Ovivo New Network. 200 minutes 200 Texts Free indefinitely.

elektra

JDPower wrote: »

You missed out the important part: "The first deal... ...will allow consumers to receive tailored advertising via text messages"

.

the use of the word 'allow' makes it sound optional, which of course it won't be.

JDPower wrote: »

Seeing ads when you choose to go online is one thing, being sent text ads drifts straight into intrusive advertising and kills off Ovivo as a viable choice in my opinion.

I'll wait and see how many.

So far I have happy with Ovivo as I am a low user and managed to avoid ads when using internet as was using an older phone, but just in the process of switching to a newer phone so yet to see how many ads whilst surfing.

alanwsg

I've just switched to Ovivo from O2, been with them about 3 weeks.

I see quite a few adds, I read an interview with Ovivo's chairman who said you would see an ad after loading about 2Mb of browsing data, but the artical was from last year so things might of changed.

I knew what I was signing-up for so I have no problem with the ad's but they have a VERY annoying habit of not loading fully: they load about 90% of the ad page and then hang.
Trouble is, you can't continue browsing until you get the "Continue" button up, which is the last thing to load. Refreshing the page or trying a different page gets the same result. It seems to be worse on slow (2G) connections which makes it doubly irritating.

Note: this doesn't affect reading Emails or using Apps such as Facebook, they seem to carry on fine.

d123

The slowness of data seems to be a bigger problem than the ads, I don't mind the 4-3-2-1 click through, but as alanwsg says, when it falters and hangs its annoying.

I'm also finding a fault where it allows browsing for a period and then just hangs altogether refusing to load at all.

Unfortunately these won't be resolved as they are Vodafone issues and nothing that Ovivo really has control over.

ThemeOne

I transferred to Ovivo last week, and think it's a great service.

The only problem seems to be that I have a Blackberry 9900 and they keep pestering me to have the £5 per month Blackberry Data Plan. On their website they say this is the only way to get data on Blackberry devices using the pre-OS 10 operating system.

This is in fact not true, as you can manually install a service book which means the Blackberry browser functions fine without a data plan. And even if you don't do this, you can still install say Opera Mini and browse with that. I've even been getting the Ovivo adverts.

I've been through their T&C's carefully and can't find anywhere where it says you must have a Blackberry Data Plan, though it does say your handset must be capable of receiving the Ovivo ads.

Does anyone else have experience with this?

I discovered this morning that Ovivo had opted me in to the Blackberry Data Plan without my agreement - surely they should not do this. I've cancelled it, but suspect they will automatically opt me in again.

elektra

Maybe I'm being blind but I can't find the cost of the sim mentioned on the website. I must be because it seems a bit odd not to give a prospective customer this info upfront.

maybe it means they are putting it up again.

Crabman

elektra wrote: »

Maybe I'm being blind but I can't find the cost of the sim mentioned on the website. I must be because it seems a bit odd not to give a prospective customer this info upfront.

maybe it means they are putting it up again.

Well spotted.

They appear to have removed any mention of the initial cost from their site. I tried to locate this information but, like you, was unable to do so.

alanwsg

Yes, the price has (sort of) changed,
I checked it by going 3/4 of the way through the new customer procedure.

The "Freedom" plan is still £15, but it's £12.50 + £2.50 VAT.
So, your account starts with £12.50 credit instead of £15.
Everything else seems the same.

elektra

alanwsg wrote: »

Yes, the price has (sort of) changed,
I checked it by going 3/4 of the way through the new customer procedure.

Thanks

I couldn't be bothered with doing that, I doubt a potential customer would either, unless they already had an idea of the price from sites like this.

Blue_Max

Roger1 wrote: »

Thanks for the useful info on Localphone and others.
I have a question about Localphone. As I understand it, you get a 'local' (presumably UK) number when calling somebody abroad. How does this work when abroad using wifi?

'Local Numbers' are for making calls using your landline or cellphone. That means you will also have to pay any charges by telephone company. 'Local Numbers' are not used when using Wi-fi.
Cheapest option then is to use Wi-Fi whenever possible and where ever you are. For this you can download an app for your cellphone. When there is no Wi-Fi, you can use Ovivomobile free data to connect to internet.
Or you can use a VoIP phone. Four years ago, I bought a Siemens S685IP dual phone. It lets you switch from landline to VoIP at the touch of a button. Bit expensive, I thought at first, but it is a quality product with many useful features.

Roger1 wrote: »

Do I call that same 'local' UK number or would I need another 'local' number, e.g. when calling Switzerland from France?

'Local Numbers' are unique to each number you call. You generate them from their website. It will have your local STD code.

Roger1 wrote: »

Rather than bore the pants off other MSEers, have you a link to appropriate webpages?

have a read through
http://www.localphone.com/services
and
https://www.localphone.com/help

Roger1 wrote: »

I currently have Skype and BT SmartTalk apps on my Ovivo-enabled Huawei G300. I have successfully used Skype abroad. BT SmartTalk didn't work for me (and the BT 'help' line didn't help). The BT app has been updated so I can try again soon.
Thanks for your advice.

Skype is VoIP service provider. Well known but costs more than other VoIP providers such as Localphone. Skype to Skype is free. Good quality for making video calls using a webcam.

Roger1

I know that I am supposed to use the Thanks button but that somehow seems inadequate here. Thanks, Blue_Max, for such a comprehensive explanation.