2gb is ok if all your doing is email and light web browsing. If using streaming video like netflix you may just get by if you just use it once or twice. Also depends on how often your on wifi vs 3G. Currently I am on vacation and have been exclusively on 3G as finding open wifi points has been difficult. If you ordered the iPad before June 6, sign up for the 2gb plan and call at&t and ask them for the $30 a month unlimited plan. The 2gb really does limit your use of the iPad. The only downside to the new unlimited plan is that if you cancel anytime you cannot sign up for unlimited anymore, you'll have only the 2gb choice. If qualify for the $30 plan i would definitely sign up for it as its a small price to pay for always on Internet anywhere you go. And knowing that you can get unlimited data is priceless, you don't have to worry about if you are over monthly data limit.
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AT&T 2GB Data Plan Working for You?
- Thread starter Alchematron
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Again, it is all about your own usage. The general panic in unfounded. 2gb is 14 hours of Netflix over 3G. As for the 2gb versus unlimited, it's $10 per gb if you go over, that means you can use 3gb in 6 months of the year and pay the same amount (plus the ability to stop if needed) as unlimited.
Despite the handful of megapower users posting, it's a non issue for most. We are arguing over semantics not real world use. I have yet to see a legitimate source that doesn't conclude that 2gb is more than enough for 90+% of users.
Ash
Despite the handful of megapower users posting, it's a non issue for most. We are arguing over semantics not real world use. I have yet to see a legitimate source that doesn't conclude that 2gb is more than enough for 90+% of users.
Ash
I agree on all points. The only one that bothers me is the price they've set for 2gb (even moreso the 250mb price but I'd never sign up for that so .....)
There is no $10/gb if you go over. All you can do is sign up for another 2gb for $25. The overage charges apply to the iPhone only.
I'm probably at just 1gb this month with just email and browsing. I do most of my email on the iPad now as it is easier. I'm not what i would consider a power use it on it at all (think soccer mom), but hey, for $5 more i'm keeping the option of not having to pay $50 in one month because of the unexpected (like what happened last month when i had my younger kids with me at a convention i was working and they had to stay in a corner out of the way. Netflix saved the day - and I didn't have another $25 to spend on another plan either.....).
I don't think for a minute that AT&T was dumb. They know that the iPad and new iPhone 4 are using more data.... so they are going to get more $$ out of "you" in overages. It's also pretty clear Apple has no more "pull" with them. SOMEONE else is getting the iPhone in the next 6 months....
To each his own.... i don't think that 2-3 months is a fair estimate of your usage either.
Again, regurgitation of rhetoric, not actual facts. It's $10 per gb after you exceed 2gb, clearly stated on your plan, every website, AT&T, etc.
The fuss died down when people checked their actual usage and realized it was not an issue. Simple fact, AT&T saved 90%+ of their data customers $5 a month.
AT&T IS smart, they did this to thwart the tiny but vocal minority of people who were hogging most the data. Have you seen the stats? Pretty telling.
Ash
The fuss died down when people checked their actual usage and realized it was not an issue. Simple fact, AT&T saved 90%+ of their data customers $5 a month.
AT&T IS smart, they did this to thwart the tiny but vocal minority of people who were hogging most the data. Have you seen the stats? Pretty telling.
Ash
Really?
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/ipad.jsp
You are talking about iPhone options, not valid for the iPad.
Late in seeing this thread, but milage will vary for many.
I too thought that I could deal with 250mb of data... But found I had to nurse it though...
Decided that when the news came that I could grandfather in or be limited to 2GB for $5 less a month - decided to jump on it... So glad I did. In my first month of unlimited I hit about 4GB of usage. While ATT has free wifi with the plans; maybe falsely I feel more secure on the 3G network than wifi.
But that is part of my life here as well. I end up with blocks of time that I have finished the simple tasks that 250mb might work for. But have enjoyed a movie on Netflix as I waited for a car repair. Or wanted to catch a half hour episode of Cougertown on the ABC app during my lunch.
Going away on Monday for an overnight trip; nice to know that I have Netflix if I don't like what is on the TV - or if I decide that I want to relax poolside before hitting the sack. Why pay the hotel $10 for their wifi?
Oh that too. No way in anything am I checking my bank balance on free wifi... Or anything else with a pw.
I can also honestly say that since I got my 3G on launch day, I have NEVER been at an AT&T hotspot. Ok, I was at the mcd's drive thru yesterday, but that doesn't count!
Could I make 2g work? Probably, but for me it's not worth the $5 of effort. I have enough other things to worry about in my daily lilfe.
Sporadic Need For Me Forces A No Win Situation
The uncertainty of Wi-Fi access, or even a strong Wi-Fi while at work or on the road has pretty much forced me to kick my account into the $30.00 per month unlimited (I opted in just before ATT pulled the plug on unlimited).
Regarding my workplace. Something odd is going on there, and the IT guys can't figure it out. Somedays with full bars I get good speed, other days with full bars I have to resort to 3G because the intermittent speed makes me revert my 3G plan. I know others have reported Wifi woes with the iPad and it seems like mine developed an issue after about a month of ownership.
My original plan was to hop back and forth between the low end plan and the unlimited plan as needed. I knew then that I'd be wasting some of the purchased bandwidth as I opted in and out of unlimited under the old plan. Now of course it would seem I'm going to waste even more money for the assurance of having a 3G backup with unlimited bandwidth that I don't always need.
Recently on a trip to the East Coast I could find no free ATT Wifi at my local airport, Chicago's O'Hare, or Boston's Logan airports. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I just could not find ATT Wifi or one of its partners. There was one notable exception, my hotel did have Wayport as an ATT partner. This saved me $10.00 per day for the three nights I was there.
As you can tell I'm pretty bitter about the loss of the promised ability to jump between plans on a monthly basis. I do have an iPhone 4 (also grandfathered into unlimited bandwidth), maybe I should consider the tethering plan, but I have yet to research the cost and bandwidth limits of tethering. Maybe I would lose my grandfathered unlimited plan if I change to a tethered plan?
It has been noted in these threads that everyone needs different amounts of bandwidth at different times. ATT has pulled a bait and switch that I hope gives them even more bad Karma.
My plan now is to look at all of my subscriptions to various services and drop some in order to recoup the money I'm now paying to ATT in order to keep my unlimited 3G service.
The uncertainty of Wi-Fi access, or even a strong Wi-Fi while at work or on the road has pretty much forced me to kick my account into the $30.00 per month unlimited (I opted in just before ATT pulled the plug on unlimited).
Regarding my workplace. Something odd is going on there, and the IT guys can't figure it out. Somedays with full bars I get good speed, other days with full bars I have to resort to 3G because the intermittent speed makes me revert my 3G plan. I know others have reported Wifi woes with the iPad and it seems like mine developed an issue after about a month of ownership.
My original plan was to hop back and forth between the low end plan and the unlimited plan as needed. I knew then that I'd be wasting some of the purchased bandwidth as I opted in and out of unlimited under the old plan. Now of course it would seem I'm going to waste even more money for the assurance of having a 3G backup with unlimited bandwidth that I don't always need.
Recently on a trip to the East Coast I could find no free ATT Wifi at my local airport, Chicago's O'Hare, or Boston's Logan airports. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I just could not find ATT Wifi or one of its partners. There was one notable exception, my hotel did have Wayport as an ATT partner. This saved me $10.00 per day for the three nights I was there.
As you can tell I'm pretty bitter about the loss of the promised ability to jump between plans on a monthly basis. I do have an iPhone 4 (also grandfathered into unlimited bandwidth), maybe I should consider the tethering plan, but I have yet to research the cost and bandwidth limits of tethering. Maybe I would lose my grandfathered unlimited plan if I change to a tethered plan?
It has been noted in these threads that everyone needs different amounts of bandwidth at different times. ATT has pulled a bait and switch that I hope gives them even more bad Karma.
My plan now is to look at all of my subscriptions to various services and drop some in order to recoup the money I'm now paying to ATT in order to keep my unlimited 3G service.
Sporadic Need For Me Forces A No Win Situation
The uncertainty of Wi-Fi access, or even a strong Wi-Fi while at work or on the road has pretty much forced me to kick my account into the $30.00 per month unlimited (I opted in just before ATT pulled the plug on unlimited).
Regarding my workplace. Something odd is going on there, and the IT guys can't figure it out. Somedays with full bars I get good speed, other days with full bars I have to resort to 3G because the intermittent speed makes me revert my 3G plan. I know others have reported Wifi woes with the iPad and it seems like mine developed an issue after about a month of ownership.
My original plan was to hop back and forth between the low end plan and the unlimited plan as needed. I knew then that I'd be wasting some of the purchased bandwidth as I opted in and out of unlimited under the old plan. Now of course it would seem I'm going to waste even more money for the assurance of having a 3G backup with unlimited bandwidth that I don't always need.
Recently on a trip to the East Coast I could find no free ATT Wifi at my local airport, Chicago's O'Hare, or Boston's Logan airports. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I just could not find ATT Wifi or one of its partners. There was one notable exception, my hotel did have Wayport as an ATT partner. This saved me $10.00 per day for the three nights I was there.
As you can tell I'm pretty bitter about the loss of the promised ability to jump between plans on a monthly basis. I do have an iPhone 4 (also grandfathered into unlimited bandwidth), maybe I should consider the tethering plan, but I have yet to research the cost and bandwidth limits of tethering. Maybe I would lose my grandfathered unlimited plan if I change to a tethered plan?
It has been noted in these threads that everyone needs different amounts of bandwidth at different times. ATT has pulled a bait and switch that I hope gives them even more bad Karma.
My plan now is to look at all of my subscriptions to various services and drop some in order to recoup the money I'm now paying to ATT in order to keep my unlimited 3G service.
The uncertainty of Wi-Fi access, or even a strong Wi-Fi while at work or on the road has pretty much forced me to kick my account into the $30.00 per month unlimited (I opted in just before ATT pulled the plug on unlimited).
Regarding my workplace. Something odd is going on there, and the IT guys can't figure it out. Somedays with full bars I get good speed, other days with full bars I have to resort to 3G because the intermittent speed makes me revert my 3G plan. I know others have reported Wifi woes with the iPad and it seems like mine developed an issue after about a month of ownership.
My original plan was to hop back and forth between the low end plan and the unlimited plan as needed. I knew then that I'd be wasting some of the purchased bandwidth as I opted in and out of unlimited under the old plan. Now of course it would seem I'm going to waste even more money for the assurance of having a 3G backup with unlimited bandwidth that I don't always need.
Recently on a trip to the East Coast I could find no free ATT Wifi at my local airport, Chicago's O'Hare, or Boston's Logan airports. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I just could not find ATT Wifi or one of its partners. There was one notable exception, my hotel did have Wayport as an ATT partner. This saved me $10.00 per day for the three nights I was there.
As you can tell I'm pretty bitter about the loss of the promised ability to jump between plans on a monthly basis. I do have an iPhone 4 (also grandfathered into unlimited bandwidth), maybe I should consider the tethering plan, but I have yet to research the cost and bandwidth limits of tethering. Maybe I would lose my grandfathered unlimited plan if I change to a tethered plan?
It has been noted in these threads that everyone needs different amounts of bandwidth at different times. ATT has pulled a bait and switch that I hope gives them even more bad Karma.
My plan now is to look at all of my subscriptions to various services and drop some in order to recoup the money I'm now paying to ATT in order to keep my unlimited 3G service.
Once other carriers become available, I'm really hoping the competition gives AT&T a big kick in the pants!
I feel the same...as long as AT&T keeps unlimited at $30 (with no added taxes and fees). Once the price goes up (and you know someday it will) I'll probably rethink it.
I am seriously, really, without a doubt questioning this whole Unlimied Plan I am on. My stats say I have used 345 MBs since signing up 34 days ago on June 3rd!
I didn't even realize my month had ended and I have yet to see another $29.99 charge for the current month that started 4 days ago.
My plan was to wait one more month to see how I use it but I really think I don't need to--I'll switch to the $25 2 GB plan and that should be MORE than enough.
Saving $15 on my iPhone plan too means I'll save $20/month!
Thanks ATT!
I didn't even realize my month had ended and I have yet to see another $29.99 charge for the current month that started 4 days ago.
My plan was to wait one more month to see how I use it but I really think I don't need to--I'll switch to the $25 2 GB plan and that should be MORE than enough.
Saving $15 on my iPhone plan too means I'll save $20/month!
Thanks ATT!
My usage again rolled backwards by about 100mb this month. I'd go check the numbers but Photos is crashing every time I'm in there trying to scroll. Last month it rolled back more, it was kind of freaky.
Lol, i used 4mb yesterday in my kitchen. I have marginal wifi out there (we apparently have more metal studs in our house than we knew) and a clear shot to the AT&T tower.... Comcast was freaking out so i just went to 3G!
I don't have another data bill, so the $5 isn't a big deal at the moment. If you knew me and how tight my budget was you'd be shocked to hear that coming from me, but for now i will keep the unlimited.
If you think your usage has been what you would call typical the last few months then go for it, but I'd probably wait one more month!
my typical is panning out to be clods to 1gb, and I used an extra 1.5gb the first month because of an untypical occasion.I think next week i will try some air video stuff and see if that is usable at one location. I can't get netflix to load there, and i don't want to convert my mp2 videos from eyetv either, so we shall see....
This probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. It would require the hardware to be changed.
Some of us use virtually no video. Don't watch TV at home either, except during baseball season.
I can only speak to my iPhone usage, since I went with the wifi iPad. The most data I've used according to AT&T was 145 MB while I was at my in laws' for a week (they can't remember their wifi password). That was with decently heavy forum usage, average email, and heavy use of AIM in the evenings. Even in March, when I was streaming MLB Spring Training games through audio, my usage barely cracked 100 MB.
I'm keeping unlimited for now, assuming I'll use the iPhone 4 more heavily than it's predecessor, but if this keeps up another 6 months, I'll have no qualms about dropping it. As for the iPad, even the rinky-dink little burger bar I was at this weekend had wifi; no kids to entertain in the car, etc., and I'm never more than a short hop from a Starbucks...except when visiting family. I'm still thinking about the Virgin Mobile pay as you go mifi unit for the next visit to the in laws, but really, I just haven't found that I can't live without it so far.