Advantages: Cheap Tariffs Disadvantages: Bulky Phones, still some improvement needed - though not much
You can forgive consumers for being slightly sceptical of a newcomer to the mobile phone market place. After all, with such trusted giants as Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and O2 all delaying their 3G networks, despite paying gargantuan premiums for the licenses, what could possibly be the advantage of Hutchison Telecom bringing their 3G network to the masses so early.
In fact, with all those recognised brands out there, who was going to put their ... ...UK retail consumers at least, was a complete unknown?
But launch their service Hutchison did, under the auspicious brand name Three. Or “3”, if we want to be pedantic. The parent company's hopes were that, while the big High Street names were umming and ahhing their way towards a 3G service, “3” could steal a march and pick up new 3G customers – and hopefully some loyalty – while the others were trying to figure out if the billions they'd paid for ...
markd_uk 24.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
..."Who are 3?"
Hutchinson 3 were founded in 2002 and are a brand of Hutchinson Whampoa (who are also on the BCUK dirty list for contributions towards the Burmese military for those interested). The main selling point for 3 is that they don't just sell phones, they are selling a product that will allow their customers to access a strong and fast Internet connection and make high quality video calls. They also pride themselves on offering customers ... ...something of a contradiction, but 3 also like to pride themselves on their clear pricing for the service they offer. They believe that many companies have too many hidden charges and have recently joined the cause at cutting call costs to other networks and landlines. It is worth mentioning that 3 have not cut their call charges to help fight towards this campaign, no, they simply suggest you use their Skype service
"The Handsets"
Quite obviously ...
spoilt_little_br 16.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Cheap to join Disadvantages: Quality of service is abysmal
I joined the 3 network in August, taking advantage of the 1p NEC e808 from OneStopPhoneShop (see my other ops for reviews of both). The idea of video calling was tremendously exciting and I was looking forward to trying out the new technology. It seemed like a real leap forward in mobile communication, and something I really wanted to try for myself.
However, three months later, I am now back on Orange, with my NEC e808 passed on to a new owner ... ...access. The handsets on the 3 network offer varying amounts of gadgets and gizmos, from video recording and calling to voice notes to sport, information and entertainment downloads and touch-screen handsets. You can also (again, theoretically) use your 3G phone to find a 'quick map' of a postcode area, or see up to date weather forecasts and news headlines. The service in the UK also has a limited email service.
3G coverage is not that great, and ...
antsss 23.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: That one is a bit of a struggle Disadvantages: It doesn't work, Customer service
...through what I have
Around 3 months ago I obtained an 18 month contract for 3's mobile broadband service. The reasoning being that I would get quick and easy access to the internet.
How wrong I was however the service did not work properly from the very first day. I contacted 3 about this problem and was advised to leave it a couple more days just incase the connection had not been put through. So I waited, but still it did not work.
So I was ... ...received a phone call from 3 in which they informed that there was currently work taking place on my transmitter and that it would be a month until it was finished. Now why was it that they took so long to tell me something that the technical team would have been able to tell me instantly? I'll tell you why I was now one day outside the date for cancellation and now I would need to pay them a £200+ cancellation charge.
Three now refused to allow ...
leel1985 12.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: The phone handset itself was ok. Otherwise nothing. Absolutely nothing Disadvantages: Far too many things! Appalling.
...of friends had been on 3 and both said they had been happy enough with it, and since they had an offer on for a phone we really wanted and the package overall was a good one, we decided to take on an 18 month contract.
~ The contract offered ~
The contract, on paper was good. We were given a brand new Sony Ericsson K850i.
The model features are basically:
5 mega pixel camera.
Bluetooth compatible.
Web Browser.
Java and 3D games
Standard messaging ... ...as: Voice call Charges 3 to UK landline (Flat rate) £0.12 per minute 3 to 3 UK (Flat rate) £0.12 per minute 3 to other UK mobile networks (Flat rate) £0.12 per minute Voicemail (Flat rate) FREE per minute Video Call Charges 3 to 3 UK £0.50 per minute 3 to other UK mobile networks £0.50 per minute Off Peak £0.50 per minute Videomail £0.25 per minute Other Charges UK Text Messages £0.12 UK video messages £0.50
~ How did the service do? ~
Well the ...
runetune 06.02.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Cheap initially Disadvantages: Didnt want to help when things went wrong
I hadn't the 3 mobile network a second thought until I met my partner. I use Virgin personally and am very happy with them considering I bought my phone almost 7 years ago and have never ever had a problem with it or the network coverage. I did consider switching to 3 a year ago when I discovered my partner and I could get very cheap calls to each other, that is until he started having problems with this phone. I forget the exact name and model of ... ...happy with it. After about 3 months though things started to go wrong, the phone would after being charged up for several hours suddenly lose all battery power and switch itself off after only a few minutes, once it happened during a call which was frustrating for him as I'm sure you'll understand. We tried charging the phone again, letting the battery run down, not using it so much etc...but the problem remained. In the end the phone was rendered ...
liz3yy 25.06.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Getting a free pen - it's stylish as well as reliable Disadvantages: Walkie Talkies are much better
...from the advisor in the 3 store was brilliant. He promised the best technology (coverage not a problem because where they haven't got service then O2 will be on hand), a really great phone (Motorola Razr V3X - worth £259.00 apparently!) the best deal you will get on the high street (1000 texts, 600 voice minutes, video calls & £5 free downloads a month all for £15).
An offer we couldnt refuse, so good in fact, we made the mistake of signing up for ... ...great for us to talk to each other and look at each other at the same time!? (Don't ask)
The moment the sales assistant started throwing freebies at us (memory cards, bluetooth headsets, in car chargers not to mention the '£30 recommend a friend goodwill gestures' left, right and centre) we should have realised something wasn't quite right. He really couldn't wait for us to sign on the dotted line and make a quick exit from the store with our little ...
spinks27 26.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: the phones are nice looking Disadvantages: you name it, with 3 mobile its rubbish
...a HUGE mistake going with 3 mobile!.
If I could turn back time, id slap myself silly for even considering 3 mobile.
Shall I start at the beginning??...ok then.
The first day I got my mobile, oh my I was excited the brand new INQ1 and at a real good price £35 a month unlimited internet access 750 minutes, 600 free texts ok not as good as my price plan with T mobile, but it was worth it having the unlimited internet, plus i dont really call or text ... ...off, now this is where 3 mobile come in!.
I call them up, im in line for about 10 minutes (i gave them a good rating for line waiting, because since then its been a pretty fast answer service)
the first thing that annoyed me is none of the customer service people have english as a first language! i have no issue with that, but when your explaining what you mean when you say "my phone isnt working" it starts getting on your nerves! they eventually ...
pyroarcher 13.03.2009
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Advantages: Cheap cross network calls Disadvantages: Customer service
...were also on offer and 3 were the first 3G network launched in the UK.
Unfortunately, i soon discovered that carrying a brick that needed charging every single day and numerous dropped calls was too much of a price to pay. I also decided that 30 days for a top-up validity period and the dodgy claim that you could top up in the normal places was totally rubbish.
The phone soon ended up languishing in a corner never getting used. Fortunately, things ... ...is plenty to like about 3 now.
The first thing to note is the difference on 3-pay between types of top-up. If you take what they class as a bundle, such as a £25-500 minute bundle, then this will only last for 30 days before expiry.
On the other hand, they have what are call all cash top-ups and these come in £10/15/20 values. These can be used on any of 3's services such as calls, texts, music, video messages etc and these type of top-ups have ...
salva_nos 01.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Phone prices amazing, location tool useful, inclusive insurance Disadvantages: Customer service can be appalling, network a little shaky.
3 is the newest mobile network to the UK, and the first of the third-generation networks. Despite a slightly shaky start, it seems that 3 (or, at least, 3G networks) are well on the way to being the future of mobile communications. In this opinion, I'm going to describe the network and the services (and, of course, the customer service!), and I'll attempt to compare to what's out there at the moment.
3's network, whilst it only covers 50% of the ... ...the third of March (03/03/03), 3 initially had a few problems with coverage: whilst the phones automatically switch between 2G and 3G, this is not always seamless when you are in a call. Coverage is ever improving, and I have not had any more calls drop on me than I used to with O2.
The tariffs that 3 offer at first seem a little expensive: Kit offers 1000 any network minutes per month, along with a package of text, multimedia and video messages ...
kurowski 01.06.2003
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Advantages: i cant do it .... i can not lie ..... is there any ?... sorry no. Disadvantages: you contract ends when they want it to. customer service shockingly bad.
...… I called 3 customer services and asked why my line rental had just doubled, I was informed that the package I signed up for was only for 6months and the remaining term of my 18month contract will be charged at normal rate. So I discussed with the gentleman about changing my package to a slightly cheaper one. No problem this was changed. Month 8 of my contract I dropped my mobile , okay I know more care should have been taken , however I did not ... ...phone, due to it being 3 , unless I took out another contract to run alongside my other 2 contracts I would have to buy a pay as you go phone and place my sim card in that phone … simple Wrong , argos - no phones on 3 payg, currys- no phones on payg, phones4u - nope car phone warehouse - no, At this point we have two choices, eBay or 3 mobile website , we opted for ebay and my phone arrived 2 days later a nokia 6280 perfect.
Month 9 of my contract ...
abbi2006 01.07.2007 (11.12.2007)
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Advantages: The auto-install works well under both Vista and Linux Disadvantages: The dongle, poor connection, relatively expensive
...== I've been with 3 Mobile Broadband for about eight months now as my only available internet connection, and I have to say, it dissapoints on many levels. === Firstly the package === Considering mobile broadband costs more than a comparable landline/cable connection, you'd think you'd get what you pay for. Not so. For around £100 you get a 12 month max term, 2.7Mb connection, with 12gb of download capacity. Now that's 2.7Mb on a good day, with a ... ...around the end on June, 3 decided to 'upgrade' their network in my area. For the following 2 weeks or so I noticed no discernable changes to the service. However, since then I'm not so sure if the dongle is on its way out, or if the 'no network' and general connection/speed issues are part of a progressivley worsening problem with the network itself due to the so called upgrades. I had also considered that some of my problems were due to the dongle ...
p.milbanke 02.08.2009
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Advantages: The prices aren't too bad, but given the service, i'm not surprised they are cheap! Disadvantages: the network as a whole, customer support, communication is dreadful
...and match minutes, plus 300 3 to 3 calls, and on top of that we signed up to Three broadband at £5.99 p/month. For the first few weeks we didn’t experience any “major” problems, the only obvious fact being that we never seemed to get 4 full bars of reception anywhere we went. This, therefore, was the start of what has turned out to be a major nightmare for us. Starting with the internet, Three had prided themselves on the quality of their internet ... ...previous week! She spoke to 3 different people in order to get this rectified, culminating in me having to phone back myself and being put on hold for over 30 minutes in order to confirm who she was. This was something I had done the previous week. Where was the communication I thought?
As time passed, the problems got worse, my fiancée decided to go directly into a Three store in order to complain. This was at the time we were receiving these phamtom ...
sjrichardson 12.10.2009 (13.10.2009)
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...Introducing... the new generation 3 Network. I currently own a Motorola A920 (yeah, it is a brick but it is funky!) with this new network, and have been using it since its introduction to the world late last year. Therefore, I've thoroughly tested the product out lol!
3 services have teamed together with various companies to introduce the latest video technology with appropriate handsets such as my hefty Motorola! But, to be fair, they have reduced ... ...a pay as you go). 3 offers cheap packages through the contracts which range from £15 to £100 per month. Furthermore, the minutes you get free accordingly are non discriminatory, thus are cross-networkable, anytime with no minimum charge. For me, this is superb as it means once you sign up to the contract, you choose which is most suited for you, and apart from the fixed cost per month you rarely need to pay anymore such is the extent of the free ...
ChrisCooper 19.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Value for money, new 3G tech, simple pricing, no peak or x-net premiums Disadvantages: Not full UK 3G coverage as yet
As the company behind 3 successfully launched Orange in 1994 (which was later sold to France Telecom), I was optimistic when it came to choosing 3 as a new service provider.
Having spent 5 years with Orange on Everyday 50, I came to the end of my 4th contract at the beginning of January and was given the choice of only 2 mobiles to upgrade to (none of which were remarkably better than the one I had!). This, coupled with abismal customer service ... ...cash.
A friend recommended 3 to me and so far, I am glad I have changed. Reception is excellent - I live in Scarborough (not a very big place, if you've never been!) and consistently get full signal or 3 out of 4 bars, and the online service (both mobile and conventional websites) is easily accessible, colourful and clear, with a lot of attention paid to multimedia design principles (the 'rules' of electronic information display/manipulation). Online ...
A_Fair_Ham 28.01.2005
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