With doing a lot of remote photography and trying to get photos up and displayed as soon as possible i recently looked at a Vodafone 3G/GPRS Data Card. I would normally use wifi while away but when you in the middle of a field its not always an option. At the time i took out the contract i was able to get reduced roaming charges and double my included mb each month or other wise i may have not taken it out.

Its not cheap but so far i have used fine in UK and roaming in France. I find GPRS connection to be very good and 3g was fantastic in France.

I was very impressed with the software supplied as once installed it has functioned with out problems and is very simple to use.

An interesting bit of information i found out also was Vodafone reduce the quality of images you download to increase browsing speed but i have not noticed any bad affects of this.

Regards
Chris

what kind of speed are you able to get on this..

I think Orange UK are releasing a similar product this month with probably better data pricing.

Keep us abreast with this, I would love to use this (vodaphone) but the expense does not justify the product, especially with the shitty download limits. I hope orange will have no limits….

Speed wise if you manage to pick up a 3g network you can get maximum downlink speed is 384kbps. Maximum uplink speed is 64kbps. This also depends on number of users in your area.

Realistically i have used it most on gprs in the uk and have found it to be great. Its faster than dial up and had no issues yet. In France on 3g it was very fast and found it as good as the wifi access from orange i could get in the hotel. Of course i did not use it to download any massive files so have never tested large file downloads to see what sort of sustained speed i might get.

Regards
Chris

@Godspeed

Info is here: http://www.orange.co.uk/business/corporate/3g/mobile_office_card.html

Can now keep my TR PCMCIA port occupied now 8)

Just got the Orange 3G/GPRS datacard initially on the Unlimited Tariff for a try out.  Fare Use possibly up to a whopping 1000MB for ~£53/month inc. VAT. Will be dropping to a lower tariff next month (75MB for about £23) but saved £100 on card (cost £99 instead of £199).

Had about 22KBps out of it over 3G which considering I only have 56K modem at home is great for downloads (I know its more like 50KBps on broadband).

An mp3 download would take me over 15mins at home but just dowloaded one in about 3mins :D

Will let you know how I get on with it

Cool i was wondering how much they would charge for th eunlimted and thats a pritty dam good price.

I just returned my Orange 3g card and got my money back.

Problems are:

The kb counter resets itself every time you connect, Orange when contacted said they cannot fix the problem and suggested I kept my own log on notepad (they were serious).

It cuts out and you lose the connection even when stationary. Whislt I would somewhat expect this in the countryside, I don’t expect it to happen in central London. Don’t bother even trying to get a connection for more than 30 seconds on a train.

Everytime you reconnect it loads up the orange website as your default, this conveniently (for them) chews up your allocated mb’s. It does not matter what your browser default setting is, it loads up an Orange page regardless.

The speed is a third of the Vodaphone equivalent.

So in a nutshell Vodaphone is solid in connection and speed but overpriced. Orange is priced well if the product actually worked.

I say wait around for some more competition or for the prices to go down or for Orange to get their shit together. At any rate it’s not worth going 3g at the moment unless you have cash to throw away.

Link for info here

http://www.orange.co.uk/business/small/services/orange_data_access/moc/what.html

Mobile Office 15 15MB £11.75
Mobile Office 75 75MB £23.50
Mobile Office 300 300MB £41.13
Mobile Office Unlimited 1000MB £52.88

Considering Vodaphone £20 option gives you 25MB and £85 option 500MB then yes, the Orange plans are spot on.

Even the T-mobile ones are not as good for there upcoming 3G/GPRS/Wi-Fi card.

Godspeed

Only tried at work but not had it loose connection yet? Will give it a try a few more days. Just noticed the GPRS counter :?

I got mine under promotion and managed £20 for 50mb which is fine for me.. I have recently had one or two issues with some sites and getting issus i think with dns…

What? You just got the orange one or have the Vodafone one? What is max speed you get?

I have the Vodafone one but the only time i have used 3g was in france so was doing very little as mb’s was not part of inclusive so was paying about 3.50 per mb.

When i can next fine a 3g connection will do some tests for you.

Thanks.

If I keep it i’ll be dropping to the £23 tariff at 75MB. As I understand it the Vodafone is a promotion until end October then drops down to 25MB so apart from any issues Godspeed mentioned the Orange is still nearly 3 times better value.

Are you in an area of UK with no 3G?

It should remain at 50mb is my uinderstanding during your term of contact,. But we will wait and see.. as i have had ther same issues with orange selling me something and not being able to provide it.

Oh yes. Its for contacts before October then double for 12months so not too bad. May go for it if I have problems with Orange card but already being on Orange means I have one bill & one DirectDebit which I like plus Orange support is free and usually needed with these advanced gadgets.

Other thing I noticed is that Orange 3G coverage as far greater than Vodafone & in my area there is poor coverage with Vodafone.