Android tracking internet usage

human 19

2 things putting me off going to Android:

1) I was enquiring in carphone warehouse today about getting an android phone with about 1GB data initally for basic usage and was informed that that would last only a few days due to Android constantly connecting to the net.
I already have 3G on my current SE phone and there is none of that carry on.

2) Extract from a letter in Linux Format Magazine:
“Im far more concerned that Android.....appears to exist only to chain users to Google asMilch cows..”
“The Android privacy terms say that google will record every website you visit, every page you visit on a website, every form you fill out, every download you make – it will use and pass on this information as it will.”
“My ISPs roaming application had to be downloaded from the Android marketplace. This forced me to open a google email account...no mention of the type of account in advance,nor were the conditions made available until all data required had been given.”


Can anyone confirm these 2 points, or point me to further information?
Thanks in advance

ongarite

What exactly are you asking?
Your copy/pasting is a mess and its hard to see what is your question and then the gibberish you have pasted in.

1GB will be plenty of data for the average user of an Android device.
Unless you subscribe to lots of Twitter accounts, RSS feeds & streaming video you will not go over your data limit.
Google apps like Gmail & Calendar are push-based so any emails or updated calendar events are "pushed" immediately to your phone. Again this uses up a small amount of data.

scudzilla

complete crap, i have 1gb a month data and i've NEVER gone over 200mb.

I use wifi in work and at home, and 3g when out and about, so long as you're not watching youtube videos 4/5hrs a day it'll be totally fine

If you used 1gb of data in a couple of days you're phone would die after 2 weeks!!!!

Professey Chin

1) I have a 1gb data allowance and have been using android phones for nearly 2 years since the G1. Think ive gone over it about twice. Itll go if youre constantly streaming youtube & stuff but in general its more then enough.

2)You can use Android without a Google account but its not worth it imo. The Google services integration is one of its best points and you need a Google account for the Market.
As for the data collection, every search engine does this and if youre gonna use the internet on your phone it happens but its always anon. Google doesnt use data to sell, it uses it for ads. And Android does exist to try tie users to Google, same way iOS does for Apple and Win7 for MS. They all want you to use as many services of their as possible. Im not sure what point theyre trying to make there. Its common knowledge. Manufactuers can use Android without Google services but it makes more sense to use it fully

srsly78

I bet the letter writer has a sizable collection of metallic headgear.

Kenny Logins

If you have a gmail account already take a look here -

http://www.google.com/dashboard/

robo

Also, you can get an App that monitors your internet usage, I use 3G & can see how much I have used and if I continue the level of usage that I am using, how much in total it forecasts me using, so I can balance it off if I am heavy on it.

mickoneill30

human 19 wrote: »

1) I was enquiring in carphone warehouse today about getting an android phone with about 1GB data initally for basic usage and was informed that that would last only a few days due to Android constantly connecting to the net.
I already have 3G on my current SE phone and there is none of that carry on.

Just out of interest, he's a sales guy so I'm assuming he recommended something else. What did the Carphone Warehouse guy recommend? I doubt he told you not to buy a smartphone

In answer to your point though.
1: When using the phone for normal use it uses little data. If you use it to stream Youtube or other video, download lots of large podcasts or download torrents then it will absolutely eat into that 1GB limit in a few days. If you don't use it for that kind of usage and just use it for normal surfing / emails / updates etc you'd be doing well to go over 300Mb a month.
2: The phone will use WiFi first for most applications so if you have WiFi at home / work / somewhere else use that for your big downloads.
3: You can turn off the 3G modem with a widget (so one quick click) or at certain times of the day with other apps (eg Tasker) so if 3G is off you're not using your 1Gb ever.
4: It's dead easy to track. I use an app called ZDBox. It tells me how much 3G data I've used and will also show me the data usage of different applications so if one is going mad (never happened yet) it'd be easy to track. 3G Watchdog is anothoer popular app for this.

5: Points 1 and 2 are pretty much the same for Android / iPhone / Blackberry / Windows Phone / Symbian device.

Kenny Logins

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Just out of interest, he's a sales guy so I'm assuming he recommended something else. What did the Carphone Warehouse guy recommend? I doubt he told you not to buy a smartphone

Good question.

mickoneill30

human 19 wrote: »

2) Extract from a letter in Linux Format Magazine:
“Im far more concerned that Android.....appears to exist only to chain users to Google asMilch cows..”
“The Android privacy terms say that google will record every website you visit, every page you visit on a website, every form you fill out, every download you make – it will use and pass on this information as it will.”

Android Privacy Policy.
http://www.android.com/privacy.html

If you don't like it, then fair enough I suppose. They don't seem particularly odd to me.

I'd imagine if that privacy policy bothers you, then you're not using the internet or only logging on in an internet cafe with an anonymous account.

You can turn off the account synch with Google if you don't trust them. The location tracking can be turned off too (but then apps like Layer, Facebook Places stop working I think). But I wouldn't bother. If you turn all that stuff off the smartphone becomes a lot less smart. It might be better to read the Apple / Nokia / Microsoft etc. policies to see if you prefer those ones.

mickoneill30

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Good question.

I'm guessing he had a pile of iPhones to sell or was a fanboy of another platform

Kenny Logins

mickoneill30 wrote: »

I'm guessing he had a pile of iPhones to sell or was a fanboy of another platform

Boxes of 3GS', or very soon it will be iPhone 4s they're trying to shift.

justsomebloke

The person you were talking to in carphone warehouse wasn't wearing a facebook tshirt per chance?

TheIrishGrover

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Just out of interest, he's a sales guy so I'm assuming he recommended something else. What did the Carphone Warehouse guy recommend? I doubt he told you not to buy a smartphone

He should get an iPhone. They NEVER track............. Oh wait.

human 19

I was very surprised to hear from the woman in carphone warehouse that the O2 250MB "would be used up in a couple of days" . I was wondering what the hell the phone would be doing to use that much data. Hence my question.

Regarding the privacy question, thanks ofr the link to the privacy T&C which I looked for but didnt find. I see no mention of my data beind passed on outside of google who, Im sure, only use it for ads so no problem there.

Thanks for the responses.

mooneyd

human 19 wrote: »

phone with about 1GB data initally for basic usage and was informed that that would last only a few days

human 19 wrote: »

I was very surprised to hear from the woman in carphone warehouse that the O2 250MB "would be used up in a couple of days" .

There are a few things you need to look at here.
1. Sales reps covering themselves from networks very pricey out of bundle data rates.
2. Most reps will speak from experience. Most reps working in mobile retail are into phones and would spend quite large amounts of time on their phone as apposed to the average user.
3. Id boils down to what you use on your phone. My twitter account is set to download every minute, Timescape is set to 3 min, e-mails set to download in full (where you can have just the subject come in), constant browsing of the internet & now with most new android phones coming out with froyo or gingerbread Video streaming.(I watched 3 episodes of scrubs on my phone this week during my lunch which Im sure watching in 720p were data heavy) So i'm happy to have my "all you can eat data" from 3.

The features are there to turn you smartphone into the basic call's and text's device but people will assume your going to use the phone in the way that it was built.

Its like when Nokia started offering free navigation on their phones back in 2009 I remember having customer after customer comming back after buying their nice new 5800 and their first meteor bill came in or even worse being cut off mid month because they had managed to spend €100-200 over their package on data alone.

mickoneill30

mooneyd wrote: »

There are a few things you need to look at here.
1. Sales reps covering themselves from networks very pricey out of bundle data rates.
2. Most reps will speak from experience. Most reps working in mobile retail are into phones and would spend quite large amounts of time on their phone as apposed to the average user.
3. Id boils down to what you use on your phone. My twitter account is set to download every minute, Timescape is set to 3 min, e-mails set to download in full (where you can have just the subject come in), constant browsing of the internet & now with most new android phones coming out with froyo or gingerbread Video streaming.(I watched 3 episodes of scrubs on my phone this week during my lunch which Im sure watching in 720p were data heavy) So i'm happy to have my "all you can eat data" from 3.

You may be right there mooneyd but the op said the Carphone guy was talking about Android. He wasn't talking about smartphones in general.

So either the Carphone Warehouse guy was trying to get the OP to buy a dumbphone, in which case your post is all correct, or he was trying to steer the OP to another smartphone in which case all of the "problems" will happen with those too.

The reason for me putting "problems" in inverted commas is that they're not really problems with smartphones. More they're problems with the providors. 1GB is too low if that's your only source of broadband and you want to stream video or download audio. For surfing and email it's fine though.

I'm not sure why the rep would care about the OP getting billed loads by O2. If O2 send out the OP a big bill for data that's between the OP and O2. Sure the OP might go into Carphone Warehouse to complain but if they've half a brain they'd sympathise with the user and tell them to ring O2.

Although maybe a new option I just thought about was that he was trying to get the OP to convert to 3's data plan.

So the question of the day for the OP is

When the Carphone Warehouse guy said don't buy Android did he
1: try to sell you a different phone and if so what?
2: try to convert you to 3.
3: do something different.

mooneyd

The thing is CPW staff dont get pages any different for handsets or network sales so there would be no reason for them to push a different handset or provider. I dont know why they would offer a dumbphone as I would expect to loose a sale if someone came in set on a smartphone.

About the large bill from 02 comment I would loose the plot with any staff I had set someone up knowingly on an inadequate package without at least a firm warning

tman

Typical CPW staff talking absolute bollocks... Of course you'd go through that amount of data in no time if you're constantly streaming stuff and have no other means of connection, but the same can be said for any other phone out there!

I have a 500MB per month limit (Orange UK) and that's plenty for what I need it for (facebook and the occasional bit of youtube while on the bus and some map use)
In fact, I only used 100MB of it last month!

Fair enough you should make it clear that there are restrictions in place and they should limit their usage/use wifi whenever available, but to warn someone off using a specific phone is just plain retarded!

Keith186

I get 250mb free a month and that does me fine for emails and web surfing, navigation and apps.

I rarely watch YouTube or download a podcast unless of wifi or you will exceed the limit pretty easily.

I can see why the shop.might try get you on a bigger package as its a safer bet you wont go over the limits and complain about it + they'll get more money obviously!

killbillvol2

A Carphone Warehouse employee giving wrong information! Imagine!

human 19

Just for your info, the woman in CPH didnt actually try to sell me anything else . The reason I went in in the 1st place is that I was looking to buy a "smartphone" . As I am currently on a nice Geek Plan (sod-all inclusive minutes and texts, with 15GB add-on), and O2 are only offering as a minimum, a "smartphone" plan with a minimum of an extra 20 quid per month for a sh1tload of extra mins+txts which I dont want, I went in to see what my options were re. knocking that bill back a bit.

I assume now, from your answers that she just doesnt know what she is talking about.

Regarding O2's minimum "smartphone" plan , I got on to their forum yesterday and today whinging about this. In the past, I must say, that on the 2 occasions in the past that I asked for more logical data services, they have set up what I have asked for so I am confident that they will do so again.

mooneyd

I have 15GB and use on average 6-7GB a month.

Which is now quite easy with wireless thethering of your device.
and Networks only offer.
250mb, 500mb, 1GB, 2GB, 5GB & 15GB
& 5GB meteor offer costs €85pm