Database Develop

Data usage

Apologies if this is not the right place to ask but....
I am considering getting an HTC Diamond Touch and I am on O2. Their "unlimited" data plan has a fair usage policy of 200Mb per month. Is this enough? I intend using push email, my personal IMAP email (with regular polling) and some web browsing, perhaps the odd bit of YouTube etc etc.
Also, if I am connected to my WiFi router at home and browsing the web, I assume that O2 dont know anything about that and it does not form part of the 200Mb.
Thanks

The Jones said:
Apologies if this is not the right place to ask but....
I am considering getting an HTC Diamond Touch and I am on O2. Their "unlimited" data plan has a fair usage policy of 200Mb per month. Is this enough? I intend using push email, my personal IMAP email (with regular polling) and some web browsing, perhaps the odd bit of YouTube etc etc.
Also, if I am connected to my WiFi router at home and browsing the web, I assume that O2 dont know anything about that and it does not form part of the 200Mb.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each person has different requirements, however in my opinion, its no where near enough.
Will O2 care if you go over though?...

For everything you mentioned, except YouTube, I think 200Mb/month would be enough. But of course, it depends on HOW much YouTube you are planning to 'use'.
I don't have any numbers on how much data I use though, since my operator (Tele2Comviq, Sweden) allows up to 5Gb before they limit the transfer speed to 30kb/s.

Thanks for the responses, but not sure if it clears things up for me! I do wonder what O2 will do if I start to go over, might be worth a try!
As for the WiFi access, is my assumption correct?

The Jones said:
Thanks for the responses, but not sure if it clears things up for me! I do wonder what O2 will do if I start to go over, might be worth a try!
As for the WiFi access, is my assumption correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct!

Thanks again. I think I will take the risk and try it. I will try and remember to post back here with my results (if O2 have not already cut me off)

If you go over the fair usage limit, they are liable to start charging you £7.50Mb

chriswren said:
If you go over the fair usage limit, they are liable to start charging you £7.50Mb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't go barmy ouch

I don't know specifically about O2, but pretty much everyone, unless you're paying an extra premium for a "more unlimited than unlimited" internet access, block or exclude in the T&Cs streaming media like youtube. Check the small print.

You will definitely need more than that - but speak to them first if you are re-negotiating your contract. I was with them and they gave me a free data bundle which was much more than 200mb when I threatened to go to T-Mobile but then I did anyway as I could do without the hassle.
I do know though that with any 'fair usage' you can not simply be charged straight away, you should be given warning that you are approaching your limit. Having just checked my O2 conditions (which could be out of date) they will contact you to discuss your plan and if you continue to go over they have the right to request you stop or they can charge you. I've yet to hear of any of my friends being charged and I know they go over.

Data usage apps

For people that like to keep track of data usage, which one do ya'll use?
I use to use one for XP when I first started tething. I found NetTraffic and it seemed buggy and then I found NetCounter which seemed to not keeping track of my usage correctly.
Now NetTraffic has another app out due to complications in Market... whatever, but I wanna know what other people use or if they dont care.

NetCounter is good but the UI is a bit corky. Roiding is good, but the on/off popup seems genuinely random, and the UI is confused.
Leaning towards NetCounter. Still have run a test to compare the usage to my actual billed usage though...

i would like someone to release an app that does what SPB wireless manager does for WM. It tells you how much data you have used and also tells you how much data each app used so you can see which are the data hogs etc....

Palringo is here!!!!

I have personally waiting on this app on the Android platform since I got my G1. Don't sleep people..........http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/download IMO I will say its a Meebo Killer Keep in mind it's in beta so more features to come. (Push to Talk) Oh and check out the forum to add feature requests etc....

the program is still young it lacks some features but unlike meebo it seems you need data plan or wifi to get it working and not 3G.
It's so bad the program look promising.

?? you need data plan and not 3g??
what do you mean by that? 3g is just the connection speed?
it works flawlessly with a regular data connection here.
and it looks and feels as nice as the win mo version, if not more so.

How does this one handle battery life?

i have been using this app for a long time and like it a lot the log out should be fixed soon

I have this on my laptop, awesome messenger!!! I had this on my wing & my tilt, awesomer!!! I got it on my ipod touch, still awesome!!! Now its on my g1... not so awesome!!! It signs me out way too often. It seems everytime I close the app, it signs me out. I never had this issue with the program on any other platform before. But I can't wait for them to fix that cuz this is easily the best all in one messenger I have used

Does this thing save your conversations like Meebo does?

wow, looks really good .... no problems so far, connected to facebook chat, msn and icq!

please give feed back and feature requests to the forum:http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/forum/support/android/

Oh sorry i mean it works with data connection et no wap
like the regular IM

Sooooo, how is it effecting everyones battery? I'm still on the fence on whether to use this over the stock IMs.

Gimpeh said:
Sooooo, how is it effecting everyones battery? I'm still on the fence on whether to use this over the stock IMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far battery isn't an issue cuz it doesn't stay connected long enough to suck any juice. But I can say on my wing, tilt & ipod, it never drained my battery

I'm waiting for an update.....the PTT feature and the LBS are worth the wait....

drains battery and disconnects, but chat rooms are fun. would be perfect if it didn't drain battery (dun think they can do anything about that), and if they fixed the disconnects....

[Q] Can my N1 using huge amounts of data?

Hi,
I have this big, big problem with my carrier (Orange Spain) where they are charging me an arm and an eye for data connections I didn't make. I mean I just got this month's bill and I owe them 150€! Looking at it in detail I see numerous data connections ranging in the tens or hundreds of megs, made when I wasn't even using the phone. There's even one where I supposedly used 1,7 Gb!
They assure me that the connections have been made even if I'm not aware of them, and said that maybe they're due to a faulty phone. Is there a known problem with the N1 or any Android apps where they might be using those huge amounts of data without the user knowing it?

The apps use as much data as you let them use.
For example, if you have unprotected tethering turned on - you're providing all your surroundings with free internet on your account. Don't be surprised that doing it will result in huge bills.
No, there is no "known problem". Apps use internet connection, some more, some less. Want to control it? Install 3G Watchdog or any other app that checks the amount of data traffic used, and find what's using it.

what apps do you have that sync data?
gallery syncing with Picasa?
Lookup mobile security backing up your photos?
email accounts with sync amount=all?

data is fairly heavy with the phone, I average around 5-8gbs/month

Jack_R1 said:
For example, if you have unprotected tethering turned on - you're providing all your surroundings with free internet on your account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I don't. I wasn't even tethering by USB at the time these connections were made.
Jack_R1 said:
No, there is no "known problem". Apps use internet connection, some more, some less. Want to control it? Install 3G Watchdog or any other app that checks the amount of data traffic used, and find what's using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does 3G Watchdog tell you which app is using / has used the data?
britoso said:
what apps do you have that sync data?
gallery syncing with Picasa?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep... but no new photos were uploaded.
britoso said:
Lookup mobile security backing up your photos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, none of that.
britoso said:
email accounts with sync amount=all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... still, those amount to 5-10 mails a day, tops.
osugsxr said:
data is fairly heavy with the phone, I average around 5-8gbs/month
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never surpassed 400Mb before this, and I haven't changed my habits at all. Suddenly I'm over 3Gb.

No, 3G Watchdog doesn't tell you what app used the traffic. But there are others that do. Recently someone asked about such app, try to search the forum.

frandavid100 said:
I never surpassed 400Mb before this, and I haven't changed my habits at all. Suddenly I'm over 3Gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that should rule out Android itself from your OP. It must be an app. Newsrob? You should look into any app that autosyncs. Also check their sync interval settings.

Alright, I ran some tests regarding this problem yesterday. First I turned off the phone and removed the SIM card, to see if there was any data traffic. I suspect my carrier is charging me for fake connections, so it was important to rule out the possibility of they registering connections while the card was removed.
I had it off for the rest of the day and, as expected, no connections were registered.
Then I installed 3G Watchdog and something curious happened: 3G Watchdog says I've spent exactly 91,4Kb, but Orange's web says I've spent 3,4Mb.
This brings a question, and the answer is very very important to me: is is possible that the phone is making connections and these are going unregistered by 3G Watchdog? That is, that the phone is using the Internet and 3G Watchdog doesn't see it?

frandavid100 said:
Alright, I ran some tests regarding this problem yesterday. First I turned off the phone and removed the SIM card, to see if there was any data traffic. I suspect my carrier is charging me for fake connections, so it was important to rule out the possibility of they registering connections while the card was removed.
I had it off for the rest of the day and, as expected, no connections were registered.
Then I installed 3G Watchdog and something curious happened: 3G Watchdog says I've spent exactly 91,4Kb, but Orange's web says I've spent 3,4Mb.
This brings a question, and the answer is very very important to me: is is possible that the phone is making connections and these are going unregistered by 3G Watchdog? That is, that the phone is using the Internet and 3G Watchdog doesn't see it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I would also argue that there is a lot more "background" data going on in android than on other mobile OS.

No, the connections don't go "unnoticed" by 3G Watchdog. But the charge for the connections isn't always calculated in "straightforward" way, as one would expect - please try to find earlier threads for it, I remember someone bringing this point already, and if I'm not mistaken - it was for one of the European carriers. For example, carriers can charge for any data packet, regardless of its size, as minimum of X size - so if you have an app that syncs and it has downloaded 5kB from the internet in 10 packets, it'll still register as charge for 100kB of data on your provider's site.
Check if they recently changed the calculation of the data charges - it might be the answer why suddenly you see your data usage blown.

nexusdue said:
Interesting. I would also argue that there is a lot more "background" data going on in android than on other mobile OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is, obviously, your bias showing and nothing more. There is no "background" data besides the obvious data - Gmail? Email? Contact sync (only when contacts change)? Data-syncing apps? Data-downloading apps (Maps/Navigation)? They're not present on "other mobile OS"? If they are - they draw the same data.
You might argue that Android gives a lot more "connectivity" to use by default, so users end up using a lot more data. That's closer to the truth - since Google apps rely on web availability, and they're available by default and easily accessible, they end up being used. On the other hand, it doesn't differ from installing those apps on any other mobile platform that supports it.

Jack_R1 said:
No, the connections don't go "unnoticed" by 3G Watchdog. But the charge for the connections isn't always calculated in "straightforward" way, as one would expect - please try to find earlier threads for it, I remember someone bringing this point already, and if I'm not mistaken - it was for one of the European carriers. For example, carriers can charge for any data packet, regardless of its size, as minimum of X size - so if you have an app that syncs and it has downloaded 5kB from the internet in 10 packets, it'll still register as charge for 100kB of data on your provider's site.
Check if they recently changed the calculation of the data charges - it might be the answer why suddenly you see your data usage blown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already took that into account: some of the connections Orange is charging me for don't amount to a Kylobyte, so we can discard that. And I have single connections that range from the tens of Megs to a top of 1.67Gb. All of them connections I didn't make, obviously.

Install this:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.curvefish.apps.trafficinfo
And check, what is connecting. If it's your phone at all.

Thanks, I've just started using it.

Run:
tcpdump -vv -s 0 -w /sdcard/output.cap
After a while, open that on your computer using WIRESHARK. It will tell you EXACTLY WHERE your phone is connecting to, as well as what protocol it is using, and even (if it isn't encrypted data), what data is being transferred.

frandavid100 said:
Thanks, I've just started using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am encountering the same issue (not so huge leaks but unknown as well)
TrafficInfo says me the following components use that data (every day lots of megabytes):
MediaStorage
DRM Protected Content Storage
Download Manager
have you figured out what that was?
Please let us know.
Thank you in advance

lbcoder said:
Run:
tcpdump -vv -s 0 -w /sdcard/output.cap
After a while, open that on your computer using WIRESHARK. It will tell you EXACTLY WHERE your phone is connecting to, as well as what protocol it is using, and even (if it isn't encrypted data), what data is being transferred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot man,
I don't know what that was in case of frandavid100,
but thanks to you I've figured out what is happening on my side.
I did tcpdump -vv -s 0 -w /sdcard/output.cap as you mentioned.
Your wise advice and mighty tool let me understand that my N1 downloads FRG83 firmware update from Google servers some times per day (but it can't install it because CM6 ROM is on board).
I really appreciate your help ! Thanks again.

[Q] Best data counter for tracking usage?

Hello All
Has anyone found a good data counter for the Galaxy. I use the Mobile AP tool a lot to share internet with my laptop. I used to have an MDA Diamond running Windows and my traffic per month was usually between 1 gig and 2 gig which was reported by i think Octrotalk or something, it was the default data counter that came with the phone.
My problem is that now i'm on Android i can't use that program so i've been using NetCounter which has good reviews but i don't believe the figures its reporting. I tried the Phone Usage app too but that didn't even report anything. In nearly a full month NetCounter says ive only used 141 mb which is way too low. I go on Youtube, I download apps and i surf all via the phone then i connect to my laptop 4 days a week and stay connected for around 9 hours. I have XDA and Facebook both on tab most of the time as well as visiting other sites and i play quite a lot of java games on Facebook so surely it should be higher than 141mb
Was the windows phone just downloading lots of extra rubbish?
or is NetCounter not reporting correctly?

I use 3G Watchdog, seems to work alright and has a nice widget to sit on your homescreen

bigdave196 said:
I use 3G Watchdog, seems to work alright and has a nice widget to sit on your homescreen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here
once we upgrade to froyo there is a better one that tracks the usage of each single application in your PC... i mean SGS phone

AllGamer said:
same here
once we upgrade to froyo there is a better one that tracks the usage of each single application in your PC... i mean SGS phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol.... yea when it eventually gets released, that's another thing to look forward to then
Thank you both for your answers, i'll install it right away and report back in about a months time.

Iv personally used 3g watchdog for some time and had a slight problem with the program resetting the counter before the end of the month/bill tried everything but it never kept counting till needed
currently using net counter from android market which never gave me any problems yet , running good and strong for a couple of months now no random resets, im not quite sure about sharing the 3g connection as i never did yet. i tried it at first when i got the phone and found out the connection was working a little faster than the 3.5g wireless modem i use for my laptop which only proved to me that the phone was as amazing as it is.
i recommend both as both give you detailed info with 3g , wifi usage but for tethering im not quite sure if its counted in those 2 programs
i guess u could make things easier and get a counter for ur pc/laptop and then simple set the tethered connection as a seperate one and at the end of the month add the phones counter with the laptop's one (( doing all this just to reduce the load on the phone and get an accurate measure for how much ur using from ur data plan))
LOL i recently found out from a techie at my cell provider ETISALAT that the unlimited*** 3.5g data package notice the 3 stars ***= a monthly limit of 10GB of both upload/download combined worth 135 dollers a month. They sure know how to suck us dry >_<

Mobile Counter
I used 3G watchdog for quite sometime but it wasnt as accurate and it stayed in status bar no matter what we try which was quite irritating
So i switched to Mobile Counter app..i luv it..it is accurate..shows many graphs..and the best thing u also have widgets in that..BABY I LIKE IT!!
Hit THANKS if i helped