For those of you who stream radio from your smart phones

[chetJ]

Hey Guys,
I have to begin this post by saying that I do not have a smart phone yet but will have one this weekend- so this post may have something to do with my limited knowledge of smart phones. Anyway, recently there have been many discussions about the increase in the price of XM radio. Some of you have said that they do not bother with XM any more and just stream live radio from their smart phones into the 4R.
So my question is this- since you guys stream live radio in- that must mean that you guys are connected to the net- so using up data from your data package. Do those of you stream radio then have those huge data plans that cost more a month?
Any light shed would be helpful!

 

[Sells]

Hey Guys,
I have to begin this post by saying that I do not have a smart phone yet but will have one this weekend- so this post may have something to do with my limited knowledge of smart phones. Anyway, recently there have been many discussions about the increase in the price of XM radio. Some of you have said that they do not bother with XM any more and just stream live radio from their smart phones into the 4R.
So my question is this- since you guys stream live radio in- that must mean that you guys are connected to the net- so using up data from your data package. Do those of you stream radio then have those huge data plans that cost more a month?
Any light shed would be helpful!

Ya if you are streaming radio you definatly want an unlimited plan or you will be paying out the a**. Whenever I use the sirius app on my phone it always gives me a warning that it may cause you to go over your data plan.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Unlimited Data plans are the only way this is financially viable..

I have a droid X with unlimited, I use the pandora app sometimes. Most of the time I just listen to the MP3 player though..

 

[My 4R]

You can still get XM at the discounted rates they had last year. I just got a renewal notice for 29.99 for 6 months. The other option is to load up your smartphone with a ton of music and just play that. For streaming, have an unlimited plan, it adds up quickly if you are on a limited data plan.

 

[2011T4RLE]

If an unlimited data plan is not something you want to pay for; then I encourage you to just load some music on your phone and just stream it that way. That is what I do.

 

[DDM4]

Hey Guys,
I have to begin this post by saying that I do not have a smart phone yet but will have one this weekend- so this post may have something to do with my limited knowledge of smart phones. Anyway, recently there have been many discussions about the increase in the price of XM radio. Some of you have said that they do not bother with XM any more and just stream live radio from their smart phones into the 4R.
So my question is this- since you guys stream live radio in- that must mean that you guys are connected to the net- so using up data from your data package. Do those of you stream radio then have those huge data plans that cost more a month?
Any light shed would be helpful!

Pandora, I believe, is an average of 28MB per hour at full quality. Some report more but most report right around that mark. Depends on how much you do total with your mobile data but in most cases no, you don't need unlimited. However, if you CAN get unlimited. Do so.

 

[chetJ]

Thank you for all the input guys! Based upon what you guys have said it looks like continuing with the XM might be more of a viable option for me. The primary reason is that I mostly listen to talk shows like Car Talk on the radio. Whenever I want to listen to music I do what most of you have suggested on here- which is to just store the music on my ipod. I can see the listening to talk shows soon adding up to become quite expensive unless I buy the unlimited data. My wife and I are planning to switch to ATT- those of you who do stream and are on ATT- do you guys have the $45 data package?

 

[mace.]

I didnt think that AT&T or Verizon offered unlimited data plans anymore. Car talk and other NPR shows are available via podcast so if you don't mind listening to them a day after they air you could set up your phone to download them while you are home on Wifi. This way you can stream them in your T4R and not use any data doing it.

 

[gbc]

Streaming radio will not consume as much as what most people think. If you are going to do video, that's a whole different thing.

Best advice I could give you is to try 1gb plan for one month if it's possible and check your consumption...making sure you don't go over

Cheers

 

[uncbasketball]

I hope Sprint will remain unlimited in their data allowance. It works great for me so far. I don't keep up with how much data I use but I bet it's a lot. I use my smartphone pretty much all day along occasional tethering.

 

[chetJ]

Thanks for your input mace, gbc, and uncbaskeball.
GBC- I will try what you suggest and go with the mid-way plan to begin with and go from there.
Mace- I like your idea of downloading the talk shows instead of streaming them. What you do you do for current news?

 

[BigBoi]

I didnt think that AT&T or Verizon offered unlimited data plans anymore. Car talk and other NPR shows are available via podcast so if you don't mind listening to them a day after they air you could set up your phone to download them while you are home on Wifi. This way you can stream them in your T4R and not use any data doing it.

I'm on AT&T and was grandfathered in as I had the unlimited plan off my old iPhone and now have it on my new 4S.

 

[kipseverino]

Data price increase, On yahoo this morning!!!

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc plans to sharply raise prices on data plans for smartphone and tablet customers from next week, calling the move a response to an explosion in wireless usage.

The No. 2 U.S. carrier dropped a controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom's U.S. wireless unit T-Mobile last month, bowing to fierce regulatory opposition but leaving AT&T to try and find an alternative to address its shortage of wireless airwaves.

From January 22, AT&T customers will pay $20 for a 300-megabyte monthly data plan, up from $15 for 200-mb currently. Users with higher requirements can also opt for $30 for 3 gigabytes -- versus $25 for 2 GB previously -- or $50 for 5 GB, up from $45 for 4 GB.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel estimates that data usage is increasing 40 percent every year, spurring the company to offer more upfront. Consumers are rapidly migrating to video and music.

The new prices affect only new customers; existing customers can stick with their current plans or upgrade as needed, AT&T said in a statement.

 

[ohpaul]

I have an Evo 4G that is thru sprint with unlimited service so I stream pandora, but i also have songs saved on my phone and i just use blue tooth to listen to it. it's a great option.

 

[ladywolf]

I'm on AT&T and was grandfathered in as I had the unlimited plan off my old iPhone and now have it on my new 4S.

ditto for my husband and I but we are with Verizon. I stream slacker just about all the time unless I've got crappy cell signal, then I just stream mp3's.

 

[DEKA3]

I have Verizon & have been grandfathered in with the unlimited data plan. If I didnt have an unlimited plan and wanted to stream either video or even radio, I would feel a lot more comfortable in getting an unlimited plan. Not only does music and video use up your data, but so does email, especially with attachments, and also using any mapping app (gps) on your phone, and a bunch of other things that many people don't realize. My suggestion (and this is only a suggestion), I would go with Sprint and their unlimited data plan. I used to work in the telecom industry a decade ago and I have seen peoples cell phone bills turn into headaches because they didn't realize all of the things that use up data.

My school of thought is "If you have a smartphone and cant use it for what its meant to be used as, because you are worried about going over your data limit, then why even have a smartphone?".

Just my 2 cents.

 

[chetJ]

Good point DEKA3- I will look into Sprint in addition to ATT (this is what the wife wants since most of her friends are on ATT). A quick question- does using the GPS on the phone (the free turn by turn direction stuff that comes with all Android phones) use up data?
CJ

 

[DEKA3]

Good point DEKA3- I will look into Sprint in addition to ATT (this is what the wife wants since most of her friends are on ATT). A quick question- does using the GPS on the phone (the free turn by turn direction stuff that comes with all Android phones) use up data?
CJ

Remember that with Sprint you can get the plan that has unlimited calls to ANY U.S. cell phone carrier.

Also, since probably all GPS apps use cell sites to get your location faster than gps/satellite, yes you will be using data for turn by turn directions.