There’s a lot of chat at the moment about mobile tariffs – specifically how much data someone’s able to download without incurring other charges.
To say I was ‘concerned’ about it would be an understatement!
Why?
Well I consider myself to be a pretty heavy user – and before you start I’m not talking about my body mass(!)
A typical day would go something like this:
Morning Usage
Wake up, check phone for new emails and Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies
Open up news apps (sky news, telegraph, guardian and FT) and find out ‘what’s occuring’
Listen to news using tvcatchup.com whilst getting ready
Drive to work listening to audio books OTA (over the air) stored on system at home (it saves space on my iPhone…)
Park car and check for new emails and Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies
Open up Skype app so VoIP number’s available (020 3286 0219 in case you’re wondering) BTW, great deal on Skype – £2.83 per month – for unlimited landline calls… bargin!
Afternoon Usage
Repeat the above but in reverse…!
Check SEO projects using various iPhone apps (these ones are pretty good SEO it, LinkJuice)
Evening Usage
Periodically for new emails, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies
Write a blog post using iBlogger (which I could never do without, ever…!)
Night Time
Because I’m a bit of an insomniac and have tinitus I catch up on any programmes missed using BBC iPlayer app – very cool.
See if there’s anything good to watch on TVcatchup.com – it has more channels than our FreeView box
Watch a movie (or 2 or 3…) using AirVideo – that is a litterally sanity saver for me
Download a couple of books for my Kindle App – (don’t ask how much my amazon bill is per month…!)
…and eventually nod off
Is that ‘heavy usage?’ Well I thought it was but apparently not as the image [top left] is a shot of my total usage since getting my iPhone last October (10/2009). Only 1.2Gb used and I’ve never reset – as you can see at the bottom of the pic…
My tarrif says I have 1GB per MONTH…! if I actually used that I’d be even more of a sad bar steward than I already am…!
A mate of mine has only used 1.3GB since he got his iPhone last January (01/2010) and his tariff is 750mb per month…
Now, there are some iPhone tariffs that offer 3TB of data per month – WTF! What would you need to have that kind of allowance for…?
…And finally
So why do some mobile networks provide such a high data allowance? Well, and this is purely subjective, it could be to try and convince us – the consumer – that it’s a ‘better deal’ when, in point of fact, it’s more of a ploy to mask an inferior network service…
What do you think?
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Lee (@leesmallwood) another informative and thought provoking post. Based on the data you have provided and given your obviously high usage it would appear that there is little customer value in 3TB or even multiple GB monthly data packages. So to answer your question the offers are either to provide an irresistable offer that masks poor geographical coverage… poor network service etc or as competitive weapons to attract customers to bigger (meaning it must be better of course) packages. The question that begs to be asked for me now, is how much cost are we (the users) carrying in our tarriffs for data rates that we are unlikely ever to have any need for?
OOO! contraversial final comment, and surely as a marketing expert yourself I am not going to teach you to suck eggs ( unless you want to gain that as a new talent ;0 )
Taptu is quite good for telly catch up worldwide and and for various proper screen sized web sites.
Rob is right about what we are being charged versus use too.
I know when I got my iphone they said most of the cost was not in the data usage but the actual cost of the hardware itself, and as we all know smart phones are ridiculously expensive when you consider the composite parts.
Thanks for helping me relax by sharing your stats.
I have only had my smart phone a couple of weeks and I've spent much of that time panicking about going over my 500 mb allowance. Now I know it's all tosh I'll stop being so careful.
Again, many thanks.
@robjcameron spot on Rob. Makes you wonder doesn't it…! I suspect that there are far more people that don't use anywhere near there allowance than those that do…
My provider (will remain nameless – but it's not a fruit and it doesn't have red in the logo…) I have to say has really crap coverage and because of that I will be leaving them – as soon as I can.
If I hadn't checked to see what my usage was – I would probably have been tempted by the 3TB offer – but there really is no point, as there's no way I could use it.
So the decision is very simple and based on 3 factors:, coverage, coverage, coverage
@robertaward I did say… subjective… But are we the public swayed when all that glitters certainly isn't gold? iPhone being the exception of course
would be interestjng to find out after how many months into a contract does the mobile operator break even…
Cheers for the heads up on Taptu – will check it out on the iPad when I get one – 8 days till launch day – might have to ask for early B'day present lol
@marcuside Hey Marcus. Glad it eased your suffering mate and you can download to your hearts content – air usage policy applies of course
How you finding the phone – HTC Desire right?
HI, and Thanks Lee,
Similar to Marcus, I've not had my new phone long and because it's a new 'toy' it's never been out of my hand. I got a Hero, and a day doesn't go by without me tweaking it in one way or another. The phone is constantly busy with something; news apps, mail, podcasts, tv or editing reports and until now the useage issue played on my mind.
I'm actually writing this from my laptop – but I won't next time . . .
How you finding the phone?
Yes it is an HTC Desire and I utterly love it. For someone used to saying hello, quickly followed by goodbye, the ability to check my emails and Twitter while watching TV is great.
The only negative for me is the blooming battery power. No doubt it's a lot to do with the 'new toy' syndrome, as highlighted by Pan, but I do feel it's inadequate and have heard its the same with other smart phones. I expect it won't be such an issue once I get past the tinkering stage.
@PanAveyard Hi Pan. Glad to see I'm not the only one that uses the old 'mobly' to the max… I do 90% of my commenting on the mob – the only issue I have sometimes is that Disqus doesn't authorise occasionally … sometimes takes 3-4 attempts – but it's only a minor issue
@MarcusIde – Even after the 'new toy syndrome' battery life is still an issue – although I get about 6-8 hours depending on what I'm doing.
Tweetie2 (now twitter) iPhone app is a HUGE drain on the battery, and if I'm running low on juice I'll access twitter vis the mobile browser – just to conserve.
Do you use 'Peep' on your HTC? How is it?