iPhone data plan

Verizon has announced that their "Share Everything Plan" will go live on June 28th. The plan gives users unlimited talk and text with the ability to share data on up to 10 devices. The plans start at $50 per month for 1GB of data and work their way up to $100 for 10GB of data. Each additional device will cost you between $10 to $40: $10 for tablets, $20 for hotspots, $30 for basic phones and $40 for smartphones. Mobile hotspot is included at no additional cost.

The Share Everything Plan makes Verizon the first U.S. carrier to offer the ability to share a lot of data across multiple devices. However, as Ina Fried of AllThingsD pointed out, it may put single smartphone users at a disadvantage.

Monthly wireless data plans are great, until you get the bill. With most iPhone carriers moving to data caps some users are paying extra when the limits are exceeded. FreedomPop is looking to provide another solution for iPhone owners, a full gigabyte of data usage free.

So what's the catch? FreedomPop will provide a special iPhone case for a $100 deposit, which is fully refundable if the case is returned in good condition. The case has a built-in WiMAX radio and is capable of connecting up to eight devices (including the iPhone) to the 4G network via mobile hotspot.

With the release of the 4G LTE iPad an LTE iPhone seems imminent, and new iPad owners are quickly learning about the pitfalls of fast wireless connections. The Wall Street Journal published a report about the responsibility that comes with 4G connectivity by profiling one man who blew through 2GB of his Verizon data plan while watching March Madness games.

"Two hours of college basketball—which he viewed mounted to his car dashboard and live at tournament games—had burned through his monthly wireless data allotment of two gigabytes. Now, to keep surfing the Web or watch more NCAA hoops over Verizon Wireless's 4G network, Mr. Wells will have to pay an extra $10 for every gigabyte above his current $30 subscription."

The folks over at Tether.com have been working hard to provide their smartphone tethering service over the web, ever since the iTether app was removed from the App Store. Now iPhone users can make their devices into a personal hotspot by simply logging into their tether account via a web browser, with no jailbreak or other iOS software required.

Tethering makes it possible to share your iPhone's data connection with other devices, such as notebook computers. Cellular carriers charge extra for the privilege, although they also increase the amount of monthly data available to the subscriber. Over the years, jailbreak apps have appeared to take advantage of tethering without paying extra monthly fees.

AT&T has made changes to its data throttling policies in response to complaints from unlimited plan users. Now instead of slowing down data speeds when a customer reaches 2GB of usage, the company will take this action at the 3GB mark. The policy changes brings data throttling of unlimited customers in line with the revised upper-tier 3G data plan which provides 3GB of usage.

Unlimited plans have been grandfathered in for some time now, with new subscribers required to select from tiered data plans and pay extra fees if they exceed the limit. The actions of AT&T, which slowed down data speeds for the top 5 percent of unlimited data plan users prompted criticism from several quarters, including lawyers.