Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 4S Becomes Biggest Data Hog Thanks to 'Siri'

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January 6, 2012 1:59 PM EST

Siri, how much will my wireless bill be this month? Siri? Siri. Siri?? SIRI?!?!

Prepare iPhone 4S users! Your $200 to $400 entry fee (for new signers) isn't the only fee you'll be seeing... watch out for that data usage.

According to reports Thursday, the Siri feature on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 4S is gobbling up data at nearly double the rate of the average user.

Network firm Arieso reported "iPhone 4S users are the 'hungriest' data consumers, demanding twice as much data as iPhone 4 users and three times as much as iPhone 3G users."

Arieso uses the iPhone 3G as it's baseline when conducting tests, the firm said. Based on that, the iPhone 4S specifically uses 2.76 times baseline data.

The numbers have dual implications -- both good and bad. The bad is networks will become more bogged down, though that's likely to be less so with the introduction of Sprint (NYSE: S) as a third iPhone carrier. The good is carriers will be able to make more money from users, as data use continues to escalate. Currently, Sprint said it's the only carrier with "truly unlimited" data plans, though that claim has a little asterisk next to it. Other U.S. carriers of iPhone's include AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ)(NYSE: VOD).

Next on the list is Samsung's Galaxy S, using 1.99 times baseline data.

Also notable, data showed even wireless has its upper-echelon: about 1 percent of users account for 50 percent of all downloaded data.

Customers are probably already getting initial bills in the mail, or have paid a few, with the new iPhone 4S. One thing the basics of Arieso's report didn't give was the actual data quantity (500-megabyte, 1-gigbyte, etc.), but with AT&T expecting $45 per 4-GB of data, users will be paying closer attention to usage.

...In between dropped calls, of course (zing!).

Shares of Apple are trading 0.8 percent better Friday afternoon.

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