50MB data plan, then throttle to 32kbps. Is this enough?

[earthw0rmjim]

Hey!

I'm using WiFi, but need to use mobile network for sync and stuff if i'm away from home.
Not gonna surf, just wanna sync Gmail, Reader (like 3 subscriptions) and Weather.
Is 50MB a month enough for this? If not, how bad is the 32kbps throttle? Is it enough for sync?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pawdog]

You should be fine. The occasional email shouldn't require much speed as long as you friends aren't sending video and lots of pictures. Weather could be a problem during times of severe weather when you are really looking at radar animations and the like. Good luck with this plan, I suppose you could upgrade if it is insufficient.

 

[earthw0rmjim]

Thanks for the quick reply, gonna go with it then.

 

[mikedt]

Mind me asking which carrier has a 50MB restriction before throttling? Seems rather stingy.

 

[indybail]

Mind me asking which carrier has a 50MB restriction before throttling? Seems rather stingy.

I agree. I believe I would shop around some more.

 

[earthw0rmjim]

Mind me asking which carrier has a 50MB restriction before throttling? Seems rather stingy.

It's a T-Mobile plan specifically for college students. It's kinda good (6.7$/month, 3 numbers to call for free and such), except this 50MB data limit, that's why i'm considering it.

 

[IOWA]

It's a T-Mobile plan specifically for college students. It's kinda good (6.7$/month, 3 numbers to call for free and such), except this 50MB data limit, that's why i'm considering it.

Just to put this into perspective for you, 50MB is about 10 MP3's.

50MB < 1 youtube video.
With 50MB, you can load this websites main page less than 50 times.
Most webpages are about 1-3MB, you can do the math. If they are image heavy they can be much larger.

Also to put this into perspective, 32kbps is about the same real world speed as dial-up, if you can remember those days, which is terribly slow. In order to load androidforums.com on 32kbps it would take approximately 32 seconds.

There are much better plans out there to fit your needs, and T-mobile's footprint isn't exactly the best. I would look into prepaid options like cricket, virgin mobile, boost mobile, and even Verizon prepaid.

 

[danaj]

I was with Cricket for years, and they had decent coverage, and were super cheap, all with out a contract. The only thing that sucks is the customer service, but I didn't mind. The only reason I changed is cuz my boyfriend put me on his family plan, and a got a way nicer phone.

 

[earthw0rmjim]

Just found this low bandwidth simulator: http://www.loband.org/loband/simulator.jsp
Tried 32kbps and it's indeed pretty terrible, gonna look for a better plan.
Installed Network Monitor from the market, so i can calculate which plan would be optimal.

Thanks for all the answers!

 

[dan330]

if you dont expect to do anything much .. on mobile data.. then it will be ok.

but.. its like having a car.. with a 1 gallon gas tank... you will feel the limit quickly

 

[rui-no-onna]

I'm using WiFi, but need to use mobile network for sync and stuff if i'm away from home.
Not gonna surf, just wanna sync Gmail, Reader (like 3 subscriptions) and Weather.
Is 50MB a month enough for this? If not, how bad is the 32kbps throttle? Is it enough for sync?

My Androids use 2~3MB per day for the background syncing stuff (contacts, email, calendar, Google Voice SMS). For just background syncing, though, 32kbps is good enough. However, browsing anything other than WAP sites on that connection is going to be a major pain in the neck.

 

[landovr]

My wife has a 100mb plan and she doesn't go to websites or anything, all she does is check her emails and use the facebook app and she usually uses about 70mb per month.

 

[bigdrew]

How extensive is wireless coverage on the campus? If your phone is on wifi >90% of the time, then 50MB might actually be plenty.