Reply to: Mobile Broadband from 3 - any opinions?

[KevinS]

The question is: Does the 3 Mobile Broadband support Vista 64bit? I tried asking 3 and all I got was yes, it supports Vista..

Answering my own question: It does support Vista 64bit (well, there is a Vista64 folder under the drivers), which is great news for my new laptop..

[kirk]

Well, as a further update - I continued to have problems with the ExpressCard from Vodafone - upgraded to version 9.2 of the Vodafone Mobile Client, took out the SIM and put it in a normal phone (as advised by Voda) - I even rebuilt my Vista laptop in case it was the OS, all to no avail.

Sent Vodafone Business an email earlier today saying that it is probably hardware related IMHO and that I would like a replacement, got an email back earlier stating they have located the issue and that they would get back to me with a resolution asap. (yeah right, I thought)

Tried it tonight and I've had no problems whatsoever! I've disconnected and connected many times and each time I'm straight in. Hopefully all is resolved now, thankyou Vodafone; if things stay like this I'm mucho happy Even GPRS speeds are pretty good and most of the places I end up are covered by 3G where the speeds are frankly great! Even had the "Adult Filter" removed as I requested

[KevinS]

Vista64?

I'm currently using the Vodafone PCMCIA unit, but coverage is poor if you are out of the major areas (like I am at the moment with only a GPRS connection).. I'm thinking of jumping to 3 as I currently have my mobile phone with them and can get decent speeds out here (not HSDPA but better than GPRS & EDGE)..

The question is: Does the 3 Mobile Broadband support Vista 64bit? I tried asking 3 and all I got was yes, it supports Vista..

[shelby68]

We had problems with Vodafone as well, we got 2 free 3G cards with our laptops with £20 worth of credit free, about 18 months ago.

yea I got 2 cards as well when I phoned to complain my first one hadn't turned up 2 days later both of them did.

[r0bly0ns]

I had a Vodafone pcmcia card last year was ok if expensive, then I got a bill for 130 quid for 2 weeks usage, when I queried it they said it was right, but I argued the usage software they provide with the card said my bill should have been about 20 quid, eventually (3 months later) they admitted the software had a bug in it and didn't record usage correctly and promptly credited the whole bill, didn’t use the card after that and got a t-mobile one.

We had problems with Vodafone as well, we got 2 free 3G cards with our laptops with £20 worth of credit free, about 18 months ago.

However everytime we used it we were charged for it. After the 3rd assurance that it wouldn't happen again, it happened again so we haven't used them since.

[gadgetman]

Been working fine for me on 3 for about a month now.

[kirk]

I've actually had a few more issues connecting while I've been playin about this evening, as well as mswsock.ocs (or something similar) errors. I'm not ruling out my Vista build though ('tis a bit of a mess at the momenet) so I'm going to go for a rebuild when I get time and try to update the Vodafone Mobile Connect Lite software if I can. When I'm connected things are fine but I can't always connect after a reboot etc.

[shelby68]

Anyone actually using either 3 or Vodafone?

I'm torn between the two - three wins on price, but I'm not sure about the speed you get outside of their turbo areas; vodafone says 7.2 Mbps but is much more expensive.

Orange and O2 are out, since they don't do a modem that will connect to my laptop, since they are PCMCIA cards only. T-Mobile is more expensive than three and slower than Vodafone, so they're out.

Any opinions from actual users on what three or vodafone are like?

I had a Vodafone pcmcia card last year was ok if expensive, then I got a bill for 130 quid for 2 weeks usage, when I queried it they said it was right, but I argued the usage software they provide with the card said my bill should have been about 20 quid, eventually (3 months later) they admitted the software had a bug in it and didn't record usage correctly and promptly credited the whole bill, didn’t use the card after that and got a t-mobile one.

[kirk]

My Vodafone card arrived today - I had a few initial problems connecting at 2G speeds but recreated my Vista profile and that was resolved. 3G speeds are v. quick for surfing (hardly distinguishable from my home ADSL Max connection). I'm in a low signal area at the moment with a 2G connection but the speed is still acceptable for general browse \ email traffic. I'll report back after a week or so usage but generally I'm a happy bunny

[TheFaQQer]

Is there an echo in here?

Either that, or my tinitus is playing up again

[TheFaQQer]

I got a T-Mobile 3G "unlimited" connection for £19.98 a month, connection is spot on.

Can't fault them and best I have it through the company as I'm working away from home.

I got a T-Mobile 3G "unlimited" connection for £19.98 a month, connection is spot on.

Can't fault them and best of all I have it through the company as I'm working away from home.

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[shelby68]

I got a T-Mobile 3G "unlimited" connection for £19.98 a month, connection is spot on.

Can't fault them and best of all I have it through the company as I'm working away from home.

[shelby68]

I got a T-Mobile 3G "unlimited" connection for £19.98 a month, connection is spot on.

Can't fault them and best I have it through the company as I'm working away from home.

[kirk]

3Mb seems a lot for a bit of email, CUK and Facebook (which are my usual work patterns as well )

[TheFaQQer]

I used 10's of megabytes in my first month, probably less than 100Mb in total and that was on a combination of laptop and phone. On 3 you can check online exactly how exactly you've used, in almost real time and the USB software can also keep track.

Would have cost me hundreds on my O2 tariff (and actually did - once!).

I checked my email this morning at the airport (plane delayed), read the few new posts on CUK, updated by status on Facebook and picked up the new email headers. Nearly 3Mb in traffic.