So here goes. I’m giving away my Nexus One and winning it couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is download the beta version of my new app, Game On, follow me on Twitter @BrooklynAvi and RT the message below. That’s it. I will select one winner at random (sorry, U.S. entries only).

To download Game On, visit the forums at XDA and download the APK from the end of the post. Start using Game On and when it reaches 500 game data uploads and I reach 500 followers on Twitter, a winner will be selected.

Here’s what to do:

• Download and use Game On: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17489270
• Follow me on Twitter: @BrooklynAvi
• RT this message (no quotes): “RT @BrooklynAvi Win my Nexus One just for using my new app, Game On. For complete details, visit http://goo.gl/VdKiq #GameOn”

Some rules:

• You must be a follower in order to win
• Your RT must include my Twitter handle, @BrooklynAvi, the hash tag #GameOn and the link to this page, http://goo.gl/VdKiq
• I must reach 500 followers and Game On must have 500 game data uploads
• Contest open to U.S. residents 18 years or older only, void where prohibited
• Anyone found using multiple accounts will be ineligible to win
• Rules subject to change without notice.

No related posts.

Then I got the G1. When I purchased the G1 I was required to purchase an unlimited 3G data plan along with it. I was not given the option but I was required to do so in order to receive the device for the subsidized price. So why am I now being punished because I actually want to use that data? But it gets even worse. I purchased a second device, the myTouch 3G Slide. Again, I was required to purchase an unlimited data plan. My expectation is that the unlimited data will be unlimited 3G (where available, of course) since the term 3G is actually used in the name of the phone. There is a certain expectation when purchasing high-end devices and one of them is that the data will not be slowed down to a crawl, thus defeating the purpose of owning such a device. Using a Nexus One, myTouch 3G Slide, Vibrant, etc. on EDGE is not a legitimate option. Yes, there are people who have no choice since they live in an area where 3G is unavailable. But these places are getting harder and harder to find and with carriers pushing faster data speeds onto users, it seems backwards for them to then throttle those users when they actually use the data. Using ten gigabytes of data on these devices is not that difficult to accomplish, even without tethering (which I do not do).

My device, as are most of the newer smartphones, is capable of downloading HD video with an application that came preloaded on my device. There are many such applications pre-installed. myTouch Radio, as well as myriad other apps available on the pre-installed Android Market, allows users to stream music onto their devices. There are games available on the Android Market that require 100+ megabytes of data to be downloaded in order to work. Carriers continue to push more and more data onto uses and then complain when users actually begin to use this data. For nearly half a decade I paid $25 a month for an unlimited plan when I only used a few megabytes due to the capabilities of devices I owned throughout those years. Now that devices can finally handle the unlimited data that they have been selling us all these years, they decide to throttle it, all while advertising faster speeds and faster devices. My wife uses about one gigabyte a month on her myTouch 3G Slide. Rest assured that she is a regular user. In fact, if I didn’t install apps on her device from the Market, she would not have any. She is the definition of average user. If she is using one gigabyte of data per month then it is no surprise that I use between five gigabytes and fifteen gigabytes a month. I like YouTube. I stream Slacker Radio in my car (for which I specifically pay extra). I download lots of apps. I visit lots of web pages. I am just a power user. I am not tethering my device or anything like that. I am just using the device the way in which T-Mobile suggests I use it. And I will be punished for this.

T-Mobile says that “The majority of T-Mobile customers should not be affected by [data throttling]. The new 5 GB threshold limit, which is equivalent to approximately 125,000 yahoo.com page visits, is enough bandwidth to satisfy most customers’ Web and data needs.” This is classic PR statement. When people see the number 125,000 they instantly don’t consider the facts. They recognize that they will never, ever visit 125,000 web pages a month on their mobile browser. It is just unrealistic. But what they don’t consider is that a YouTube video is not a web page, and, when put to the test, this number isn’t even true. I have done the math, which you can double check if you wish. The web page at m.yahoo.com is 128KB. If I visit that web page 125,000 times I will have downloaded nearly 16GB of data (128KB * 125,000 = 16,000KB of data). But I will even concede that somehow, the Yahoo! web page is only around 40KB of data which will mean 125,000 downloads will be approximately five gigabytes of data. That is simply not how these devices are used. If all I did was visit static web pages then five gigabytes would be way more than I would ever use. But for every five megabyte YouTube video I watch, it is equivalent to 125 of those Yahoo! web page. The same goes for apps I download and streaming music. If I use Pandora or Slacker in my car for an hour it will use about forty megabytes of data which is the same as 1,000 of those Yahoo! web pages. So the number 125,000 is meant to shock the layman into believing that five gigabytes is a lot of data when in reality it is not.

So the big question is, why would carriers throttle data? Well, the simple answer is that they can. Carriers will do anything and everything in their power to make maximum profit without regard to customers. They do this because customers will not do anything about it. Most will just complain on forums and the in the comments section of blogs but will not actually call their carrier to complain and will never, ever leave them for such an infraction. Instead of throttling data, carriers should be trying to figure out how to pump out more data to users at even faster speeds. The future is in faster speeds and more data, not the other way around. Those who now say they only use 100 megabytes a month need to realize that just a couple of years ago (perhaps even a few months ago) they would have used between zero and a few megabytes a month. Going forward, these users will be using more data, not less data. I am even at a point where I do not understand why I pay for three unlimited data plans: two for each of my T-Mobile devices and one for my cable Internet. That seems a little bit absurd to me. I foresee this eventually being bundled together. There is absolutely no reason why I am paying three Internet bills each month and this is especially true for users of both Verizon Wireless and Verizon FIOS. They are literally paying the same carrier twice for the Internet. Those who wish to make me feel guilty for using more than ten gigabytes of data a month need to reexamine the situation. If anything, I should be asking carriers to bundle my data plans or charge me less, not throttle my data.

So essentially, carriers push better, more powerful data sucking devices onto users which require an unlimited data plan to be used effectively and then complain when people use the devices in the manner that they are designed to be used. Users who do not take advantage of their device’s capabilities do not then have the right to complain when other users do. Others’ usage does not, as carriers would have you believe, affect those who are not using the data. Do not let carriers fool you into believing that those who use more than a certain amount of data (be it 2GB, 5GB, 10GB or whatever their magic number may be) are slowing down those who do not. That is ridiculous. The networks are more than capable of handling the data and the devices are certainly more than capable of consuming it. If their networks cannot handle the data, then don’t sell the devices. But when I pay for something, I should not be penalized for actually deciding to use it. Carriers are more than welcome to offer a 100 megabyte or one gigabyte data plan for a fraction of the cost of the unlimited data plan to those who really do not use data. But this should not affect those who use—nay, require—a truly unlimited data plan.

Update

Here is a link to a YouTube video that I have made that demonstrates how in fact data throttling is indeed limiting data.

Data Throttling: Limiting Data on an Unlimited Plan

Related posts:

1. Get Your Game On and Win My Nexus One [Update]

Then there are apps that, while I do not use them every single day, or even every week, are vitally important to have. I may not need to look up businesses in the yellow pages every day but when I need to do so, the Yellowbook app on my phone is indispensable. I use eBay a lot but not every day. Perhaps I have a use for one of the two eBay apps on my phone once or twice a week. I don’t use Epocrates on the regular basis but when I was sick for nearly a month and was prescribed ten different medications, Epocrates was really good to have around. Realistically, I will probably only use Epocrates a couple of times a year. There are a number of apps that fall into this category but when I need them, they are must-have apps.

So it’s hard to say how many apps I use on the “regular basis” or what apps are “must-have apps.” Could I live without certain apps. Of course. Is my life easier because of those apps. Of course. But I could also have a must-have app that I use once a month or even once a year but also one that I use fifty times a day. It all depends. I use Titanium Backup pretty much once a night to backup my phone and I also use it whenever I need to restore something. This is both a must-have app and and app I use on the regular basis. Album Art Grabber, while neither an app I use on the regular basis or a must-have app is an app I found very useful even though I only used it two or three times since I bought it. I don’t use N1 Torch on the regular basis but for me, it is a must-have app. So must-have apps can be apps that you only use once, like Album Art Grabber, or ones that you use many times a day, such as your Twitter app. The opposite is also true. You may play a game many times a week but not consider the app a must-have app.

All told I have over 350 apps including system apps. While I am certain that I can probably get rid of some, I am also certain that it would not be too many of them. I like games a lot and over 75 of my total number of apps is made up of various games. Perhaps I don’t need all those games but I like to have them around. Most are for me and some are for my kids. It’s nice to have a quick way to kill some time without being constructive (just one more level left on Raging Thunder 2). But even if I exclude games, I still have about 275 apps. If I take it one step further and exclude apps I consider “Fun Stuff” (that’s for an entirely different article) such as soundboards, my metal detector and my Etch a Sketch (and perhaps even Google Earth and Google Sky Map fall into this category), I’m down to about 250 or so. That’s still a lot but I don’t think I have too many. After all, isn’t this one of the big reasons I bought a “phone” for nearly $600? If I wanted a phone, which I barely use, I’d buy one. I don’t have a phone; I have a computer and computers use programs or “apps.”

I suppose that apps can be broken down into a few usage categories. There are apps that you must-have, apps that you like to have around and apps that you don’t need but like to have. Each of these can be further defined by how often you use them. Perhaps you use them several times a day. Perhaps several times a week. Or perhaps only once or twice a month or even once or twice a year. So for me, Raging Thunder 2 is an app that I don’t need but enjoy having around. I also use it between 4-12 times a week. Maybe you have an app, like a dictionary app, that is a must-have for the one or two times a month you really need it. Maybe there is an app that you actually use many times a day but don’t even need at all. Very often, how important an app is and how often you use it are not necessarily related points. Finally, there is the rare category of apps that are must-have that I hope to never use and those include apps like Remote Wipe and kor.im (or other phone tracking apps). So while I don’t use Amazon.com, Car Locator or Barcode Scanner every day, these are must-have apps for me.

So whether it’s the fact that I have several file explorers for different purposes or several streaming media apps, I find that apps fall into various categories of usage. How often an app is used and how important the app is are not mutually exclusive. Just because an app is used once a month doesn’t make it less important than an app that is used multiple times a day. Personally, I’d much prefer to find my phone’s location one time using a phone finder app than all the times I play a particular game. That said, for me, the more apps the better. Thanks to being able to install apps to the SD card, I have plenty of space for app storage and my Nexus One is brilliant at jumping from one app to the next without missing a beat. The more apps people buy, the better the platform becomes and the more having apps becomes important. Apps are fun and useful and as far back as I can remember, I have been using apps in one form or another to get through my day (even before computers had color monitors). Whether I’m reading a book using Aldiko or listening to the Mets on MLB At Bat 2010 (or both at the same time), I’d hate to have to start or end my day without apps. When it comes to apps, there is no such thing as too many.

Related posts:

1. Get Your Game On and Win My Nexus One [Update]