What does 1gb blackberry data mean

How much is 1GB, and what does it mean?

What's in a byte

Karma has a simple business model: we sell mobile data at a small profit. Instead of making mobile data into an amorphous "service" with corresponding "subscriptions" and "contracts," we simply sell data as a product to be consumed by our customers at their own pace. But what does that even mean? How can data be a "product," and how can it be "used"? What is a GB?

A GB (or "Gigabyte") is roughly one billion bytes. To be precise, Karma and other mobile providers measure data by the "GiB," which is actually 1,073,741,824 bytes, but it's called a GB anyway thanks to the not-always-straightforward history of computer science and marketing. If this distinction worries or confuses you (it bugs the hell out of me!), I suggest this doozy of a Wikipedia article .

So, what is a byte? It's a unit of computer memory, typically large enough to hold a single character (like the letter "A" or the digit "4"). As you might guess, one billion bytes stores a lot of characters — roughly one thousand books worth of information. If all you ever used the internet for was to send emails and download books, 1GB could last you a long time. But, for better or worse, the internet has cat pictures.

The CD-ROM Bill Gates is holding stores more information than the paper below him

As soon as you're storing something more complicated than a text file, the number of bytes required balloons rapidly. A single pixel in a photo, for instance, can require three or more bytes to represent its color information (one byte each for Red, Green, and Blue). Multiply those pixel by millions per photo (an iPhone, for instance, takes 8 megapixel photos), and you've got a lot of bytes. Video exacerbates the data requirements, displaying 24 or 30 images per second. There are a number of compression techniques that are used to keep sizes down, but there's only so much you can compress a photo, video, or audio file before it looks or sounds terrible.

The internet is a method for getting these bytes from point A (usually a server) to point B (your phone or computer, known as a “client”). Internet protocols like TCP/IP and HTTP add a bit of overhead to communicate to a server what exactly it is you’re requesting. TCP/IP will even re-download parts of a file to make sure you end up with an intact digital copy, no matter your connection quality.

When browsing the internet, the typical webpage — a conglomerate of images, text, and behind-the-scenes scripts — is 1.6MB (1.6 million bytes). That's data your browser requests whenever you type in a URL or click on a link. Each little component of a webpage is found through a rapid series of HTTP requests to wherever those files live on remote servers somewhere. If your browser has seen a recent version of that file before, it might have it “cached” on your local device, which means you won’t have to download it again.

Of course, there's a lot more data usage than just happens in the web browser. Your phone apps might update, your photo library might sync, your email client might download some messages with big attachments. You can sort of think of each of your devices as "thirsty" for WiFi, and they can slurp a lot of data as soon as they get a connection.

This isn't usually an issue with your typical home or work WiFi — there's a reason Time Warner and Comcast like charging $100 a month for internet — but it's something to watch out for when you pay by the Gigabyte (in the case of Karma) or have a strict data cap (in the case of most mobile providers). Dave Ford, part of our support team, has put together a post about how to manage background updates to save data, and another post detailing exactly how much data different applications use.

A good rule of thumb is text < photos < GIFs < videos, in terms of experience-per-byte. With 1GB of data you could send a few thousand emails and upload hundreds of photos, or you could watch half an episode of House of Cards and a few Corgi GIFs. Same Gigabyte, different priorities.

This GIF is 834KB of adorbs

But what's most important to remember is that it's not being connected to the internet that uses data, it's what your devices request for transfer. Just like sitting in your car doesn't use gas, it's when you push on the accelerator. Once you get in the habit of turning off background updates, and saving media-heavy experiences for later, you can get a lot more mileage out of the mobile data you buy.

Bundle terms & conditions

General terms and conditions for Bundles

1. Tesco Mobile Pay as you go customers now have the option of adding sets of Minutes, Text and Data Bundles (Bundles) to their Pay as you go tariff.
2. The current types, amounts and prices of Pay as you go Bundles are set out here. This page will be updated as soon as new Bundles become available.
3. You can opt-in for a Bundle online at My Tesco Mobile or by calling 282 free from your Tesco Mobile phone.
4. Each Bundle will start and renew one month* after your opt-in date and runs for a month* (‘Renewal Date’) or until you have used your stated allowance, whichever is sooner.
5. You will use your selected Bundle(s) before your remaining Pay as you go credit, each time you make a standard call, send a standard text message or use the data service.
6. You can have a maximum of one calls Bundle, one text Bundle and one data Bundle each month.
7. Payment will be taken from your Pay as you go top-up balance on your opt-in date, and your Renewal Date, as soon as you opt-in and we will send you a text to confirm the date your Bundle(s) start.
8. Your Bundle will automatically renew on your Renewal Date each month* until: (i) you opt-out of the Bundle; or (ii) you do not have enough credit on your account to buy the Bundle. We will send you a text before your Renewal Date to advise the cost of renewing the bundle or notify you that you do not have enough credit to renew your Bundle(s). If you do not have enough credit, you will need to top-up your account and opt-in again if you want to continue to receive the Bundle.
9. You must keep your Bundle(s) on your account for at least one month*. If the Bundle is removed or if you use up the Bundle allowance, you will be charged at our standard rates detailed here. Promotional terms (where applicable) will not apply in these circumstances.
10. Any unused allowance will not be carried forward or rolled over into your next month’s Bundle. No refunds are payable.
11. To cancel your Bundle, call 282 free from your Tesco Mobile phone or log into your

*The BlackBerry data bundle lasts and renews every 30 days rather than 1 month.

Minutes Bundle

The General Bundle Terms and Conditions above apply but with the exceptions listed below:

1. The Minutes Bundle can be used to make calls in the UK to standard UK landlines (starting 01, 02 or 03 numbers only) and 07 numbers allocated to UK mobile network operators that provide mobile tariffs with substantial national coverage.
2. The Minutes Bundle cannot be used to make calls made in the UK to: (a) non-geographic numbers and free phone numbers (starting 08, &, 05); (b) non-standard or "special" 07 numbers (all those 07 numbers that are not specifically included in your Minutes bundle, i.e. are not used to provide mobile services, including 07 numbers allocated to network operators in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), 076 numbers and 070 numbers; (c) any number ranges which Tesco Mobile reasonably believes are being used for call forwarding services, onward calling services or numbers that pay a revenue share. Examples of such number ranges include 07744 or 07755, 078225, 079879, 078730, 078931, 079118, 079112, 078930, 078921, 077000, 079245, 079246, but are subject to change; (d) premium rate and directory enquiries numbers where special charges apply; (e) video calls; or (f) any calls made from abroad (including Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) or to an international destination from within the UK.

Text Bundle

Data Bundle

BlackBerry® data Bundle

The General Bundle Terms and Conditions above apply but with the exceptions listed below:

1. Tesco Mobile BlackBerry® Bundle is available to all Tesco Mobile Pay as you go BlackBerry® customers with a compatible device and who activate and maintain the BlackBerry® Bundle
2. Tesco Mobile BlackBerry® Bundle gives you access to the Tesco Mobile BlackBerry® Internet Service.
3. On activating your BlackBerry®, we’ll give you 5 days’ free use of the BlackBerry® internet service. During the 5 days we will send you a text to explain that you will be automatically opted into the BlackBerry® data Bundle and explain how you to opt-out if you wish.
4. Once this BlackBerry® Bundle is applied it will last for 30 days and will automatically renew every 30 days until you give us notice that you no longer want the BlackBerry® Bundle.
5. The opt-in and opt-out terms and conditions detailed in the General Bundle Terms and Conditions section above apply. Please note, if you opt-out and then opt-in at a later date, it can take up to 48 hours to reinstate the service.
6. Notifications will be given by either text message, by email to the email address you registered with us when you first applied for the BlackBerry® Internet Solution. Changes will also be notified on the Tesco Mobile website.