Mobile internet

ageary08

All this talk of iphones and google android that is flying around at them moment is getting me interested in mobile broadband. At the moment all I have is a prepay phone that I dont use too much, most of my socializing is done on the internet these days. I would be a light user as I have broadband at home.

I have had a look at o2, vodafone and meteor and there mobile broadband schemes seem lacking to say the least, vodafone want €9.99 for 500mb, meteor want the same for 250mb and I cant even find an option on o2s website. On top of that you`d of course have to pay €15-20 for pay monthly and the gdp of a small country if you were stupid enough to exceed the crap data limit.

Then I had a look at 3s website, Im desperately trying not to sound like a cheesy ad here, but they had 1 gig a month for €10 and on top of that you could use it as a pre pay customer. The only problem is that there prepay rates are a bit steep compared to the others.

Anyway, now for some questions, is anybody here on three and are they any good ? They claim 99% coverage but i remember a few years back when one company claimed something like 80% coverage but the second you walked out of a city you had no signal. If I do go with there broadband package can I use a phone as a bluetooth modem and browse on a laptop ?

Finally, any pointers on a good 3g phone, something with a decent sized screen, a good webbrowser and msn messenger. I could get it through expansys.ie although they do have the ku990 and a few nice looking nokias.

FastFullBack

Get the Nokia N95 on Meteor Talk 60. €20 a month. Get the data bundle, 250mb for €9.99. Total €30 a month. Free text's to meteor. Install cabbage and get 300 free texts to any network. 60 free minutes. The N95 also uses wifi so if your at home in wifi range all internet is free. I'm posting this now using Meteor's Edge network. I've been on this plan for about 3 months and have never got near my 250mb limit, thanks to wifi access.

Walkman

3's prepay charges are not that dear if you compare the other networks without the offers. They have a flat rate of 30c per call (only cheaper than meteor which is 29c), their text price is the cheapest outside of any offers at 10c. O2 and vodafone charge for voicemail on their new prepay plans. Their coverage is backed up by vodafone when you leave 3g coverage so you should be ok. My advice for a good phone would be a sonyericsson k770 or k660 (both of which I use) but a good nokia I would suggest the e71 (might be a bit pricey but drunkmonkey loves it). MSN will be free anyway once its a 3 supported handset.

WithCheesePlease

Have a Sony Ericsson K800i on o2. Have a pretty good package but also have a 250mb Data add-on for 7.50 a month I think. I installed opera mini and all seems cool. Way better than the default browser. I never get anywhere next to or near my 250mb cap either. Usually only use 10-15 mb max a month.

Have considered getting a Nokia N95 too though cos of bigger screen / better browsing experience.

Sam Vimes

well......

ageary08

Thanks for the replys, I have spent an hour or two researching phones and I am even more confused now, the ku990 looks pimp, but at the same time I would like something thats either symbian or windows mobile so there is actually some decent software. Expansys have the mwg atom life for quite cheap, but it seems very pda like from reviews, I dont really want to have to fumble around with a stylus when I want to ring somebody.

Will three give me a SIM card for prepay without buying a phone ? Now that I know its possible to avoid a contract I am defintely going to do it, I might not use my phone much for a few months, so paying 30 quid a month on a contract seems ludicris. Plus if its prepaid i just loose a couple of quids credit if I go over the data limit. And the fact I can switch up to 10 gig if needed is also really nice, as I itend to use my phone as a modem. I might just wait until somebody clones the iphone well.

Walkman

You can get a prepay sim from 3 but they are only available in a 3 store not cpw or 3g. The cost €9 and you can then get the data add on which suits your needs best.

drunkmonkey

Hey Ageary...

The KU990 is a brilliant phone and a good choice, I would however recommend getting a 3 branded one as it'll be all set up with application for you to use and you'll get support off 3.....I've had mine since christmas last year and i've had no problems....Wish I could say the same for Nokia phones but I can't.....

elderlemon

Actually Vodafone have a 1GB ISP (promo) package for 9.99. Its not listed but if you call them you can get it.

ageary08 wrote: »

,..vodafone want €9.99 for 500mb, meteor want the same for 250mb and....

ageary08

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Hey Ageary...

The KU990 is a brilliant phone and a good choice, I would however recommend getting a 3 branded one as it'll be all set up with application for you to use and you'll get support off 3.....I've had mine since christmas last year and i've had no problems....Wish I could say the same for Nokia phones but I can't.....

Yea I am really tempted by it, its a pity its €380. I am also tempted by the tocco, I hear three will be launching it soon, it`ll probably be in the same ballpark as the viewty.

drunkmonkey

ageary08 wrote: »

Yea I am really tempted by it, its a pity its €380. I am also tempted by the tocco, I hear three will be launching it soon, it`ll probably be in the same ballpark as the viewty.

more than likely round the 399 mark for tocco on pre pay and €369 on best of both, I still haven't tried the tocco but seen the dummys, even if the tocco was out when the viewty came out I would have still opted for it, the screen is bigger and it looks more drunkmonkey proof....it's been a hard wearing phone, it's had a good few bangs and falls and hasn't given me an ounce of trouble, I paid €199 for mine when they first came out on contract, keep an eye out on ebay for an Irish one,
if you could pick one up for €150 or so you'd be doing well, any Irish ones should be still in warranty as 3 were the only netwrok with them and they really only hit the shelves mid january....I can see a lot of KU990 owners heading for the c905 next...let's just hope sony get it right....

120_Minutes

i'm not gonna go into priceplans, as thats really up to the op to decide depending on their usage.

but as for handsets:

i use an n95 8b and an ipod touch. i know its carrying two devices, but it was the way i wanted it. i use the ipod for surfing as its really so easy, using the n95 to surf when you come from it just doesnt compare...but i use the n95 for everything else. you could get by without the ipod though. leave the ipod behind and you still have an 8gb mp3 player, sat nav, 5mp camera, full frame video camera, wifi, youtube, internet radio....list goes on...

the iphone/ipod touch while great for surfing is what apple/o2 sell/or tell you what you can and cant do with it. the n95 is yours to customise with whatever third party software you like (free or otherwise)

the versitility of the n95 with the approx size and webbrowser or the iphone would my perfect phone.

drunkmonkey

120_Minutes wrote: »

but as for handsets:

i use an n95 8b and an ipod touch. i know its carrying two devices, but it was the way i wanted it. .

dude you need an iPhone 3G....cut down on your carbon footprint....;)

120_Minutes

drunkmonkey wrote: »

dude you need an iPhone 3G....cut down on your carbon footprint....;)

sorry no, i refuse on principle to buy a phone that forces me to void to warranty to get the best out of it, and still not come close to an n95. and thats before we talk about o2's plans...

andy0

The OP mentions not much phone use at the moment, prepaid only.

How about the 3 mobile broadband deal with a USB plug-in modem, and keep the old phone completely separate?

Less messing about setting up a connection, no wires all over the place or browsing and downloading at just bluetooth speed.

ageary08

andy0 wrote: »

The OP mentions not much phone use at the moment, prepaid only.

How about the 3 mobile broadband deal with a USB plug-in modem, and keep the old phone completely separate?

Less messing about setting up a connection, no wires all over the place or browsing and downloading at just bluetooth speed.

I was considering that also, as I have a HP mininote which is ideal for going on the move, but being able to check the news and some blogs from a phone sounds pretty awesome, you need to think before hand to bring the laptop and even then its pretty bulky.

I think at this point ill try three and go with prepaid with the broadband addon, it seems quiet flexible, that way if i need proper broadband I can pay €25 for 10 gigs, if i just want it for my phone i can pay €10 for 1 gig and if I dont have any need I can just pass on it for a while.

Its the phone I am stumped on hehe, the atom life from expansys seems a good cheap option but I dont like wm6, the viewty and tocco (if its released on three) are pretty pricy but I have the advantage that I get them direct from three and I guess if i want to go nuts I could get a omnia.