me I have a mail? I go straight home and my phone picks up my WIFI.

For me a data plan would be a waste of money as many of the places I end up have free WIFI or if I call to a friends house I use theirs and they are free to use mine if they call around.

So my circumstances do not require a data plan and I still get the best out of my phone.

exactly how I feel!

timetogo

tekken021 wrote: »

exactly how I feel!

Me too.

I've got wireless access at home. Where I'm working I've access to wireless too. I bought CoPilot for proper GPS without a need to be online.

The rest of the time I can access all my apps offline, read tweets / emails / listen to podcasts without a data connection. I'm usually at most a couple of hours out of synch which doesn't bother me.

Having a data plan would be nice but not nice enough for me to justify the cost. It's nice but not something I need.

The only time I'd really miss a data plan is when I'm abroad but data roaming costs a fortune so even with a plan you can't really use it abroad. I'm with O2 and I get the text when you land abroad saying they'll only charge €4.95 per Mb for the first 4Mb and then I can use another 46Mb for free (how nice of them). So I normally just book hotels with free WiFi.


I've read the 3G modem uses more battery too. With my current setup I can get two days out of the battery. I use Locale to detect where I am so it turns the WiFi off when I'm not near a predefined hotspot. That's with normal use (surfing when on WiFi, apps synching automatically while on WiFi, making a few phone calls, listening to music / podcasts while travelling). If I use video or some games the battery life goes out the window anyway.

axer

There are a good few apps out there that use small connections to the internet the whole time. They are usually the really handy ones like Next Train Ireland, Email, Maps, Navigation, Weather, News, Veloid (for Dublin Bikes), Layer (for finding loads of different things), IMDB (for pub arguments - although I feel like a tool taking out the phone and finding the correct answer) etc.

If you don't need them then you won't need the internet access. I have saved so much time and effort by having them that it is very worth it for me to pay the €10 or so extra per month (not to mention the free net access all over the world). Considering i believe it is 99c a day on payg (from what I understand) to use the internet it very much makes sense to me.

Mantel

Like meaning said it's all up to your needs/situation. All that extra 10 pays for is mobile internet. It makes sense for myself to get it as the only place I have regular wireless access is home, I travel a good bit with work and I want to keep my personal mail separate from the work computer.

fearrchair

I too have this dilemma......have access to the internet at work but a lot of sites are blocked (can access gmail but ones like facebook are blocked etc)

Currently on O2 prepay at the moment when I called into the CPW the other day asking about a smartphone I was told that I'd be better off on Bill as the device (Sansung Wave at the time) would be connecting to the net and eating into the credit.

Now a bill with O2 would have to be 40 a month unless I switch to Meteor for the 30 a month (less data but I would hope that 1G would be enough) could also get a better phone eg Galaxy S HD:rolleyes:

I currently have a E51 which can use the wireless network at home and free hotspots - while the screen is small you can see a bit but I hoping that the smartphone would be better even for playing a few games..maybe the novelty would wear off.

At the moment I often wonder if I would just buy the phone on payg as I don't use that much credit but the data plans on VF and O2 are not great or seem the same. Meteor seem to have a good price for a bill but don't sell the phone on prepay yet...

Galaxy S
Meteor 18 X 30 = 540 + 99 phone = 639 Data of 1G
PAYG N/A if they had it I'd say I should be able to get the 150 ...It would be 14 months of 20 tho

O2 18 X 40 = 720 + 129 phone = 849 Data of 2G
PAYG 599 Will only get 30 now as I am with O2 - pity you cant get more I am years with them now I know I might not spend much in the year but....loyalty.

VF 18 X 35 = 630 + ? phone = ? Data of 2G
PAYG 480 if I switch I expect I would be able to get 120 more off it by topping up by 20 a month

Seriously thinging of switching to Meteor 30 a month bill for the data....

Then again I wonder would it be a mistake to wait on prepay could all the data be fully disabled until I came home then switch on to the wifi as I choose or in hotspots. I am heading to France in August for a week and I would hope to be able to do this as I wouldnt want a large bill when I return.

s_carnage

Expecting to get the Desire phone today (hopefully if the courier lad hurries up!!) and am going to stay on PAYG as like Keano above I will be in places with wi-fi access most of the day. I will probably purchase the 250mb add on O2 are offering for those occasional instances when I'm out and about.

What I'm wondering is what would be the best app out there that would let you turn off access to the internet bar wi-fi access and would also let you connect back to 3g when needs be?

timetogo

s_carnage wrote: »

What I'm wondering is what would be the best app out there that would let you turn off access to the internet bar wi-fi access and would also let you connect back to 3g when needs be?

You don't even need an app. There's a widget on the Desire that allows you to turn on / off mobile data. It's a bit hidden though. Long press on the screen. Choose Widget, go down to Settings and then choose Mobile Network. Then the status is on your home screen permanently.

Some apps can be set to only use WiFi (podcast subscribers for example, you don't need to be pulling podcasts down over 3G if you grab a few per week or video podcasts).

Finally I use Locale (not free, it's about $10). It checks where you are and turns the WiFi on or off based on location rules or time rules. For example, when I get home WiFi turns on and the phone is synched and up to date in a minute. Then at 11PM it turns off WiFi as I don't care if the phone is up to date while I'm asleep and turns WiFi back on around 6AM. It doesn't turn on / off the 3G radio though but that doesn't bother me.

Keano

s_carnage wrote: »

Expecting to get the Desire phone today (hopefully if the courier lad hurries up!!) and am going to stay on PAYG as like Keano above I will be in places with wi-fi access most of the day. I will probably purchase the 250mb add on O2 are offering for those occasional instances when I'm out and about.

What I'm wondering is what would be the best app out there that would let you turn off access to the internet bar wi-fi access and would also let you connect back to 3g when needs be?

What 250mb package is that then?

Easy way to turn off data. Just hold the power button and up pops a list of options. Here you can turn mobile network on and off

s_carnage

Keano A Legend wrote: »

What 250mb package is that then?

Easy way to turn off data. Just hold the power button and up pops a list of options. Here you can turn mobile network on and off

Damn just went back there to find it again on the website and noticed it's for bill pay only customers. Strange there is no option yet for add on options like this for pre pay customers.

Keano

s_carnage wrote: »

Damn just went back there to find it again on the website and noticed it's for bill pay only customers. Strange there is no option yet for add on options like this for pre pay customers.

Ya it would be nice but I am getting by without it for now.

omahaid

You would be surprised how far 250mb of data gets you when you use 2G, Ive used about 8mb in two days with just surfing, I download all my apps at home from wifi