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In a move said to be supporting the “Make do and Mend” movement, 3UK have announced that they are now selling refurbished handsets, which currently includes the Skypephone S2, the White Skypephone, and the LG KF310, although this list will vary as stock changes over time.
If you are interested, head to the 3UK Refurbished Handsets page on the 3UK website.
It’s been a busy few days. Firstly, Nimbuzz announced a fairly major upgrade within their client such that they now have much better twitter support within their application (shown above). The full feature list for this new version includes:
Also, NokiAAddict wrote a handy guide to setting up and configuring the Nimbuzz client to support a SIP VOIP account, which may be useful for those trying Nimbuzz for the first time, but want the additional benefit of standard SIP support, and as NokiAAddict are UK based, the guide shows using a UK VOIP provider. See here for their article.
Then, Skype announced the launch of their Symbian client entering Beta for a select range of handsets (S60 3rd Edition FP1 and FP2, but no S60 5th Edition touch devices at this stage). This includes:
Now, remember that this Skype client uses the 3G / WiFi connection to actually make the call, Skype are recommending users have an unlimited data contract, and of course, for 3UK users, you will still be better using the slightly more limited Skype for 3 application, as this uses the 3G voice infrastructure for the call, and doesn’t come out of your data allowance. More information can be found here and the user guide can be found here.
Finally, Truphone have just announced a major design update to their iPhone application. This new version includes:
What’s certainly clear is that all these 3 companies are innovating in the mobile space, and offering their customers alternatives to traditional mobile calling plans.
Just a quick heads up; the INQ Chat 3G has gone on sale with 3UK today in both their Stores and on the 3UK website. It retails at £99.99 on PAYG or is available from £15 per month (18-month contract), and nicely it seems that 3UK are including internet on that tariff. Head to the 3Store today to purchase.
A while back, we covered 3UK’s plans to update their network in London, which would result in small interruptions to their service as they replace equipment necessary to allow them to proceed with their major infrastructure merger with T-Mobile next year (allowing both networks to share the same infrastructure for the benefit of all customers). Well, 3UK have just announced some wider plans in the South (in a variety of locations from Torquay to Ipswich, and from Milton Keynes to Folkestone). If you want more information on the areas affected, when they will be affected, and the ability to sign up to receive text alerts (to 3UK or non-3UK mobile numbers) then head here for more information.
Thanks to 3mobilebuzz for letting me know about this new information.
Let’s start with the first issue; actually, it’s not called a MiFi in the UK, it’s called the Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot 2352, as 3UK own the trademark MiFi in the UK (although Novatel Wireless own the MiFi trademark in the US). So, the device competes with the 3UK MiFi device, and in some ways is better, and in others, not quite as good.
Firstly, the downside: it is currently only available SIM-free (for around £200), which is a lot more than the 3UK MiFi, which can be picked up for £50. Of course, the 3UK is locked to 3UK, and only works on 3UK, whereas the Novatel MiFi is not locked, and will pick up the internet access point from whatever SIM is put into it, making it more suitable for anyone looking to use a network other than 3UK.
In terms of ease of use, it has one advantage over the 3UK MiFi; when you turn it on (by pressing and holding the power button) that’s it; it sorts everything out, and “just works”, whereas the 3UK unit needs you to then press and hold the 3G button as a second step. The Novatel device also gives you access to the microSD card slot via the web interface, whereas the 3UK device only allows access to the card slot via the USB cable.
There are other minor differences; eg the 3UK device comes with the wireless encryption key under the battery inside the unit, but also on a piece of card to allow easy setup, whereas the Novatel only has the code attached to the inside of the battery cover. This, at first glance, seems better, as it allows the device to remain powered whilst you connect a new device, but I discovered that every time I took the battery cover, my natural instinct was to turn the unit back the right way up (to allow you to see the status lights to see whether the new device had connected), and the battery would loosen enough to switch the unit off. A minor point, and obviously once everything is setup, not a problem in real usage.
Another minor difference is that the Novatel device will work on 2G as well as 3G; whereas 3UK only offer a 3G-only Mobile Broadband service (although their handsets can roam onto Orange’s 2G network, their broadband devices can’t), and although I wouldn’t want to share a 2G connection to multiple devices, a slow connection may be better than no connection…
I’ll be continuing to trial the device for a little while, but at first glances it looks a nice unit, although everyone I speak to says the 3UK MiFi has one of the best 3G radio components available today, so it will be interesting to see how the Novatel device works under the same conditions that I tried the 3UK MiFi under…
I met up with James Body of Truphone last night, and had a nice long chat about where Truphone and other companies are going in the next few months. However, the exciting solution is the Truphone Local Anywhere solution, that I’ve talked about before, should launch early next year. Because Truphone are supplying the SIM which talks to their infrastructure backend, it allows them to provide some nice features you won’t see on other solutions…
When they launch, they will have support for UK and US, but not just will you be able to roam to the US at nice low rates, but on that single SIM, Truphone are able to provision you both a UK phone number and a US phone number (in fact, they will over time be able to provide multiple different country phone numbers on that single SIM). This is the cool bit; irrespective of where you are located, the SIM will work the same way…
Basically, the person you call doesn’t need to know you are roaming, doesn’t need to know which country you are in, and can also reach you on what is (to them) a local number. Because your outbound call is being routed through Truphone, the call cost to you is lower than normal roaming rates too.
The benefits of this are items such as:
This is powerful. For those regular international travellers or even international businessmen, this is a well designed solution. As we mentioned earlier this year when we first covered Truphone Local Anywhere, data will also be available as part of this solution.
James was sporting (amongst many other handsets) an iPod Touch and a 3UK MiFi (which are being bundled together by 3UK; see here), and was having no problems with utilising the iPod Touch for VOIP calls over 3UK’s network. In fact, a solution like Truphone on an iPod Touch, or Skype on an INQ Mini 3G may well suit many families to allow easy and cheap communications between everyone without needing lengthy phone contracts (calls to other Truphone users, like Skype, are free of call costs).
As Truphone have pointed out here, using an iPod Touch over WiFi with the 3UK MiFi allows apps such as Truphone and BBC iPlayer to work as the iPod Touch sees a WiFi connection and is not aware that the traffic will then pass onto a 3G network. The same trick can be used with the iPhone as well, of course.
Thanks to James to taking time to talk through this and many other matters last night, and here at UK Gadgeteer we look forward to some of the other Truphone developments during 2010.
Update: When first published, this story had a number of technical inaccuracies which have now been addressed; apologies and thanks to Truphone for the corrections. For more information on Truphone Local Anywhere, head to the Truphone website, or look at this PDF presentation giving the details of the new service.
giffgaff is a new virtual mobile phone network operator, sitting on the O2 network (in fact the company is actually part of O2), but with an innovative business model, and hence tariff. Firstly, no call centres (some will celebrate this single point), in fact they have very few staff at all, and will be relying upon other customers to help in the online forums (the main route to support). When an existing member is thanked within the forum, they will earn kudos, which adds up, along with many other things into giffgaff points, which add up to hard cash (or at least credit).
However, as well as keeping costs down, they are keeping the tariff simple, and encouraging individuals to recruit their friends and family onto the same tariff…
That’s the general stuff out of the way, now let’s look at the two exciting bits…
Wow, it’s really good to see a network returning to the Orange / T-Mobile ways of many many years ago and providing freefone numbers for free.
The reason for free data is partly to gauge the interest in the service, partly to allow them further discussion on what pricing to set.
If you want a SIM, head over to the giffgaff website and order one, and let us know how you get on!
Some content courtesy of Dan at The Really Mobile Project.
When we reviewed the 3UK Mobile Wi-Fi unit (MiFi) here, we said it allowed devices such as the iPod Touch to gain extra facilities by being connected to the Internet whilst mobile. Well, it looks like 3UK agreed, as they have just announced a bundle deal whereby you can get a 3UK MiFi on a 24 month contract for £23 per month, but for that, as well as the 5GB of data each month, you’ll also get an iPod Touch.
Now, the MiFi would normally be £17 per month (18 month contract), so ignoring the extra tie in period, it’s an extra £6 per month for 24 months, which is, to be fair, £144, so although the exact spec of the iPod Touch hasn’t been announced yet, it’s not an unreasonable sum for the device (it’s certainly not massively overcharging for the device).
Details should appear on the 3Store at some point next week, but maybe this might be worth it as a Christmas present for someone special…?
Update: This deal is now available in the 3Store, and features an iPod Touch 8GB along with the 3 MiFi and 5GB of data per month (24 month contract). It even throws in 80 free text messages per month, although I’m unsure how these can be used from the iPod Touch…
Firstly, in a move we are fully supportive of, Vodafone has announced that as of 1st December, all marketing must refer to their mobile internet service as “500MB of mobile internet data”, and will no longer use the wording “unlimited mobile internet”. This is a very positive step, and we welcome the change, and hope this drives all other UK networks to adopt the same attitude. Here at UK Gadgeteer we’ve been careful to lay out the true figures for some time, but it’s nice to see the change being applied across all marketing activities.
Of course, given that competitors such as 3UK offer 1GB for the same money (or less), it would be nice to see their offering increase, but at least they are starting to offer a level playing field and allow the consumer to be able to choose their level of service knowing exactly what they are buying.
However, in an equally positive move, Vodafone UK is making their mobile internet service completely free tomorrow (Friday 27th November 2009); this is only from mobile handsets, but whether you have a PAYG or Pay Monthly contract, you can surf the internet directly from the phone, and it won’t cost a penny. Equally, if you already pay for mobile internet on your phone, then any usage tomorrow will not eat into your data allowance.
Interestingly, we note it’s exactly three months since Vodafone last offered mobile internet free on a Friday; we can only hope that Vodafone find their network is able to cope, and can open up free / inclusive mobile internet to even more people as standard.
Well done to Vodafone!
3UK last week improved their 3UK SIM only offer; if you select the £15 per month option (remember the 3UK SIM Only contracts are rolling 1 month contracts), then you will now get “unlimited” 1GB of Internet Access thrown in as part of the deal.
On top of that, 3UK also provide “unlimited” 3000 texts, Free Skype (via their Skype Free Calls Forever promotion), 300 cross-network minutes to landlines and mobiles, and “unlimited” 2000 3UK-3UK minutes, along with Windows Live Messenger and free voicemail.
The 3UK SIM Only deal now looks even better value for money, although you do need an unlocked 3G capable handset to use it on 3UK.
Well, I’ve had an INQ Mini 3G (courtesy of 3mobilebuzz) for a couple of weeks now, and overall, I’ve been quietly impressed by the phone. From the automatic importing of Facebook and Skype contacts into the Contacts list, to the fact the phone has support for these Social Networking sites, and Twitter support, and all for less than £50!
Now, let’s be honest, I’m used to smartphones, and there are a number of little things that annoy me with the device; the start up sound can’t be cancelled by pressing a key (as per Nokia devices), and the whole menu system is a little bright and colourful for my taste (and with no theme support, no opportunity to change it either), but these are minor niggles, and certainly don’t detract from the phone.
Supporting Social Networking sites directly in the device, combined with the standard 3UK support of Windows Live Messenger makes this a well supported device, and well worth a look. I liked the fact the homepage supports 3 widgets (I used weather, world clock and an RSS feed of the BBC website, all options built into the phone), although I have heard some people warn there may be a memory leak, as I’ve heard of people needing to reboot the phone after a long time turned on with widgets in use. That’s a key issue to me; I rarely turn my phone off, so long term stability is key, and it maybe that a firmware / application update is needed to resolve these issues; hopefully they will be addressed before the INQ Chat ships.
The phone also shipped with Google Mail and Google Maps (v2.3.2; nice!), which was useful for people like me who use Google a lot, and the phone can be used with GooSync to sync data from the likes of Google Calendar too. Personally, I found the calendar a bit simple when entering new entries, but I suspect most people will use the phone linked to Google or Outlook, and not enter directly onto the device (again, I’ve been spoilt by smartphones offering a decent Calendar app). In fact, the only thing missing is the Last.fm scrobbling support that the INQ1 had, and it’s still not clear why INQ dropped this function, especially with the likes of Last.fm and Spotify moving more into the mobile space…
Again, a personal point, but it uses miniUSB (not the end of the world, although many manufacturers are moving to microUSB), which is used for both the headphones and charging. With Bluetooth support for a headset in the car, this isn’t the end of the world, but I’m not a fan of the combined port; let’s hope when INQ move to Android next year we’ll see a dedicated headphone socket on their devices. Whilst I’m looking at the hardware, I wasn’t a big fan of the way the rear cover clipped on (it did have a release button at the top, which makes it better than the Sony Ericsson T715 I reviewed here), but only just, and I couldn’t find any sight of the other 6 coloured interchangeable backs on the 3Store, so right now you’ll be stuck with the red back).
Let’s be honest, for the price and based on the software on this device; if you are not in the market for a smartphone but want connectivity options to keep upto date with your Social Networking sites, then the INQ Mini 3G should be high on your list of options, if not at the top. Here at UK Gadgeteer, I’ve covered a number of hints and tips over the last few weeks, and INQ Mobile should be congratulated for providing online support, and being willing to engage with their customers.
When the INQ Chat arrives with the QWERTY keyboard, and GPS, it’ll be interesting to see whether INQ can still compete in the mid-tier marketplace against devices like the Nokia E63…
Oh, and finally, a small point, but having performed a master reset of the device to return it, the phone still had all the contacts on it, plus the sign-in details for Skype, so if you ever decide to sell your INQ Mini 3G, be careful about removing all your personal data as well as performing a master reset.
If you’ve got an INQ Mini 3G, then point the browser to the new INQ Hub at http://hub.inqmobile.com/inqhub/hub/opco/3uk and save it as a bookmark. It allows easy access to many features, including the user guide, FAQ and troubleshooting information, but also provides access to any application upgrades, as well as to a 3UK specific GetJar application website for access to additional applications to download (some chargeable).
This is a good feature, and it’s little things like this that makes us fans of the INQ Mini 3G…
With thanks to INQ Mobile themselves, who providing this information to us.
At the start of this week, 3UK implemented traffic shaping on their mobile network. What this does, in simplistic terms, is prioritise certain data over less welcome traffic. Although they initially announced it would cover video streaming and P2P File Sharing data, 3UK have now relented, and it only covers P2P File Sharing data. So, if you are using a 3G connection to download data over a peer-to-peer network (even legitimate files like new Linux OS images) then you may be receiving slower data speeds than before.
The exact details of the bandwidth limits that have been put in place are not known, but this will hopefully ensure there is more bandwidth available to share out evenly amongst all customers.
For information, the video streaming limit was planned to limit each device to be only able to download 1 video stream at a time, although this was not implemented.
Although 3UK have always promoted their internet connection as unrestricted (and, given these types of traffic are still allowed, technically it still is), it will be interesting to see if this deals with the congestion that has been seen in certain areas of the country. Of course, whilst implementing this, they are continuing to roll out their network changes (see here for information on the London outages); 3UK have confirmed that the London outages are for elder equipment to be swapped out for newer equipment in preparation for the merging of their network with T-Mobile which should happen during 2010, and give both companies access to even greater coverage and provide users with more bandwidth across the whole country.
Last night I was privileged to be invited to a small, cosy location in London 2 floors underground to discuss with LG some of their new phones recently released, and about to be released.
John Barton, the UK Sales & Marketing Manager, spoke candidly about the LG range, and there’s a summary of the devices that were discussed after the break…
Following on from our previous INQ Mini Tip (here); here’s another Tip, which has existed for some time, but it’s nice to hear from INQ exactly how the function works. To set the scene, INQ devices don’t support Over-The-Air (OTA) firmware updates (to update the whole phone), but they do support OTA Application updates, allowing INQ to roll out fixes / new features into some of the applications on the device, even if the whole firmware can’t be user updated.
The main apps that support updates are Skype, Facebook and Twitter, and these are the main apps where new features or changes may be required over time. INQ, via their Get Satisfaction support website, stated the following:
“Application updates are made available from time to time, when new features or improvements are made. When they become available, you will see a notification when you try to log in to the app on your handset. The ‘upgrade check’ happens each time you use an application – if there’s a newer version on our server, your handset will tell you; if not, it’ll simply log you in to the version on your handset.”
It’s nice to know it’s this easy to get updates. As you may remember, the INQ1 had a number of updates delivered this way after a few months of release. We should also add that INQ also stated they update their manufacturing build with these new updates, so a brand new phone may not need updates when taken out of the box. It was also confirmed that at this stage, there have not yet been any updates for the UK INQ Mini 3G.
We’ve spoken with 3UK, and we now have a better understanding of how the Spotify Premium service will operate on the HTC Hero that we covered last week. Firstly, if you are streaming the music direct from Spotify over the 3G connection, then yes that data will come out of the Internet Access usage, which is capped at 1GB per month, although we do understand there’s a little leeway on this exact figure, so 3UK shouldn’t cut you off for exceeded it a little (they will if you exceed it a lot though!). Although 3UK did tell me what that actual limit is, the T&Cs and the promoted set the limit as 1GB, and that’s the number you need to keep within as much as you can.
However, one of the advantages of having a Spotify Premium account and the Spotify Android client is the ability to access music in other ways. Firstly, it will also work over Wi-Fi and home / work broadband connections, allowing you the ability to listen to music in those places as well as home. Secondly, the client support offline playlists, which will allow you to preselect music and then have access to it without needing to be streaming all that music whilst out and about. Personally, I normally preselect playlists when I want to listen to music on whatever device I’m using, so I can understand the advantage that as well as having access to a massive music library, many of those tracks that I want to listen to regularly can be already downloaded.
Having said that, it’s being advertised as “unlimited” Internet access, and unlimited Spotify, which isn’t quite true. 3UK have stated that if you just used the Internet Access for Spotify you would still get roughly 1.5 hours per day of streamed music for the whole month without running out of data usage, and that would easily cover the work commute for many people even without the use of offline playlists. Of course, every track already downloaded will save some data usage (and will help deal with those little network blackspots such as road and rail tunnels or underground trains), so many people may well end up using a lot less than this in reality. Given, that in essence you “pay” (if only a portion of your internet access limit) every time you listen to a streamed song, why not download those you want to listen to regularly and save a little?
Let’s also not forget that Orange’s T&Cs forbid accessing streaming music or video at all (although they have stated “popular streaming sites will not be banned for iPhone users”, but will of course still come out of their smaller 750MB 3G data limit per month); at least 3UK have an open policy towards their internet pipe in the first place, else a deal like this with Spotify would never exist.
Although I would like to see 3UK raise this Internet Access limit higher, it seems they are offering a compromise between too much and too little; although whether all networks will need to reconsider their limits over the next year will be interesting to see as more music streaming promotions such as Spotify are offered to mobile users.
3UK have now launched the HTC Hero, on one of two price plans. As we predicted, both come with Internet Access included as a matter of course, which is a good start, and the details are as follows:
It seems obvious which makes more sense for music lovers 
However, as always, the small print is the issue; we’re still waiting to hear from 3UK whether the Spotify Premium service comes out of the 1GB per month Internet access, or whether, like Skype on 3, it is exempt from counting towards that quota. If it’s included, it’s still a fantastic deal, but will be more useful to provide Wi-Fi access to Spotify, and for use with their offline playlist support than for actually streaming the music constantly over the 3UK network.
We should also point out that as it’s the Internet Texter tariff, voicemail access is not free (10p per minute, although it appears to use up inclusive minutes first).
If you want more information on the HTC Hero, head over to the 3Store website now.
T-Mobile have just announced that as from now, if a Pay As You Go (PAYG) user tops up with £10 of credit per month, as well as getting “unlimited” texts for life (or until they change the T&Cs again), users will now also get “unlimited” internet access. This has been launched with statements like “customers only need to top up £10 a month to use the internet as much as they like, and it doesn’t eat in to their credit” and “enjoy unlimited free access to the mobile internet for life”.
Unfortunately, you then get the small print, hidden away, without asterisks, without warning, which says:
“A fair usage policy of 40 MB per day will apply to the unlimited internet offer. To get unlimited free internet and texts for life, customers need to join T-Mobile by 31st January 2010. In order to keep receiving free texts and internet for life, customers need to top up just £10 each month.”
So, that’s very different then. You only get 40MB per day, and you need to join T-Mobile within the next couple of months (fair enough), and they have re-iterated the requirement to regularly topup (again, fair enough). However, here at UK Gadgeteer we are not happy about the actual service on offer…
Is this 40MB even more limited? T-Mobile state it’s only for accessing “the mobile internet”, so is accessing using applications ok? Is streaming music or video okay? They also quote it’s suitable for the new T-Mobile Pulse (an Android device, shown above) including “pre-loaded Google services”; I wonder as the Pulse has Google’s YouTube support pre-loaded, what would happen if a user went over the limit watching YouTube videos, which would seem inline with the marketing material…
The key point here is that although we fully support the provision of internet access automatically with PAYG TopUps (3UK give you 150Mb with every TopUp that lasts upto 90 days), at least others (such as 3UK) are honest about the limit and don’t hide it in the small print; if unlimited means 40Mb per day, then just be man enough to say that; after all 40MB a day is still a lot of data, but not enough to allow someone to “use the internet as much as they like”…
Ironically, in the two Press Releases we’ve seen talking about the “unlimited” texts, neither mentioned a fair use limit of any sort about the texts, so maybe, just maybe, that actually is truely unlimited (please don’t rely upon a lack of limit in a press release before using this service!)
Having released the main technical specs for this device a while ago, there’s been little news since then on the INQ Chat 3G, although as it shares a lot of common code with the INQ Mini 3G, we can at least see how it should perform by looking at this unit.
However, little bits of additional information are starting to be released by INQ…
The device is pretty much ready (from the manufacturer’s point of view), so we should see it being released on 3UK soon. We suspect it’ll either be in the December catalogue, or the January 2010 Catalogue, ready for the New Year Sales, but we’ll let you know once we hear an exact date.
Whilst we continue to trial the INQ Mini 3G, we notice that the price has come down from £59.99 to £49.99, making this device even more good value for those looking for access to Social Networking sites (Twitter, Facebook) yet also supporting 3UK’s features such as Skype and Windows Live Messenger (both of which are free, even if you run out of credit). Plus, even at £49.99 the price includes a £10 TopUp!
We also note the 3UK MiFi device has been reduced in price too, if you are interested in that.