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6:26 am
September 8, 2010
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Hi all,
Wondering if anyone can give me a clear definition of the difference between "browsing" and "data".
My iPhone on SpeakOut with "Unlimited Browsing" is able to run all the apps I have installed. The most "data-intensive" of these is probably the App Store, which downloads apps to my phone - it works fine.
In my mind, "browsing" is just the request for "data" from a destination, which is then rendered or processed by the client (phone). Am I missing something?
8:02 am
March 10, 2010
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Essentially the same thing, but just the wrong terminology. Browsing is the act of using a web browser or other software to access various internet based sites. Data is what you use while you are doing this. Each page that you look at requires that you download a certain number of kilobytes, and in some cases your device will upload data as well. These kilobytes are the actual data that you are using.
8:21 am
September 8, 2010
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Given that explanation, I then take "unlimited browsing" to mean "unlimited data transfer" between a phone and an internet-based site (or other service). This includes accessing web sites with a mobile browser, but also accessing services like mail or the app store with an application. Does this sound correct?
If the above is correct, then I don't see how cell providers can offer both "unlimited browsing" and "limited data" and charge separately for both.
Could it be that by default, phones from those providers route requests differently depending on the client application? For instance, accessing gmail through a mobile browser would be routed through the "unlimited browsing" path, while accessing gmail with a mobile mail app would be routed through the "data" path. I suppose it is possible.
Are we (SpeakOut users) therefore circumventing the "rules" for data, by routing all internet traffic through the goam.com web proxy (port 80)?
9:56 am
April 22, 2009
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I believe the terminology is a bit skewed. With Speak out, you are browsing through a proxy. You have no other option.
The purpose of Roger's Edge network was to allow for limited browsing using a phone for a browser. To do that, required all traffic to go through a proxy. Rogers set up multiple proxies to to allow access to certain services. You wanted multimedia services, there was a proxy for that for example. The problem was that it was a mess. When people got access to real internet, they left this service in droves. Rogers got stuck with an EDGE network no one wanted to use. So they rented out their excess capacity to Speakout and the like. Rogers realized they had to ease restrictions on web access, but the connection is still proxied, and it is not internet, because only port 80 is open. So calling this connection data is a bit of a misnomer.
The terms and conditions are a bit laughable, outdated, and likely illegal considering the latest judgments. As with most TOS, it more about ass covering than anything. For example, I am supposed to use their gear for data, but speakout will sell me a phone that is not data capable, but still activate my data.
I believe common sense is the order of the day. If one or 2 people are leeching, it is not going to affect the EDGE network. If everyone is, the network will be unusable. I suspect it is a moot point, because data hogs want nothing to do with EDGE speeds, and the proxy is a bit of a pain, so they won't be here.
10:18 am
March 10, 2010
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bridonca said:
but the connection is still proxied, and it is not internet, because only port 80 is open.
Not really sure if I'd agree with that statement as 99% of what is on the net runs on port 80. Using SO data on an iPhone and I have found very little (besides multimedia) that I cant do with it. Limited yes, but certainly very good value.
9:57 pm
October 6, 2010
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This topic is very interesting. So, jrothney, you are saying that using your iphone with SpeakOut's browsing capability is not as dreadfully slow as my old Samsung cell in 2008 using the phone's so called 'web browser'? (it took 8-10 minutes to call up the weather) I assumed that anything less than the well advertised 3G network would be too slow for the iphone? I haven't signed up with SO yet, but its getting tempting!
11:42 pm
April 22, 2009
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joolz: I suspect there could have been a number of factors that worked against you 2 years ago. One could have been your phone did not have the power to handle a browser, thus ran painfully slow. The other could be that the Rogers EDGE network was getting hammered because it was over subscribed. What I suspect has changed in 2 years is the phones are faster, and the Rogers network is probably more robust. As a side bonus, all the data hogs bolted to 3G, thus putting less strain on the EDGE network.
EDGE is still slow, but just not painfully slow, especially when it comes to web browsing. I let my 3G SIM lapse for a while, because Speakout data takes care of my needs.
5:10 am
March 10, 2010
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joolz said:
This topic is very interesting. So, jrothney, you are saying that using your iphone with SpeakOut's browsing capability is not as dreadfully slow as my old Samsung cell in 2008 using the phone's so called 'web browser'? (it took 8-10 minutes to call up the weather) I assumed that anything less than the well advertised 3G network would be too slow for the iphone? I haven't signed up with SO yet, but its getting tempting!
I've been using an iPhone on speakout data for close to a year. Most of the time it is fairly quick and quite useable. However, in downtown Toronto on weekday afternoon, my data is all but unusable. I am guessing that it has something to do with an over-saturation of phones in the area, as my phone works fine until about 11:00 am in the same area.
Bottom line, it's nowhere near as fast or reliable as 3G service, but its the best and only data plan you will find for $120 per year.
5:49 am
September 8, 2010
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I agree with bridonca's explanation of the factors in play here and can't add much on the network side. I do notice a difference between my wife's iPhone 3G and 3GS in terms of rendering speed. The 3GS is significantly faster.
As for andreww's comments on slow network through the day, I think that's probably pretty accurate. However, it has never been slow enough that my gmail doesn't get pushed to me. I am also able to pull up google and google news without any significant slow down during the day.
Tweetdeck and Facebook are the apps I notice getting really slow.
