My first real experience with using data on my mobile was in 2001. El Jobso hadn’t even stepped on stage at MacWorld to demo the “landmark app” iSync with a Sony Ericsson T68i but I had mine and was living in a future of POP emails (just the headers) and WAP web sites. I was limited to headers and WAP not just by the inept browser and dialup-like speeds, but also by the fact that data costs were astronomical. I bent over every time I received my bill, paying 2c per KB and that was at a fabulous “GPRS Monthly Pack” rates.
Fast forward to the iPhone where browsing is like butter, OTA syncing is old hat, everything is pushed and notified accordingly and every app is live and dynamic. Every operation seems to use a nugget of data and it all adds up. We’re all still bending over when it comes to how much we pay but prices are dropping and speeds are infinitely faster than what I was using 8 years (except maybe if you’re using Optus).
To make sure we don’t get a mobile bill equivalent to a monthly mortgage payment, it pays to keep track of how much data you are chewing through each month with your iPhone and... there’s an app for that.
But before you even get to an app there is the the cheap and functional usage monitor in the iPhone settings. Settings > General > Usage will show you the amount of “Cellular Network Data” sent and received from your iPhone since the last reset (once you find your billing cycle date, iCal it to remind you to reset). For reasons only known to the Stonecutters, the numbers here may vary from the numbers on your bill and your carrier will back their systems over your iPhone so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
The other simple option is to go straight to your carrier's site and use their online billing portal to check your usage. Even though the point here is to be able to quickly and easily check your usage on something designed for your iPhone, this is actually where everyone will need to start because to use any of the options below you will need to able to login to your carrier’s billing site.
[caption id="attachment_2077" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="iUM Webapp"]
[/caption]Before the App store there were web apps, and since all the native apps in this category are just scraping the info from the respective carrier’s site anyway, a web app is actually quite appropriate. With a slick interface, hit up https://secure.corra.com.au/usage/optus/ on your iPhone to check your Optus usage quickly and easily. The advantage here is that it picks up your plan, billing cycle and included usage; something that the native apps require you to enter manually.
Its integration is nice enough that with a Home Screen button you’d be hard pressed to see the difference between the iUM web app and some of the other basic apps.
[caption id="attachment_2078" align="alignright" width="115" caption="iOptusUsage"]
[/caption]iOptusUsage ($1.19, http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=319295524&mt=8)
The native app companion to the web app, iOptusUsage gives in essence the same basic data on the Summary page. As a bonus, the Breakdown page gives you a few more details of your usage of calls and data including averages and a target to shoot for to stay within your cap. This app seemed to want the most account information of any in the Settings page just to get you started. iVirginUsage will be available “in the next few weeks” for those with Virgin Mobile.
[caption id="attachment_2079" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="Mobile Usage"]
[/caption]Optus Mobile Usage ($2.49, http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=309514892&mt=8), Virgin Mobile Usage ($2.49, http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305128724&mt=8)
Another Optus only app, Optus Mobile Usage brings nothing special but gives a functional view of your cap value and data used so far as well as your progress in your billing cycle. The price is a bit steep for what you get. Its Virgin twin will give you much the same.
[caption id="attachment_2080" align="alignright" width="115" caption="iiQuota"]
[/caption]iiQuota ($3.99, http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305615751&mt=8)
The grand daddy of usage apps, iiQuota covers too many aussie carriers to list, but you’ve got all the majors. The free “Lite” version will only give you basic data usage for one carrier making the 4 bucks spent on the full version money well spent. You can track up 30 accounts, including data usage from most of the big ISPs. The other big difference with iiQuota is in the detail; with an Optus account you can access a daily history of your usage. You also get the quantity and dollar value breakdown of local and international calls, SMS and even MMS.
Flicking up/down or left/right between accounts makes navigation easy. If you’re gonna spend money on a usage app, you might as well get a bit of value and to be able to check your ISP data too.
[caption id="attachment_2081" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="PhoneUsage"]
[/caption]Phone Usage ($3.99, http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306892233&mt=8)
Another relatively expensive (& predominantly Optus) app, Phone Usage gives the same calls and data summary as the others. Setup was extremely easy, requiring just the username and password with the app taking care of the rest (although other than the simple setup, there isn’t really anything else to justify the price).
At the end of the day, Optus are throwing calls and data at their iPhone customers in an effort to grab market share and at the expense of their network, this plan has worked. This has resulted in a lot of the apps being geared towards Optus users. The good news is that the best and my favourite, iiQuota, while grabbing more data than any other is compatible with all the carriers offering the iPhone (and even some that don’t).
Thursday How-To: Monitor Your iPhone Data Usage