Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the UK?
 

I am really keen on getting a maemo5/Omap3 NIT, but am ignorant of phones for the following reasons:

1. I have never bought a smart-phone because i don't like phones, they are mere devices rather than flexible platforms like my beloved computers. (i have three computers and a netbook).

2. I also dislike being contracted into paying for a service, especially when that service is tied to me in a way that makes me 'visible'. (my phone is a £15 nokia orange PayG phone).

For this reason I have always had unregistered pay-as-you-go phones historically, and am woefully ignorant about smart-phones.
I am a net addict and have been really impressed by the iphone, but not enough to buy for the reasons listed above; its just a clever device, and you need a contract to make use of all the web services that make it great.

Why then am i interested in a nokia n900?

1. Because the n900 is the closest i have found to a phone which is also an honest-to-god computer rather than just a fancy device.

2. Because I [[hope]] that i will be able to use that open computer'iness to replicate the Web 2.0 functionality of current smart-phones with an unregistered pay-as-you-go sim.

I am hoping i can acquire a pay-as-you-go sim with internet ability.
I am hoping i can use local OSM maps cached on the n900 for navigation.
I am hoping the maemo/Ovi application development community can compete with the iphone app store.

If this isn't possible then i have to weigh up my dislike of service contracts against the ability to make the most of my new web-enabled n900 computer-phone......................
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So, after all this rambling what questions do i really want you to help me answer, well here it is:

a) Can i get a pay-as-you-go 3G sim that will enable all the web-services available on the n900?
b) Can things like caching openstreetmaps locally alleviate the high data costs associated with PayG data plans and still maintain the Web2.0 experience? (not too bothered by web video)
c) If yes to (a), are these sims/phones available in high street stores like WHSmiths so i can wangle an unregistered one?
d) If no to (a) does purchasing an unlocked n900 seem like a daft idea to YOU, and should i really consider a contract despite my stated dislike?

Many thanks

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

PaYG is pretty dear with data afaik.

I've just switched to PaYG as I'd ideally like to move to a Vodafone (yeah I know) £10/month 30-day contract. It should be possible to add data to this for ~£5/month, which would make it something like £15/month with almost no contract.

Many/most of the providers here offer decently cheap SIM only monthly deals, so that might be your best bet considering the price of PaYG.

Then again, someone else may know better. Anyone?

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Three.co.uk do a £5 a month add-on to their PAYG accounts for up to 1GB of data (according to the Fair Use Policy).

That's got to be the way to go.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

I use the £5 deal Jaffa mentioned, works great. I actually use it to tether my n800 to my phone. I make hardly any phone calls, and few texts, so it costs me about £6 per month. Oh, and three now offer 1000 free SMS per topup.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

cheers all.

Jaffa,

Can you just get a 3G payG phone on 3 and then ask your newsagent for a £5 voucher for data?

I am keen to remain unregistered if possible, i just prefer it that way.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

when the n900 comes out sim free (play.com will have it in a few months after lauch) look at vodaphones TopUp and Go Mobile Broadband its £15 per GB and on the n900 that would last a long time.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

hmmm, that's interesting.

so, presuming i got hold of a vodafone PayG phone with 3G, i could just walk into a vodafone store and pay in cash for a voucher with a code printed on it?

The intention is to remain unregistered as i am now............. and have data. Just to clarify i am not a bad person, never so much as a parking ticket, i just like remaining unregistered. :)

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

REMFwhoopitydo, you top up as a regular PAYG phone, then use their mobile web site to active the 30 day internet add-on.

They also offer a "mobile broadband" add-on for £10 for 30 days/1GB, but I've never found anything that the "mobile internet" doesn't do that I've needed broadband for. Probably VPN etc...

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

REMFwhoopitydo, I always pay cash for the topups, and for the original SIM. I've never given three my details at all, or any oportunity to get them from credit cards etc... I tend to get the topups from the supermarket for convenience too.

I like to stay off the grid too - there's enough people with my details who don't need it already.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

If you don't want to be tied to a network, don't buy it from a network! :-)

Pay as you go is just another way for networks to control your phone, don't let them do it.

You can buy 100% of Nokia devices without any kind of network branding as unlocked unbranded SIM-free models, which can be used on any network, or if you prefer you can leave the SIM card out completely and just use them through wi-fi.

You can use SIM-free models with any SIM card in the world.

SIM-free phones are also easier to sell when you've finished with them because they're compatible with literally every buyer's network so you'll get more bids in ebay or wherever.

You can get SIM-free phones (also called unlocked or unbranded phones) from many electronics shops and online places like Amazon, Microanvika etc, and you can also order them directly from your local Nokia website (go to Nokia.com and select your country).

SIM-free phones also get more firmware updates and get them more quickly too as manufacturers always do the unbranded firmware first.

Seriously, if you are annoyed by networks controlling your phone then vote with your wallet and buy a non-network phone. You might think SIM-free are more expensive but they're not, the networks just fool people into thinking they are by hiding the charges on locked phones in various bills and restrictions.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

what is this about 30 days, i thought you payed for a block of data that had no time restrictions?

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

On Vodafone, unless you pay the full £20/month (in addition to your monthly line rental, which is £10/month at the cheapest atm iirc) you have to pay extra for VoIP and P2P stuff (and their docs say IM too, though the person I spoke to said that wasn't true). Thies does give you an uncapped connection though, while the £5/month add on is capped at something like 500Mb.

Are there any restrictions on the 3 deal, etc.?

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

sounds like you are talking about a contract, which i am trying to avoid. :)

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Yeah, but only a 30-day contract so nearly as good as PaYG

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Why would you buy a phone? It's only the SIM that you want. Most UK operators (including Vodafone) will send you two free SIMs. Obviously they will need to know your address. If that is too "registered" a condition, you might indeed have to get hold of a phone. However, it doesn't have to be an expensive 3G phone. It doesn't even have to work, so long as the SIM is still valid.

An even better deal can be had on eBay, where you can buy a SIM with more prepaid credit than the price you pay for it. It sounds fishy but is perfectly legit. Phones are shipped to the shops in a package including a SIM with pre-installed credit. When an existing customer buys a new phone, he or she usually transfers the old SIM into the new phone and the shop is left with the new SIM. These spare SIMs are sold in bulk to dealers who then sell them on eBay. Market price is usually less than the amount of pre-installed credit, sometimes a lot less.

Trouble is, you have to be registered on eBay and probably on PayPal as well. Is that too hard?

You may be an internet addict, but how much squinting at a tiny screen do you really want to do in a day? Remember that you can get most of your N900 usage via WLAN at home, work, cafe, on the train or sometimes even on the bus, and so you might not use your mobile phone account for much data transfer at all. Without buying any special data package, you can get up to 25MB of data in a day from Vodafone UK for 50 pence or less, deducted from your PAYG balance. Some other operators have similar pricing.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

their payg addons are all for 30 days. but £5 for 30 days ain't so bad.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Big brother doesn't like that, so they made an EU directive mandating compulsory registration even for PAYG sims.
I don't know when it will be implemented in the UK, here it is already.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

cheers for the info.
1. and 2. are less appealing.

3. however is interesting, it would be enough for me to know i could use my talk credit for web access if i wanted.

does the 'type' of sim matter these days? i thought i'd have to get a cheap 3G phone to ensure i'd have a sim that would enable 3G data when used in an n900.............?

the reason i ask this is because i currently have a £15 PayG orange phone, which came with a super cheap nokia handset. i later replaced the handset with a nicer ericson model with a camera, and yet i cannot send picture messages because i believe the sim has restricted functionality. so i wanted to ensure that if i buy another cheap PayG phone that i don't get one that has no data access by default.

back on the topic of Vodafone PayG phones, i very much like the idea of the top-up vouchers allowing data access, do i understand correctly:
1) i buy a cheap Vodophone PayG phone and stick the sim in my shiny new n900
2) someone from Vodaphone rings up and i give the 'usual' details
3) i walk into newsagents and pay cash for a topup voucher
4) having rang 450 (or whatever) and added the credit to my phone i can now use my n900 to access the web

if its that easy then i have a winner..............

if i have to ring up vodofone and arrange for data ability then that gets messy, unregistered phones work best when fewest questions are asked.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Data access is standard on Vodafone. To the best of my knowledge, the type of connection (GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA) depends on the handset and your configuration thereof, not on the SIM. I have to qualify that by admitting that I personally have not progressed beyond EDGE (the fastest type of 2.5G).

Handsets have to be configured with settings specific to the provider, for MMS, WAP and internet access. Your Sony Ericsson phone has probably not been configured for MMS with Orange. The easiest way to configure it is to receive the settings via SMS. Most customers get them from their mobile provider (Orange, in your case). For Nokia phones, there is an alternative, by following a link on the Nokia website. Sony Ericsson might have a similar facility: as an internet addict, you should be able to find out about that.

I would expect the N900 to follow earlier NITs in having a Mobile Operator Setup Wizard which will do the configuration without any input beyond your manual selection of the operator (Vodafone UK). It should be simpler for the N900 than for the earlier Tablets, which accessed mobile data via bluetooth connection to a phone. The N900 has the phone built in.

I got my Vodafone SIM on a visit to Britain in 2004. I went into a Vodafone shop and bought it. At that time, I was not interested in mobile data. Nevertheless, the SIM has given me data access in successive technologies short of 3G. Nothing on the website indicates that 3G would be different, but you had really better ask someone who uses 3G with Vodafone. So far as I remember, nobody from Vodafone has ever rung me up.

Perhaps I had to show my passport in the shop. I don't remember. Maybe that was in Italy. It's no big deal. By using this forum, you have already registered and published more personal detail than the mobile provider will ever want to know.

NOTE: The price of 50p for 25 MB does not include the use of VOIP or messaging services. They cost 1 Pound per MB, charged separately on your PAYG balance. There could be other exclusions.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Or just walk into a three store, say "hello Mr Sales Person, here is a £10 note, please can I have a shiny new SIM Card, complete with £10 topup". Worked for me. As anonymous as you are going to get without using those pay-phone things. Remember them?

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Arrgh, so much noise.

1) Walk into Nokia store, buy N900

2) Walk into phone shop, pick up Tmobile sim card and £15 top up voucher

3) Credit voucher for 3GB/ 30 days internet.

Why use Tmobile? because its the only service that lets you use all the protocols including streaming and VOIP.

:)

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Apart from three, where I regularly stream from last.fm, and have made MANY phone calls over both Skype (which they actually encourage you to do) and SIP.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

True, 3 is good too, except Skype isnt true Voip. ;)

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Skype is "Voice Over Internet Protocol" protocol, therefore IS VOIP. It also closed, proprietary and cr4p. VOIP doesn't define the protocol used. Cisco use their own closed protocol, which isn't Skype or SIP, but is still VOIP.

SIP (which isn't technically a VOIP protocol either, it uses RTP for the actual voice traffic) based services are much better, but I have friends who are only on Skype. I also run an Asterisk server at home for "real" VOIP, because I'm sad and geeky like that.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

T-mobile UK suck they block some services on there 3g networks, i cant even login some of my nokia services like n-gage with them so moved to o2:(
but after reading this i think 3UK is the way to go for me i think
@guy who made thread All you need is sim card which you can get for a couple £ from lot of places or just go in the networks shop and get sims for free :):)

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Give three a go on PAYG. That's what I did about 3 years ago, figuring worst case I lose £10. I'm still with them, paying about £6-7 per month

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

cheers guys, you have given me some options to consider.

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

more details on play.com

http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4...t.html?cur=257

Re: Is it possible to enjoy the n900 web experience with a pay-as-you-go sim in the U
 

Its true they block some services on the basic package but as you move up the tier, things get unblocked.

I like this clear approach to services as i pay for what i want to use and when it doesnt work, i get to b*tch at Tmobile. Ive read every carriers EULA and from what ive seen Web n Walk Max is the least restrictive, i can even do torrents!