How much data do you actually use?

[Schooldidi]

I'm looking for a new mobile phone contract as mine runs out soon. I currently have an ancient phone that doesn't do internet at all, so don't have any idea how much data people would use.

I am imagining that I would maybe use it for mumsnet mostly, and some games on fb sometimes, but how much data would that use in a month? Bearing in mind that I will be at work most of the time and have internet access on the laptop anyway so I won't be constantly on the phone. Do I go for a cheapish tariff with about 250mb, or stretch the extra couple of £ per month for unlimited data?

And any advice about a good smartphone to start with would be great too. I would imagine I want to use it play games mostly [bublush], and would like it to have a gps so I can use it to try out geocaching.

Schooldidi - do make sure you have a GMail account as it's one of the first things you need to enter to use the App Store...

Theas I really wanted a Galaxy Note but can't really justify that sort of cash on a phone right now. A few of the kids at school have it and they all seem to really love it. I don't know how all of their parents seem to afford to get them the latest phones all the time.

Schooldidi - by the way, if you search for an App called Box (it's a web storage service similar to 'copy.com' or 'dropbox.com' at www.box.com), install it, and sign up as a new user, then (as a Sony Xperia owner) you will be upgraded free from 5 GB to 50 GB of storage.

thanks networkguy, it arrivedyesterdayand I'm really loving it. I'm posting from it right now
I'll have a look for that box app.

Glad it arrived and you're happy. Have to say that after a full week of use, am still impressed and happy, myself...

Something I noticed straight away was how the 'lock' doesn't block everything... so if I have radio playing {TuneIn Radio Pro} I can pause it without needing to 'unlock', and if things like e-mail arrive, then I can drag the status bar down the screen and open the mail, again without having to 'unlock' first...

Hope you're still happy, Schooldidi... On Friday I bought myself another Tipo (on T-Mobile) as my year-old Huawei, which I had dropped a few times recently, suddenly decided I had an invalid or missing SIM so I was stuck with an "unlimited everything" account and no way to make a call!

The phone was fine 2 hours earlier, on Thursday, as I watched the lunchtime news in a coffee bar, but then died when I was half way home and about to ring my sister (as she was planning to visit Friday).

It did take visits to 3 shops, and I was lucky as it was the last they had in the store room...