Mobile internet through handset or dongle?

[glocal]

I am a 3 voice subscriber and I am thinking about getting mobile internet for my netbook. I am wondering why someone would go for the dongle approach instead of using the handset (with the necessary internet add-on). Any ideas?

I have no experience of mobile internet and I may be wrong but from what I understand using the handset has clear advantages:

* No additional contract for the dongle.
* One less thing to carry around.
* Ability to access the internet on the handset as well (but could the usim inside a dongle be used temporarily in the handset to enable it to access the internet?)
* Possibly lower cost for 1GB/mo (not sure about this. 3 is currently offering 1GB + free dongle for £5/mo until the end of March, but I am not sure how much the internet add-on costs for current subscribers).

Possible disadvantages:
* Unable to make/receive calls while connected to the internet (?)
* The phone battery may run down.
* The dongle may be faster.
* The cost of the add-on could actually be higher than the £5/mo offer above.
* No free dongle

Any comments/corrections/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Graham1186]

Hi glocal. Welcome to WebUser forums. It is a nice place to be.

Re your post. I am happy with my Vodafone dongle at £15 per month. I travel into deepest Derbyshire quite often and have never had a problem with signal strength. The broadband it supplies me with is mostly around 3mbps, quite fast enough for the requirements I make of it. I stream radio, and send e-mails with photograph attachments with no trouble at all.

I don't know anyone who uses the 'handset' approach but if you go down that route make sure you won't be clocking up call charges for the whole time you are on the internet.

Good luck. !
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[glocal]

Thanks, radiogandy. That's what I find strange. I can't find anyone who can comment on the handset approach, and it looks like the obvious choice. That makes me think I am probably missing something, that's why I am asking.

Since telcos charge by the GB, I wouldn't think time spent connected would be an issue, but I may be wrong.

(Whichever method I go for, once sorted, I will have to find a way to make the dongle or handset run with Ubuntu Linux. That will be fun, not)

[Graham1186]

Thanks for replying. Lets just hope soemone who knows about the handset approach surfaces, Whatever - its better than searching for Wi-fi hotspots !

Best of luck. Keep us informed as to how you get on with it. cheers Graham [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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[MugsMoney]

Hi Glocal, this page came up in another thread.

Hope it helps you.

[glocal]

Thanks, MugsMoney. Yes, I had seen that. Unfortunately, it refers to a specific, bulkier dongle, but it's a start.

For now, I am still trying to figure out what options there are. I went to a 3 store today to ask some questions and I had one of those close encounters with their sales people that make you wonder if they are actually offered confusion marketing training or they don't have a clue.

Me: Can I take the USIM out of my handset and put it in a dongle?
Salesman A: Why would you want to do that? [classic evasive technique]
Me: Because this way I can use one USIM instead of two.
Salesman A: But with the dongle you will buy you will get a USIM anyway.
Me: Well, yes, but with one USIM I will have one less contract.
Salesman A: Get a PAYG dongle then and you won't have an additional contract.
[doh!]

Me: Can I take my USIM out of my dongle and put it my handset?
Salesman B: Yes
Me: Can I take my USIM out of my dongle and put it my handset?
Salesman C: No, handset and dongle USIMs look similar but they are incompatible.

I left the shop more confused than before! Still trying to figure out (a) if handset and dongle USIMs are interchangeable (b) why someone would not use the handset with the internet add-on as a modem instead of a separate dongle. I will report back if I find something. Now, it's personal [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[mgmcc]

I went to their online chat HERE and asked the question in reverse - I've got a p-a-y-g USB dongle, could I use its USIM in a p-a-y-g handset and was told "yes", although she was more interested in selling me a handset online than actually answering the technical question! The only merit of a single USIM with p-a-y-g would be to have the same "phone no" for SMS messaging, which can be done via the dongle.

If I'd thought that a handset could have been used as a Broadband Modem with a PC (and a Mac) in the same way as a dongle, I would have bought that instead of the dongle in the first place.

How do you connect the handset to a computer - USB, Bluetooth?

[glocal]

@mgmcc, I haven't tried it myslef yet, but I would think Bluetooth would be the preferred way. I know the USB way works for sure, but I don't see why Bluetooth wouldn't work. If the USB connection recharged the battery as well while accessing the internet, it would be good, but I doubt this works with most handsets anyway.

3's website is amazingly confusing, intentionally I believe. I can reassure you I saw a page saying you could use the handset as a modem, and you needed Broadband Lite/Plus/etc starting at £10/mo. The page featured a large animated graphic showing a dongle morphing into a handset, back to a dongle and so on. I ran into the page 2-3 times by accident and I can't find it now, although I know it is somewhere there. I believe the price can be negotiated because until the end of the month they are offering dongle+Broadband Lite+USIM for £5/mo to existing customers -- again somewhere on the website.

It would be ideal if we could use the £5/mo Internet Max add-on, offering 'unlimited' [1] internet access for browsing on the handset, and then use the handset as a modem. But in the very fine print it says: 'Phone browsing only; Your data usage does not include using your phone as a modem.'. Obviously, they want us to buy internet access twice -- once for the handset and once for the PC. How they enforce that is another interesting point perhaps. At least this term shows all this is technically possible, which we knew anyway.

Well, at least someone may run into this thread in the future and find it useful.

[1] That 'unlimited', subject to Fair Use Policy, means up to 1GB! It is stated somewhere in the T&Cs.

[Turbo]

There is software such as joikuspot (which works on s60 v3 phones) and walkinghotspot which will turn your wifi enabled phone into a wifi hotspot and therefore using your mobile internet on your laptop.

Its use will almost certainly be against your carriers TOS but its wether they will catch you that is the question.

[glocal]

Wow! I haven't checked this yet, but if it works it creates some very interesting possibilities. Among other things, connectivity becomes interdependent from the computer and whatever OS runs on it. Presumably, this also means you can connect several PCs to the handset, which now acts as a wifi router!

My carrier states you need to buy dongle-style broadband connectivity to connect a PC, not just handset-style connectivity. What I don't understand is how they can tell the difference. I would think that the traffic looks the same to them. It's their T&Cs of course, but I find it absurd they are trying to sell the same product twice: once for the handset and once for the PC. If I buy 1GB/mo I should be able to use it any way I like.