Opera Mini offers a way to dramatically reduce how much data you use on your smart phone.

Big carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all have data caps in place. Sprint is the only one of the bigs still out there doing unlimited data. Imagine how they'll get dumped on by data hogs!

So let's say you want to hang with AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon because you like their networks. A tech writer for The New York Times  recently ran a story that claims Opera Mini reduces data consumption by 90% so you can dramatically stretch your data plan with your carrier.

Opera Mini is a mobile browser available as a free download for Android, Apple, Blackberry, Windows and Symbian S60 smartphones. Because it only sips data, you may even be able to stay on a lower data plan when you're using it. Plus, in my experience using Opera Mini, it's really fast to boot!

So try downloading it. It will improve your web surfing and save you money on the data side.