“6-oh-2 is twenty-three.” If that makes any sense to you, you’ll want Police Radio. It lets you listen to audio streams of police, fire, and emergency medical frequencies all over the United States.
30 Seconds after launch = 89kB
We navigated the menu, tried to load a stream, but never got around to hearing anything.
3 Minutes after launch = 574kB
We loaded a stream from Albany, N.Y., and gave it a long listen.
This used less data than music, because people can tolerate spoken words at low quality. (Music, not so much.)
This game’s been getting a lot of attention lately, and it’s much more fun than the old, frustrating Nintendo Entertainment System game of the same name. It’s a single-player game.
30 Seconds after launch = 0kB
We loaded the game and began the first mission.
3 Minutes after launch = 0kB
We played a lot of the first mission, then three minutes were up. So we finished the entire first mission.
See? Not all iPhone apps are data hogs. This one used none of your precious bandwidth while it was playing.
We did notice some bandwidth usage when we quit. It used a minuscule amount of bandwidth to "phone home" to an analytics company called Pinch Media.
For the sadist in you, there’s Stickwars. Use your finger to pick up the stick men attacking your wall. Kill them. Again and again. It’s a single-player game.
30 Seconds after launch = 21kB
We fired it up, and finished the first level.
3 Minutes after launch = 44kB
We played a few levels.
This app checked in with a server after every level, so it could register a high score.
AIM
Known as AOL Instant Messenger before it came to the iPhone, this chat program lets you send and receive messages to and from other AIM users.
30 Seconds after launch = 127kB
We looked at our buddy list for someone to chat with.
3 Minutes after launch = 147kB
We found someone to chat with.
We think the buddy list, with all of its icons, was why the :30 session was so close to the 3:00 session.
Hey! It’s a dictionary! It weighs less than a dictionary! And it’s all there; you don’t need to fetch a definition from the network.
30 Seconds after launch = 39kB
We launched the app, looked for a word, and tapped the "Web" tab to read more about it.
3 Minutes after launch = 33kB
We looked up a few works, looked up synonyms, and tapped the "Web" tab once.
It seems that the Web tab is what’s making this app use bandwidth.
Sharing photos online is fun; sharing them on your iPhone lets you pass pictures around.
30 Seconds after launch = 801kB
We looked at some pictures.
3 Minutes after launch = 6.70MB
We looked at lots of pictures.
More pictures means more data transfer.
Love it or hate it, Wikipedia is often a good starting point for basic information.
30 Seconds after launch = 40kB
We looked at the article of the day, and accidentally reloaded it twice trying to figure out the interface.
3 Minutes after launch = 380kB
We looked at an article about amoeba and about the Battle of Newtown. We tried to load a picture from the second article, but couldn’t get it to work.
Overall, Wikipedia is a lightweight.
Combining stock quotes, news articles, graphs, and a dynamic, customizable interface, Yahoo! Finance may be the app you need to make financial decisions.
30 Seconds after launch = 114kB
We poked around and wished we had money.
3 Minutes after launch = 294kB
We loaded all the financial information we could, read an article or two, and looked at some graphs.
There were no images in either of the sessions. The graphs must come from data instead.
It’s not always about the apps you use; it’s what you do with those apps.
Video and audio use a huge amount of bandwidth. Images use less. Text and other non-audiovisual data use even less. Cached data don’t have to be repeatedly fetched.
Time you spend reading instead of tapping is usually time you spend not downloading more data.
While this information shouldn't matter to much financially thanks to AT&T's all-you-can-eat unlimited data plan, if you happen to travel and you need to keep an eye on how much data you use, this information can save you money.
The next time someone blame iPhone users for slowing down AT&T’s network, pull out your favorite app, and ask, "Well, can you blame them?"
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steverkruse
October 11, 2009 at 3:41pm
Most of you have said basically the same thing. Too bad for At&T. You charge us lots of money each month. You didn't realize that you'd need to increase your available bandwidth. I thought your network was the best and thats why Apple chose you over Verizon. Didn't you notice more and more of us each month paying big money, oh I'm sure you did. I say get off your butts. Reinvest some of that money you're taking out of our pockets and keep your promise. When you're pointing 1 finger at us you are pointing 3 back at yourself AT&T. It's your fault not ours. FIX IT. AND SHUT UP.
jamcgahey
September 30, 2009 at 4:18pm
hmmmmm... well lets see A) AT&T should have been prepared for this? and B) Twitter is stupid its a waste of time anyways so if thats a main reason then get rid of twitter. well, let me be clear...TWITTER IS POINTLESS
yonny622
September 29, 2009 at 10:55am
uh isn't that what were paying for? Do they expect us to pay $30 for internet and not use it that much? That's the dummest thing I heard. I don't think we use it enough.
agcereniv
September 28, 2009 at 6:18pm
So, to be clear, the device that was going to revolutionize the way customers used the internet did just that, & the network that said they were the most equipped to handle was, in fact, not? And somehow the consumer is blamed for using the product exactly as intended. Hilarious.
DQuinn5735
September 28, 2009 at 2:23pm
I thought my above average monthly fee to AT&T for my iPhone was paying for this usage. No?
charliemilton66
September 24, 2009 at 7:32am
I believe AOL Instant Messenger was called AIM well before the iPhone.
