How AT&T?s new shared data plans compare to Verizon?s

If you're data-hungry and have a lot of smartphones, then AT&T's plans may be right for you

Last month, Verizon announced a move to "Share Everything" plans ? the wireless provider wants all your wireless devices, from smartphones to tablets, to share the same basic pool of data. Now, AT&T is getting into the act, offering their own data sharing plans.

Unlike Verizon, AT&T doesn't appear to be killing off their unlimited data plan for grandfathered customers. And that's good news, because for many customers, AT&T new plan will represent a huge increase in costs. For certain families with a large number of devices, however, there is a potential for savings. Here's a breakdown of what each data package (with unlimited phone calling and text messaging) will cost you on the two networks:

• 1GB data: $40 plus $45 per smartphone on AT&T; $50 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon
• 2GB data: $60 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon only
• 4GB data: $70 plus $40 per smartphone on AT&T; $80 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon
• 6GB data: $90 plus $35 per smartphone on AT&T; $80 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon
• 8GB data: $90 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon only
• 10GB data: $120 plus $30 per smartphone on AT&T; $100 plus $40 per smartphone on Verizon
• 15GB data: $160 plus $30 per smartphone on AT&T only
• 20GB data: $200 plus $30 per smartphone on AT&T only

Both AT&T and Verizon let you add on additional non-smartphone devices for the same charge. Putting a tablet on your data plan will cost you $10 a month; a notebook, netbook, or USB dongle to let your computer share your data allowance costs $20 per month; and basic phones will cost you $30 each.

If you've been thinking about switching to one of these new unlimited data plans, be sure you do your research first, especially if you own a tablet. After all, it's possible to run through your monthly data allowance on your iPad in just 10 minutes.

[via Ars Technica]

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/t-shared-data-plans-compare-verizon-165517269.html

white house correspondents dinner phoenix coyotes bruce irvin charlie st cloud celtics josh hamilton nba playoffs