The iPhone is currently available with just one data plan: $30 per month for "unlimited" data attached to a minimum two-year contract—though AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega believes some users should be charged more.

The iPad, on the other hand, offers two pre-paid, no contract plans: $15 per month for 250MB, or $30 per month for unlimited data. During the introduction of the iPad, Apple CEO Steve Jobs indicated that 250MB should be more than enough for practically anyone, and many watchers took exception to this claim, noting that they use plenty of data on their iPhones already and the iPad is sure to be much worse.

AT&T doesn't provide an easy way to track your data usage in real-time, but the iPhone does keep track of how much data goes in and out of it via the 3G network. You can find this by going into Settings > General > Usage. Under "Cellular Network Data," you'll see stats for sent and received.

Chances are you've never reset this, so you could add up the two values and know how much data you've pumped over AT&T's network since you got your iPhone. If you divide the value by how many months you've owned your iPhone, you should have a pretty good idea of your average monthly data use.

The total on my own iPhone is 1.48GB. Since I bought my iPhone in July 2008, my average monthly usage is approximately 80MB per month. So, even if I were to use three times the number of data on-the-go, I could get away with a $15 per month data plan for an iPad. Even better, why doesn't AT&T offer a similar plan for the iPhone users?

I'm not the only person that could get by just fine with a 250MB limit for a lower price, but we're wondering what usage patterns are like for our readers. Are you a light data user, or a heavy data user? Take our poll, and let us know. Also, feel free to tell us what your main data needs are when you're away from a WiFi connection in the comments.

(Please fill in the highest amount of data that applies to you.)

how much 3G data do you use per month, on average, on your iPhone?(polling)