PAYG Bargain Dongle ?

[miffed]

Sorry if this offer has already been discussed , but I just stumbled across it on Vodafones site , and thought it deserved a mention

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband-devices/usb-modem-stick-topup-and-go?compatible=false

I seem to be constantly asked about these Dongles , and so far have been warning people that they need to choose carefully , to get the right balance that suits them , in terms of contract/PAYG , overrun costs , coverage etc - they tend to get a bit confused by the end of it !! , but this looks like a pretty good deal to me , no worry about over-run , just simply top up £15 for every GB you use !
Not the cheapest plan , but a good combo of PAYG cheap purchase price , decent network (spit ! :D) and 'safe' pricing - makes this a good buy IMO !

[miffed]

Whoah - Scratch that !

...Didn''t realise it doesn't even support HSDPA !!

[chaslam]

Whoah - Scratch that !

...Didn''t realise it doesn't even support HSDPA !!

Huh? Of course it supports HSDPA its just the stick lite bundled with a PAYG SIM.

Infact here it is from that very link you just posted:

"With download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, it's faster than 3G"

[miffed]

oops ! , was reading the upload speed - :rolleyes:

[Hands0n]

I am very wary of PAYG mobile broadband right now. The tariff is still ridiculously high. £15/GB sounds reasonable on paper, but the reality is that 1GB could very easily be consumed within a month - leaving excesses to pay. A far better deal would be the £15/3GB monthly tariff, even if one does not always use the entire allowance.

[chaslam]

Of course, but thats what vodafone want to do. They want customers to walk into store and see that on PAYG you can get £15/GB, but the customer can also get £15/3GB, which sounds like a much better deal.

[miffed]

See , I quite like the deal !

I realise it is by no means the cheapest PAYG offering , but I do like the idea that you simply pay for a GB and use it , when it runs out , you buy another GB
The biggest concern I hear from people , is the fear of "over-run" - I can see where they are coming from , and for this reason I always recommend they either stick to T-mobile's contract option , or PAYG from the others (and that they should not keep large amounts of credit on the account

This is why I like this one, simply pay for a GB , and when it runs out , you pay for the next GB - I'd much rather do / recommend this than run the risk of running a huge bill

Also , I am led to believe (By some on here ;) ) that V's data network is more robust than the rest , so there may be an aspect f quality too

I am tempted to try it myself TBH, seeing as I have no 3G coverage from T-mobile here , and Three's network quality is an absolute joke ! the £39 purchase price includes your first GB , which is more than was included when I paid £99 for my e220 this time last year !! - So even if I use the 1GB then chuck it in the drawer .... I'll still only be £24 down :D

(Hmm , wonder if it will be unlocked ? I know the handsets are .... )

[Hands0n]

This product is not Mac compatible

One has to wonder what it is exactly that they have done to make the produce not Mac compatible. Is it, or is it not, a Huawei USB Stick? Or are they simply saying that if you try to use this on a Mac then not to call their contact centre for help.

I think that as long as the USB Stick is receving the correct Hayes modem command strings (AT etc...) it will function fine!

[miffed]

I was thnking the same -Probably just unsupported rather than incompatible.