Ok, here’s my next sharing about the iphone. Configuring the phone so that it can surf the internet.. I had spent quite a few hours trying to get it to have data access for quite a while and then I surrendered and called my mobile operator. Why didn’t I think of that in the first place? Only the mobile operator will be able to give me the name of the APN for their network. After all, they should know best.
To change the required setting, you’ll have to go to settings, general, network, cellular data network and then key in the name of the APN as given by the mobile operator. Yep, it’s that simple but not so simple if you’re new to the iphone like me. Baah!
Next…here comes the mother of all shocks Data charges can be very expensive and it can wipe out the value of your prepaid SIM if you’re not careful how you use it. Actually…that’s exactly what happened to me. :-o I had downloaded about 2 Apps and the third one was in process when it sort of froze. I wondered why but I thought it was just the network. So I checked the value and gasp. Yep, my SIM card value was reduced to zero. I had activated a prepaid plan of $1 for 10MB but…for that sort of bundle, never use it to download apps. When the 10MB is up, it would simply charge $0.27 per KB after that and so .just to download 40KB, it cost me $10.80. I learnt through the hard way and you as my faithful reader have the privilege to hear it from me to avoid the mistake. For heavier downloads, they have the $7 for 1 GB plan. That would have been more economical…but just to be safe, remember to switch off the cellular data when you’re not using it. You can also choose to download your mails on the go manually instead of the push mail feature to minimize data usage. If possible, read your mails at home. Reserve data charges if you’re expecting an urgent email.
As for the Apps, I’ve yet to explore further because its best to use your home internet plan to download the apps and sync with the iphone. If there is an option to switch off data downloading when you’re not using the apps, I would go for it. I’ll blog more about this when I figure this out.
One great thing about living on our tiny island is that currently we have free wireless internet access at selected areas such as shopping malls, libraries, cafes like Delifrance and some public places that have hotspots. Take advantage of this free internet access by switching on the WIFI function on the iphone whenever you can. This can save on data charges for sure particularly Prepaid SIM card users…..I’ve yet to explore more. Till my next blog session.
