If you read my post a month ago (New ATT Data Plans, What You Need To Know), I talked about the future of mobile Internet use for iPhone users. I recommended people switch to the 2 GB plan a month, saving $5 off their phone bill. I talked about my usage and where I suspected it would be once iOS 4.0 and its multitasking came out.
Well iOS 4.0 has been out for a while now, and Pandora’s been updated or multitasking. So now I have a better understanding of what my monthly usage is.
As you can see from the image below, I’m more than halfway through my billing cycle and I’ve used 493 MBs.
So how have I been using my mobile Internet plan so far this month? Well before I wasn’t able to run Pandora while driving because I had to use the Neocell as my GPS navigation (Got My Car Docked (iPhone Dock That Is)), and we all know Pandora couldn’t run in the background before iOS 4.0 (not counting Backgrounder). But now that Pandora can run in the background, I’ve been running Pandora behind Navigon when I drive. And I’ve ran Pandora a few times on the mobile Internet when hangin’ with friends via the Minimove (iPhone Remote Controllers Can Control Pandora), and a bit when goin’ shopping, using headphones or whatever. So I’d say I’ve used Pandora over my mobile Internet about 10 – 20 hours this month. (I know next month it’ll be more, because Navigon and Pandora were glitching a few times when Pandora’s update first came out and I wasn’t running Pandora at time.)
Other uses for the mobile internet has been emailing maybe 5 or 6 30 second videos, emailing maybe 20 pictures, downloading maybe 15 pictures via email, sending and receiving maybe 50 text emails, publishing three posts via Wordpress, maybe 4 hours of web surfing and maybe 2 hours of web apps, such as eBay, Twitter, etc.
That’s a lot of use for only half a month. And thankfully, I’ve only used 1/4 of my Internet usage. But that doesn’t account for the total Internet usage on the Neocell in the past 15 days or so. Whenever I’m able to get on wifi, such as at home, I do it. So about 80% of my time using the Internet on the Neocell is done over wifi.
So don’t think to yourself “Wow, he uses his iPhone a lot and only uses that much of his mobile Internet? Then I’m good…” if you don’t connect (or have) wifi at your home or work.
Check out the second image below, the one that shows the usage of all data coming into and out of the Neocell. This is since I upgraded to iOS 4.0, so since my billing period started, the actual usage is pretty close (it would be just a little higher). I’ve used over the 2 GB limit. Now I’m good because 80% of that **** was over wifi. But if you aren’t using wifi and you use your iPhone a LOT, be careful. You could o over the limit.
But, I’m pleasantly surprised that things like Pandora and emailing don’t suck as much data as I thought. As long as people have wifi to connect to every now and then, I don’t see anyone really going over the 2 GB limit. (Tether is a completely different, sad story though).
Oh yeah, if you haven’t gotten it yet, go out and get the AT&T myWirelesa app to monitor your data usage.
Peace, JbB
I’m here at a little pub in downtown Bradenton, sipping’ on a cherry coke.
Man was I pleasantly surprised to see that my Minimove iPhone boombox controls and remote controller are able to control Pandora, the same way it controlled the iPod app, now that iOS 4.0 is out.
What good thinking on Apple’s part, ya know? There are certain “API’s” that control what third party apps can control, and what third party hardware can control. Rather than make controlling third party audio apps a separate API, where old hardware controllers couldn’t control them, they simply make the operating system decide to control the new “iPod out” audio controls.
You know no other company would do it like this. They’d make any old hardware not work with the new software. Their excuse? “The old hardware only works with this old system, and only new hardware can work with the new system.” They would tell people “This hardware worked fine from 2007 to 2009, but it’s 2010 now and only products made in 2010 or later will work.”. People, consumers and tech journalists, wouldn’t question it much ‘cuz they wouldn’t realize that it doesn’t have to be that way. “The new [company name] product is great, though it doesn’t work with [hardware product] anymore. But that’s just what happens when new technology comes out.”
That is, if any other company even did any hardware controllers. Funny thing is, other smartphone makers don’t even have a hardware control system at all. (Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you Android.) None of them. And they don’t have any plans to make one. And if they do, it’ll probably be company A that does, it’ll be proprietary, patient protected, so that no other company can use it. Well then company B wants to be competitive and makes their own, as well as company C. Hardware manufacturers aren’t gonna’ support one vender over another, and they all have very small market share.
And if a group, say the Headset Open Alliance (which is basically Google’s pet project), creates a hardware controller open standard for Google Android devices, it won’t be regulated. After all, it’s an open standard. They don’t have to regulate the way their operating system or phone hardware works with it. And Google doesn’t regulate ANY apps on their app market, so of course there wouldn’t be any regulation of the way the app interfaces with the hardware. So the result wouldn’t be rock solid and reliable. It would be buggy or just plain broken. Certain phones would only work with certain hardware devices, certain OS versions wouldn’t work with certain apps, etc. I believe that’s why they haven’t done one and don’t have any plans on it. That, and I’m sure hardware venders won’t support it. Apple’s “iProducts” are the only thing out there that have functionality like this, baby.
Now I start to think about all the cars that have built-in controls for iPods and how awesome that is to just plug in your iPhone and start controlling Pandora or whatever. Of course you can only control the play / pause and next functions for Pandora, you can’t thumbs down to change stations from the controllers, but that’s why you got your iPhone there.
This is a real exciting time for iPhone and iPod touch owners. It’s like our hardware devices all got an upgrade.
Peace, JbB
(The Wordpress app added some artifacts to some of the images.)
I’ve been using a now-custom TomTom 910 in my gold Lexus SC400. I installed it so that it functions as much as a stock GPS, but much more of course. But it’s been damaged and I’ve repaired it, but it keeps messin’ up and all this junk. So right now I’ve called it… it’s beyond repair.
I’ll say that it’s always better having an actual separate GPS navigation device rather than use something like a smartphone, because if you get a phone call or wanna’ browse the web or check an email, you can’t do that while seeing what street to turn next.
Ok, now that’s outra’ the way… Since the GPS isn’t working and I need to use the Neocell 3GS both for audio (Pandora) and for GPS navigation (Navigon MyRegion East), I decided to install an iPhone 3G / 3GS dock on top of the AC / radio control housing area of the interior.
I did have the dock installed into the center console, hidden away. But if I’m gonna’ use the Neocell as GPS navigation for for a few months, there are two things that are required; being able to see and touch the screen while driving, and the Neocell needs to be directly under the sky for GPS to give an accurate signal (and no, I’m not interested in Tomtom’s crazy expensive GPS iPhone mount kit).
I was using a windshield mount, a really good one. Stylish and everything. In fact, one of the best mounts I’ve ever seen for an iPhone. Ever. But it was still ugly in the Lexus. Two wires running up to it. I had snap the Neocell into the mount, connect the power cable and then the audio cable.
Using a mount is so inconvenient. If I received a call, I had to unplug the audio, the power and unsnap from the dock and then talk. Then, once I’m off the phone, I have to reverse the process. ‘Freak that. A lot of times, I’d just not even answer it’s that much of a pain.
So installing an iPhone dock into the interior would solve the problem of not only the ugliness of a windshield mount, the problem of GPS signal reception, easily connecting and disconnecting, keeping it stock looking and also creating a much better way to dock an iPhone into the Lexus (for things like Pandora) even after I get a permanent GPS installed again. It looks almost like the car came with it it. Almost.
There is one tiny problem, but that fixes a big problem. One reason I do NOT want to use the Neocell as a GPS (or any lithium ion battery device) is that heat damages the life of your battery. Even though I’d never leave my iPhone in the car when I’m not there, when we’re talking about hours of possible exposure to the Florida sun during the summer, magnified by the windshield while driving, that heat can take it’s toll. It’s not the sun itself that damages the battery, but the heat.
So the tiny problem with the placement of the dock? It blocks about 10% the center AC’s vents. The good news is, that 10% of the AC that goes directly at the Neocell. That means it keeps it completely cool (almost cold). That now makes me feel completely comfortable with having any iPhone up there for long periods.
Now, what about stability? Is it stable? Does it ever fall out of the dock or lose its connection with the dock by moving slightly? Not at all. I got the dock secured rock solid and the iPhone is also rock solid in the dock (thank you Apple design team). I tried running over speed bumps at like 25 miles an hour and it wasn’t movin’. I did a doughnut (sports car after all) and it rock steady.
So this is a great, tight, awesome solution. Don’t know why I didn’t think about it before. Well I did, but I wasn’t how I was gonna’ mount it. But I found a great solution without having to modify or damage the interior at all. And painting the dock the tan color (I had to make sure the connector, speaker holes, and back connectors were completely covered before painting) really makes it look like it matches the interior. I was really concerned that the paint would scratch off each time an iPhone would dock in and out (or stain an iPhone), but it doesn’t to my surprise.
In closing… I’m lovin’ it.
Peace, JbB
Posted in Tips on 22. Jun, 2010
Here’s how to close multitasking programs (iPhone 3GS & iPhone 4 only) with iOS 4.0. Double click the home button to open the multitasking bar and tap and hold down on an icon until you see the image below. Then tap the red minus.
Here’s something interesting to note (that I suspect people won’t realize for a while). Each of those apps you see there, such as Skype and all third party apps, until they’re updated for multitasking like Pandora is, aren’t really running in the background. They’re like a 12 app history of what you’ve had open, but aren’t really open in the background. That’s a good thing though. But those apps aren’t running in the background and there’s no need to close them because they aren’t really open.
In fact, there shouldn’t be much need to close backgrounding apps either. Most of them that is.
The reason why is because, once you stop their backgrounding function (such as pausing audio), the background API’s stop working.
So we shouldn’t need to worry about closing programs. Most programs that is. Some programs, such as the GPS navigation app from Navigon, don’t have a real “stop” function. They use the GPS and have no reason to stop. That’s a program we’d want to stop by closing it. Even if doesn’t effect performance, it would drain the battery life.
In fact, most things don’t use the CPU of iPhone 3GS’s to its fullest. But that’s the point. To get the most battery life, iPhones don’t use the CPU to it’s fullest. But with multitasking, things change. You can leave a GPS running and still get great performance, but it’ll eat into your battery life.
So that’s why we wanna’ close /stop apps that do a lot of stuff from running in the background if we’re not using them.
Peace, JbB
