Data

DataMan Next tracks your cellular data usage in a very elegant way

I didn't care much about cellular data tracking apps until I gave up my unlimited data plan, a couple months ago. Then all the sudden it became important to me to figure out how much data I was using and make sure I didn't go over my allocated amount. My wife and I share 4GB, and although we've historically never been close to using all of that, I like to keep an eye on my usage, just to feel safe.

So I downloaded the DataMan app, which has served its purpose wonderfully ever since as it provided me with real time data usage. One thing always bothered me about this app though: it just looked bad.

But this morning, I received an email from Johnny Ixe, the developer of DataMan, letting me know about his new app called DataMan Next. It serves the exact same purpose as DataMan, except it looks much better. I'd actually go as fasr as saying it looks beautiful, but you might want to see for yourself...

Facebook mobile user stats: 192M on Android, 147M on iPhone

A few months ago, we passed along a report that Facebook was urging its employees to swap out their iPhones for Android devices. It knows Google's mobile OS has continued to be an afterthought to iOS, and it's looking to change that.

Well according to some newly-released data, that's probably a smart move. Enders analyst Benedict Evans has just published Facebook's mobile app user stats, and, as of November last year, Android users vastly outnumber those on iOS...

Analyst breaks down Samsung’s marketing expenses

"Just chalk it up to marketing." That's how a lot of pundits have explained Apple's success over the years, indicating that the company devotes a lot of its resources to, and greatly depends on, marketing to sell products.

But according to a new report from Asymco analyst Horace Dediu, Apple spends far less on marketing than the competition does. In fact, when it comes to these kinds of expenses, Samsung spends more than anyone...

Sprint unveils new no-contract 4G tablet data plans

After two years of sitting on the sidelines, Sprint will finally be landing the iPad this fall. Once they become available, the carrier will be offering LTE versions of both the new iPad and the iPad mini.

And it looks like it has some new data plans to go with the new tablets. The company announced last night that starting November 11, it will be offering new 4G tablet data plans starting as low $15...

Apple starts construction on enormous Oregon data center

Apple purchased a 160 acre plot of land in Prineville, Oregon from Oregon's Crook County back in February of this year for $5.6 million. And it immediately built a 10,000 square foot modular data center on the property.

Well this morning, reports are coming in that Apple has started work on its main data center at the Oregon location. It's begun clearing and flattening land to make room for one of two, 338,000 square-foot buildings...

Carrier update for iPhone 5 pushed to Verizon subscribers

Have you noticed Verizon cellular data usage increments on your iPhone 5 while connected to Wi-Fi? If so, then you definitely want to apply a recently released carrier settings update, which was issued to Verizon subscribers to fix the issue.

The update will change the Verizon carrier settings from 13.0 to 13.1. Although, under most circumstances, cellular data should not be used while connected to a Wi-Fi network, that appears to be exactly what has been happening for some customers.

iPhone 5 LTE Speedtest

Is LTE really all it's cracked up to be on the iPhone 5? Take a look at our speed test, as we test Verizon's LTE, and compare it to Verizon's own 3G offering. I think the results speak for themselves, don't you?

Apple said to be building an enormous super data center in Hong Kong

Apple's already building another 500,000 square foot data center and a smaller tactical data center, both adjacent to its existing $1 billion iCloud facility in Maiden, North Carolina (which almost didn't get built). In addition, the company operates a data center in Newark, California and has revealed plans to build another 500,000 square feet data center in Prineville, Oregon and an additional $1 billion facility in Reno, Nevada. And if that wasn't enough, a report out this morning has it that another massive data center will crop up in Hong Kong SAR, China...

Verizon says yes to FaceTime, but no to unlimited data

AT&T kickstarted some controversy last month when it announced that customers would have to switch to one of its Shared data plans to utilize iOS 6's new FaceTime over Cellular feature.

But it looks like if this is a deal-breaker for you, you can head over to Verizon. The carrier has just confirmed that FaceTime over Cellular will work with any of its available data plans...

AT&T confirms iPhone 5 buyers can keep unlimited data

AT&T just pushed out a press release announcing that it will be carrying the iPhone 5. As Apple announced, customers will be able to pre-order it on September 14, or purchase it on the 21st.

But far more interesting is the fact that AT&T also mentioned in the press release that customers that still have unlimited data plans, will be able to keep using them with the new iPhone...

T-Mobile launches unlimited “4G” data plan

T-Mobile USA, the nation's fourth-largest wireless company and the sole major U.S. carrier without the iPhone, today announced new unlimited "4G" data plan, as promised last month. The new plan will set you back $20 a month if you're on T-Mobile's Value plan or $30 a month for those on the Classic voice and text plan.

The new plans do away with speed limits or bandwidth throttling, the carrier said. Though T-Mobile continues with its dubious practice of advertising its network and these new plans under the "4G" moniker, in the carrier's terminology this really means iPhone-compatible high-speed 3G HSPA+ as T-Mobile is way overdue with 4G LTE deployment...