Is 250 MB of data enough?

[falcora]

I have WiFi at home, university, friend's houses, and even at church. I just need cell data at restaurants, meetings with clients, etc. Ussually just going to be for looking up something online quickly, checking and sending email, and demoing apps (i'm a developer). Is 250 megs going to be enough? I'd really like to get that plan cause its only $15 a month.

I'm already on AT&T and i'm holding out for shared data plans

[ZhenyaF]

I dont think 250mb will be enough for you.

[0dev]

For what you've described, it should be fine. You only really need to worry if you download music or stream movies all the time.

[falcora]

Originally Posted by 0dev

For what you've described, it should be fine. You only really need to worry if you download music or stream movies all the time.

No, i'd only do those types of things over WiFi. I may on occasion access small documents on dropbox, but we are talking 1-2mb pdfs.

[mrrish]

Originally Posted by falcora

No, i'd only do those types of things over WiFi. I may on occasion access small documents on dropbox, but we are talking 1-2mb pdfs.

Well if you go with verizon, for $5 more you get 1GB. What has your usage like been on your smartphone?

[deeddawg]

It has been for me in the past with similar usage, albeit not with the app demoing.

Streaming music or video or downloading apps will eat it up in a hurry though.

Nice thing is you're not tied to a particular level. You might try starting with the $30/3GB for one month and see what your usage is. If you could live within the 250MB plan switch down.

It does make the question of Verizon vs AT&T a bit more interesting though...

[falcora]

i'm using about 200 megs a month on my iPhone 4S. I'm guessing that if I watch my data, i shouldn't have too big of a problem keeping my usage under 250

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by falcora

I have WiFi at home, university, friend's houses, and even at church. I just need cell data at restaurants, meetings with clients, etc. Ussually just going to be for looking up something online quickly, checking and sending email, and demoing apps (i'm a developer). Is 250 megs going to be enough? I'd really like to get that plan cause its only $15 a month.

I'm already on AT&T and i'm holding out for shared data plans

When we got my son an iPad 2 w/AT&T 3G for Christmas, he blew through 250MB during one dinner outing. 250MB goes by quicker than you think. Picture intensive sites will kill that after about 30 minutes. He was not doing any music, videos, or gaming. He was just browsing around the web (Google, wikipedia, IGN, etc.).

The 3 GB plan is what he is on now. I would also love a shared data plan since I have 3 iPhones and soon to be 4 iPads with data service plans.

Originally Posted by falcora

i'm using about 200 megs a month on my iPhone 4S. I'm guessing that if I watch my data, i shouldn't have too big of a problem keeping my usage under 250

200MB on an iPhone is MUCH different than 200 MB on an iPad. Remember, bigger screen means larger files to download for non-mobile friendly sites.

[jpcarro]

Originally Posted by falcora

i'm using about 200 megs a month on my iPhone 4S. I'm guessing that if I watch my data, i shouldn't have too big of a problem keeping my usage under 250

Worst case if you go over 250MB, AT&T will start your new $14.99 billing cycle at that point. So, unless you're consistently going over 250MB...no biggie.

I'm in similar situation...movies and music almost always on WiFi...250MB works for me.

[0dev]

Originally Posted by Hammie

200MB on an iPhone is MUCH different than 200 MB on an iPad. Remember, bigger screen means larger files to download for non-mobile friendly sites.

Files doesn't suddenly get bigger because of the screen size you know...

OP, if all you're doing is looking things up and downloading the occasional document from Dropbox, I don't see any problem with 250MB.

[eternlgladiator]

I think you'll be fine too. I'd try it for a month or two. There's nothing stopping you from changing if you get close and with the providers websites you can easily track your usage. There's really no excuse for going over. If it works then great. If you run out you just pay for more. Pretty simple.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by 0dev

Files doesn't suddenly get bigger because of the screen size you know...

OP, if all you're doing is looking things up and downloading the occasional document from Dropbox, I don't see any problem with 250MB.

That is why I specified "non-moblie friendly" sites. In some instances, the website may be presented differently based on the UserAgent string. Of course, this is only if the web developer has implemented it on the site.

[lulla01]

I would start with a higher plan to gauge your usage. 250 is a useless plan and as people have said you can blow through that in 30 minutes. I really wish they had an unlimited plan on the device so i would have piece of mind.

[dieburnbot]

I wish att had the same data pricing structure as verizon. Or at least for 14.99 give us 1 to 1.5 GB. 250 MB is just stingy.

[0dev]

Originally Posted by Hammie

That is why I specified "non-moblie friendly" sites. In some instances, the website may be presented differently based on the UserAgent string. Of course, this is only if the web developer has implemented it on the site.

Whether or not the difference is big would depend on the site I guess, but I'm glad most developers don't show mobile sites on iPads - they don't need them.

[mikepro]

I had the 250 GB plan for my iPhone for about 2 years, and only went over one month with a similar sounding usage pattern. Give it a shot, just keep your eye on the usage the first month, and adjust your plan up if needed. I know for the phones at least, AT&T will allow you to up your data plan, and make it retroactive to the beginning of the month, so if you went over you wouldn't get charged overage. Might be about the only customer friendly thing they do...

[Laserawesome]

Originally Posted by falcora

I have WiFi at home, university, friend's houses, and even at church. I just need cell data at restaurants, meetings with clients, etc. Ussually just going to be for looking up something online quickly, checking and sending email, and demoing apps (i'm a developer). Is 250 megs going to be enough? I'd really like to get that plan cause its only $15 a month.

I'm already on AT&T and i'm holding out for shared data plans

I found this article which should give you some solid info about data sizes. I posted this in another thread a few days ago, but here it is again:

http://gizmodo.com/5891064/how-much-...-will-cost-you

Here's an example:

AT&T File-Size Estimates

• 1 App/Game (non-Retina): 4MB
• 1 App/Game (Retina): 8MB
• 1 hour of YouTube streaming: 120MB
• 1 hour of Netflix streaming: 306MB

In any case the data plan contracts are month to month, so you can monitor your usage and change your plan accordingly. Also, I'm not sure if you already bought your ipad or if you are still deciding which to get, but I would take a look at where the companies have 4G service coverage as well. I was considering going with At&T but when I looked up the 4G coverage I saw that AT&T doesn't even have 4G coverage in the Boston area! Verizon does though. (That info may have been slightly outdated, not fully certain.) At that point I just decided to use tethering on my unlimited data iphone with the new Pad.

[Radio]

Verizon would of made more sense op

[shellbryson]

I run through about 220Mb *per day* from just listening to the radio over the net on my 3G dongled-MacBookPro, so be warned 250mb is not enough for even basic streaming.

[thatoneguy82]

This is actually what I'm trying to ask myself. For the iPad 2, I only got the WiFi version but with the new iPad I decided to get the 4G version as well. Mostly because it was the new technology added to it. I have a tiny hotspot AT&T 4G LTE that I tend to bring with me all the time. I have a car charger for it and a charger for it in my laptop bag. With the iPad 2, there were times that I would forget the hotspot or I wouldn't/couldn't use it and wished my iPad had a cellular option. I know 3GB would be too much but would 250MB be too little? Of course, when on cellular I would be mindful or any major data downloads and would only do web browsing and emailing.

I get a discount for my hotspot at $40/mo for 5GB (instead of $50/mo). I'd rather add an additional $14.99 for "convenience" than $30 since that would just be excessive.

[Batt]

I only activated 3 times in two years, twice for 250MB and once for 2GB. I never came anywhere near either limit. 250 will be fine for your needs.

[greytmom]

With 250 mb. I've never gone over.

[ZBoater]

Originally Posted by greytmom

With 250 mb. I've never gone over.

I go over 250 mb all the time...

[greytmom]

Originally Posted by ZBoater

I go over 250 mb all the time...

Depends on what you are doing and when. I don't use my iPad to stream music, and if I am traveling and want to connect to Netflix, I am generally in a hotel with wifi.

The way the OP describes intended usage, with the heavy stuff taking place in wifi areas, chances are 250 mb will be fine.

[powerbook911]

For an emergency situation, it's nice to have.

However, it sounds like you can pretty much get by with Wi-Fi. Therefore, unless it's a month you HAVE to have it, why not try to save the money and stay off the plan?