Vodafone broadband

by Dave | registered | 2 posts
at 01:57 on 28 May 2009

...Forgot to mention the Vodafone DELL Inspiron mini 910 laptop which is currently offered...which may help people thinking of getting one.
It ONLY has a disk size of 7gb, and NO cd drive so very little room to store much on it but apart from that it works very well.
Mcafee and other pre-installed software really slows the laptop down, removing them gains more drive space and it will work faster - although it does still get very hot (underneath) during long operation. It has NO INTERNAL FAN, so be warned keep it on a flat hard surface at all times otherwise it will 'cook' it's motherboard and may fail.
DISABLE all autodownloads from windows etc (unless you are in a HSPDA or 3G area) as this will slow your connection speed down - and may also max out your monthly allowance before you know it. You can choose either 1GB or 3GB per month contract. You will have to pay +£15 per gb extra if you use more than your allocated allowance. I went for the 1gb but was told I can upgrade at anytime to 3gb if required. There are usage levels shown in the Vodafone software, but I'm as yet unsure if they are accurate. You can also set your own warning limits too. BUT even though you may have 1gb/1000mb of allowance, do set your software warning limits at 500mb, if you are NOT always in a 3G area and use quite a bit of GPRS signal, as added together 500mb + 500mb will then equal a 1gb limit. If you set the warning limit to 1000mb as I did to start with, by using both 3G and GPRS means you have actually set your warning far too high at 1gb for EACH connection type, but you really have ONLY 1gb in total - so watch out for that!
You can SMS directly from the Vodafone software (nice and easy using the 910's keyboard!) and it will auto detect what mobile Vodafone service is available.
The SIM card goes and stays in a small slot near where the battery goes, making the unit very compact, no external USB modem is needed. It also being far less power hungry than a 'normal' laptop (like a HP550 I got with 3 for example) means the 910 works far longer, and is ideal for use in trains etc. Being small it's easily carried and the best thing, as mentioned before, is it CAN connect to a normal mobile phone signal from Vodafone, so works almost anywhere, although GPRS is only suitable for minimal bandwidth internet use, like ebay and email, but no good for youtube etc. If you disable flashplayer (tools-manage addons in IE8) things can run faster.
All in all I'm happier with Vodafones mobile service than 3, yes their customer service is just as poor as 3 and vodafone's online account setup is a nightmare (be warned you will have to UNBLOCK Vodafone's annoying 'content control' if you want to view so called 'adult sites' - but it will start to block normal classified websites and other non adult stuff.
Also the so called £20/month for 1gb charge isn't - the first debit will be about £35.30 (includes a +£4 laptop delivery charge, + VAT) and (like 3) they will also then auto charge for paper billing! This can be cancelled, but don't expect it to be an easy task!
To sum up - even in poor signal areas, the laptop with vodafone should work, and although to start with you will have a load of stuff to 'get sorted' but once done it should be a far better experience than with 3.
I still have no signal with 3, but am paying £30 a month...but do have a big HP550 laptop, which I can watch dvd movies on, store stuff and now can use my £20/month Dell 910 with Vodafone to connect to the internet.
It's not all bad!

by Dave
at 23:26 on 26 May 2009

Be very careful about moblie broadband, test it at the shop before you agree/sign up to anything.
Vodafone is faster than 3, but then 3 is like a snail anywhere!

At least vodafone will connect to the net using GPRS, the std mobile phone signal (if no 3G or HSPDA can be detected), but it does suffer from 0bps hangups!

I started with 3 - a crap service, no signal - and even when in a 3G area it's about 15mins+ to download a 15mb file and uploading is 7 to 12kb/sec speed max.
Vodaphone is much better, downloads are faster but uploads are still slow. Go to MSN movies and try to download a movie trailer - 3 doesn't do anything but voda works well, even Sky news streams live well to, also on GPRS.

I think ALL broadband services will crawl slowly soon, more people using outdated networks, where the system has been rushed into service.
Give it 5 years (investment from all of us paying through the nose for a crap service and maybe then things will get better.
However this may not be the case - if BT had invested in fibre optics rather than blowing millions on crappy corporate identy logos (the piper on all BT phoneboxes!) they would have had a super fast broadband ready to go....
At least Virgin is making a start with fibre optics.

My point is really - don't expect 'Broadband' from mobile phone companies. Their systems were designed for minimal data transfer - Ok they have 'invested' in new technology, but it's way short of the expected demand...and when you use it ..it shows how bad things really are.

At least if you get a contract with a laptop, if the broadband doesn't work right, you do get something for your monthly payments!

by ian
at 14:28 on 26 May 2009

i have been thinking of switching to vodafone broadband but im not so sure now, does the 'sale of goods and supply of services act' not apply if their connection speeds etc. dont meet what they say?

by C Lewsey
at 20:46 on 4 May 2009

Avoid Vodafone Broadband like the plague! Terrible customer service, expensive help line number where you will be on hold for hours and then cut off. The software they provide when you install the broadband (which is supposed to let you know how much you have used so you don't exceed your 3GB limit) is inaccurate. The first you will know about this is when you get overcharged and have to argue to get it refunded. Difficulties with their website make it impossible to set your account up and there is no easy way of monitoring your usage. The whole package is designed to rip off and overcharge the customer. This is a great shame, as the speed of the service if you live in the right area is very good.