T-Mobile soft capping 3G data at 1GB per month

Caps are nothing new to the world's 3G networks, but T-Mobile's being particularly stingy with the bytes -- 1GB is all you get. Well, technically you can get more than that, but our friends in magenta are reserving the right to throttle you back to a stifling 50Kbps -- virtually useless by smartphone standards, and less than what even a good EDGE network is capable of providing. That's going to be sour news to heavy G1 users, especially as Android touts its stellar connectivity, world-class browser, and a full suite of data-gorging apps. For now, we're going to cut T-Mob some slack on this since the threat is purely theoretical, but if they start enforcing this little stipulation with a heavy hand, the G1 is going to have to stay in the pocket a little more than we'd like.

[Thanks, Emmanuel C.]

[zbot @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:01PM]

Coincidentally, I had just found that concept in the details.

It is totally unacceptable, and will prevent me from signing up for 3G data fees with T-Mobile. They better amend this policy stat.

[iEye @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

Thats ok, because the phone only has 1GB of storage out of the box...

[BarryBee @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:06PM]

And that has what to do with transferring data over the cellular network?

[Dubb @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:08PM]

I know, if only there was a way to add more...

[yaniv.chokron @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:13PM]

LMAO...
dude how about learnin terminology before you speak.
1 GB of bandwidth ... I doubt they will enforce that... but hypothetically...... if they did.... why would they throttle you to less than EDGE speed? FTW is that??
I ordered my G1 earlier today.... and I KNOW 100% Im going to LOVE playing with it.... but something tells me Ill be back on my Javelin or the 9500 soon afterwords.

[JJV @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:13PM]

For it used to being caleld the "Dream", its becoming more of a nightmare.......

And I believe everyone was talking about how open the software would be, now if only the hardware would be just as open.........

[JJV @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:14PM]

*called
forgot to change it earlier :P

[JJV @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:30PM]

@ yaniv

its WTF is that,
not FTW is that

[striggity @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:40PM]

back on your javelin? Either you have a time machine, or you're delusional

[kuei12 @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:20PM]

I wondered WTF FTW meant

[Benson @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:24PM]

It either means For The Win, or that the one speaking is Yoda.

TFSU!

[SimbaDogg @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:34PM]

everyone ignore the invisible man...but honestly...about 33MB per day? i dunno if i could do it, then again...there are a few days that i'm glued to the comp and hardly touch my phone. I guess it really depends on the settings of the browser.

[Patriks7 @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

And I thought that the G1 news were bad enough already..

[McCain @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:14PM]

Tmobile released a new BetaMax. Congrats!

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:38PM]

exactly! Don't get me wrong guys, I am a fan of Apple products, and I do own an iPod Touch (no iPhone - Stuck on verizon for now), but I also love Google and really want Android to succeed. Although everyone is dying to see the launch of a worthy alternative to the iPhone, I think Google should have held off until christmas, and perhaps even to Q1 2009 if that's how long it will take to get everything right. Due to the enormous pressure and expectations everyone has since most people and the press really consider this the "G Phone", They absolutely have to get this launch right, and the critical period is going to be the next 8-12 weeks which will allow them to get in a few updates before the long-term reviews come in.

What I have seen so far is NOT encouraging. First of all, why launch the first device on a second-class network which barely just turned on a UTMS/3G network, and is only available in a handful of metro areas. Secondly, I haven't read all the reviews yet, but it appears Android is just not ready yet with things like bluetooth pulled and much of the software being incomplete. I really hope they don't totally blow the public's first impression of Android, which will really hurt the platform.

Google needs to work overtime (and put some serious resources into it) to ensure overall platform compatibility and consistency. With the open source nature of OS stack and expectation of being deployed onto devices with different performance capabilities and form factors, they already have a serious challenge ahead of them compared to Apple. They need to stand their ground and NOT allow the carriers to butcher the OS by removing default applications/services and inserting their own expensive, crappy, proprietary software (I'M LOOKING AT YOU VERIZON WIRELESS) In addition to cross-carrier compatibility, I hope they can execute a decent strategy with the SDK for managing different device profiles, so there is a system for mapping user interface and controls to different physical hardware layouts. For example, applications needing text input should automatically bring up a software keyboard on touchscreen phones lacking physical keyboards, and it should be flawlessly integrated into the interface.

Also, I'm not sure how games and other performance oriented applications will deal with different processing capabilities. A game will need to be able to detect the capabilities of the graphics processor/DSP and adjust polygon counts/texture sizes/etc for allowing adequate framerates. If the SDK can't do that, then games will be designed for the lowest common denominator which would not be good. anyways, this is turning into a blog entry so I'll stop...

[thedesolate1 @ Sep 24th 2008 11:56PM]

Google wants an open spectrum for this same reason. So that carriers cant fuck up and cripple their android phones. Also it seems like although they planned an initial release date of Q1 2009 they probably decided to bring it closer because of the looming problems of the economy as our country is on the brink of bankruptcy. Not to mention that they didnt want to lose any more potential adopters to apple.

[Abuzar Baloach @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

Just keeps on getting worse...

[phanbouy @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

now i feel slightly less cheated being stuck with ATT another year .5 even though i've sold off my cracked iphone v1

[Mike @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

Eman is a nerd reading through fine print!

[zephxiii @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:56PM]

T-mobile does provide a lot of wifi hot spots though don't they?

[Cirian75 @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:59PM]

No Wi-Fi from what I hear

[Jon Doe. @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:05PM]

You heard wrong. If you get the all you can eat package you get access to T Mobile's hotspots.

[Dubb @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:10PM]

The G1 has Wi-Fi.

[Khattab @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:55PM]

AT&T: 1
T-Mobile: 0

[thedesolate1 @ Sep 25th 2008 9:48AM]

Okay i don't know about you guys but any1 who has every had AT&T data knows what a burden unlimited data can be on the 3G network if it is not rolled out properly and the kinks are ironed out first. I would rather have a 1GB data cap than unlimited data that is unstable and full of bugs. I think T Mobile is learning from ATT's mistakes. I am sure once the network is built up properly and has evolved they will raise the limit. ATT's 3G coverage is inconsistent and shoddy at best. I have seen numerous instances in witch 3G phones dont even work with voice for days on end. Imagine if that happened to you during a state of emergency?

[zbot @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:56PM]

Totally ridiculous.

[Cardbored @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:56PM]

They'll probably up the cap once they get more of their 3G network rolled out.

[zephxiii @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

Agreed, i'm sure this had something to do with protecting their weak EDGE network.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:57PM]

Remember kiddies " NO ONE TELLS THE TURTH"! Am I lieing?

[LiqwidZero @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:02PM]

I've never said "turth" in my life.

[phanbouy @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:04PM]

SOOPERCANTSPELLMAN

[FleaBag @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

This is nothing new in the mobile data world, I guess maybe for you guys stateside? T-Mobile do this in the UK already, but 1GB is more than enough for the average users needs I reckon; when restrictions are enforced they're generally pretty lax. I don't doubt they'll offer bigger bundles for a good price in good time... I get 3 GB for £7.50 (about $15 ish) a month on TMUK, which is pretty decent!

[kjb434 @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:18PM]

Most of the complaints on T-Mobile are practices that are quite common in Europe.

For common use, 1 Gb is plenty enough and you need more, they will gladly find a way for you to have it (albeit with a price).

[Mobile Phone Diva @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:13PM]

But in the States, the data cap is around 5GB with the other carriers. This make T-Mobile USA less desirable.

[Titanium man @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

So:
No REAL unlimited data, no tethering (because of carrier).
Locked bluetooth (because of amazon mp3 store).

But, but...
Its open source!!!!!

[MadMike @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:59PM]

sounds just like the iPhone!!!

[scott @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:27PM]

since it's open source, it'll only be a matter of time before someone finds a way around it.

[Brendan @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:37PM]

@scott

Uh, not really. Open source does not mean you can get around restrictions like bandwidth caps and data throughput speeds... those are on the network side.

[scott @ Sep 24th 2008 12:38AM]

@brendan

i was talking about bluetooth.

[Dave @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

there's not much else they could have done to screw up the launch of this device.. no real news on the deployment of 3g... or if it's on schedule.. cheap data plan with a cap on it.. phone with no way of syncing contacts.. gotta bring at least something to the table..

[Kyle @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

How do you cap a phone that is almost purely internet based?

"Hold on, let me get that phone number for ya out of my contacts. Damn it! It might be a while, I went over my limit..."

[MadMike @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

That's pitiful. That has to be tmporary until they get their 3g network off the ground, right?

[Hey Ya @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:00PM]

... and people complain about Verizon's cap. This one makes Verizon's look, downright, unlimited.

[phanbouy @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:03PM]

"downright, unlimited"

sounds like a progressive rock band

[CesarV @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:37PM]

"Some downloads, such as movies, music, and games, not included." I would think, other than web browsing, that's the majority of data usage. I guess we have to wait and see what exactly they mean.

[Brian @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:04PM]

I doubt they'll be enforcing that for G1 owners, if they are using their connection for normal cellular internet. (Youtube / Web / Emails)

They'll probably just be using this to shoot down mobile-torrents and other extreme circumstances.

This restriction makes sense because their fledgling 3G network probably can't handle too many people transferring extremely large amounts of data, yet.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:25PM]

1GB / 30 days = 30MB/day. or 1GB / 20 work days = 50MB/day.

With YouTube and Flickr/Picasa it is quite easy to go over the limit. And heck I'd love to have YouTube while commuting.

Though if you only read icanhascheezburger once a day - you should be pretty safe.

Overall - it sucks. But, well, at least they do not disconnect you or (worse) charge you $1 / 1KB over the cap.

[Stu L Tissimus @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:05PM]

I just woke up from a nap and was going to buy myself the G1.

Wow. Good think I checked Engadget first.

[FleaBag @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:06PM]

You guys over there can be so demanding. ;) Not everything in life can be all you can eat. Data is bandwidth and bandwidth costs money to transport! Find me someone who has unlimited bandwidth on their web hosting account which is truly unlimited.

[iEye @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:10PM]

Most people can run through 1GB in a day easy...

They come out here touting this phon eas an iKiller, and then present this crap phone with weak UI, proprietary jacks, and now slam people with 1GB data plans?

how dare they try to compete with the deathstar... T-mobile should just stay with activating unlocked iPhones intil they mature the network... And get rid of that damn magenta, time for a refresh...