Mobile broadband gifts for Christmas?!

Ciaron Dunne of Broadband Genie takes a look at the attempts by mobile broadband providers to break into the Christmas market and picks out some of the best deals and savings. Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas!

Broadband, Christmas trees and massive over-eating are rarely considered in the same breath. In fact I'm slightly surprised to be telling you broadband could be a good Christmas present. But this year there are a load of offers which could be just the thing for that hard-to-buy-for loved one. Who wouldn't want a 3G laptop, or a really wireless 'wireless' router? PAYG mobile phones have been a practical Christmas gift for years, so why not a PAYG mobile broadband dongle? Maybe a pink dongle for Mum? A manly black dongle for Dad?

Dongle bells, dongle bells, dongles all the way

All of the mobile phone networks now offer pay-as-you-go mobile broadband deals. The most economic option is simply to buy the dongle (typical cost £20-£35), then credits (or 'top ups') can be purchased later. Currently, the cheapest you'll pay for a PAYG dongle is £19.56 from T-Mobile, and you even get 30 days' free usage (plus it's available in pink!). You do have to purchase £10 top up credit when you buy though, so that brings the outlay up a little.

Alternatively, you could consider the £34.99 dongle from Vodafone. It's a bit more expensive but does include £15 worth of credit, so all in all it works out about the same as the T-Mobile offering. Both dongles can (in theory) hit speeds of 3.6Mb and have Micro SD memory card slots. If you prefer to look elsewhere, then consider £29.34 from O2 or £29.99 from 3 Mobile (which also includes 1GB of usage).

Dongles with that little bit extra

If you can afford to spend a few pounds more, you might be tempted by some of the gift packs available (they're not really gift packs, but it sounds a bit more Christmassy) which allow you to buy some extended mobile internet usage along with the dongle itself. The higher up-front cost means you don't consign your lucky recipient to paying for their own credit, which could be particularly useful if you're treating, say, a student or a school kid.

T-Mobile is specifically targeting the Christmas market with its gloriously titled Pay Up Front packages, which allow you to buy three months or 12 months usage as well as the dongle (cost £44.03 and £146.80 respectively); the dongles even come with four interchangeable covers!

Comparable 3 Mobile Broadband packages work out a little cheaper up front, £39.99 for dongle plus three months' usage or £79.99 for dongle plus 12 months'. The main difference is you potentially get twice as much usage allowance from the T-Mobile dongle, which allows you 2GB downloads per month (so a theoretical 24GB over 12 months) as opposed to 12GB over 12 months from 3 Mobile. And, of course, there's the interchangeable covers.

Something a bit different? How about portable Wi-Fi?

If you're shopping for a gadget freak, or just want to buy something no else has got, then you could do a lot worse than 3 Mobile's new MiFi dongle/gadget. It's a small gizmo about the size of a slim mobile handset (86 x 46.5 x 10.5mm) which acts as a portable wireless router. You simply drop in your 3 Mobile broadband SIM to create a 3G internet wireless network which you can carry around with you.

Now why on earth would anyone want to do that? Well, two reasons: first it means you don't need to install any pesky software on your laptop, because it will connect to the device using Wi-Fi. Secondly, more than one person can use the connection at once. The nicely named MiFi is available for £49.99 PAYG or £69.00 including 3GB download allowance.

I'm dreaming of a 3G laptop

Most of the mobile broadband networks offer laptop deals, which have already proved hugely popular in 2009. They could be a big Christmas hit too, because they let you buy a laptop without parting with a load of cash upfront. The packages works a bit like mobile phone contracts which offer a handset: the device cost is heavily subsidised (hence the use of the phrase 'free' laptop) - you pay it off over the life of the mobile broadband contract instead, via highly monthly bills.

There are a load of netbook deals available (for the uninitiated, netbooks smaller, lighter, cut-down laptops, designed with mobility in mind). The cheapest deal is currently the Samsung N130 from 3 Mobile (free, then £20 per month for 24 months with a 1GB download allowance per month), which is a popular, low-cost 10.1" netbook - although arguably you'd be wise to consider the £25/month package which gets you a whopping 15GB/month downloads. Other low-cost Xmas deals worthy of note include a free Dell Inspiron Mini 10 from Vodafone and a free Asus Eee PC 1000HGO from Orange, both costing about £25/month for 24 months with 1GB/month usage.

If you're looking for a more robust laptop, perhaps to replace a desktop computer, there are also lots of laptop deals available. You can get a Samsung R519 from O2 for £29.38 up-front then £34.26/month, a great all-round specification including a 2.16GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core processor and a15.6-inch HD screen. A laptop like this will also happily run the new Windows 7 operating system beautifully, plus you can even expect to do a spot of gaming thanks to the new Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 graphics core. Another popular laptop deal is the Compaq CQ61 from 3 Mobile - free, then £30/month for 24 months with a whopping 15GB/month downloads.

It almost goes without saying, but while these deals allow you buy a netbook or laptop for a fantastic Christmas present for little or no outlay, you (or the lucky giftee) will be paying it off for the next 24 months. Also, it's worth noting these deals are only available to people with good credit ratings!

Happy Christmas from all at Broadband Genie!