[Hands0n]

I started out with T-Mobile earlier this year with their Flext35 plus Web N Walk which restricts use to the mobile handset only. Since then things have changed, oh my how they've changed.

I have today changed my Web N Walk to Web N Walk Plus - that which allows a 3GB per month data allowance. It becomes available on my billing date, not immediately which is odd but just about tolerable seeing as I've only got 48 hours to go!

I tried to get this organised with CS directly, but for some reason could not get it understood what I wanted, or the CS was inexperienced and could not help. So I nipped into the local T-Mobile store (not franchise) and they spent 10 mins on the phone to their own teams and got it sorted.

Cautionary Note:
When I bought into Flext35 + WNW the offer was for a 25% discount for life. Changing this contract to go to WNW+ means that I lose the 25% on the WNW component, but keep the 25% discount on the Flext35. I've got to keep an eye on the billing to make sure that happens. The CS was initially unsure and said that all the discounts would be lost (!!) but when checking further said that was not the case.

If you are intending to change elements of your contract make sure of what the consequences are before agreeing to the change.

[Hands0n]

OK. Here we are. Nokia 6280, USB cable, DGM Laptop and a good stable 3G network courtesy of T-Mobile. I'm cooking on gas as they say :D

Windows XP claims that I am on 480.8Kbps connection with T-Mobile. It certainly seems to be fast at updating the Talk3G web pages, which are quite [network] busy at times. Slower, for sure, than my 10Mbps Telewest cable link, but much more respectable in speed terms than any 56Kbps dial-up.

I have to wonder what the fuss is all about regarding mobile data working at these speeds. It is plenty fast enough for browsing.

I did read somewhere on Talk3G that T-Mobile were blocking IM, but that does not seem to be the case as I have successfully logged in to MSN Live Messenger and Google Talk. Unfortunately none of my correspondents is on-line tonight so I can't test it to the full.

Download speeds are good - I pulled in a fresh copy of Google Talk at 1.5MB which was retrieved in under a minute.

Overall the use of the WNW Plus facility is good, as good as I'd expected it to be on a 3G network. Others who have tried the HSDPA say that it is better still. I eagerly await the day when I can upgrade to an HSDPA handset and enjoy even higher speeds. But for now, the bog-standard 3G speed is plenty good enough for me.

Nice one T-Mobile. An attractive price at £12.50 with 3GB pcm.

[Ben]

You just wait until you taste HSDPA. You'll be astounded at just how usable it is. A while back I was using a 512kbps connection over a wireless network. I was the only user, but it was still much, much better to leave 'wired' broadband behind and use Vodafone HSDPA.

But until then, glad you're liking the 3G data!

[miffed]

I cannot believe how far T-mobile have come , from being an unreliable , shoddy network that finds it difficult to handle Voice & text -to what seems to be blanket HSDPA coverage !!! - I have recently been going out of my way to lose T-mobile's 3G signal, and I don't seem able to do it , whereas Orange & Voda seem very patchy to say the least
Whether or not is is just luck , in terms of the areas I use regurlaly - but for my money T-mobile are the top dog as far as both Coverage & Price is concerned , none of the others come even anywhere near them in terms of pricing , which would be fair enough if the product on offer was inferior ( a la Three's early promotions ) - but it is top notch IMO

[Hands0n]

Yes, I had similar feelings towards T-Mobile until theylaunched their Flext earlier in 2006. That drew my attention back to them in terms of price. I had to find out more so spent a week with a T-Mobile PAYG SIM in an disused handset. Like you, I could not find a break in the signal (there is one dead spot nearby that nothing at all works in). That prompted me to go to them from Orange who were getting decidedly dodge with several calls a day hitting voicemail even though I had a strong signal. I can't run my business like that!

Web N Walk Plus for £12.50 a month hands me just what I need in terms of being able to get Internetted when I'm out and about, be it on the laptop or the PDA. I think that the £5 uplift from vanilla WNW (£7.50) is worth paying for this kind of use.

Now what I really want to see - although I'm not in the market for - is a sensibly priced package that meets landline broadband head-on. Forget this "premium product/premium price" nonsense, there is a huge and completely untapped market in rental accommodation and university student [to name but two of many] waiting to be grabbed by the horns. Be first to market with this, establish a community loyalty, and see the revenue pour in. Robert is your father's brother, easy.

[getti]

Just wait til you get to try hsdpa! I had it on my tmobile account which has sadly been canceled due to signal problems. I had a samsung z560 with them which is hsdpa and it flew!. At work i got a 1 bar hsdpa connection and i downloaded the bbc news headlines video. About 3 seconds later, and i mean 3 seconds! It was done. Very impressive i have to say. I am looking forward to comparing to 3's hsdpa in december