Opinions - using a mobile for everything?

jenniewb

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Three have confirmed that tethering is allowed and comes within the all you can eat plan so that's not a problem.

For now but if that changes to match other networks on the tethering front ????

jje

Exactly! :T 3 change their minds more frequenly then the weather!

scooby75

Well, disappointment reigns, it seems.

Got a demo of the Galaxy S - very impressive. Eventually got the sales assistant to show the speed as a modem - I nearly decked him :mad:. Expecting me to rely on his assurances that it would be superfast, I asked for a demo. He duly connected the phone to a laptop and showed me how fast it was as a modem.
"Now why don't you try switching the phone on and actually use it as a modem?" I said. After some flaffle, he did, and boy was I disappointed. 312 kbs it registered at, which a chart showed was only a bit faster than dialup. I wasn't after huge speeds as I've said, but that was far too slow.

So it looks like I'm stuck with Virgin or another provider, but I'll be damned if I'm paying £21 just for broadband. I suppose I'll just have to reconsider my options.

PasturesNew

I use a three dongle as my full-time internet connection. When it's good, it's good enough; when it's bad it's dire. For the past 2-3 weeks I've had speed issues and a lot of the time I've been getting speeds of half dialup. Even today when, in my opinion, it's "good enough" I've just checked and I've averaged 59kbps this session (been on 21 minutes this morning). I guess that my "good enough" marker has slipped

I've certainly stopped bothering to do as much on the Internet as I used to, say a month ago. A few days of deteriorated service and you stop trying to do the more complex everyday things ... and, instead, end up wasting your whole day on MSE just because it's one of a few sites that loads OK

PasturesNew

Oh, I would add... when I have good Internet, I actually make a living from blogging/writing etc, so it stops me doing all of that as it relies on me doing a lot of fast research and stats checking and multiple windows open usually. Once it's bad I can load 2-3 windows then go off for a coffee while it loads, so it becomes useless for that... just OK for MSE surfing and checking the weather

scooby75

Funnily enough I was just going to post on the same issue.

Just come across a dongle from 3 that seems a good deal.

£15.99 / month gives 15Gb limit (just enough for me) with broadband speed (allegedly). So I could ditch Beardie after all maybe.

Can these dongle things be put into a wireless router? Not essential but it would be handy.
Don't laugh at me, but can they be used on a mobile phone as well as a computer? I suspect not but thought I'd ask.

Hopefully 3 will give me a deal for renewing 2 contracts and buying a dongle - yeah right!

paulofessex

Just wanted to mention that to reduce costs regarding Virgin we cancelled the complete phone line and we are using Skype (dual phone) via the router, works a treat for us, we pay only £3.39 per month for Skypes Unlimited Europe, that includes the number and voicemail etc. I believe the price has risen for new customers now but still may be worth checking. We done this also because we all have mobiles with inclusive calls which we wern't using. The Skype line is handy for friends and family who don't like to call mobiles.

With regard to the TV, we initially cancelled the tv package in favour of Freesat which we have elsewhere around the house, however we didn't like Freesat for the living room, so we went back to Virgin and as a 'new' customer we have the L package for £5 per month ongoing

The downside l guess is the cost of broadband alone 10MB for £25 a month, we have been paying the same amount for the last 10 yeas or so, however we are very heavy users, PC's, Laptops, Wii, Mobiles and we know we are not capped as it where as so many providers such as plusnet the £8.50 a month. Also very rare do we have downtime with virgin.

I know £35 a month may sound a lot to some however compared the what we used to pay it is a saving to us.

MisterBrico

Just a pointer regarding massively fluctuating speeds using the phone as a modem.

It uses the same phone signal for the web you use to make calls or send texts, and the download speeds depend drastically on what mast you're connected to ( GRPS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA ) , how many people are using that particular cell, weather, type of building, where the modem is in the house.

Theres a lot that goes into play, like you said 300 odd KB/s wasn't enough (dial up was 56KB/s btw) then it may not be worth it, but it is possible to get some really good speeds ( 10 MB/s + is possible ) it just depends on so many factors.

All I can suggest is get a pay and go dongle off them and give it a go, if it works well for you great!

Just bear in mind though, most providers don't allow tethering so if three suddenly turned round and said no more tethering you'd be in a spot of bother

Sublime_2

Just be aware that a lot of unlimited packages are capped, so if you go over your allowance, it can work out very expensive. Might be worth looking for a package where you pay a bit extra, so that it is unlimited.

scooby75

That's why I've picked 3 - they do allow tethering and when they say unlimited they mean it. Of course if they chose to discontinue it then I'll discontinue the contract with them.

Anyway, another spanner in the works. Bought a freeview box a while ago (originally intended for the portable TV in the kitchen but never got round to installing it) and can I get a single channel? No. So that means either forking out a fortune for an aerial that may or may not work or, back to the Virgin.

I am becoming rather annoyed to say the least.

scooby75

Well, I've got the Freeview going - mostly - sometimes sticks and sounds like an alien talking on the box at times but I can live with it.

I've also had a long think on the matter of my "one gadget to rule them all" idea. Fine in principle, but then I thought about what happens if I lose or break it, or if I'm download a very large file that I wan't to leave running when I'm out and need the phone.

Still, 3 have said they won't give me a deal on renewal - only what they charge anyone else. What's really funny is that I was using their online sales advisor service. I said I wanted the S2 and was told they have the best deals on the internet.

So I pointed out one I found - Samsung G. S2, 600 mins, 600 texts, 500mb data for £25 a month with the phone free. The guy didn't believe me so I sent the link to the website and was told they can't match it.

"You just told me you offer the best internet deals"
"Yes, that's right we do"
"But this is better than what you offer"
"Yes it is"
So you don't offer the best internet deals do you?"
"It seems not"
"Well you've lost 2 contracts. Goodbye".

I think I'm going to keep my broadband (after getting 10 mb instead of 2mb speeds) and use wifi if I want to connect with the phone.