Data

Neither AT&T nor Verizon supporting 4G iPad hotspot yet [Updated]

Among the slew of new features Apple announced in its latest iPad yesterday was the personal hotspot. Just like with the iPhone, you'll be able to use the new tablet to share an internet connection with up to 5 devices.

This becomes even more appealing when you consider that the new slate is capable of 4G speeds — which is up to 10 times faster than 3G. But don't get too excited. It appears that there is confusion among the carriers...

AT&T responds to complaints, ups throttling limit to 3GB

AT&T has been under a lot of scrutiny lately due to its new data throttling practices. Last Fall, the carrier started significantly reducing the data speeds of its unlimited customers who were using more than 2GB a month.

The move prompted multiple complaints from subscribers, and even sparked a string of small claims court lawsuits. Well apparently all of the heat was too much for the carrier, as it appears it has just revamped its throttling policy...

What AT&T customers on unlimited data plans can do to fight throttling

Last year AT&T, along with several other carriers, decided to drop its unlimited data plan in favor of other options. And although it has allowed users to maintain their previously-owned unlimited plans, it isn't exactly winning customer service points.

A few months ago, the operator started throttling its subscribers after using only two gigabytes of their unlimited data. And if you happen to fall into that category, for once, there is something you can do about it...

Judge orders AT&T to pay $850 to customer over data throttling

When AT&T introduced its new tiered data plans in 2010, it only kept the unlimited plan for original iPhone owners who didn't choose to join a new plan. As time passed, AT&T announced in July of 2011 that they would begin throttling unlimited users who fell under the top 5% of heaviest data users. On average, it takes around 10GB to reach the top 5%.

However, over the last few months, many users have reported AT&T is throttling their unlimited data plan when they're only at 2GB of data used. A southern Californian man took action and sued AT&T in small claims court. A judge ruled in the customer's favor, who was awarded $850...

Confirmed: Apple planning to build large data center in Oregon

In December, we heard Apple was looking to buy 160-acres of land in Prineville, Oregon. The new mass of land was reportedly for hosting servers to power Apple's iCloud, much like the $1 billion data center Apple owns in North Carolina.

Tonight, MacRumors points us to a KTVZ article confirming Apple has purchased the land in order to open up a large new data center...

Apple building the nation’s largest end user owned solar energy farm

Last Fall, word got out that Apple was planning to build a solar energy farm to power its newly-built data center in North Carolina. The facility, which hosts a bulk of Apple's iCloud service, went live during the Summer of last year.

We knew the solar energy farm was going to be massive, but we had no idea how big. Today, in a company-wide environmental footprint report, Apple announced that the array is going to be one of the largest in the nation...

Apple passes Google to take top spot in corporate reputation study

2012 has been pretty good to Apple thus far. Since the new year started, the company has announced record-breaking sales and revenue from its previous quarter, was named top smartphone manufacturer in the world, and has watched its stock price climb past $500 per share.

And then yesterday, the iPhone-makers received another accolade. According to the 2012 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, a survey that measures corporate reputation for US brands and companies, Apple is now the highest-regarded company in America...

AT&T’s shared data plan close to launching?

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We've known about AT&T's new data plan that would allow users to share data between their iPhone and iPad ever since AT&T's CEO Ralph de la Vega teased it last year. Many customers have been excited for it to launch, but there hasn't been any word on an official release date.

The plan has been rumored to launch soon, and it looks to becoming even closer according to a leaked internal screenshot from Engadget...

‘WeeTrackData’ tracks data usage via Notification Center + Giveaway

It doesn't take long to realize that your mobile provider isn't really worried when you go over your data limit. In fact, they're happy to ding you with a fee for another allotment of data.

WeeTrackData is a jailbreak app that resides in Notification Center, and it puts you back in the data monitoring driver's seat.

This is an awesome tweak that will help you monitor your data usage using a variety of intervals, and user configurable billing cycles. If you're struggling with managing your data usage, then you don't want to miss this...

Guess which smartphone retains its value better than any other handset

The long term value of a product is largely determined by its resale value. That's why so many people will ask what the resale value of a car is before purchasing it.

Obviously it's not as big of a factor when looking for a new smartphone (unless you're paying full retail), but it's still a concern. And according to a recent report from priceonomics, no other handset retains its value better than Apple's iPhone...

AT&T throttles customers who use 2GB of data but takes on new 3GB capped-users

AT&T has had a tumultuous relationship with its own customers over the last few years, with issues stemming from its lack of network capacity being exacerbated by the hugely popular iPhone being an exclusive handset to the carrier.

Data has tended to be one of the biggest sticking points for many, the lack of ability to make a phone call not withstanding. The recent change of AT&T's data plans has only managed to muddy the waters somewhat, and now things are getting even more confusing with the news that the carrier is throttling users who are on the old unlimited data plan and use 2GB of data per month.

The obvious question now is simple: why is AT&T throttling users who use 2GB of data but continues to accept new users on the updated 3GB limit plan? No, we don't know either...