In the last few years, web pages and apps have ballooned in size. In 2014, how many gigabytes of data do you actually need?

One of the most common questions I’m asked by readers of the blog is how much data they need when choosing a new smartphone tariff. Many people get bamboozled by the large choice of data allowances: you can now choose a tariff with everything from 100MB to 50GB of data. There’s also a couple of unlimited data deals from Three, giffgaff and T-Mobile.

With the introduction of 4G, things have intensified in the area of mobile download allowances. Whereas 500MB per month used to be a standard data offering, 4G mobile tariffs are now widely differentiated in the amount of included mobile data. On their 4G plans, EE offers between 500MB and 50GB of data. O2 offers between 1GB and 8GB per month whereas Vodafone offers between 3GB and 9GB. On the three networks, calling and texting is now free and unlimited on most 4G Pay Monthly tariffs. Three is the sole network offering all-you-can-eat data with 4G on most of their price plans.

With download allowances becoming the next big battleground, I wanted to revisit the topic and to look at how much data is required in 2014. In the summer of 2010, Ken’s Tech Tips produced the first version of our mobile data guide. Back then, we looked at the meaning of 500MB and 1GB allowances. We gave a rough estimate of how many web pages you were able to view using your allowance. Although the guide has been updated several times, it’s now time for a radical overhaul. In this article, I’ll discuss my most recent findings. It’s a little bit technical but hopefully it’ll give some background on how our data estimates are calculated.

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Looking forward to 2012, what’s going to be new for the online world? How are the patterns of internet usage changing and what are the key challenges facing the internet?

Last week, I took part in a discussion held by Plusnet about the future of internet and the trends that we’ll see online in 2012. Our discussion covered a whole range of topics including the marketing of download speeds and download limits, traffic management and net neutrality and how new internet-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets, televisions and games consoles will affect the way we interact with the internet.

In this article, I’d like to look back on the internet in 2011 and look forward to see how things might change in 2012. For me, 2012 will be an important year for the internet – particularly as the internet is moving beyond computers and onto a whole range of different form factors from a small-screen experience on a mobile phone to a large-screen experience on TV. Furthermore, talk of download limits and download speeds still confuses consumers. These are issues which must be tackled in 2012.

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If you’re looking for an “ultraportable” computing device which you can take anywhere, you’ve got two choices: a tablet or a netbook.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen people demanding more from technology and the ability to access technology in more and more places.

Huge growth has recently been seen in the ultraportable computing sector. Ultraportable devices aim to offer both portability and computing power. In terms of both size and speed, they sit somewhere in between the smartphone you take everywhere and the laptop you leave on your desk. Ultraportables aim to offer the best of both worlds.

If you’re looking for an ultraportable computing device, you’ve got a choice between a tablet or a netbook. In this guide, we look at the history and design of both the tablet and netbook form factors. We also explore how the design heritages of both classes of device affect them practically and find out the pros and cons of each type of device.

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