Smart Phone Advice For An Absolute Newbie
Hello fellow experts.
I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I know practically nothing about Smart Phones because up until now I have had absolutely no need nor desire to have one and incur the additional cost of using one, but I have been asked by an American friend to help figure out what would best suit her needs.
I have only ever used a simple voice and text phone on a non-contract Pay As You Go service, and I only really have a mobile in case people need to get me while I am not at home. Although there has been the very odd occasion where it would have been handy looking up a map on a mobile while I have been out and about, I have never encountered any pressing need to invest in a fancy new phone. I could get on the Internet from my basic phone if I needed to, but only on the old WAP service that drains the top-up balance.
Clearly I am a newbie, and find myself unable to offer much advice to my friend about what spec and service would be best for her, so I thought I could pick your brains and relay the info to her.
Unfortunately she is a full-time carer for an elderly relative living "out of town", but is anticipating the possibility that her relative may need residential care in a home or hospice in the near future where it would be useful if she had the means to use the Internet whilst away from home. She doesn't have much of an opportunity to go into shops trying out phones, or to look at friends' phones and get an idea whether their phones and contracts would suit her needs. She has tried doing some searching online, but it has frazzled her brain as she isn't familiar with the lingo. I am in the UK, so although I have tried to do some research for phones that would suit my own needs, things seem to be different in America when it comes to contracts, pay as you go, etc.
Here are the basic criteria:
She isn't a dummy with computers, and I'm confident that she could learn to navigate and use a Windows or Android based mobile fairly easily.
She does not want to be tied to a 2 year contract for personal and financial reasons, so it would be preferable for her to get a phone that is not tied to any particular carrier.
She has a Wi-Fi broadband modem in her house (used in wired mode for now, but Wi-Fi can easily be enabled), so if she chose to use her phone while at home she would want one that allows her to connect through the modem.
She would probably use it for:
Reading and responding to Facebook messages and viewing some videos through Facebook.
Viewing the odd YouTube video throughout the day.
Skype would be useful as I talk to her on Skype quite often.
A POP3 email client would probably be useful, but not essential as she can read messages in webmail.
A fairly good camera and video is quite important, but she doesn't anticipate doing much in the way of video chat, so a front-facing camera isn't that important.
I wouldn't anticipate that she would be storing many music or video files on the phone, but it should have sufficient internal storage capacity to save some video footage and photos for a while before downloading them to her Windows PC (XP if that is important).
The important criterion is that she can't really afford to pay any or much more than $200 US. She has been looking at phones in the sales that would have been at a higher price.
So, where do you start?
Buy an "unlocked" Smart Phone, compare the pre-paid packages for amount of data allowed per month, price of phone calls and text messages (and how many come free), select one that allows unused data allowance and call/text time to be rolled over each month, and then buy a SIM card to suit?
I have no idea about mobile processor speeds other than the fact that for dual or quad core you multiply the speed by 2 or 4 to get an approximation (eg. a dual core 2.2 GHz processor runs at 4.4 GHz, and a quad core 2.2 GHz runs at 8.8 GHz). Is this a rough parallel to processor speeds in a Windows PC, or are Smart Phones more efficient in terms of processor speeds?
Basic pre-paid plans are for something like 1GB of data per month. This seems to be a tiny amount that would be inadequate for an "average" user's needs. She isn't going to live her life online on the phone, so roughly how much data allowance would she be likely to need per month?
Memory? Different mobile operating systems are likely to consume memory in different ways, and I would suspect that a Windows 8 phone might need more RAM than an Android one. What would be the minimum spec in this regard?
Some phones come with a relatively small amount of internal storage and have a microSD slot, but the card is another unwanted expenditure. Do mobile operating systems use part of the storage as Virtual Memory? I have been trying to figure out the absolute minimum amount of internal storage would be for somebody who takes occasional video footage, several photos a day, and stores a few music albums to listen to, and Virtual memory would obviously be a factor to consider.
Coverage? If she had a SIM card for a voice/text/data pre-paid account with Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon, does this mean that she would only get internet coverage if there was a relay aerial (or whatever you call them) for that particular carrier in the vicinity?
She has her broadband Internet through AT&T. Is there Wi-Fi coverage for AT&T available while out and about, where internet browsing could hop onto that and allow her to sign into her ISP instead of using her data allowance through her phone account?
Please try to refrain from laughing out loud at the simplicity of my questions. As I said at the outset, I am very ignorant of Smart Phones, how they work, and their spec.
What I am really looking for here, more than links to specific phones that might be suitable, is some general advice about the specifications to look for and avoid, and some personal experience of what choices of data plan might be appropriate for my friend. Armed with some pros and cons, do's or don'ts, and maybe the odd pitfall to avoid, I am sure that she will be able to shortlist some phones and pick a carrier and plan.
Thank you in advance.
Bill
I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I know practically nothing about Smart Phones because up until now I have had absolutely no need nor desire to have one and incur the additional cost of using one, but I have been asked by an American friend to help figure out what would best suit her needs.
I have only ever used a simple voice and text phone on a non-contract Pay As You Go service, and I only really have a mobile in case people need to get me while I am not at home. Although there has been the very odd occasion where it would have been handy looking up a map on a mobile while I have been out and about, I have never encountered any pressing need to invest in a fancy new phone. I could get on the Internet from my basic phone if I needed to, but only on the old WAP service that drains the top-up balance.
Clearly I am a newbie, and find myself unable to offer much advice to my friend about what spec and service would be best for her, so I thought I could pick your brains and relay the info to her.
Unfortunately she is a full-time carer for an elderly relative living "out of town", but is anticipating the possibility that her relative may need residential care in a home or hospice in the near future where it would be useful if she had the means to use the Internet whilst away from home. She doesn't have much of an opportunity to go into shops trying out phones, or to look at friends' phones and get an idea whether their phones and contracts would suit her needs. She has tried doing some searching online, but it has frazzled her brain as she isn't familiar with the lingo. I am in the UK, so although I have tried to do some research for phones that would suit my own needs, things seem to be different in America when it comes to contracts, pay as you go, etc.
Here are the basic criteria:
She isn't a dummy with computers, and I'm confident that she could learn to navigate and use a Windows or Android based mobile fairly easily.
She does not want to be tied to a 2 year contract for personal and financial reasons, so it would be preferable for her to get a phone that is not tied to any particular carrier.
She has a Wi-Fi broadband modem in her house (used in wired mode for now, but Wi-Fi can easily be enabled), so if she chose to use her phone while at home she would want one that allows her to connect through the modem.
She would probably use it for:
Reading and responding to Facebook messages and viewing some videos through Facebook.
Viewing the odd YouTube video throughout the day.
Skype would be useful as I talk to her on Skype quite often.
A POP3 email client would probably be useful, but not essential as she can read messages in webmail.
A fairly good camera and video is quite important, but she doesn't anticipate doing much in the way of video chat, so a front-facing camera isn't that important.
I wouldn't anticipate that she would be storing many music or video files on the phone, but it should have sufficient internal storage capacity to save some video footage and photos for a while before downloading them to her Windows PC (XP if that is important).
The important criterion is that she can't really afford to pay any or much more than $200 US. She has been looking at phones in the sales that would have been at a higher price.
So, where do you start?
Buy an "unlocked" Smart Phone, compare the pre-paid packages for amount of data allowed per month, price of phone calls and text messages (and how many come free), select one that allows unused data allowance and call/text time to be rolled over each month, and then buy a SIM card to suit?
I have no idea about mobile processor speeds other than the fact that for dual or quad core you multiply the speed by 2 or 4 to get an approximation (eg. a dual core 2.2 GHz processor runs at 4.4 GHz, and a quad core 2.2 GHz runs at 8.8 GHz). Is this a rough parallel to processor speeds in a Windows PC, or are Smart Phones more efficient in terms of processor speeds?
Basic pre-paid plans are for something like 1GB of data per month. This seems to be a tiny amount that would be inadequate for an "average" user's needs. She isn't going to live her life online on the phone, so roughly how much data allowance would she be likely to need per month?
Memory? Different mobile operating systems are likely to consume memory in different ways, and I would suspect that a Windows 8 phone might need more RAM than an Android one. What would be the minimum spec in this regard?
Some phones come with a relatively small amount of internal storage and have a microSD slot, but the card is another unwanted expenditure. Do mobile operating systems use part of the storage as Virtual Memory? I have been trying to figure out the absolute minimum amount of internal storage would be for somebody who takes occasional video footage, several photos a day, and stores a few music albums to listen to, and Virtual memory would obviously be a factor to consider.
Coverage? If she had a SIM card for a voice/text/data pre-paid account with Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon, does this mean that she would only get internet coverage if there was a relay aerial (or whatever you call them) for that particular carrier in the vicinity?
She has her broadband Internet through AT&T. Is there Wi-Fi coverage for AT&T available while out and about, where internet browsing could hop onto that and allow her to sign into her ISP instead of using her data allowance through her phone account?
Please try to refrain from laughing out loud at the simplicity of my questions. As I said at the outset, I am very ignorant of Smart Phones, how they work, and their spec.
What I am really looking for here, more than links to specific phones that might be suitable, is some general advice about the specifications to look for and avoid, and some personal experience of what choices of data plan might be appropriate for my friend. Armed with some pros and cons, do's or don'ts, and maybe the odd pitfall to avoid, I am sure that she will be able to shortlist some phones and pick a carrier and plan.
Thank you in advance.
Bill
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Thank you for your comments, suggestions, and insights.
Pooran. I think you have made the best suggestion regarding the data usage. Start at 1GB and see how it goes.
Robin, you preempted one potential issue, and one of the reasons that I can't imagine browsing the web on a small screen. The lady is 60 something (you never ask a woman her age you know), and her eyesight isn't great these days even with glasses. A larger screen, which I think is referred to now by the catchly buzz-word "phablet", would probably be better, but she thinks she would look stupid holding it up to her ear when phoning people ;-) You raised a point that I hadn't even considered, and it's worthwhile remembering that the phone keeps using data unless disabled.
Masq. It was only last night that I was made aware of GiffGaff, before reading your comment I went to see a friend who was talking about switching to GiffGaff after he went over his 5GB allowance with his carrier and got heavily screwed by them. It's probably the route I would go myself in the UK when I step into the 21st Century, but she is in America. You answered one of my own blank spaces of knowledge in saying that most phones switch to Wi-Fi automatically. I wasn't sure about this, and thought that you had to switch over manually to Wi-Fi and then search.
Of course, most Wi-Fi will be unsecured while away from the house, won't it? My perception was that, for example in the UK, there are BT (02) wireless transmitters, Virgin ones, etc, and that your phone could find one belonging to your carrier and log in securely, and if one happened to be Virgin that also is an ISP, that you could log in using your ISP credentials. That's how uninformed I am about all of this smartphone malarky.
DHS. She is in the Fresno area of California, closer to the town of Caruthers than to Fresno City, and out amongst where your Sun-Maid raisins are produced. From coverage maps I've looked at, AT&T and Verizon seem to have the better coverage, but it's hard to see accurately how well covered her general vicinity in the sticks is.
Thanks all.
Pooran. I think you have made the best suggestion regarding the data usage. Start at 1GB and see how it goes.
Robin, you preempted one potential issue, and one of the reasons that I can't imagine browsing the web on a small screen. The lady is 60 something (you never ask a woman her age you know), and her eyesight isn't great these days even with glasses. A larger screen, which I think is referred to now by the catchly buzz-word "phablet", would probably be better, but she thinks she would look stupid holding it up to her ear when phoning people ;-) You raised a point that I hadn't even considered, and it's worthwhile remembering that the phone keeps using data unless disabled.
Masq. It was only last night that I was made aware of GiffGaff, before reading your comment I went to see a friend who was talking about switching to GiffGaff after he went over his 5GB allowance with his carrier and got heavily screwed by them. It's probably the route I would go myself in the UK when I step into the 21st Century, but she is in America. You answered one of my own blank spaces of knowledge in saying that most phones switch to Wi-Fi automatically. I wasn't sure about this, and thought that you had to switch over manually to Wi-Fi and then search.
Of course, most Wi-Fi will be unsecured while away from the house, won't it? My perception was that, for example in the UK, there are BT (02) wireless transmitters, Virgin ones, etc, and that your phone could find one belonging to your carrier and log in securely, and if one happened to be Virgin that also is an ISP, that you could log in using your ISP credentials. That's how uninformed I am about all of this smartphone malarky.
DHS. She is in the Fresno area of California, closer to the town of Caruthers than to Fresno City, and out amongst where your Sun-Maid raisins are produced. From coverage maps I've looked at, AT&T and Verizon seem to have the better coverage, but it's hard to see accurately how well covered her general vicinity in the sticks is.
Thanks all.
ASKER
Hi nobus. You're up early on a Sunday morning. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one trying to catch up with newer technology and get my head around the concepts. I am a little bit worried about the security of public Wi-Fi hotspots. She will do all of her financial transactions from her home and there wouldn't be anything sensitive stored on the phone anyway, so maybe I'm just worrying unnecessarily. Loads of people these days don't seem to worry much about Wi-Fi security with their smart phones.
personally - i avoid wifi at all costs - where possible
just my 2cts
and isn't there an hour difference between us ?
just my 2cts
and isn't there an hour difference between us ?
ASKER
Oh yes, you're an hour ahead of me nobus. It was me who was up early. It looks like there are quite a few antivirus applications for Android, but no properly configurable firewalls other than on/off ones.
Robin. I have just noticed the "loss" word in your tongue-in-cheek comment:
"I have bought and repaired a few others and made quite a loss selling them."
It used to be possible to make a bit of money repairing fashionable expensive phones when we were still just using text and multimedia messaging from mobiles, but when you can get a brand new top of the range smart-phone on a contract for a fraction of the retail value, and with the option to upgrade again each year or two, repaired phones seem to be less inviting.
I must be getting old. I hear all the young people talking about how they are struggling to pay their £50 or £70 per month mobile contract off their meagre weekly pay packet, and yet few of them are even paying money to their parents for their board and lodgings. It frightens me how important such an accessory has become to people for their entertainment. That's all it is really. I can understand how business people need all this functionality while they are on the go, but most young people don't actually need their smart phones when it comes down to it.
Older folk at my work seem to be smarter about things because they have those deals with Virgin or BT where you get your ISP subscription, sports and movie channels on your TV, and mobiles for the family members all wrapped up in one monthly package. I'm not a sports fanatic and I don't watch much TV because of my shifts, so I would find it hard to justify the extra expenditure.
Robin. I have just noticed the "loss" word in your tongue-in-cheek comment:
"I have bought and repaired a few others and made quite a loss selling them."
It used to be possible to make a bit of money repairing fashionable expensive phones when we were still just using text and multimedia messaging from mobiles, but when you can get a brand new top of the range smart-phone on a contract for a fraction of the retail value, and with the option to upgrade again each year or two, repaired phones seem to be less inviting.
I must be getting old. I hear all the young people talking about how they are struggling to pay their £50 or £70 per month mobile contract off their meagre weekly pay packet, and yet few of them are even paying money to their parents for their board and lodgings. It frightens me how important such an accessory has become to people for their entertainment. That's all it is really. I can understand how business people need all this functionality while they are on the go, but most young people don't actually need their smart phones when it comes down to it.
Older folk at my work seem to be smarter about things because they have those deals with Virgin or BT where you get your ISP subscription, sports and movie channels on your TV, and mobiles for the family members all wrapped up in one monthly package. I'm not a sports fanatic and I don't watch much TV because of my shifts, so I would find it hard to justify the extra expenditure.
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Yeah, that's the odd thing about mobile numbers in America. We in the UK know immediately if a number is a mobile one, but her normal mobile number looks like a landline number with the same dialling code.
I am hesitant to suggest the GUI overlay at the moment. She acknowledges that she is getting old(er), and her bones and joints are showing the signs of same, but I think that suggestion might just initiate a state of depression ;-)
Huh! Just looked out the window and it's snowing. Probably something you don't see too often in MK.
I am hesitant to suggest the GUI overlay at the moment. She acknowledges that she is getting old(er), and her bones and joints are showing the signs of same, but I think that suggestion might just initiate a state of depression ;-)
Huh! Just looked out the window and it's snowing. Probably something you don't see too often in MK.
You'd be surprised - I put the winter tyres on last weekend. But of course you have a significant advantage in latitude. Frankly I'd prefer it frozen to the thawed version we have coming down in stair rods as I type!
If it helps with the app I had exactly the same concerns with a family member I put this on for. I have to confess to a sneakier approach which was I put it on my own phone and told them I'd just had this upgrade done & let them have a play. Maybe I should start selling used cars next but it seemed to work and they've been using it and singing its praises for the past 6-7 months :)
If it helps with the app I had exactly the same concerns with a family member I put this on for. I have to confess to a sneakier approach which was I put it on my own phone and told them I'd just had this upgrade done & let them have a play. Maybe I should start selling used cars next but it seemed to work and they've been using it and singing its praises for the past 6-7 months :)
ASKER
The following phone seems to be the phone that she is leaning towards at the moment:
Spec:
http://www.gsmarena.com/blu_studio_5_0_lte-6339.php
Cheapest price vs convenience of purchase:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLU-Studio-5.0-Y530Q-4G-LTE-GSM-Android-Cell-Phone-Unlocked/37884023
SIM for 4G LTE Android & Windows Phone devices (Bring your own device, pick your own plan):
https://www.att.com/cellphones/att/sim-for-4g-lte-android-windows-phone-devices.html
The card is registered through a "Bring Your Own Phone" page on the AT&T site where you choose your data plan. This is where it all seems to differ between America and the UK. Here I can walk into any tobacconist or supermarket, look through SIM cards in their packets hanging on a rack and pick a phone number that I think is easy to remember, and buy it for £0.99 which simply covers the packaging. Some have a "free" £5 credit that you can get if you register it and give them your name, etc, but if you don't you can simply buy a "top up voucher" at the same time as you are buying your groceries. It has a 16-digit PIN and you just phone a specified number on your phone for free and enter the number when prompted to add the amount to your phone credit.
I have absolutely no idea how this all works in America.
Spec:
http://www.gsmarena.com/blu_studio_5_0_lte-6339.php
Cheapest price vs convenience of purchase:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLU-Studio-5.0-Y530Q-4G-LTE-GSM-Android-Cell-Phone-Unlocked/37884023
SIM for 4G LTE Android & Windows Phone devices (Bring your own device, pick your own plan):
https://www.att.com/cellphones/att/sim-for-4g-lte-android-windows-phone-devices.html
The card is registered through a "Bring Your Own Phone" page on the AT&T site where you choose your data plan. This is where it all seems to differ between America and the UK. Here I can walk into any tobacconist or supermarket, look through SIM cards in their packets hanging on a rack and pick a phone number that I think is easy to remember, and buy it for £0.99 which simply covers the packaging. Some have a "free" £5 credit that you can get if you register it and give them your name, etc, but if you don't you can simply buy a "top up voucher" at the same time as you are buying your groceries. It has a 16-digit PIN and you just phone a specified number on your phone for free and enter the number when prompted to add the amount to your phone credit.
I have absolutely no idea how this all works in America.
Yes I'm making a loss. It was supposed to be a profit but I'm calling it a hobby now not a business. The point of mentioning it was that you might find a very good repaired phone for less than the cost of a second hand one. There is a risk of course, I can offer no guarantee with the ones I fix as I don't know their history.
ASKER
The lady in question has considered "factory refurbished" models, but the discount wasn't significant enough to make it enticing. Repaired ones are probably just a little bit risky, and you know how women are about pre-owned stuff.
I will contact you whenever I decide to take the next step myself, and we'll see what you have in your inventory at that time. Do you accept PayPal? Maybe a trade for some musical gear. ;-)
I will contact you whenever I decide to take the next step myself, and we'll see what you have in your inventory at that time. Do you accept PayPal? Maybe a trade for some musical gear. ;-)
I currently have an s4 all shiny and nice and locked to the 3 network. I don't know enough about it but it's probably region locked to the UK as well as the network. Just another thing to beware of if buying second hand. I don't think you want this one, but if you did can we trade over EE now there is a hire me button? It used to be banned I think.
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Thank you for your insight and tips gentlemen.
Nick. I'm not at all embarrassed of my simple older "slide phone". The only reason I carry one at all is in case my elderly parents need to contact me in an emergency. The only reason my friend has a mobile is in case her respite carer needs to contact her in an emergency on an odd occasion when she is able to leave the house, but she is anticipating the need to have mobile Internet access in the near future if her mother requires nursing home or hospital care and she is away from home for lengthy periods. In the UK we only pay to send text messages, not to receive them, unless the message is from overseas.
Dan. I was kind of joking about her holding a tablet up to her ear. Most folk use a bluetooth headset or simply don't care who overhears their conversations while on speakerphone. I did see a guy a while back carrying a large tablet (looked even larger than iPad) around the supermarket at waist level like an old-style cinema popcorn vendor and he was having a loud conversation while talking down to it. I had forgotten about the voice control on these phones, which negates hands-free to some degree if travelling in a car with the phone in a cradle.
Cheers speed. No, she has never had any "smart" device. Her only computer is an XP desktop, so there is no real issue with favourite apps. The phone she has been considering is set to save images and video to microSD card by default. There is no phone to PC software available, so it is just seen as removable storage and all you can copy out from the phone is what is stored on the flash memory. She is in the process of checking out what carriers and plans allow rollover minutes, texts, and data usage. The phone can download Google and non-Google apps, so the choice of apps is pretty open. I will look at the price of Galaxy S4s, but I'm sure they are beyond her budget. The Blu phone is a compromise that seems to provide good usability at an affordable price.
Thanks again guys.
Nick. I'm not at all embarrassed of my simple older "slide phone". The only reason I carry one at all is in case my elderly parents need to contact me in an emergency. The only reason my friend has a mobile is in case her respite carer needs to contact her in an emergency on an odd occasion when she is able to leave the house, but she is anticipating the need to have mobile Internet access in the near future if her mother requires nursing home or hospital care and she is away from home for lengthy periods. In the UK we only pay to send text messages, not to receive them, unless the message is from overseas.
Dan. I was kind of joking about her holding a tablet up to her ear. Most folk use a bluetooth headset or simply don't care who overhears their conversations while on speakerphone. I did see a guy a while back carrying a large tablet (looked even larger than iPad) around the supermarket at waist level like an old-style cinema popcorn vendor and he was having a loud conversation while talking down to it. I had forgotten about the voice control on these phones, which negates hands-free to some degree if travelling in a car with the phone in a cradle.
Cheers speed. No, she has never had any "smart" device. Her only computer is an XP desktop, so there is no real issue with favourite apps. The phone she has been considering is set to save images and video to microSD card by default. There is no phone to PC software available, so it is just seen as removable storage and all you can copy out from the phone is what is stored on the flash memory. She is in the process of checking out what carriers and plans allow rollover minutes, texts, and data usage. The phone can download Google and non-Google apps, so the choice of apps is pretty open. I will look at the price of Galaxy S4s, but I'm sure they are beyond her budget. The Blu phone is a compromise that seems to provide good usability at an affordable price.
Thanks again guys.
On the subject of transferring images from the phone to PC: I don't know if the offer still stands, but for a while, when you got a Samsung phone it came with 20GB of Dropbox storage for 2 years.
This, combined with the ability of automatically uploading your photos to Dropbox, make syncing the photos with the PC seamless. Just make a picture, go somewhere where you have a wireless connection to the Internet and the picture will magically appear on the dropbox folder on your PC.
This, combined with the ability of automatically uploading your photos to Dropbox, make syncing the photos with the PC seamless. Just make a picture, go somewhere where you have a wireless connection to the Internet and the picture will magically appear on the dropbox folder on your PC.
ASKER
Thanks for that tip Dan. I will check it out.
I ran across this year old article on Forbes.com, that might help:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/09/14/the-real-cost-of-a-smartphone/
It removes some of the mystery in the pricing and contracts. I noted an unlock top quality smartphone might run as much as $650 if paid all at once and add $50/month for a provider. Older smartphones are much cheaper. And, if she could find a good used phone that might be less expensive.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/09/14/the-real-cost-of-a-smartphone/
It removes some of the mystery in the pricing and contracts. I noted an unlock top quality smartphone might run as much as $650 if paid all at once and add $50/month for a provider. Older smartphones are much cheaper. And, if she could find a good used phone that might be less expensive.
ASKER
Good find with that article. That's exactly the one that my friend found and directed me to, but I wondered how valid it would still be. Things change so quickly in mobile technology.
Check their reception area before choosing a provider go with whoever has the best/most reliable signal in the areas the phone will be most often. I have a 1GB/month package from them ATM and rarely get near it unless I'm away from a wireless connection and tethering. Fine tune your monthly allowance, most allow a top up if you under estimate but my experience is most users over-estimate their data usage & pay more than they need. Phones generally switch automatically to a wireless signal if one's available in preference to burning up your data plan. Like Robin said about background data use you can disable updates etc running until you're back onto WiFi.
If travelling abroad then currently Three seems to have the best package ATM for losing roaming charges.