Mobile broadband on phone not dongle (boaty)

[Babylon]

Rather than take out an extra monthly contract on a mobile broadband (3G?) dongle, to save money I want to buy a new mobile phone for use on my existing contract, with fast enough data download capability to be plugged into my laptop via the USB port for weather, email, etc.

I'm looking at giving up my ancient rubber-sheathed Nokia builder's phone and buying the Nokia 3720, which is about £120 and is billed as a robust phone (to IP54 standard for water, shock, and dust resistance) and which has long talk- and standy-times, bluetooth, tri-band for coverage abroad, etc - but this doesn't have 3G, only 2.5G.

Does anyone understand the different technical stuff to do with download speed? IE is 3G the only way to go for speed, or is 2.5G effectively the same, or is old-fashioned GPRS fast enough? What is 3G and 2.5G anyway?

For full technical spec, see:
http://shop.nokia.co.uk/nokia-uk/product.aspx?sku=10206284&section_id=530&culture=en-GB

Thanks

 

[vyv_cox]

Buy a PAYG Vodafone dongle from Argos or elsewhere (assuming you will use it in UK). Mine was less than £30 including £15 worth of internet time. I've used it for about an hour so far, for e-mails, forum, surfing, etc. Cost so far is 27 pence. It uses 3G if available, otherwise GPRS. Speed OK on the former, rather slower on the latter.

 

[Searush]

It's a long time since I was in the business, but IIRC GPRS is about 64kb/s, 3G is about 1/2mb/s and 2.5G is an intermedite technology that is quite a bit lower than 3g.

However, 3G networks are not universal & a 3g phone will revert to 2.5g or gprs if that is all that is available. I got a contract for 3G from the 3network for £15 including 300 mins or texts. For an extra fiver, I get unlimited data access. My phone (a Nokia E71) has a qwerty keyboard & connects to the internet via mobile packet data (3G) blutooth or WiFi. I can use it on its own (I now need glasses to read the rather small screen - but I am over 60) or as a "modem" for my laptop. It is nowhere near as fast as a decent broadband, but is good for forecasts, tides, even footy scores & the news wherever I am.

 

[maxi77]

We went down the Vodaphone dongle route too, data costs more than other PAYG services but does not expire after 30 days. After 6 months we have almost used £5 of our first £15. Yes GPRS can be painfully slow but 3G can be almost as good as a landline.

Chrome seems to deal with GPRS a bit better than IE.

 

[elton]

I looked into buying a PAYG 3G phone from 3 to replace my 2G Nokia with O2, with the intention of using it both as a phone and as a 3G modem for my laptop. I may have misunderstood, but it seemed that voice and data were charged separately, and the data was very expensive. So I kept my old 2G phone, and bought the Vodafone PAYG dongle that others have recommended. As long as you're not downloading lots of video or music the top-ups seem to last forever.

 

[Babylon]

Thanks people for the advice.

I think I'll separate the two issues and buy a Vodafone PAYG dongle route for the laptop aboard, which frees me up to buy the sort of mobile phone I need (ie robust to make calls and text, with any 2G or 3G data facility as a bonus) in its own right.

Cheers

 

[LadyInBed]

Vodafone PAYG dongle

I was doing a bit of research at the w/e on this.
A knowlageable youth in Maplin said hold of for a week or so, they are waiting delivery of a PAYG Vodaphone Mobile Broadband with 3Gb topup included for £34.99 (Product Code will be N70HN)
The one on offer at the moment for £34.99 (N32HA) includes £15 topup which = 1Gb = 30Hrs
So for the same price you will get 3Gb = 90Hrs

 

[Heckler]

Thanks people for the advice.

I think I'll separate the two issues and buy a Vodafone PAYG dongle route for the laptop aboard, which frees me up to buy the sort of mobile phone I need (ie robust to make calls and text, with any 2G or 3G data facility as a bonus) in its own right.

Cheers

Ive just had my upgrade off orange, a free HTC 3g touch, specified because I wanted a windows phone to load maptech chartplotter software on. It also runs route66 satnav. I have "free" internet access plus 400 mins. Costs me £25 a month, included is the insurance of £5. I also get free orange broadband at home. I connect my lappie thru USB to it on the boat for inet access.
Its superb!!
Stu

 

[Babylon]

Ive just had my upgrade off orange, a free HTC 3g touch, specified because I wanted a windows phone to load maptech chartplotter software on. It also runs route66 satnav. I have "free" internet access plus 400 mins. Costs me £25 a month, included is the insurance of £5. I also get free orange broadband at home. I connect my lappie thru USB to it on the boat for inet access.
Its superb!!
Stu

Stu

Are you saying that on your £25 pay monthly plan with orange, you get:

* free upgrade phone of your choice
* 400 minutes a month talk time
* free 3G mobile internet access (unlimited)
* free home broadband (unlimited)?

Sounds like a good deal - which plan are you on?

 

[Richard10002]

I bought a nokia 5800 on ebay for £130, and have a T-Mobile sim only contract at £20 per month. I get 600 minutes, unlimited texts, and 1Gb fair usage of mobile broadband at up to 3.5G.

previously used a Nokia N95.

Both phones connect to the laptop via USB and speeds are plenty fast enough with either a 3G or a 3.5G connection, (GPRS is still very slow).

 

[Dockhead]

In simple terms, an EDGE connection (E-GPRS; 2.5G) is like an old-fashioned dial-up connection (notwithstanding claimed speeds of 256kbs). For some purposes like simple text e-mail it's fine. It uses much less power so you gt much better battery life with a non-3G phone. But a 3G connection is much faster -- not as fast as a a DSL line but much faster than a dial-up connection. The other great thing about 3G is that you will get your incoming telephone calls even if you're on line; with GPRS callers will usually get a busy signal.

3G itself is not the latest thing. There is now a much faster standard, HSDPA (sometimes called 3.5G). This is amazing -- in theory it is 5x faster than 3G, but in practice it seems like night and day. An HSDPA connection is just like being on a good DSL line or sitting in your office. There are not too many HSDPA towers in the UK yet, but that is changing all the time. Lots of phones today have HSDPA (I had my first HSDPA phone more than two years ago). I would go with that if I were you.

You can connect your computer to an HSDPA phone with Bluetooth, by the way, from almost anywhere on the boat. You don't need to connect by USB.

 

[markdj]

HSDPA is, IFAIK, 3G as I have a Three dongle which uses the 3G network. When in use, the connection goes to HSDPA and speeds vary from 512kbit to 4Mbit depending on what reception area you are in.

 

[Richard10002]

HSDPA is, IFAIK, 3G as I have a Three dongle which uses the 3G network. When in use, the connection goes to HSDPA and speeds vary from 512kbit to 4Mbit depending on what reception area you are in.

HSDPA is 3.5G. 3G has a max of about 356Kbit, whereas 3.5G gets up to about 3.5Mbit

 

[Babylon]

...But a 3G connection is much faster -- not as fast as a a DSL line but much faster than a dial-up connection. The other great thing about 3G is that you will get your incoming telephone calls even if you're on line; with GPRS callers will usually get a busy signal.

3G itself is not the latest thing. There is now a much faster standard, HSDPA (sometimes called 3.5G). This is amazing -- in theory it is 5x faster than 3G, but in practice it seems like night and day. ... There are not too many HSDPA towers in the UK yet, but that is changing all the time. Lots of phones today have HSDPA ... I would go with that if I were you.

Dockhead,

This is a really useful explanation, thank you. I agree, if I'm going to have to (finally) upgrade from a 1990s era mobile phone to 2010s technology, then HSDPA is exactly the lead I should be following.

 

[planteater]

You can connect your computer to an HSDPA phone with Bluetooth, by the way, from almost anywhere on the boat. You don't need to connect by USB.

This is the route I've taken. Phone is a Nokia e61 supplied free on a £18/month contract from 3 with 1Gb/month + 300 mins + 4000 texts.

The bluetooth DUN setting on my macBook configured itself in seconds and works perfectly. Not a super-tough phone and not a huge data limit but a good compromise considering the price.

The phone itself is good enough for plenty of web apps without having to use the mac.

 

[VicMallows]

but does not expire after 30 days. After 6 months we have almost used £5 of our first £15.

I think this is the critical parameter. I use '3' but typically waste half of a £10 top-up (30 days). You can even get the dongles free. However if you have a suitable phone on '3' you
can use it as a dongle. Every time you top up with £5 you get 150Mb data which lasts 3 months in addition to whatever you use the top-up for; so many permutations possible!

Vic

 

[jimmy_bobby]

My advice would be to just add an extra £5 bolt on extra to your mobile phone contract. Sometimes they have a set usage limit, but usually unlimited internet – unless you’re streaming / downloading big files (films for example) then you should be just fine if you don’t have unlimited, but a limit on usage.

If you do end up going for a 3g phone (don’t go for 2.5 or GPRS only, they naff and already ancient technology) make sure it picks up the signal wherever your boat is moored. No point having it if it’s useless in that area and you get no coverage. Check other boat owners in the area to se what their connection is like. Lots of marinas have wifi connection (faster than 3g) for free, so you’ll need a mobile that has wifi capabilities.

I would suggest you go for an iPhone. It has everything. To be honest, you wouldn’t need your laptop with an iPhone. Its got wifi/3g internet – with proper internet pages, not mobile phone modified types etc. It can read word documents, PDF files, excel. Check all of your email addresses and have them always updating, for free. You can also store a crazy amount of music and video on them and then plug them in to your tv/speakers and enjoy it projected.

A cleaver function on the iPhone is the ability to connect a proper keyboard to it, via Bluetooth (wirelessly). So you can plug the iPhone in to the TV for the screen and then a Bluetooth connected keyboard. Then you don’t need a PC for anything.

I guess you can tell I’m an iPhone lover!

 

[CaptainBob]

I routinely use 3-Mobile Broadband and Vodafone Mobile Broadband dongles. I have both on contract (I work on the internet so need backups).

My experience of a couple of years has shown that the Voda service, when it works, is faster than the 3 one. But the 3 one works in more places (probably 30% better coverage on the south coast cruising areas).

3 also have recently launched a new generation of dongle which uses two simultaneous connections instead of 1. We get HSDPA here in Plymouth.

Also, with three for £15 a month inc VAT, you now can get 15Gb of data a month. That's enough for a serious amount of surfing, +skype, you tube and even including some BBC iplayer downloading along the way.

If I was going for a PAYG for adhoc use in a non-fixed location, I'd get a 3-Mobile dongle.

 

[Babylon]

My advice would be to just add an extra £5 bolt on extra to your mobile phone contract. Sometimes they have a set usage limit, but usually unlimited internet – unless you’re streaming / downloading big files (films for example) then you should be just fine if you don’t have unlimited, but a limit on usage.

I would suggest you go for an iPhone. It has everything. To be honest, you wouldn’t need your laptop with an iPhone. Its got wifi/3g internet – with proper internet pages, not mobile phone modified types etc. It can read word documents, PDF files, excel. Check all of your email addresses and have them always updating, for free.

A cleaver function on the iPhone is the ability to connect a proper keyboard to it, via Bluetooth (wirelessly). So you can plug the iPhone in to the TV for the screen and then a Bluetooth connected keyboard. Then you don’t need a PC for anything.

I guess you can tell I’m an iPhone lover!

Good points.

Re the extra fiver for 'unlimited' internet bolted-on to mobile sim-only contract, that's a good deal.

Re the iPhone, incredible piece of kit but expensive, battery charge life quiute short, arguably does too much (I just want a small phone for phone use mainly but which can also occassionally work as mobile modem for a proper sized laptop; also I don't download music, games, etc), and I'm not personally a fan of sliding my fingers over the screen in variously dance routines.

Problem is the technology is moving so fast, and we're all faced with too many permutations! One good thing about this thread (and the other research I've done) is that I'm slowly working out what I want.

Thanks for the input.

 

[bendyone]

I have just changed to Orange, 1200mins, unlimited landland calls, 500 Tx, 500mb data and satnav all for £29 a month + Sony Satio ( seams a great phone to me).
Buy it on line as is £5 less than in one of their shops.