Travel Technology - How many mb to browse a bit

I'm trying to figure out how many mb I'd use on a mobile phone. My old job gave me a blackberry and paid all charges, so I can't use prior experience to judge.

How many kb (or mb) would a typical page view be? I usually look at things like news stories, stock prices and sometimes google maps (which I'd imagine uses a lot more bits).

This is from the AT&T Wireless site. Sorry, there's no direct link to this chart:

How much is 5 GB?
5 GB = 5120 MB = 5,242,880 KB
How about 200 MB?
200 MB = 204,800 KB

We've taken out some of the guesswork for you. Here are usage estimates for certain common uses.
This information is intended only as a guide, as actual usage can vary widely from these estimates based on a number of factors. For example, emails will vary in size based on items attached, and songs vary in size based on length.

Description Estimated Size
Web
Viewing Video Clips
(Based on this assumption, a user could watch over 1700 video clips per month without exceeding 5 GB.) 3 MB
Watch a TV clip from MTV (via CV). 2,000 KB
Play a five-minute game of Tetris or "download a game." 150 KB
Typical Web page look-up.
(Based on this assumption, a user could do over 30,000 Web page look-ups per month without exceeding 5 GB.) 150 KB
Check the weather forecast on weather.com. 25-75 KB
Check football scores on ESPN.com. 75 KB
Check AOL email and read three messages. 60 KB
Update Facebook status. 25-50 KB
Visit CNN.com and access the headlines in the "Health" section. 20-40 KB
Application
Download a 2-hour movie purchased on iTunes 1.5 GB
Download three songs via Napster Mobile (1 MB per song). 3 MB
Email - 20-Page PowerPoint document attached (text and light graphics).
Uncompressed: (Based on this assumption, a user could send/receive over 1700 emails with a PowerPoint document attached without exceeding 5 GB.) 2 MB
Email - 5-page WORD document attached.
(Based on this assumption, a user could send/receive over 50,000 emails with a WORD document attached without exceeding 5 GB.) 100 KB
Access driving directions through AT&T NavigatorSM and have it running for ten minutes. 35-50 KB
Search for a list of plumbers with the YP Mobile application. 20-50 KB
Email - 1 text page without attachments.
(Based on this assumption, a user could send/receive over 150,000 emails without exceeding 5 GB.) 30 KB
Pay a bill through the Mobile Banking on AT&T application. 12-15 KB

Try using MOBILE sites to avoid using memory.

http://m.google.com (Google)
http://mobile.seatguru.com (Seatguru)
http://gallery.flyertalk.com/wap (FlyerTalk)
http://mobile.srh.noaa.gov (weather)
http://home.mobile.msn.com (MSN Hotmail)

Google Maps can be a memory hog. Using it for perhaps 5 mintues a day could cost about $20. Each of these mobile websites are about 60k total.

I use T-Mobile which is $10 for every 1.5 megabytes.

Does T-Mobile's web2go at $10 for 50mb work for you?
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons/services/information.aspx?PAsset=InternetEmail&oscid=E29459F6-A1E4-4035-9516-C7D516E76334&tp=Svc_Tab_OtherPhones

I just figured out that my usage is around 12mb/month. An unlimited plan is overkill and $0.01/kb is expensive.

I wonder if I can get web2go combined with a prepaid plan. Then I just have to find the right quad-band unlocked phone with a reasonable screen and possibly GPS (else I'd just use Google maps) and wifi (nice to have, not essential).

As a follow-up to this excellent question, it seems that USB 3G cards have a similar pricing structure.

Would it be correct to say that you could leave Outlook running all day long on your computer but you are charged only for the size of all the messages you download?

Does T-Mobile's web2go at $10 for 50mb work for you?
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons/services/information.aspx?PAsset=InternetEmail&oscid=E29459F6-A1E4-4035-9516-C7D516E76334&tp=Svc_Tab_OtherPhones

I just figured out that my usage is around 12mb/month. An unlimited plan is overkill and $0.01/kb is expensive.

I wonder if I can get web2go combined with a prepaid plan. Then I just have to find the right quad-band unlocked phone with a reasonable screen and possibly GPS (else I'd just use Google maps) and wifi (nice to have, not essential).

Not for international... that'd be for the U.S. only.

As a follow-up to this excellent question, it seems that USB 3G cards have a similar pricing structure.

Would it be correct to say that you could leave Outlook running all day long on your computer but you are charged only for the size of all the messages you download?

No because you are STILL downloading data while keeping Outlook on. Outlook would check the e-mail server every 5 minutes and send approximately 2KB. Then the server would respond with about 1KB of verification. And if somebody sends an e-mail with a funny video that's 3MB, that just cost you $45. I learned the hard way!

Not for international... that'd be for the U.S. only.
So I'd have to buy a global SIM (or local to the country I'm visiting). Any suggestions for a reasonable SIM on this basis? Travel out of the US is usually not that extensive.

Any suggestions on an appropriate phone?

No, T-Mobile does have international service.. you have to call them and ask for international.

Almost all of the new T-Mobile phones are international. If in doubt, you can select the phones off of the website and pick "international."

AT&T also offers international, but it is a little more expensive and they like to slap on $7 every month whenever you turn your phone overseas.

I am very happy with my HTC phone. Check eBay for HTC Touch Cruise.

No, T-Mobile does have international service.. you have to call them and ask for international.
If I have a pre-paid plan, how do I pay for international? Will they set up a different plan and bill? What rates (voice & data)? I can't find info on international for pre-paid other than Mexico and Canada (they do list rates for calling everywhere from the US). http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaidrates.aspx

Otherwise, my experience is that T-Mobile works better in Europe than in the US.

T-Mobile does not appear to offer any quad band phones for pre-paid. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx

If I have a pre-paid plan, how do I pay for international? Will they set up a different plan and bill? What rates (voice & data)? I can't find info on international for pre-paid other than Mexico and Canada (they do list rates for calling everywhere from the US). http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaidrates.aspx

Otherwise, my experience is that T-Mobile works better in Europe than in the US.

T-Mobile does not appear to offer any quad band phones for pre-paid. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx

Ohh, pre-paid.. nope. If you let them run a credit check on you, then you CAN get international.

You don't need Quadband.. Triband is good enough for Europe. AT&T is the only one that has 850MHz, hence the "Quadband"

My phone is Triband and it is T-Mobile. It works great in Europe and USA. Some areas may have only 850MHz towers... that's where Quadband kicks in, but I never encountered that.

Credit check is no problem.

Isn't Europe primarily 900mhz, with a traditional tri-band being 900/1800/1900? These phones are 850/1900 or 850/1800/1900.

These phones are 850/1900 or 850/1800/1900.

I had a Nokia 9300 in one of those two bands. It was rather useless in Europe.

Was it the Cingular model? They come with 850MHz which is worthless in Europe.

Next time, be sure it's an unbranded 9300.

I just looked at my last three months of T-Mobile bill and it looks like I average 20 megs a month on their network. Since my Blackberry has WiFi I am doing a lot more unbilled data as when I am at home I am on my home network and when working am on WiFi at hotels and at work.

Sometimes to avoid data, I plug my HTC (Windows Mobile 6) to my Wi-Fi enabled laptop while it is using Wi-Fi in order to minimise cellular data usage.

I don't know if Blackberry is capable of using computer's data whilst on the internet.

HTC uses regular data, not Blackberry data. Many carriers offer a discount for those using Blackberry data and e-mail.

No because you are STILL downloading data while keeping Outlook on. Outlook would check the e-mail server every 5 minutes and send approximately 2KB. Then the server would respond with about 1KB of verification. And if somebody sends an e-mail with a funny video that's 3MB, that just cost you $45. I learned the hard way!

I have it set to poll every 1 minute so that would be quite costly. I guess there's no alternative to the $60 a month plan.

Was it the Cingular model? They come with 850MHz which is worthless in Europe.

Next time, be sure it's an unbranded 9300.

It was unbranded and unlocked - direct from Nokia - but was one of the models destined to be sold with Cingular. Yes, I found out the hard way when I got to Europe and didn't really have a phone to use. Shame on me for not checking in advance. I survived just fine, but it was annoying.

I have it set to poll every 1 minute so that would be quite costly. I guess there's no alternative to the $60 a month plan.

When I'm roaming, I turn off polling in Outlook. I then check manually occasionally but downloading only headers. I can then get the full message for any I need and delete any that are clearly rubbish. The rest gets downloaded next time I'm in a wifi connection or back home.