5 GB in data really means....

[Nana2Callie]

What does this actually mean in terms of You Tube and Netflix movies? We have a 18 hour road trip - Thanks,

 

[wiigirl]

I found a good article on that. for you.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/story/2012-03-16/cellular-data-mifi/53552028/1

 

[JeRmS]

use a data calculator to estimate the usage

Here's one from AT&T but you can find others with a quick google search ...
http://www.att.com/att/datacalculator/index.html#fbid=6Vkx6NtRwjG

based on this calculator, with a smartphone ...

12 hours of video streaming
6 hours of music streaming
100 posts on social media sites
10 apps/games/sons downloaded
100 web pages visited

is only 1.8GB of Data usage.

 

[NotUrsula]

use a data calculator to estimate the usage

Here's one from AT&T but you can find others with a quick google search ...
http://www.att.com/att/datacalculator/index.html#fbid=6Vkx6NtRwjG

based on this calculator, with a smartphone ...

12 hours of video streaming
6 hours of music streaming
100 posts on social media sites
10 apps/games/sons downloaded
100 web pages visited

is only 1.8GB of Data usage.

Not if the video is HD. HD is a monster data hog. Also note that uploading is MUCH more data-intensive than downloading, so sending photos into the cloud while you are using data is not the best idea.

Also very important: turn the device OFF when you are not using it, especially overnight. Airplane mode isn't good enough; you want it completely powered down. The reason is that when you are away from home, apps that use geo-data will constantly be reaching for updates because of the change in your geographic location. You really don't need that to be happening every 15 minutes while you are sleeping in the passenger seat of the car.

The best thing to do if you are planning on watching videos or listening to music on the road is to convert and download a stash of new stuff before you leave, and store it on the device. That will give you a lot of entertainment that won't be eating any of your data. (If you depend on streaming services and DVR for all of your videos, try borrowing new-to-you movies from the public library to get them in rip-able form.)

The simplest thing you can do if you are worrying about your data use is to install a data-meter app on your device. There are plenty of them available, and you can use them to monitor exactly what is going on.

 

[jel0511]

Based on our actual usage, that data calculator is WRONG. I just had to shut down my son, he likes to watch You Tube on the bus. It's only about a 15 min ride to/from school and during the first 5 days of this months data, he's used 1.7 GB. Now we share 10 GB between the 4 of us, but that's a lot of usage for only 5 days, which if he's watching You Tube the whole time, equals 2.5 HOURS of usage!!!! We have AT&T and all have LTE phones.