Samba Mobile Broadband - Is it Really Free?

nickmoss

I've signed up for just a SIM, so have started 'watching' ads to build up credit. However, I don't always get the credit even though the ad runs the whole way through, so far I've only managed to add a measily 7MB...

[It looks like the problem was because I was using Internet Explorer - watching via Chrome now and each ad I watch is building up my credit]

Paul_Varjak

OVIVO have an alternative to Samba, which is also free and based on advertising. Unlike Samba, you do not have to build-up credit; OVIVO simply shows you adverts whilst you browse the internet (every 2MB or 15 minutes)

You get a 1GB allowance per month if you go for their data package but, unlike Samba, they also offer a phone plan as well - 200 minutes, 200 texts and 512MB data and free OVIVO to OVIVO calls.

The SIM card costs £5 (includes £5 calling credit) and mine arrived the following day. Any calls outside your allowance are just 6p/minute. If you port your existing phone number to OVIVO they will add another £5 to your calling credit.

Ovivo supports the following devices...

* Android Smartphones (Software Versions 2.1 and Higher)
* iPhone (all iOS versions)
* Windows Phone 7
* iPAD (all iOS versions)
* Android Tablets (Versions 3.0 and Higher)
* All USB Modems, MiFi Hotspots & Netbooks running on Windows or MAC OS

oistrakhan

Can someone explain to me how they know you have actually watched the ads?!!

Inigo_Montoya

I ordered the SIM & watched a handful of ads - the battery is topping up fine using firefox & windows 7

I 'watched' a couple of ads at the same time & it seems to credit you for both even though clearly you cannot really 'watch' more than one at a time

Just wondering what would happen if you tried to watch a lot at the same time ? - has anybody tried this ? - would this get you into trouble with Samba ? (eg account suspension for example)

Inigo_Montoya

oistrakhan wrote: »

Can someone explain to me how they know you have actually watched the ads?!!

You have to download/install the battery toolbar/app - then when you hover the mouse cursor over the battery symbol in the toolbar section of your broswer it tells you how much credit you have available - this credit goes up after watching each add by 3.5mb

Paul_Varjak

Inigo_Montoya wrote: »

You have to download/install the battery toolbar/app - then when you hover the mouse cursor over the battery symbol in the toolbar section of your broswer it tells you how much credit you have available - this credit goes up after watching each add by 3.5mb

I think he means how do they know your eyes were actually open?

Uplink

oistrakhan wrote: »

Can someone explain to me how they know you have actually watched the ads?!!

Same way they know you watch TV ads: made up statistics

prowla

So, in response to the thread topic.

NO - it is not free.

You have to buy a SIM, and possibly a dongle.

(Also, if it's over the 3 network, then that's not good - I have found the paid 3 service pretty much unusable, so it's unlikely that a free one would work to an acceptable level.)

portlandstone

got the sim and you have got to ask yourself, is it really worth it? You get 3.5Mb for watching a 2 minute ad. So it will take you 10 hours of ads to get 1Gb of data. 1GB costs about £7 or so on PAYG, so the big question is 'do you value your leisure time at 70p per hour?!!!

I recommend to just buy a preloaded sim off Amazon for about £70 for 12 months of 1GB a month.

Nookster

Surprised there isn't any mention of anyone trying Opera with turbo mode on. Seems it would be the perfect combo for light mobile use, anyone using it?