Although I am working in the IT industry for several years , I have never used a smartphone as I am working for a company heavily involved in the defence sector (note MINDEF projects). My company have finally arranged a deal for its employees for non-camera smartphone and I have decided to acquire my first smartphone and data plan. I have some questions regarding the use of a smartphone:
1) What are the activities that will count to the use of data plan usage? I do not wish to burst my 2GB limit.
2) How do you actually download apps to your smartphone.
3) How does one connect to the Internet with the smartphone? Does Internet connection contribute to data plan usage?
4) How long does a battery of a smartphone last? I need to be contactable 24/7 most of the time.
5) What are the things to take note of, if I want my smartphone to last longer?
Sorry for my noobness!
Welcome to smartphone world! I'll try to answer your question in layman terms for you to easier understand. Maybe you can also indicate what phone you are getting? So the forummers here can give you tips about saving battery and data on that phone?
1) The major data eater are videos and images. Apart from that, surfing the web, reading your email, downloading stuffs, are also counted in your data usage. Let me just list down whatever I know that eats data, and how high or low:
- Downloading apps (moderate to high);
- Reading your email (low to moderate);
- Web browsing (moderate);
- Facebook/instagram (moderate to high);
- Navigation (moderate);
- Listening to online radio (moderate to high);
- Watching videos on YouTube (high);
- Games that require internet connection (moderate)
Some phone or operating system can warn you when you are nearing your data limit, and even cut you off from using once it reach 2GB. If there isn't, you can track your usage using your telco's app, that are specifically designed to track your data usage - My M1, My Starhub or My Singtel app.
2) Depends on what phone you get, you can download all apps from the App Store. Do note all these downloading will be counted as data usage, so I suggest you moderate the download of apps, or download without worries using Wi-Fi connections.
3) Well, Internet IS the reason you're paying for data. So as long as you download/read anything that is from the web, it will be counted in. You can choose to turn your mobile data on or off under the device settings, so you won't accidentally use it, and turn on whenever you want to use. Although I usually leave it on for convenience.
4) Also depends on what phone you will be using. Larger screen smartphone generally eats up battery quickly than smaller size one (iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy Note). If you use your phone moderately, can probably last 2-3 days.
You can increase battery time by lowering down the brightness of the screen, and turning of connections that you are not using (Wi-Fi, GPS, 4G/LTE).
For some phones, you can enable "Power-Saving" mode. You can also get external portable chargers to charge on the go if your phone battery is unremovable.
5) I assume this question is about the long-lasting of the phone in general, and not the battery.
For starters, you might want to get a casing for your phone. There are 2 types of casings, one is to keep your phone protected from drops and hits ($30-$100+), the other one just to protect from scratches ($15-$35).
Another necessity to keep your phone longer lasting is to get a good screen protector, which will cost roughly $30.
Reputable brand for these casing and screen protectors are as such:
- Spigen SGP
- Belkin
- Incase
- Otterbox
- Case Mate
Hope I answer all of your questions. If you're still worried about the data usage, you can go here and it can estimate
roughly how much data you will be using depending on your monthly activities on the phone:
AT&T Data Calculator from AT&T
