[Ben]

With reports in this weeks MOBILE that some stores are seeing up to 40% of their new connections going on USB dongles, I wonder how many Talk3Gers have got theirs yet?

I've had my USB dongle for some time now and think it's absolutely fantastic. The increased demand is already doing wonders for pricing, and I don't doubt that if demand continues in this way then things will become more and more competitive and transparent.

Post your thoughts!

[gorilla]

Not getting one!

I don't need one. It's as simple as that. Any 'mobile' browsing that needs to be done, I can just use my mobile handset.

I suppose I should also point out that I no longer have a laptop and I have a home broadband connection which offers better value than the current range of dongles.

[Hands0n]

I am seriously thinking of getting one. Presently I use my T-Mobile Web N Walk Plus (£12.50/3GB) on my Nokia N95 used as a Bluetooth or USB modem to my Macbook Pro laptop when mooching around. It is a bit of extravagance as it does not get used constantly. But it does serve me well on the move.

The problem as I see it is that using the N95 can leave me with a handset with a low battery in not too much time. Better, I feel, for another £2.50 per month to have a USB device that is independent of the phone.

Now all I need to do is work out whether it is Vodafone (1,000% out of my ballpark a week or so ago, prior to their latest announcement) or 3.

[Ben]

The thing I love most about the 3G USB dongles is that you can take them almost anywhere and plug them into almost anything. Anyone who had early ADSL in the UK probably had one of these (http://i19.ebayimg.com/05/i/08/c5/f4/ea_1.JPG) - now we're only talking a few years back, but the mobops are selling something a fraction of the size, offering more speed, for less than some ADSL services cost... and you can take it anywhere!

Latency is still an issue (though Vodafone is way out in front, IMHO+experience, World of Warcraft, for example, works happily over Vodafone Mobile Broadband) and the networks are still very closed, but that closed nature also makes them relatively safe. And it'd also be much better if 3G were simply integrated into our laptops and computers, a development there seemed to be great promise of. But, at the end of the day, I think we're in a good place right now in terms of practicality and value.

[miffed]

NOOOO !!!!!

Can't have these getting popular !! - theres not enough bandwidth to go around as it is :( - imagine what it'll be like if every tom dick and harry has one ?

[Ben]

LoL, well if the Three Ireland experience is anything to go by then you have a point. I'm hopeful, though, that the UK networks are better prepared and will be far more responsive to demand.

The day we start getting overcrowding will be a happy one in my book. It'll demonstrate that there really is a market for this, and we'll get better networks as a result.

[3g-g]

I've just bought the wife a laptop for her birthday... and I'm extremely tempted to add a wee PAYG 3 dongle on just for her to make use of the net should she need it when out and about. What T, 3 and to some extent Voda have done has made mobile data rather attractive and affordable by the masses. As long as when the numbers increase the limit for transfer over a month goes up too!

[Hands0n]

........ theres not enough bandwidth to go around as it is :( - imagine what it'll be like if every tom dick and harry has one ?

It will likely happen! There are lots of folk who would rather one of these than use their mobile phone as a data modem - go figure!



What T, 3 and to some extent Voda have done has made mobile data rather attractive and affordable by the masses. As long as when the numbers increase the limit for transfer over a month goes up too!

Don't be too hard on Voda, they took their time but have more than made up for it against 3 in terms of overrun costs and T-Mob in terms of HSDPA speeds (V = 7.2Mbps, T = 1.2Mbps). Late to the party is not always a bad thing - although it was very frustrating waiting for them to wake up. Now all thats left is France Telecom's Orange (bbwwwaaahahahahahaha) who are a complete joke as regards data. They're so left of the field that they cannot even be considered.

But yes, the price of data at £15/3GB is definitely in the ballpark for very many people, it has that magic ADSL/ISP feel to it. I wonder, though, if there is much need to up the allowance from 3GB - they'll be unlikely to do it unless one of them jump first. They are either all in a cartel or behave like sheep. I reckon the former, but cartels are illegal in the UK aren't they, so I'd be wrong there wouldn't I? Yes. Thats right. I would. But they all do the same thing, prices, allowances, that kind of stuff. Nah. There's no cartel on the go. Silly me. :D

[miffed]

Don't be too hard on Voda


Yeah , remember where you are :p;)

[getti]

i HAD a 3 one which i sold and bought a T-Mobile one lol. Few reasons for this,

my own personal contract i use is on T-Mobile and i am happy with it. With the UK data pricing that is good value. £4 for a day is a LOT of money so i can see me diverting calls to voicemail and sticking in that contract SIM i have into the modem when i need a few times. That will be good value and with the new roaming rates which yes i know are high still but MUCH better than before so its a step in the right direction.

Now all i wish was there was a app for Mac where i can send texts from the modem and receive them like on the 3 software on the E220 for Windows!. THAT would make my day!.

I will use a modem when going on holiday like when i go centreparcs with family for a long break or to london to stay with my brother sometimes.

I think its a good idea these becoming more mainstream as they are great products and the more people who can get using 3G/HSDPA the more people take an interest and the more people find forums such as ours to talk about their views.

[Hands0n]

Now all i wish was there was a app for Mac where i can send texts from the modem and receive them like on the 3 software on the E220 for Windows!. THAT would make my day!..

If you are still on OS X 10.4.xx Tiger then you can do just what you want from the Addressbook.app. Bring up the contact you want to SMS to - right click over the mobile number and select "SMS Message".

Unfortunately that feature was removed from OS X 10.5.xx Leopard.

But all is not lost - help is at hand as usual in the Mac world http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=19620 . What Steve taketh away the Lord giveth from somewhere else.

[Ben]

Yeah , remember where you are :p;)
Your experiences defy logic and reason :D :D :D

[Hands0n]

Just got me one of them thar Vodafone USB Stick things :D Thats the one on the £15/3GB contract, and I happily paid my £79 for the Stick. I picked it up in the Vodafone store at Bluewater where the lad said that they had been flying off the shelves since the contract price was dropped to £15. I can't believe that Vodafone would have missed that particular sales statistic.

Setting up was a doddle - not that much to write about really. Now I'm here on the MacBook Pro on 3G/HSDPA and it is not really that noticable to what I see on the WLAN in terms of web browsing and the ususal stuff I do on it. When its time to download anything significant I'll wait until I'm back on the WLAN.

It will be interesting to see how much of the 3GB I can eat into.

[Ben]

For anyone who fancies a giggle, BT are now also offering mobile data: http://www.btbroadbandoffice.com/mobile/datazone/?s_intcid=btb_intban_btcom_ps_sm_btdatazone_v1

They're a bit behind on the pricing, and the hardware by the sound of it :D

[Hands0n]

3. Subject to fair use policy of 1024 Mb per month. Fair usage policy applies.

Yes, quite some way behind it seems.

[miffed]

It's silly , I have a e220 on Three PAYG - So I should be happy with that (got my max HSDPA speed so far of ..... 2.5mbps !!! on Speedtest.net the other day :D )

....But I am still tempted to get one of the Contract offerings

Either the Vodafone 3GB for £15 pm , or the T-mobile 3GB for £15

.... The Vodafone offering , the notion that you pay by the GB rather than the MB when you overun is attractive , plus I would be giving Vodafone a rare opportunity to redeem themselves

T-mobile ? Well , I already have a couple of contracts - so it would be a little bit of a farce , as I could simply use the W&W allowance and "share" the Ameo's connection

But I have to be honest , I have experience BETTER speed under Three than I have on T-mobile , so maybe a Three contract may be the way to go ?

.......Or maybe I should stay where I am ,(Three PAYG) ?

....I just have the urge for a new toy :cool:

[Ben]

Mhm my head tells me you should probably sit this one out. While I'd love to tell you to get a Voda Stick, it doesn't exactly sound like you need one and I imagine you've got more than enough contracts on the go at the moment :D

[Hands0n]

Since when, with miffed, does quantity count? Like me he comes from the school of "He who dies with the most toys wins" :D and he is a notable example for all to follow.

@miffed - I'd say go for Vodafone, mostly because of what you highlighted about their charge for going over vs 3 which is extortionately expensive if you do. But then given your history with the big red V I wonder if that would be sage advice on my part.

[miffed]

Mhm my head tells me you should probably sit this one out. While I'd love to tell you to get a Voda Stick, it doesn't exactly sound like you need one and I imagine you've got more than enough contracts on the go at the moment :D

You sound exactly like my conscience Ben !

And TBH I think you are right - Three's PAYG gives me a rollercoaster experience , sometimes it'll be 120kbps , and others it'll be 2.5mbps !! -
Three's PAYG rates are pretty good too , so its not as if I'll even be saving myself a few quid a month - for general browsing etc 1GB is going a long way - and I only top up £15 at a time anyway - so there is not a lot of damage I can do by going over - I even have a little plan to make sure I can get a second GB if I go over halfway through the month ;)

[Ben]

Yeah but you still want one, right? If only for the chance to rack up a £12,000 bill when you next go abroad?

I adore the prospect of being bankrupted by something the size of my palm so much that I have two! Who wants a quiet life, eh?

:D

[miffed]

BTW , slightly OT , but can you believe we are here talking about mobile data , and we are worrying about whether 1GB or 3GB will suffice ???

It only seems like yesterday I was thinking "25mb eh ? What on earth am I going to do with it all ? and all for 'only' £30 or whatever............."

Yep , we've certainly made some positive progrress here :D

[Ben]

Oh absolutely, the flood gates have well and truly opened and, relatively rapidly, bathed us all in a torrent of cool, affordable data. Now we can splash in gigabytes of transfer and surf the ever increasing waves of bandwidth at high speed.

Did I over extend the metaphor?

I still think there's a lot more that can be done - and not necessarily by infinitely increasing speeds, either.

I want, and think there'd be a big demand for, totally managed Internet. I want a web based configurator that not only shows real-time usage and impending limits but also has a lot of the functions of a home router... only entirely hosted at the network end. The networks have a real chance to add value without having to go down the ISP route of pimping out customers to a spyware company (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/10/isps_phorm_comment_target_market/). If you're on BT, Virgin or Carphone broadband then that could soon be you.

One thing's clear. The networks would much rather give away data cheap on a dedicated SIM than risk doing so on a voice account. Can't risk having all that voice and SMS going over IP to cheaper competitors. No Sir.

[Hands0n]

I like the idea of a managed internet, but have to be careful where that will lead us. They already manage it to a point - they "optimise" images so that they are barely viewable!

Did you know that the Vodafone £15/3GB deal includes an "all you can eat" SMS allowance? The catch-22 is that it only works on Windows with their Mobile Data client app. The Mac version of the app does not include this facility. Poor show and bravo - depends on how you look at it. The facility allows sending and receiving of SMS to the computer via the app.

[miffed]

I
Did you know that the Vodafone £15/3GB deal includes an "all you can eat" SMS allowance? The catch-22 is that it only works on Windows with their Mobile Data client app. The Mac version of the app does not include this facility. Poor show and bravo - depends on how you look at it. The facility allows sending and receiving of SMS to the computer via the app.

Hmm , surely this could be something as simple as a specific Message Centre number ?
I am sure someone will come up with a workaround (or Vodafone will come up with a working mac version) before long
BTW , is VOIP permitted on VF Broadband ?

Imagine that ? Potentially you could put the sim in an Phone , (assuming the SMS thing is "hackable" ) - Unlimited texts, VOIP , and 3GB Data for £15 pm !!!??

[Ben]

They already manage it to a point - they "optimise" images so that they are barely viewable!
Please complain about this :D As I mentioned previously, I usually hook up to my VPN so Voda can't touch what I see, but I have complained previously - it's important that they know how stupid the policy is in a 7.2mbps world.


Hmm , surely this could be something as simple as a specific Message Centre number ?
I am sure someone will come up with a workaround (or Vodafone will come up with a working mac version) before long
BTW , is VOIP permitted on VF Broadband ?

Imagine that ? Potentially you could put the sim in an Phone , (assuming the SMS thing is "hackable" ) - Unlimited texts, VOIP , and 3GB Data for £15 pm !!!??
Can't see anything in the T&C's stopping you. I'm not sure I get unlimited texts with my tariffs, though... maybe Hands0n wants to try his SIM in some other devices :D

[3GScottishUser]

It's surprising how fast these have caught on!!

I have spoken to lots of folks who either have one or know of someone who has or wants one.

The big market seems to be for those who have temporary accommodation (Students etc) and those who don't have a landline.

As with mobiles themselves the opinions are mixed and whilst many are amazed at the simplicity of the set-up etc there are still issues with coverage. I know lots of areas in Glasgow where it's GPRS (Sllooooowww) or nought!! :(

Once the mob ops get the coverage sorted this could be a big moneyspinner especially when the laptop makes build the modem into the next generation of mobile PC's.

[Hands0n]

The big market seems to be for those who have temporary accommodation (Students etc) and those who don't have a landline.

Yes, I have been banging on about that segment of the market - also I feel that rented flat-dwellers are a natural source where they move around each few months or so. The costs and hassle of relocating the ADSL make it hardly worth the while!

But as 3GSU says, the coverage for 3G and HSDPA has to improve if the concept is not to be discredited before it has even lifted off the ground. Waiting in the wings, for exactly the same market segments, is WiMAX.