Data

AT&T throttles customers who use 2GB of data but takes on new 3GB capped-users

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

AT&T has had a tumultuous relationship with its own customers over the last few years, with issues stemming from its lack of network capacity being exacerbated by the hugely popular iPhone being an exclusive handset to the carrier.

Data has tended to be one of the biggest sticking points for many, the lack of ability to make a phone call not withstanding. The recent change of AT&T's data plans has only managed to muddy the waters somewhat, and now things are getting even more confusing with the news that the carrier is throttling users who are on the old unlimited data plan and use 2GB of data per month.

The obvious question now is simple: why is AT&T throttling users who use 2GB of data but continues to accept new users on the updated 3GB limit plan? No, we don't know either...

Siri Accounts for 25% of Wolfram Alpha Queries

Cody Lee ∙ February 8, 2012

Siri has been met with mixed feelings from consumers since it debuted on the iPhone 4S last Fall. While some folks think the feature alone is worth the handset's price tag, others find it to be little more than a novelty.

Well in case anyone was wondering how often 4S owners are actually using Siri, the New York Times has the answer. In a recent report, the site notes that 25% of Wolfram Alpha's queries come from Apple's digital assistant...

AT&T Begins Throttling Unlimited Data Users Only After 2GB

Jake Smith ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

AT&T announced in October of 2011 that they would begin throttling data usage for users still on an Unlimited Data Plan. Original iPhone users are the only one who have kept their unlimited plans, while newer customers on AT&T have been stuck using tiered data plans, which were just restructured last month.

In October's announcement, AT&T said they will only throttle the top 5% of data users. AT&T warns users that they will be throttled when they fall under that tier, usually passing more than 10GB of data for the month. However, things didn't seem to go that way for blogger John Cozen who only used 2GB of data before getting the notification. Cozen reached out to AT&T upset, who then responded..

Verizon Shared iPhone and iPad Data Plan Coming Soon?

Jake Smith ∙ January 30, 2012

Many customers have both an iPhone and an iPad 3G that they use on the same network. This requires users to pay for separate data plans, but according to a leaked training manual this could soon change on the nation's largest carrier, Verizon.

According to Engadget, who leaked the flier, users will only have to pay a single $9.99 a month fee for one load of data that can be shared between both the iPhone and iPad. In May of 2011, Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo hinted towards this rolling out, but offered no time frame...

AT&T Announces New Data Plans

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 18, 2012

AT&T announced today new data plans for customers who take out contracts starting this coming Sunday.

The new plans replace the existing $15 and $25 plans and are built to reflect the increased amount of data AT&T's customers are apparently using. Existing customers can keep their existing plans should they wish, and all new contracts taken out from Sunday will automatically use the new plans, according to the carrier...

What AT&T’s Data Throttling Means to its Customers

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 17, 2012

You probably remember how AT&T last year began throttling the top 5% of its data users with the aim of offering a more stable data connection to the rest of its users, but what does that actually mean in the real world?

While AT&T no-longer offers an unlimited plan there are plenty of iPhone users who have been allowed to keep their old unlimited plan as part of their upgrades only to receive an SMS saying they have been throttled. The question is, what does that throttling actually mean?

AppAdvice decided to put that to the test, and they've compiled a video showing the affects a throttled AT&T 3G connection can have on the most basic of iPhone tasks...

iPhone 4S Users Consume Double the Data of iPhone 4 Users

Cody Lee ∙ January 6, 2012

As wireless carriers have started cracking down on data usage, users have become more conscious of their megabytes. So much so that many smartphone owners have resorted to using applications to keep track of their activity.

It looks like data-conscious users who are still contemplating snagging Apple's latest handset may have reason to worry. A new report shows that iPhone 4S owners use about double the data of that of iPhone 4 owners...

Sprint Throttles Top Data Users Too [Updated]

Sébastien Page ∙ January 5, 2012

Sprint, the carrier that touts itself as the only one to offer "truly unlimited data", actually has nothing on AT&T and Verizon, as CEO Dan Hesse confirmed today that his company is doing exactly the same thing:

"For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off," Hesse said at an investor conference Thursday. He said Sprint pares back data use for about 1% of users, a practice known as throttling.

Both AT&T and Verizon have been throttling top data users for a few months now. The difference is that AT&T and Verizon weren't misleading about it. Bad Sprint!

How to Get Unlimited Data On Your Verizon iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ January 3, 2012

Verizon discontinued its unlimited data plan last July, thereby joining the ranks of AT&T with tiered data offerings for smartphone users. Thankfully, a nifty trick has surfaced for getting unlimited data on Verizon, despite the CDMA carrier technically not offering its all-you-can-eat plan anymore.

While we can't verify the legitimacy of this method, many Verizon customers have reported that performing this workaround has indeed unlocked unlimited data...

Consume 2.0 Released to Help You Track Your Usage on the iPhone and iPad

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

Bjango, the company behind great apps like iStat, has released Consume 2.0 in the App Store. The huge update introduces an iPad version of the popular usage tracker and iCloud support.

Consume is a gorgeous app that lets you easily track your data usage, packages, and even reward cards. Version 2.0 makes an already-fantastic app even better.

Apple Expected to Sell 4 Million Apple TVs This Year

Cody Lee ∙ December 13, 2011

Apple has long described its Apple TV as a "hobby." And with sales of the set-top box not reaching anywhere near the numbers of Apple's other iOS devices, that makes perfect sense.

But even though Apple treats it like a side project, the Apple TV has done fairly well. A new report suggests that Apple's media hub has captured nearly a third of the market.

Verizon to Start Offering Shared Data Plans in 2012

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 9, 2018

As smartphones have become more and more popular over the last few years, so has wireless data. The more features that manufacturers add to their handsets, the more wireless data they consume.

This has caused several cell phone providers to preserve their bandwidth by discontinuing their unlimited data plans. Verizon seems to have come up with another way to deal with its data-intensive customers...