2-Minute Expert: How Much Smartphone Data Do I Need?

If you have a smartphone, you have to buy a data plan as well, which could add around $360 a year or more to your bill. And recently, wireless carriers have implemented new pricing, data limits and “throttling” (cutting your data to a trickle if you use too much) that can make figuring out plans downright baffling.

You could be one of those people using a smartphone as you did your old phone — for calling and texting. In that case, you might need only a minimal plan. But discovering mobile movies, streaming music, apps and video chat is like opening a Pandora’s box (in fact, Pandora is one of the services you might get hooked on). Your data appetite could quickly grow.

If you like to email, download a few photos and post to Facebook, for example, you can possibly get by on a gigabyte per month, but if you want to stream music and watch the occasional TV show, you may need around 3 gigabytes. And if you’re a big video viewer, you’re looking at 5 gigabytes or more.

To get a sense of what you may want to do and how much data you’ll need, please see our handy chart below.

Article provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to Laptopmag.com.

Image Credit: Sprint

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2-Minute Expert: What are No-Contract Smartphones?

What Will I Pay for Service?

Plans start as cheap as $25 per month, but that’s for as little as 300 call minutes. According to Best Buy, which carries many no-contract providers, most customers opt for plans that provide unlimited calling, texting and (in some cases) data, for $40 to $60 per month. By comparison, an unlimited plan from Sprint costs $100 per month. Lately, however, some no-contract companies have been cutting back. Virgin Wireless, for example, reduces data speeds to a crawl after you’ve used 2.5 gigabytes in a month, about enough for email, Web basic apps, plus 30 minutes of streaming music and 10 minutes of streaming video per day.

What Do the Phones Cost?

Smartphones range from about $100 to $300 — comparable to what you pay when you sign up for or renew a traditional contract plan. But you own the phone and could even sell it. If you lose or break the phone, you pay the same price again. With a contract plan, you would pay much more for a replacement if you were in the middle of a contract. Expect to pay $200 or more for a good Android phone. Saving a few bucks on a cheaper model isn’t worth the frustration of an underpowered phone with a tiny touch screen.

Can I Get an iPhone Without a Contract?

Nope, and possibly never. The iPhone is a very pricey device. Without a carrier subsidy, it starts at $650. That doesn’t jibe with bargain ethic.

What Companies Offer No-contract Plans?

Following are the major providers, along with monthly fees for the best plan, the data limits and special features:

Boost Mobile - $55 Android/$60 BlackBerry, unlimited data, fees drop the longer you have serviceCricket - $55 (with only 1,000 call minutes), unlimited data and music downloadsMetroPCS - $40 Android/$60 BlackBerry, unlimited data, high-speed 4G service on some modelsStraight Talk - $45, unlimited dataT-Mobile - $60, 2GB limit, 4G phonesVirgin Mobile - $55, 2.5GB limit

 Article provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to Latopmag.com.

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2-Minute Expert: What is Apple’s Game Center?

The Game Center app, pre-installed on iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices, is a social network that allows you to challenge other players in several games. There’s no charge for using Game Center — unlike similar services such as Xbox Live.

How does it work?

You start by creating a specific “handle,” or nickname, and then look up friends. From there, you can challenge them in a number of ways.

Sometimes you simply compare stats and scores through leaderboards, such as how many pieces of fruit you’re able to slice in Halfbrick’s “Fruit Ninja.” Other times, you can challenge players directly in online play, such as a round of “Real Racing 2.”

Whatever happens in your games is automatically tracked through the program. You can see how many friends are on your list (and which ones are currently playing), how many games you’ve played and how many Achievements you have unlocked.

What are Achievements?

Certain accomplishments in a game earn points called achievements. You may win achievements for beating a “boss,” a tough guy, at the end of a particular stage, for instance, or for finishing a game in its entirety. Game Center automatically tracks achievements. You can visit a menu for each game to see what your score is and what achievements you may be missing.

Game Center can compare your achievements with those of your friends and automatically rank everyone, adding a competitive edge to each game.

How do I find friends?

Finding your friends is as easy as entering their handle, if you have it, or doing a search on their real name. Then you can invite them to be a friend. Of course, they can do the same for you.

Some games can pair you up with random players. Afterward, you can track whom you’ve played and ask any of them to be friends, should you feel like playing them again. The “Infinity Blade II” game, for example, has an extensive list of players. So it shouldn’t be a problem to make new friends.

What can I play?

Most newer games work with Game Center. What’s more, it doesn’t matter what kind of player you are: whether a fierce warrior in “Infinity Blade II” or a casual gamer who prefers “Angry Birds.”

Oh, and if you see someone named TheDCD tearing up the charts, don’t be afraid. It’s just me.

Article provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to Laptopmag.com.

From Laptopmagazine. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center Here