Mobile internet...interesting (Vodafone Mobile Connect USB-Stick)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Vodafone Mobile Connect USB-Stick
Date:	04/12/08 (417 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Internet wherever you like

Disadvantages: Equipment could be better, signal dependent

My shared house doesn't have an Internet connection, and so after talking to the IT people at work and thinking through various options, I decided to go for mobile broadband.

At first I thought this was Internet on my mobile phone, which sounded like a terrible idea, but I found out it was actually a USB stick that slots into my laptop so I can have Internet on the move, anywhere I like (theoretically). Of course this depends on signal. I won't talk about the broadband itself much more as it's not that I'm reviewing - just say that my package gives me 3GB a month for £15 - the USB stick I have is the standard one which is free.

My Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Stick isn't like the one pictured - it's white and slightly chunkier. It also has a light inside it that lights up blue when it's working, red when it's disconnected, and also flashes greeny yellow when it's loading.

Because of the width of the USB stick, it's pretty much impossible to use the USB port next to it. I could probably if I shifted the stick slightly, but it moves very easily and I don't want to break the connection or the stick.

The stick itself has an opening for an SD card (don't know why?), and an almost invisible mini slot that you put the provided sim card into.

The installation was pretty simple - just do as it says on screen after you've inserted the CD and it takes a few minutes.

Once it's installed and you've restarted your computer, you can connect to the internet by double clicking the program icon on your desktop or in your taskbar. Also, you can wait for it to find the connection or click 'connect' yourself. It does take a few seconds to connect.

The program itself has a few options like VPN settings, options, and an estimate of usage. It does say to check your bill for accurate costs, which is good because it is often very out. After I'd had it a few days it said I'd been on the internet for 140 hours (!) The time and MB usage seems to go up and down crazily, but I can work out roughly what I've used now I'm more used to it. It does seem good value for money though as I'm online every evening and the past few weekends and I've only used about 1 GB in nearly a month. I do however mainly use it for games and browsing, not downloads.

I've tried this on my old Sony Vaio running Windows XP and with practically no space or ram and it works fine, even letting me play online games like Catan with no problems. My newer Samsung laptop with Vista will let me use the Internet easily but doesn't like to load Catan properly (it will do with normal wireless). I also haven't been able to use FTP successfully yet but I'm still working on that as I think it might be a setting my end.

Word of warning though - if you can't get signal it's terrible. I did check online before I signed up and they said they had good 3G coverage in my area, but someone I work with says his connection is terrible and very slow. He only lives about a mile down the road, so I was quite lucky. Also, one of my housemates has it so I figured it'd be okay. Unfortunately though there's no way to trial it before you get stuck into a contract.

Advantages

No need to pay for landline and internet at your residence - good if you need internet wherever you are, in a shared house, or one person alone (wouldn't really work for a family).

Good if you move around a lot as you can take your internet with you rather than being tied into a contract.

Easy install

Disadvantages

USB lid doesn't fit on the end of the stick when in use which is really annoying

Blocks USB ports next to it

Not incredibly strong; easy to wiggle accidentally

If you're unlucky and get bad signal you're stuck because the contracts are 18 months upwards.

If you buy online with Vodafone, or even in some stores, you can get a free laptop with the £25/month contract, but I think minimum is 24 months.

Summary: Useful to some, not so much to others!

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