Okay Geek Farm
Onavo (iOS) - Track and shrink your data usage
Ricardo Trejo
Onavo
App type: Utility
Price: Free
Compatible: iPhone (3GS, 4), and iPad (1, 2) — iOS 4.0 or later required
Developer: Onavo Mobile
There’s quite a number of definitions and origins for the word Onavo, however our favorites (provided to us by the app itself) were, “Onavo is the name of the traditional Samurai art of balancing a cellphone on one’s Katana” and “Onavo is an old phrase, first known to be used in the famous verse of the Old Testament: Thou shalt shrinketh thy data, to save money when roaming, Onavo.”
All kidding aside, the purpose of Onavo is to help users manage and shrink data packets being received to their mobile device. I’ve never personally had any issues going over my data plans (currently set at 2GB’s a month), but I have come close — what with all the time I spend streaming Pandora on my car rides to and from work. So this is where Onavo comes in.
Onavo shrinks data being received by means of their patented “magical shrinking machine” based in the cloud, otherwise known as a proxy server, however leaves photos and videos you share with others uncompressed. By directing incoming traffic; such as email and web browsing to travel through this proxy, you’re able to get more bang for your buck and string out your current data plan.
It should be noted that streaming services, such as Pandora, Netflix, and even Skype aren’t supported at the moment, with Onavo focusing entirely on plain ol’ data currently. The app is free, though the company does plan to charge for it sometime in the future.
Download now on iTunes
Available on iPhone and iPad
(iPod touch and iPhone 3G not supported)
