The apps that eat your wireless data

Are you a wireless-data glutton or a nibbler?
New Verizon Wireless smartphone customers will have to figure that out starting Thursday as the country's largest wireless carrier rolls out data plans with monthly usage caps, instead of the unlimited plan for which existing customers pay $30 a month.
Under the new plans, smartphone users will pay Verizon between $30 and $80 each month for 2 to 10

gigabytes of data usage. Customers who use more than their allotment will be charged $10 more for each additional gigabyte.
If you have a monthly limit on how much data you can use, here are some tips on what types of phone use will gobble up megabytes:
Streaming video and videoconferencing. One minute of YouTube-quality video eats up 2 megabytes. Unless you're on WiFi, if your plan gives you 200 megabytes per month, you can't even watch Lady Gaga's "Telephone" video once a day. AT&T charges $15 a month for 200 megabytes, though Verizon is not offering such a limited plan.
Streaming audio. Audio consumes about a quarter of the data that video does, but 10 minutes a day will break the bank if you're on a 200-megabyte plan. One hour a day of Pandora consumes nearly a gigabyte, which you can afford if you're on a 2-gigabyte plan and don't use other data-hogging apps.
Photos. If you're a real shutterbug, photos can consume significant amounts of data. Sending and viewing photos both count toward your monthly limit. Posting 10 photos per day eats up most of a 200-megabyte plan. If you're on a 2-gigabyte plan, you probably don't have to worry about photos.
Maps. Navigation apps consume lots of data when they retrieve map images, up to a megabyte a minute. You're also likely to use them for long periods of time when you're away from WiFi, such as when you're driving. Watch out for these.
Web surfing. Roughly speaking, 10 Web pages a day will eat up about half of a 200-megabyte plan. Again, those on 2-gigabyte plans don't need to worry much about surfing.
Facebook. Roughly equivalent to Web surfing. Status updates won't take much data, but sending photos and viewing friends' pictures will.
E-mail. Most e-mails are tiny, in terms of data. Basically, you can send and receive e-mail messages all you want, as long as they don't have attachments such as photos.
Twitter. Like e-mail, these short messages don't use much data, but if you follow a lot of people and click on links, usage adds up.

Next iPhone Might Have Over-the-Air Updates [REPORT]

The day where you don’t have to plug your iPhone, iPad or iPod into your computer to update its operating system might be close at hand. There’s a report that iOS 5 will be capable of over-the-air updates.

According to 9to5 Mac‘s multiple sources, Apple has been negotiating with Verizon Wireless to provide the over-the-air updates, but the sources wouldn’t comment on whether the same negotiations were taking place with AT&T.

For iOS updates to be delivered over-the-air, Apple will need to make fundamental changes in the way its updates work. For one thing, Apple will need to stop requiring a download of the entire operating system for a simple update.

My take: Today, I updated my iPhone to iOS 4.3.3 (fixing that location tracking problem that caused such an uproar lately), and as it always does, the phone’s data was backed up onto my laptop, and then the entire iOS 4.3.3 was downloaded, all 662.3 MB of it. That’s not going to be easy to do over the air, especially if you’re using 3G or 4G.

Perhaps Apple will let these updates take place only over Wi-Fi connections, as it does for some large app downloads. Even if that’s the case, just for the sake of efficiency it would be a good idea to send incremental updates, similar to the way Microsoft has been updating its operating systems for years, in small pieces as they become available.

This would be a long-awaited and welcome capability — a feature that’s commonplace in the Android operating system. So how much longer must we wait? Of course, Apple’s not saying, but general consensus is that iOS 5 will launch when the iPhone 5 ships, and now the latest iPhone rumor is that it won’t be happening in June or July, as many had hoped. Another recent report said the next iPhone would be shipping in September.

Are you hoping for over-the-air update capability, and do you think it’s on the way?

IPad 2 Shortage Gives XOOM an Opening

Motorola Mobility Holdings lined up notably strong U.S. distribution for the launch of the XOOM WiFi.

Amazon.com (ticker: AMZN), Best Buy (BBY), Costco Wholesale (COST), RadioShack (RSH), Sam's Club, Staples (SPLS) and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) form an unusually broad launch pad for the tablet. The price is set at $599, though we expect several of the retailers to debut the device with promotional pricing around $550.

Motorola (MMI) is now set to launch its WiFi-only tablet two weeks before Research in Motion (RIMM) gets its similar, though smaller Playbook device out, likely close to the $500 retail price point. The notably cheaper price of the WiFi version compared to its 3G sibling is, in our view, likely to help sales.

The current [ Apple (AAPL)] iPad 2 shortage, combined with exceptionally broad distribution of the XOOM WiFi, gives Motorola a good opening, in our view. We expect the sales of Xoom WiFi to be boosted by what we view as a surprisingly thin early supply of iPad 2.

In our view, Apple left a lot of money on the table when it could not deliver sufficient launch volumes for its new tablet. The wait time for the iPad 2 is now up to five weeks at Apple.com. Our research indicates that the reported recent chilling of the Apple-Samsung relationship can probably be traced to Samsung's challenges in getting the new A5 processor ramped up fast enough to meet Apple's demands.

We now expect Motorola to comfortably beat our 400,000-unit XOOM projection for first-quarter 2011. Some extra volumes are likely to come from what seems like a robust series of European XOOM distribution deals. We expect XOOM to be launched by the British electronics powerhouses Dixon's and Carphone Warehouse in the U.K. in early April.

Motorola is likely to ship some XOOM units to Europe and Asia during the last two weeks of first-quarter 2011. We believe Dixon's, Carphone Warehouse and [Deutsche Telekom's] T-Mobile in Germany are all committing to relatively strong marketing support for the XOOM. Our research indicates European distributors and operators are worried about Apple getting a stranglehold of the tablet market and are set to promote [ Google (GOOG)] Android alternatives strongly this spring. Motorola is in a good position here, in our view, because the Honeycomb tablet launches of vendors like LG and HTC seem to be somewhat delayed from original launch targets.

We believe several recent store checks indicating tepid sales of Motorola Atrix phone at AT&T (T) are misleading. Amazon is undercutting AT&T notably on Atrix pricing, at $130 versus $200. A similar situation took place last autumn during the Blackberry Torch launch -- the meaningfully lower Amazon.com price drove consumers to buying the Torch from the Web retailer, triggering a series of misleading store checks that underestimated national Torch sales substantially. This in turn created the backdrop for Research in Motion's revenue and earnings-per-share surprises for the autumn quarter.

We believe 50%-70% of sales of some new models now take place at Web retailers, particularly when there is a notable price gap between Web retailers and traditional stores.

We believe Motorola is on track to sell 500,000 units of the Atrix during first-quarter 2011, beating our original expectations somewhat. The delay of the HTC Thunderbolt launch at Verizon Wireless [a joint venture of Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone Group (VOD)] has helped a bit, in our view. We expect strong Verizon marketing support for the Motorola Bionic in April as the carrier starts its big LTE marketing push.

Motorola Xoom vs. Apple iPad 2: 10 Reasons to Pick Xoom

Apple’s iPad 2, which was announced in a special event March 2, is expected to hit store shelves March 11. When it does, customers will have the unenviable task of choosing either Apple’s latest tablet or the many other tablets from competing manufacturers that are vying for their hard-earned cash. Although last year, the decision to choose the iPad was an easy one, in 2011, it’s not as easy as one thinks.

That’s especially true if customers decide to opt for either the iPad 2 or the Motorola Xoom. The former is likely the front runner, given its predecessor’s success, but the Xoom is also a fine option. It delivers a number of solid features that consumers would be quite happy with. Even better, it does so at a price that’s quite competitive.

But for those still on the fence, let’s just make it easy: opt for the Motorola Xoom.

Yes, the iPad 2 looks like a nice device on paper, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it can live up the appeal of the Xoom. The average consumer could do worse than to pick up Motorola’s tablet over Apple’s.

Read on to find out why:

1. The slightly larger display

It might be a few factions of an inch difference, but it’s important for consumers to consider that the Motorola Xoom has a slightly larger display than Apple’s iPad. The Xoom features a 10.1-inch screen, while the iPad comes with a 9.7-inch display. On paper, that might not seem like much. But when one holds the devices in their hands and compares them, it’s quite noticeable. The extra screen real estate comes in handy when viewing video or surfing the Web. Keep that in mind.

2. Upgrade to 4G

Motorola’s Xoom currently only offers customers the ability to connect to Verizon’s 3G network when they’re away from home. However, Motorola Mobility has said that it will offer a free upgrade to 4G in the coming months. After that upgrade is in place, customers will be able to connect to Verizon’s ultra-high-speed network. Apple iPad 2 owners, on the other hand, won’t have that luxury. While Xoom owners will be surfing the Web at ultra-high speed, iPad 2 customers will be stuck on 3G.

3. Android 3.0 Honeycomb is promising

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed off the iPad 2 March 2, he said that the platform would come with iOS 4.3, an updated version of the mobile-operating system Apple launched last year. The Xoom, on the other hand, ships with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb. That platform, which was unveiled this year, comes with a number of important upgrades, including a reworked design, much better browsing, improved multitasking, and several other features. Those who have gotten their hands on the platform say it’s a sizable upgrade over Android 2.2. Due to Google’s desire to make the operating system more desktop-like in its functionality, iOS 4.3 might look rather obsolete next to it.

4. Don’t believe the apps hype

Apple was quick to point out at its March 2 event that it has 65,000 iPad applications available to customers. The company said that the Android Market currently has about 100 applications available to tablet owners. However, Apple failed to point out that more and more developers are moving to Android to bring their applications to tablets. Over time, the discrepancy in mobile applications won’t be nearly as great as Apple would like users to believe. It’s a problem now, but it won’t be a major issue by the end of the year.

5. The superior browsing experience

There’s no comparing the browsing experience on the Motorola Xoom to that of the iPad 2. Apple’s iPad 2 comes with the same, basic Mobile Safari experience customers have grown accustomed to. Apple’s iOS 4.3 improves browsing a little by increasing surfing efficiency, but it does nothing to answer the vastly improved Chrome browser in Honeycomb. Not only is surfing much faster than in previous versions of the software, but the software has real tabbed browsing, like users would find on the desktop. It also has Google’s Incognito Mode, auto-fill options, and many other services typically found in desktops. Simply put, it’s the best mobile-browsing experience on the market.

6. Where’s the advantage?

A quick glance at the basic specs of both the Xoom and the iPad 2 reveals no sizable advantages for Apple. Both devices come with a dual-core processor, have dual cameras, and offer WiFi and 3G connectivity. Both platforms record video, snap photos and support video conferencing. In other words, the key features are basically the same. The iPad 2’s most important advantage might simply be that it comes from Apple.

7. The price is right

Much has been made about the price of the Motorola Xoom. Those who support Apple products say that Motorola’s option, which starts at $799 with no contract, is quite expensive, considering the iPad 2 starts at $499 with WiFi and $629 for WiFi and 3G. But what those folks seem to forget is that the most relevant competitor to the Xoom, the iPad 2 featuring 32GB of storage and 3G connectivity, goes for $729. Moreover, those who are fine with entering into a two-year contract with Verizon can pay just $599.99 for the Xoom. As one can see, the Xoom’s pricing is right where it should be.

8. The battery consideration

Since tablets are mobile devices, battery life matters quite a bit. Although Steve Jobs was quick to tout the iPad 2’s battery life, it’s important to note that the Xoom features up to 10 hours of life surfing the Web over WiFi and up to nine hours on 3G. The iPad 2 has 10 hours of battery life over WiFi and nine hours of battery life on 3G. So, if battery life matters, Apple’s iPad 2 doesn’t seem to hold an advantage.

9. The extra ports matter

The Xoom comes with an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port and USB port for customers to pump video out of the device, connect other devices and more. The iPad 2, on the other hand, lacks those ports. Apple said that it will sell an HDMI-out adapter, but that costs customers an additional fee that they shouldn’t have to pay. After all, considering how much users are spending on a new tablet, wouldn’t an HDMI out and USB port be expected?

10. The mobility factor isn’t major

It’s important to note that the iPad 2 is both thinner and lighter than the Motorola Xoom. Since tablets are mobile devices, that might matter to some folks. But it probably shouldn’t matter as much as they think. The differences aren’t major. For most customers, the Xoom will be quite easy to carry around in a bag or purse. Would it be nice if it had a slightly smaller footprint and less heft to it? Sure. But it’s not enough of a problem to be a deal-breaker. And it certainly isn’t enough of a problem that customers should ignore its other benefits and opt for the iPad 2.

Apple iPad 2 on Sale this March 11 on Verizon

Apple iPad 2 is being prepped up for its March 11 release date. Apple Stores will surely have a very long line again for its iPad 2 Sale. Its popularity has just gone high when it was unveiled last Wednesday with CEO Steve Jobs. 

The Apple iPad 2 was featured as thinner, Lighter and faster. Sources are also saying that the Apple iPad 2 will be made available on Verizon Wireless with a price tag of $ 499 for 16 gig, $599 for the 32gig, and $699 for the 64gig (All Wifi Only Units).

Verizon Wireless has already confirmed that they will be offering the Apple iPad 2 this upcoming March 11. AT&T and Verizon has not yet confirmed that the 3G version will be available on this date. So those who want the Apple iPad 2 3G will have to wait. Although, AT&T also had not confirmed that they will be releasing the Apple iPad 2 on March 11. Its your choice on which provider you will be sticking to.

The Apple iPad 2 has a similar appearance to its predecessor but comes with its new features. A front and rear camera, a 1.3lbs weight and a new shell for the Apple iPad 2. Having 33% thinner aluminum shell with a flat back and beveled corners wrapping around the 9.7-in. screen. Its Display has not changed at all, still has a 1024 by 768 pixels, with 132 pixels per inch. Get yourself ready for the Apple iPad 2 Sale this March 11!.