Mobile broadband dongle v mobile broadband USB stick

Nice_Username

Sorry for the daft question but could somebody briefly tell me what, if any, is the difference between the 2?

I'm looking for the best pay-as-you-go one to use with my laptop when we go away in our motorhome, just for basic surfing, emailing etc, no downloading or gaming etc. Would one in particular be more suitable for campsites, where I guess coverage may be a little less reliable?

Thanks for any help.:A

jamespir

nothing there all usb sticks now its just they used to be dongles as for signal strength put the postcode of the campsite into the website of the network you want to join and see if its good quality

scottishblondie

A "dongle" and a "USB stick" are just 2 names for the same thing. They both plug into the computer via USB to give you broadband. The only thing I would say is you might like to use a USB extension cable and place the dongle in the window to get a better signal

Other than these you can also get things like 3's "MiFi" which broadcast the broadband on wireless to your laptop, so you don't plug them into the computer itself.

brighthair

I've just upgraded mine from a dongle to a stick, but it has an extension lead so I stick it in the window as above post. Must say this upgraded one is much faster

Nice_Username

jamespir wrote: »

nothing there all usb sticks now its just they used to be dongles as for signal strength put the postcode of the campsite into the website of the network you want to join and see if its good quality

Thanks. We go on loads of weekends away in our motorhome all over the UK so I guess I would probably be best just going with the one with the most coverage, which is probably Vodafone?

Nice_Username

scottishblondie wrote: »

A "dongle" and a "USB stick" are just 2 names for the same thing. They both plug into the computer via USB to give you broadband. The only thing I would say is you might like to use a USB extension cable and place the dongle in the window to get a better signal

Other than these you can also get things like 3's "MiFi" which broadcast the broadband on wireless to your laptop, so you don't plug them into the computer itself.

Thanks for the tip, I have a USB extension cable somewhere so I'll make sure I pack it whenever we go away!

mum2one

I'm on T-Mobile usb stick, and I've had no probs using it out and about, lastyr, devon, North Wales and Blacpool, it picked up signals.

The T-Mobile is basically unlimited use, and you can mix and match how you want the charges to be once you've topped up,preset for £2.00 perday, £10 for a week or £15 for the month, so I do the £15 if I'm away for 2weeks, and use it at home.

I had the dongle before, I had 2 versions of that, old fashioned one that slid into the computer, the dongle with the short and long wire, they were contract, then I was out of contract so went onto pay and go, its saved me a fortune, more economical to run. x