How to choose a data plan for your new cell phone
Now that you've selected which multimedia cell phone or smart phone or PDA you want, you'll want to make sure you get the most from the experience and take advantage of all the features of your new wireless device. Sorting through options can be confusing but one thing is certain - you'll need a data plan to go with that new cell phone. But how to choose the best plan for you? Think about how you'll use your cell phone and keep the following in mind - a few might be new options for you.
Text Messages and IM
First take a look at what's included in your wireless plan. Some cell phone plans include text messages and Instant Messenger (IM). If your wireless plan includes text and IM, check if it's unlimited or if there's a cap on the number of messages you can send and receive monthly (and remember it's the total number of messages sent and received not just the number of messages you sent.)
If your cell phone plan has a cap on text messages and IM, or doesn't include them, then decide whether those are features you'll use and make sure you understand how much those options cost to use without a plan. Text messaging without a data plan ranges from $0.05 to $0.25 per message sent and received.
300 text messages a month can seem like a lot, but that really only works out to an average of 10 per day, and any teenager can tell you that's probably not enough. A larger allowance or an unlimited plan will generally be more cost effective.
Picture Mail
If your new cell phone has a camera, you'll want to take pictures and share them with others. The easiest way to share photos from your cell phone is by emailing them. Data transfer rates vary, but a quick survey of different carriers shows an average around $0.05 per kilobyte without a data plan. What does that mean? A picture snapped with a 1.3 megapixel camera will average approximately 70K in size. That translates to $3.50 to send a photo from your cell phone without a data plan. Since just a few pictures can add up, a data plan can help you avoid surprises in your cell phone bill and make sure you enjoy your new cell phone and have fun snapping and sharing pictures.
A quick look at the average email inbox shows that email size ranges from 3K to 74K (without attachments) with the average at 20K. At the prevailing data transfer rate of $0.05 per kilobyte that would be an average of $1.00 per email without a data plan. If you're planning to use your new cell phone for sending and receiving email, then you'll want to include an email or data option in your cellular plan.
Web browsing
Many new cell phones are now enabled for mobile web browsing, allowing you to access your favorite web sites wherever you are. Again, without a data plan, you will pay an average of $0.05 per kilobyte for data transfers. The Google Mobile Application is 43K, so downloading that so you can access the Google Mobile features (search, email, maps, etc.) will cost approximately $2.15 without a data plan - and that's before you've actually looked at any web pages. If you want to make full use of that functionality on your new cell phone, then an unlimited data plan is definitely the right option for you.
Additional Services
Depending on your cell phone carrier, there may be additional services available such as streaming music from Pandora, wireless music downloads, music videos, television, sporting events, news, navigation (even turn by turn directions), and other data services available with data plans. New services are being announced all the time to coordinate with new cell phone features such as GPS and Bluetooth, so you'll want to take advantage of all your cell phone has to offer.
Rather than limit the use of your new cell phone, and particularly your new multimedia cell phone, PDA or smart phone, why not get the right data plan and make sure you're using your new phone to its full advantage and getting the most of your wireless plan and your cell phone.
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