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Just got one of these and thought i’d do a mini review…..
[img]http://www.geocities.com/stevester162000/3g2.JPG[/img]
Dongle costs £39 at the moment in-store and online. You get 1GB of data usage free with this. When you buy data it does not expire. It costs £15 to get 1GB of data and you can buy this online or buy a £15 voucher in-store.
You can track your usage in the software supplied (displayed in £). Generally i’ve found 3G coverage to be good (I live in Cornwall) but sometimes i’ve had to use GPRS which is adequate but not enough for VOIP, video streaming etc. The dongle is of a good build quality and can be used as a flash memory drive by inserting a micro sd card. It is a Huawei stick. It does get hot so I use the extension cable. There are green/blue lights on the dongle to indicate GPRS/3G connection. Connection is pretty much instant on GPRS and 3G.
Personally this is a good deal for me as I am more of a casual user and will not use it everyday or for extended periods of time. It will probably take me 2-3 months to use up 1GB. I know that £15 is quite expensive for 1GB compared to other plans though.
How many icons on that desktop ??
LOLHere’s mine
Anyways back on subject, watch out for the small print the majority of mobile BB deals say you must not use them for VOIP or streaming video (although how/if it’s enforced is a different matter)
Yeah I know lol I love clutter!
The fair usage policy on Vodafones website states:
“The majority of our customers will not be impacted by the fair usage policy. However, if you use the following applications you are more likely to break the fair usage policy: peer to peer file sharing software; peer to peer TV; streaming video services or software update services.”
I think this is to warn people that using these applications will consume more data and possibly take them over their ‘fair usage’ limit. I’m sure (as long as its legal) that if you use VOIP or stream video occasionally that this will not take you over your fair usage limit and thus not be a problem.
The fair usage limits are tied to fixed contract deals as well so i’m sure it wouldn’t apply to pay as you go.
A topup does not expire. Unless you don’t use it for 180 days.
The software dispays the balance in £
I’m in a similar situation in that I only need to occasionally use a connection , when away from a wifi connection.
I’ve found Bluetoothing my Phone to the NC10 works extremelly well
see
http://www.sammymobile.com/plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?5479.post
The official line is you need to use one of the contract options such as Mobile Broadband Max or Mobile Broadband Plus Daily on T mobile to use your phone in such a way.
This excludes PAYG customers as the fair use policy (see http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/uk/fairuse/) as you would pay £1 for a days use or 50p per day over a 5 day period.
The FUP says you can’t use the phone as a modem (although it works without a problem at 40KB a second)..
It seems that using Bluetooth is generally a much neater option, as you don’t have a dongle hanging off the PC which might go astray/be forgotten etc.
Less to carry around (unless your not someone who carries a mobile with them).
Certainly not having a 3G slot has ceased to be a problem, and certainly won’t be a reason to upgrade on it’s own when a new version comes out for me.
Until usage limits are substantially increased 3G has little to offer over GRPS, yes it’s 10 times faster. But for those applications where this would be useful, you find that the fair use policy stops you dead.
Due to the very limited download limits on all but the top plans.
While you gain from better overall coverage when using GRPS
Theo
Theo, if your phone supports HSDPA/3G you should be able to get the same throughputs as via a dongle. I’m getting around 2-3mb throughput generally off O2 via a SE C702
I noticed the Vodaphone deal too, seems pretty much ideal. When my 3 Pre-payed 12gb runs out I’ll be flogging on the dongle and getting a Voda deal instead.
I think the problem with using your phone as a modem isn’t so much that it won’t work, or isn’t recommended. Its more of a case that if your Mobile operator detects your downloading 100+mb a night that your likely to be using it as a modem. And they may charge you accordingly… now that might hurt if you get a sudden bill in the post.
From what i’ve seen the FUP on mobile phone broadband is usually closer to 200-500mb.
Still, regardless I’d think you’d get a naughty letter before you got billed or cut off.
One thing that might be handy in these mobile BB reviews is a throughput test. maybe if we all used speedtest.net noted our location and time too then we could get a decent picture of who’s quickest and who’s best.
I’ve noticed with 3 I get anywhere between 1000+kbs to 200kps dependant on time of day and area (although i’ve only tested in about a 5square mile radius of my own house so far, in East Central Fife).
http://www.speedtest.net/result/421212235.png
Running a bit slow today I notice for me. Surfing speed is still fine though.
I’ve just bought one of these Vodaphone payg dongle, I made the man in the shop check it didn’t expire and no it doesn’t but if you don’t use it for 180 days it gets disconnected, but you can reconnect free without losing credit. A friend recommended it as she checked around and it was the only one that didn’t expire. (I mainly use WiFi at home).
s162000 please can you explain to me as I’m still a noob: I want this for holidays visit to mum in Cornwall and Aunty in Ludlow. At the moment there is no 3G coverage for Vodaphone where they live. You mention GPRS …….would the dongle connect to this if there is an ordinary GPRS phone signal then? I was given the impression that it won’t but your post suggest otherwise. (I know it would be slower).
In the 3 mobile shop they said they had a new mast which will cover when it’s been activated, I could get a 3 dongle payg as well for just the month I go to visit Mum. Mum is one of the villages around St. Austell.Fifi
I won a 3Mobile payg dongle. I havent opened the box yet as im not sure I really have the use for it. 🙁
Im open to offers lol ! 😉
Kirk
[quote1237466545=Fifi]
s162000 please can you explain to me as I’m still a noob: I want this for holidays visit to mum in Cornwall and Aunty in Ludlow. At the moment there is no 3G coverage for Vodaphone where they live. You mention GPRS …….would the dongle connect to this if there is an ordinary GPRS phone signal then? I was given the impression that it won’t but your post suggest otherwise. (I know it would be slower).
In the 3 mobile shop they said they had a new mast which will cover when it’s been activated, I could get a 3 dongle payg as well for just the month I go to visit Mum. Mum is one of the villages around St. Austell.
Fifi
[/quote1237466545]Yes, I can confirm that the dongle uses GPRS as a ‘backup’ On full GPRS signal it is actually quite fast, of course it is slower the less signal you have. But you will get there in the end! Just don’t expect Youtube to work! I’ve actually just ran out of credit on my dongle a few days ago, that 1GB went a very long way!
Happy holidays in Cornwall! You ever been to Falmouth?
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