N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

Hi,
Is anyone doing the above. I have a 'need' to change my current mobile supplier and looking at Three they offer Unlimited* 3G access. This would save me hunting down non existent free WiFi zones in central london. I was planning on using the 3g phone as my BT modem. Works fine with t-mobile but at 2.5G only, and the data costs.....i mean it really costs ! :)

Andrew
p.s. don't tell the Wife she has a low (W)AF for all things gadget

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

3 don't offer an unlimited tarrif, do they? Internet tarrifs on 3 appear to cost a minimum of £15/month capped at 56Mb/month.

T-Mobile do offer unlimited 3G (also with HSDPA) access, it's called Web'n'Walk Plus for £12.50/month and T-Mobile probably have better national coverage than 3.

If you know a better (pay monthly) deal on 3 I'd like to know! :)

My current plan is to switch to T-Mobile when the Nokia N95 arrives (hopefully April) - I'll be transferring my O2 account to T-Mobile on Flext25 £25/month voice tarrif along with Web'n'Walk Plus £12.50/month.

I could save £5/month and go with the standard Web'n'Walk, but it's against the Term&Conditions to use this tarrif with a laptop (ie. not allowed to use the phone as a modem with the N800).

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

I have an N73 on Three and I pay £2.50/Mo for 10 MB just for the 3G data; my 770 works well through it and it's fine for car use and Maemo Mapper, but it goes quickly for mainstream browsing.

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

This is not a direct response to your question but I think it's tangentially relevant. I suspect that reports of the death of the hotspot have been somewhat exaggerated and that genuinely "unlimited" data plans are still relatively expensive.

It seems that The Cloud has a special offer for Nokia tablet owners of hotspot access for a tenner a month. If I were still in London, I think I'd find this more attractive than 3G. http://www.thecloud.net/content.asp?...=4&content=236

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

A £10/month Hotspot special offer still doesn't compare well with a £12.50/month unlimited 3G/HSDPA connection, IMHO. To be honest, hotspots should be offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, or priced no more than £3-£4/month - it's not as if you would or are even able to use a hotspot 24x7 as you can a 3G connection, so the hotspot pricing should reflect this.

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

Millhouse,
I think the X series on the 3 network is unlimited data, also with 700 mins talk. Although looking at it there is no mention of using the phone as a BT modem, i'm going to a 3 store tomorrow to confuse the staff.

Andrew

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

I've just checked the X-Series T&C's and it specifically states you are not to use your X-Series phone as a modem, so it looks like the X-Series tarrif is the same as T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50/month, no modem usage). Also note that "Unlimited data" is no such thing on X-Series (this isn't unique to X-Series - caps apply on all networks). I admit a 1GB cap is almost certainly enough per month for most people, particularly when no modem use is permitted, but may not be sufficient for laptop/modem usage.

For unlimited (3GB/month) modem use, T-Mobile Web'n'Walk Plus (£12.50) is the best tariff to my knowledge. The T-Mobile tariff also permits you to use any phone of your choice, while the 3 X-Series tariff seems to limit you to a small selection of phones.

In my opinion, T-Mobile Flext25 (18 month contract, £25/month, £60 allowance [10p/text message => 600 messages]) with Web'n'Walk Plus (£12.50/month, 3GB cap) is a better deal than the modem-only, 1GB capped X-Series at £40/month.

:)

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

Just for the info of those reading this, I've been using the basic T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50*) since October 2006, in a bluetooth phone - with both my laptop and my N800 (and 770 before that).

T-mobile haven't complained at all... so I think that if you're sensible with the 3 X-Series you probably won't have issues either.

A final point - someone here said that T-mobile could have better UK coverage than 3. If we're talking specifically 3G data coverage (and not 2G voice) then I've found T-mobile's coverage poor. I suspect that 3 have better coverage when we're talking about 3G data.

* - Note, you also have to pay an additional £7.50 / month for their most basic voice package (known as 'SIM Only') which gives 50 voice minutes, which I don't use at all. So comes to £15.00 / month. If you don't make many calls and can put up with poorer 3G coverage than say Orange or Voda, then I think it is an excellent package - please don't read this is a criticism.

Dave

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

Oh... this package only has a 1 month minimum term, so if T-mobile did tell you to stop using a laptop, then you could just cancel with no lock-in.

I'm interested in the experiences of anybody using a X-series tariff for data on an N800 / laptop, as I'm thinking of switching for improved coverage.

Dave

Re: N800 - UK with "Three" Network 3G Mobile
 

You might be interested in this post from a UK mobile phone forum where the poster is referring to his T-Mobile Web'n'Walk account usage:

So they definately know what you're doing - whether they do anything about it in future is another matter. :)

It strikes me that the network providers may have colluded with the phone manufacturers and a phone connecting for normal data (on-device WAP and Web browsing) connects differently than the same phone when connecting as a modem. Perhaps the phone passes a different configuration code to the network when it connects as a modem, meaning that the networks don't have to mess about monitoring ports, usage levels and protocol signatures etc. to determine if you're abusing your T&Cs.

If I ran a network with two different data plans I'd certainly get the phone to give it's owner away and save me doing the hard work! :)