Rogers’ iPhone: How much it will really cost [Part II]

Yesterday we talked about the issues created by Rogers’ iPhone pricing plan [pictured above] and today that continues with an illustration of how much it would cost a relatively modest mobile surfer over the course of the 3-year contract. Firstly, we’ll cover how much data download by browsing some commonplace pages. The results should give you an idea of what download-cap bracket you should be selecting. This, in turn, leads to the final analysis of just how much an iPhone will cost in Canada, covered tomorrow in Part III.

To begin, here are a few websites that a technophile might frequent and their respective size in kb:

Cineplex.com: 978kb 

Digg.com: 466kb 

Engadget.com: 1209kb 

Techcrunch.com: 1417kb

Gizmodo.com: 1726kb 

Gamespot.com: 748kb 

Data usage per day: 6.39MB 

Monthly: 191MB 

Now most of us don’t simply browse the main page of our favourite sites. So let’s put together a plausible week of data-usage. Say you like the theatre and check showtimes once a week. You dig the articles at Digg daily, let’s say 2 per day 5 days a week. Engadget, Gizmodo, and Techcrunch every weekday, 3 articles a day. You get your game fix at Gamespot three times a week, and read a 2-page preview/review every week. [Keep in mind every action has an initial hit to the main page]

Cineplex.com: 978kb (x2) 

Digg.com: 466kb (x15) 

Engadget.com: 1209kb (x20)

Techcrunch.com: 1417kb (x20) 

Gizmodo.com: 1726kb (x20) 

Gamespot.com: 748kb (x5) 

Weekly data usage: 76MB (82 page views) 

Monthly: approx. 451MB (369 page views) 

So, a low-to-medium browser will (approximately) utilize nearly 450MB of data per month. But keep in mind that this mock-up merely covers your daily tech fix. Things such as YouTube, Facebook, and other data-intensive sites that many frequent daily can easily send your usage sjyrocketing. Consider adding Facebook to the example and automatically that adds 30MB if all you are doing is checking the Home page. Furthermore, services such as Sirius satellite streaming and online radio broadcasts are likely out of the question as well, for although the 3G format is designed to boost the data usage, the skimpy rates are going to keep your surfing to a minimum. So what does this all mean in the big picture? Check back tomorrow when we tally up the low and high end cost of owning an iPhone in Canada, and continue our discussion on the data plans that can cost you as much as $2000.

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