Dongle

minimoneysaver

I've just got a new netbook and enquired in Carphone Warehouse today about a dongle. I unfortunately spoke to the rudest most unhelpful person I could probably find... just my luck!
My question was, I usually pop online on my iphone, which is fine to check emails, but not so great for university work. I think I basically have two options (correct me please if I am wrong). Blue tooth hook up with laptop or dongle.
I was thinking that the dongle on pay as you go would just work until credit runs out, as in rolling credit or does it run out at the end of the month?

tonynw

you can pay for 1 day or 1 week or 1 month, i have a unit called a myfi from 3 and i put £15 on and supposed to last 1 month and is still working 4 months later.

if you look on google you can tether an iphone 4 to work as a router for your netbook

tonynw

bob_man_uk

i think 3 keep changing the goalposts regarding how long their credit/allowance lasts, when i bought the mifi, you buy an allowance 1gb for £10 iirc, then the allowance lasts for 30 days or until you have used the allowance, which ever comes first... 02 USB dongles ive had in the past also worked in a similar fashion... the best ive come across is t-mobile you buy the dongle (someone else will have to give prices on dongles) and you get internet for 1 month for £2 for the first month, thats unlimited internet (uncapped usage) then its varying amounts for month, week, 2 day and day passes.

the best way to attack it, is to gauge how much internet your likely to use, yt vids, music/video streaming etc and then go looking for the best deal, if you only want it to browse forums then any of the cheaper deals you can find will do.

i bought a phone from t-mob which came with 6months free internet (unlimited i might add) and atm thats what im using, tethering my phone to my pc and sharing my mobiles internet connection.

minimoneysaver

It's going to be pretty rare usage, ie no video streaming etc. I can do all that at home over my wifi. Mostly while out and about or at work where we have a secure internet, and can't use for personal use. Ideal for me, if I can find it is pay as you go, where you get to use it until it runs out and then top up. No use it up in one month limit in other words.

bob_man_uk

ive just done a quick google

O2 - £20.42 for the dongle and you can top up as much as you like, £2 for 24 hours internet and an allowance of 200mb - this will run out fairly quickly even under light usage.

Three (3) - Link here you pay for the dongle and get an allowance, prices are on the page, but be warned, top ups only last for 30 days

t-mobile - Link - you pay £30 for the dongle (plus £10 topup) and you then pay per day, details of costs are on the site, like i said, you get 30 days for £2 initially, then its £7 a week £2 a day £15 a month

there are also vodafone who do the same as 3 (30 day limit on topups)

and orange, but i cant access their site right now... their animal topup system confuses the hell out of me!

minimoneysaver

Thanks for that Bob. I've had a look around, but I really didn't understand half of what I was reading about. From what you've written, am I right in thinking that O2 would be the better deal for me?
My guess is I'll probably use it for about an hour or two a month for actually being online and that will be reading documents and reports NOT watching films and streaming music/you tube etc.

stilltheone

minimoneysaver wrote: »

Thanks for that Bob. I've had a look around, but I really didn't understand half of what I was reading about. From what you've written, am I right in thinking that O2 would be the better deal for me?
My guess is I'll probably use it for about an hour or two a month for actually being online and that will be reading documents and reports NOT watching films and streaming music/you tube etc.

No.
Best deal for you at the moment: T-Mobile USB modem for £9.78. First top up of £2 will give you 30 days of use.
Then use your credit as and when needed. So if you top up with £10, you transfer £2 for mobile broadband use and £8 stays in credit until you are ready to use it.

If you are a boy, you may prefer black for a couple of pounds more.

Good thing about this modem is that it's easy to unlock for use with other networks here and abroad.

Instructions to be found on this forum under ZTE MF627 or dongle4free.