One important piece of information that Apple tucks away in the Settings application that users really need to have in their face all the time is how much Internet data they are really using. It serves as a constant reminder that many phone companies are capping our data and that we need to spend less time on our magic boxes and more time outside.
A new free widget is now live in Cydia for free called NetMeterWidget for NC by iOS developer Fairylabs. The widget will display any data that you use over Wi-Fi or over your cellular network and it will even show you your current download speed as is fluctuates per second. In addition, if you have data caps, it can help you keep track of that by showing you how much data you have left to use in green. If you have no data caps, it will tell you that you have unlimited data left to use.
The widget, when installed, also installs the NetMeter application on your home screen. The NetMeter application comes with options and more detail involving the data that you are using:
The application does almost the same thing that the widget does except that the widget is a more express-like interface and the application goes a little more in depth. As you can see, it shows you how much data you use in with either cellular connections or Wi-Fi over the course of the current day, the last week, the last month, and includes a total that you've used since you started using the application.
Setting your billing cycle from this application is an important step and will allow the widget and the application to reset your data cap usage amounts every month. Since I have a 2GB cap from AT&T per month, the widget will display 2GB at the first of the month and slowly depreciate as I use more and more of that 2GB of data. As soon as my billing cycle ends, the widget automatically resets to 2GB for the next month so I can monitor the new month's data usage
You can reset the statistics at any time by using the Reset Database feature. You can also change the arrangement of the statistics in the application with the Layout Arrangement feature. The widget can be enabled and disabled at any time from the Settings application under the Notifications preferences pane by dragging the widget in and out of Notification Center at your will. The widget is compatible with all iPhones – 3G and newer, all iPads, and the iPod touch. Non-cellular devices will be limited to Wi-Fi information.
With the price of the widget being free, it's easy to say that this it's worth your time to look at if your Internet data usage interests you.
Name: NetMeterWidget for NC
Price: FREE
Version: 0.5.2
Requirements: iOS 5
Repo: BigBoss
Developer: Fairylabs
Editor's Rating: / 3.5/5
Sources: Cydia
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