Data, and Data whats the difference? 4G and 3G
My network charges me for data and my phone stores data, and I have 2gb from my network and I get 16gb on my phone, what? Many people I speak to don't even know what their data allowance from their network is or what it actually means.
Some people find the whole concept of data perplexing, I know because I have nonsensical conversations with people who's brain I can sense is suffering a meltdown when it comes up.
But the same word (data) has been used by both phone manufacturers and networks to describe two totally different things. Even though somehow, they're sort of the same.
It's easier to think of Data like this.
Your network provides disposable data but, if it's an app, or a photo through a web browser you decide to keep, becomes your phones permanent data.
Hopefully you're still with me.
Your network provides disposable data, and whether its 4g or 3g it's still the same, 4G is just quicker, much much quicker, and it can transform how a handset behaves, if you're lucky enough to live in a city or somewhere with coverage. However, 3g isn't as bad as people tend to think, because it comprises of HSDPA and HSDPA + (plus) which can be damn fast, and coverage is far more readily available. (August 2016). For people lucky enough to live in beautiful countryside, 3G is probably the wiser choice. Why? A couple of reasons,
1) You probably won't get 4G 90% of the time,
2) Using less (disposable) data means lower running costs.
If you'd like to get an idea of how much data you use with your mobile phone. Download
"My Data Manager" and find out from your network when your billing cycle runs from. This app will sit in the background and monitor how much data your phone receives from the network and warn you if you're using too much.
My Data Manager for Android.
My Data Manager for iOS.
This app on android, will sit in your notification bar and show you how much (network) data you have left in your current billing cycle. Like in the picture.
Bear in mind if you switch from a 3G plan to a 4G plan you're likely to use a lot more data. You phone will work quicker, and content will load faster, meaning even if you only watch the first 10-20 seconds of a video, the whole lot may have been transferred (albeit temporarily) to your handset. When you click the back button, the network won't care whether you watched it or not, but they will know what data they transferred to your handset.
Wifi also provides your phone with a supply of disposable data, but this has nothing to do with the network, so don't be mislead when they include Wifi Data allowance, just hook up to McDonalds, or Costa when you're out and you get free data.
Permanent data, or the storage capacity of the phone, is much easier to understand. Basically this is the total amount of data your handset can store. Photo's you keep, movie clips you take with your camera, names and numbers, games and apps. 16Gb should be the minimum you look for nowadays. Android phones tend to have slots to add additional micro SD storage space, but all phones will need you to tell them to actually use this space in addition to the onboard storage (the space the phone comes with).
So you'll need to ensure your camera stores videos and photos to the memory card (It'll be in settings for the camera).
You may also benefit from an app like App2SD, which can transfer apps onto your memory card. But bear in mind, if you take the memory card out, those apps won't work. Perhaps obviously, App2SD isn't available for iOS, because you can't add additional MicroSD cards to Apple phones, because they don't include slots for them.
Has this helped? Is there an easier way to explain data? Any more questions I've not answered, ask below in the comments section.
Additional info. A lot of the 'disposable data' that is sent to your phone becomes sort of permanent as many apps will 'cache' this data; store it for quicker access in future. This cache can become quite substantial and take up large amounts of permanent storage on your phone. An easy way to rid yourself of the cached data is with an app such as AVG cleaner. This app is also available for iOS, because it too will cache data in the same way.
Some people find the whole concept of data perplexing, I know because I have nonsensical conversations with people who's brain I can sense is suffering a meltdown when it comes up.
But the same word (data) has been used by both phone manufacturers and networks to describe two totally different things. Even though somehow, they're sort of the same.
It's easier to think of Data like this.
- Disposable data - Incoming data from the network (or over WiFi), watching a video (but not keeping it) reading a news article, searching the internet, finding pokemon or playing a multiplayer online game.
- Permanent data - The photos you keep on your phone, the videos, your emails, your account details and apps. This is all data that the phone needs to store... potentially forever.
Your network provides disposable data but, if it's an app, or a photo through a web browser you decide to keep, becomes your phones permanent data.
Hopefully you're still with me.
Your network provides disposable data, and whether its 4g or 3g it's still the same, 4G is just quicker, much much quicker, and it can transform how a handset behaves, if you're lucky enough to live in a city or somewhere with coverage. However, 3g isn't as bad as people tend to think, because it comprises of HSDPA and HSDPA + (plus) which can be damn fast, and coverage is far more readily available. (August 2016). For people lucky enough to live in beautiful countryside, 3G is probably the wiser choice. Why? A couple of reasons,
1) You probably won't get 4G 90% of the time,
2) Using less (disposable) data means lower running costs.
If you'd like to get an idea of how much data you use with your mobile phone. Download
"My Data Manager" and find out from your network when your billing cycle runs from. This app will sit in the background and monitor how much data your phone receives from the network and warn you if you're using too much.My Data Manager for Android.
My Data Manager for iOS.
This app on android, will sit in your notification bar and show you how much (network) data you have left in your current billing cycle. Like in the picture.
Bear in mind if you switch from a 3G plan to a 4G plan you're likely to use a lot more data. You phone will work quicker, and content will load faster, meaning even if you only watch the first 10-20 seconds of a video, the whole lot may have been transferred (albeit temporarily) to your handset. When you click the back button, the network won't care whether you watched it or not, but they will know what data they transferred to your handset.
Wifi also provides your phone with a supply of disposable data, but this has nothing to do with the network, so don't be mislead when they include Wifi Data allowance, just hook up to McDonalds, or Costa when you're out and you get free data.
Permanent data, or the storage capacity of the phone, is much easier to understand. Basically this is the total amount of data your handset can store. Photo's you keep, movie clips you take with your camera, names and numbers, games and apps. 16Gb should be the minimum you look for nowadays. Android phones tend to have slots to add additional micro SD storage space, but all phones will need you to tell them to actually use this space in addition to the onboard storage (the space the phone comes with).
So you'll need to ensure your camera stores videos and photos to the memory card (It'll be in settings for the camera).
You may also benefit from an app like App2SD, which can transfer apps onto your memory card. But bear in mind, if you take the memory card out, those apps won't work. Perhaps obviously, App2SD isn't available for iOS, because you can't add additional MicroSD cards to Apple phones, because they don't include slots for them.
Has this helped? Is there an easier way to explain data? Any more questions I've not answered, ask below in the comments section.
Additional info. A lot of the 'disposable data' that is sent to your phone becomes sort of permanent as many apps will 'cache' this data; store it for quicker access in future. This cache can become quite substantial and take up large amounts of permanent storage on your phone. An easy way to rid yourself of the cached data is with an app such as AVG cleaner. This app is also available for iOS, because it too will cache data in the same way.
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