Dataman Next ($1.99, but on sale for $0.99 this week), from developer Johnny Ixe, is an iOS app for managing and tracking your cellular and wi-fi data usage, with the intent of keeping you from having overages. Its minimalistic interface is clean and slick, making it easy to see how much data you’ve consumed.
At a glance, Dataman Next shows the percentage of cellular data used (front and center and in a large font), how much time is left in your monthly data cycle, and a forecast alert. The bottom of the screen shows current cellular and wi-fi usage as a function of megabytes. The information is clearly presented, and color is used to denote the extent of your data usage.
In this case, the color green means that you are well within your data plan usage.
The color red indicates you are close to exceeding your data cap.
Dataman Next’s settings are straight forward and available by swiping left on the main display.
The Data Plan section lets you configure your cellular plan, data cap, start date. The Add Usage option allows the user to add additional data caps on top of an existing plan.
Usage Alerts are user configurable, and provide notifications when data usage reaches specific milestones. For example, DataMan will provide the user with an alert if data reaches a threshold of 50% of the total data cap.
The Themes section lets users choose from 10 supplied fonts, toggle the level of detail shown in the display, and change the overall color palette for the app.
Reset statistics lets you clear the existing data usage and start from zero.
Conclusion
Dataman Next is intuitive to use, sports a clean interface, and is customizable. In short, Dataman Next is perfect for people who want to keep track of their data usage. I can’t really think of any method to improve the app, because it does what it says it will do, and does it well. At $1.99, Dataman Next is a bargain. Dataman Next earns 5 out 5 Bob Weiners.
P.S. I will be giving away TWO copies of Dataman Next this Monday to two lucky readers. Stay ‘tooned!
