Top Tips For Monitoring Your Mobile Data

Smartphones, Tablets and other cellular connected devices have begun to take over our lives. Unfortunately as we begin to connect more outside of the home the cost of mobile data is skyrocketing. Thankfully there are plenty of useful apps on the market that allow users to monitor mobile phone data to avoid costly overages. Whether you are using an Android, iOS, or Windows Phone there are suitable monitor programs for you to choose from.

My Data Manager – Google Android Mobile Phone Data Monitoring App

As a Google Android user I simply could not live without My Data Manager. This competent Google Android data monitoring app provides homescreen data consumption information for mobile, roaming and Wi-Fi usage.

I personally enjoy how my mobile data usage is broken down into data types, such as YouTube, Skype, Facebook, etc. In several cases high consumption rates made me realize that certain applications were leaking data, forcing me to shut down those programs.

As a visual person I also like how I can view my data consumption rates via a simple graph.

My Data Manager also provides the ability to list monthly billing cycles so users can tell how much data they have available to them until the end of their current billing cycle.

This app is free but a no ads version is available for $4.

Data Usage – iPhone Mobile Phone Data Monitoring App

When it comes to naming a monitoring app there is nothing more appropriately named than Data Usage. Priced at $0.99 the app also features a “pro version” for just $1.99.

Using Data Usage users can choose to track data limits for their plans based on month, week and day. The program much like My Data Manager also provides cellular and Wi-Fi data usage. The program also resets mobile data usage at the end of the billing period. Data Usage also provides notifications when certain percentages of your data plan have been used for the billing period.

Data Usage also provides chart for video people and keeps track of where data is used.

Lack Of Choices – Windows Mobile Phone Data Monitoring App

I almost didn’t include the Windows Phone OS because the truth is, there is NOT a competent mobile data monitoring application for Windows Phone 7 devices. Microsoft has promised to add this feature into Windows Phone 8 but at this time users are forced to monitor their mobile data usage via their cellular providers websites.

Here’s the one tip I can provide, your carrier might offer an app of its own design, for example AT&T Wireless offers AT&T myWireless while T-Mobile provides Windows Phone 7 users with the T-Mobile MyAccount.

Nokia Network Usage does provide Windows Phone 7 mobile data usage but only on WP7 phones manufactured directly by Nokia.

Microsoft still has a way to go when it comes to mobile data usage but iOS and Android smartphones have users covered.

Do you have a favorite smartphone app for mobile data usage?

[Images via The Android Soul & LifeHacker]