Small amounts of data for a few weeks?

[foosion]

I occasionally need small amounts of data for my unlocked phone for a week or two.

Would Airvoice be the best alternative? If I read correctly, I can buy a sim for $5, sign up for the $10 plan, then buy cards at $10 that would give me 33mb each, expiring in 30 days. This would essentially give me access to AT&T's 3G network.

Is this right? Are there better alternatives.

[silentjudge]

If you have a T-Mobile USA 3G compatible phone and good T-Mobile coverage, you can get their SIM ($1-5) and their $30 plan with 5GB of fast data.

How much data are you looking at using?

[foosion]

Probably something in the 50-100mb range, usually just simple web browsing or the like on a phone rather than streaming media or tethering. 5GB is much more than I'd use in a week or two. Also my phone won't do TMO 3G.

[bohbot16]

The Airvoice plan is $0.33/MB, which equals 30MB for $10.

[Pabster]

If data is all you need (little or no talk/text) TRU would probably be the better choice, especially if you are limited to 2G data on your phone/device any way. Their data rate is only 17c/MB or half what AirVoice charges. Down side is the SIM cost $30 up-front ($15 credit included on activation) but you also get AT&T AND T-Mobile access.

[silentjudge]

I thought someone on Hofo had confirmed that Tru only has data on T-Mobile and not AT&T.

[Pabster]

I thought someone on Hofo had confirmed that Tru only has data on T-Mobile and not AT&T.

I have both but 2G/EDGE only. AFAIK both are available for voice/text and data.

[silentjudge]

I see. Although it sounds like the OP wants 3G based on his posts. With his AT&T 3G compatible phone, the cheapest is probably Airvoice for 30-60MB per month.
If you need 60-80MB, H2O Wireless with their $25/30 day plan has 80MB of data

[foosion]

$30 for a TRU SIM is too much for occasional use, especially if the account expires if not used for a relatively short amount of time.

I'd rather have 3G, all else being more or less equal, which means an AT&T compatible network.

Airvoice appears best for me based on posts so far, although H2O is another possibility. H2O doesn't seem to be well liked by posters here, but I'm not sure if their problems matter for my situation.

[HF305]

Tru has very lenient expiration. Use a billable service (e.g. open a data connection) at least once every 3 months to avoid "inactivity".

[PL1]

Tru has very lenient expiration. Use a billable service (e.g. open a data connection) at least once every 3 months to avoid "inactivity".

But, with Airvoice you can stack cards for as long as you want from what is being reported. If you want 90 days, buy 3 $10 cards.

[shawnlg]

Tmobile daily plan $2 for slow or 3 for fast data.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using HowardForums

[Pabster]

But, with Airvoice you can stack cards for as long as you want from what is being reported. If you want 90 days, buy 3 $10 cards.

Yes, costing $30. The TRU SIM could be kept active the same 90 days for the cost of an SMS (12 cents) or 100kB data (1.7 cents!)