QUICK LOOK
- Use it on iPad or iPhone
- Alerts you when your data period is coming to an end
- Alerts you when you get close to your maximum data usage
- Monthly, weekly and daily quota limits
- Works for Wi-Fi too
Can any of us really get excited about an app that promises to alert you when you’ve used more than the average data spend, even if it is halfway through the month?
Actually, yes. Data Usage may not be the most exciting app, but it has its own charm. Its best feature is that it acts in the same way a good assistant should, running quietly in the background but alerting you to what is important. In the initial stage, it prompts you to enter the amount of data spend you’d like to limit yourself to for the month. Based on the package your provider offers, your spend may be anywhere from 10MB to over a gigabyte every month.
Using an iPhone or iPad, it is so easy to lose track of the amount of apps you download and sites you visit and while you can check your data usage in the Settings of your phone, this app makes it much easier. It is specifically geared to help you avoid that embarrassing “I had no idea I used so much data and can’t pay my cellular provider” situation.
Data Usage reminds you to reset your data usage on a monthly basis, based on the period you have set (1 July 2011 to 1 August 2011 for example), and allows you to set the maximum data usage you want to reach before it sends you an alert.
During the month of June, I downloaded all and sundry without a care for data usage, but when I hit 80% of my data spend, Data Usage sent me a notification. I’m almost entirely certain that may be why I am not in serious debt to Vodacom. This clever little app lets you plan ahead, so that no matter how much data you spend, you can keep a keep a little bit of data free for just-in-cases at the end of the month.
(Keep in mind that Data Usage is not a credit card. Should you go over your limit, the app can’t stop you. It can only advise you of the fact that you’re over your limit.)
Admittedly, you’ll probably be downloading bigger apps directly from your computer, but if you download while at the doctor’s office or waiting in line to use a public facility, Data Usage will make sure that your data spend doesn’t get out of hand, and that the cellular networks don’t take your next three salaries in fees.
Turns ons
- Requires little maintenance
- Alerts you before the big bill comes
- Checks your averages of daily spend and tells you what they should be
- Will alert you if it needs to be reset
Turn offs
- The all over green and black is a bit dull. Some colour would really liven it up
- Chews your battery life (albeit in a very unimposing way)
- Alerts you to the new month on the first month at midnight on the dot – not a quiet wake up call
Price: $0.99
