... The First purchase i made it from a Vodafone shop in Hounslow High Street, and the process was simple, they had to do the credit checks etc. and once that was through, the deal was finalized and invoiced. The Offer was, that i get the 3G data Card free when i went in for the Unlimited Plan ... Read review
Advantages: Mobile Internet access wherever you go.. Disadvantages: Good rate only when connected to 3G
...i made it from a Vodafone shop in Hounslow High Street, and the process was simple, they had to do the credit checks etc. and once that was through, the deal was finalized and invoiced. The Offer was, that i get the 3G data Card free when i went in for the Unlimited Plan which is 49 GBP a month. Thereby i save 49GBP (cost of the card). There are other price plans and limits, but i chose to go in for this specific one. The Offers and price keep varying, ... ...and you can see the Vodafone WLAN icon on the taskbar running.
Usage
When you click on the mobile connect icon, the options which are available on this menu when you click the mobileconnet are
Mobile - This is the icon which i click to link to the internet
WLAN - i am not sure of this and this is greyed out when i am connected
Email - to send and receive email more
Background for the purchase
I happened to buy this Mobile 3G data Card for internet access since i had to have internet connection whenever i go to the client's place. Its difficult to get internet connection nowadays since most of the clients have their own secure wireless networks and we do not have access to their wierless networks when we are using our laptops.
Purchase process.
I had to purchase two cards, one for myself and another one for my colleague. The First purchase i made it from a Vodafone shop in Hounslow High Street, and the process was simple, they had to do the credit checks etc. and once that was through, the deal was finalized and invoiced. The Offer was, that i get the 3G data Card free when i went in for the Unlimited Plan which is 49 GBP a month. Thereby i save 49GBP (cost of the card). There are other price plans and limits, but i chose to go in for this specific one. The Offers and price keep varying, you can check the website http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/index.cfm?go=dataproducts.mobileconnect for the latest offers.
The Second card was purchased a couple of days later from the Waterloo Station Carphone Warehouse and the same process and the plan was also the same.
Installation process.
The Installation CD which is given alongwith the 3G Data Card is quite simple and easy to install and you can see the Vodafone WLAN icon on the taskbar running.
Usage
When you click on the mobile connect icon, the options which are available on this menu when you click the mobileconnet are
Mobile - This is the icon which i click to link to the internet
WLAN - i am not sure of this and this is greyed out when i am connected
Email - to send and receive email
SMS - this allows you to send and receive SMS
Web - This opens a Web browser
Usage - This allows you to monitor your internet usage. This gives you the details of the Period , Data Transferred, Data limits, Details of the Current Session etc.,
Find Hotspots - If you know your location - perhaps your destination, or the hotel where you are staying - you can look up the address of the nearest WLAN hotspot.
Support - For more information and help on how to use the Mobile Connect and trouble shooting etc.,
This Card is very easy to use and it has to be put in the same slot where you normally put in your Wireless Card. The company claims that you get speeds up to 1.4Mbps. I have not seen it reach that limit, its 25 kbps. I have not had any problems in loading pages etc., it loads up pretty fast and definitely not time consuming as compared to a dial up connection.
Its a real broadband connection speed.
Benefits & Coverage
You dont have to worry about finding hotspots etc., you have the broadband on the move. To be honest i have not tried this underground in the tubes. I defintely think it will not work there.
Mostly it gets the 3G connection, if there is a drop it will switch over to the GPRS connection and you will not know the change, but the speed will be slow when it is on GPRS connection.
I have been using this for the last 45 days and i am always connected on the move.
Customer Service
I had problems with cards. Whenever i was connected through that card, my system used to crash randomly. I thought it was a microsoft problem. I logged a call with them, and they went through all the checking and setting and also helped me go through with this with the HP (my laptop is a HP model). Finally it was diagnoised that there was no problem with the Laptop or Microsoft and they suggested that i contact Vodafone itself.
When i called the Customer Service, they were busy and they said that the technical team will give me a call back within 24 hours. I did not receive a call in 24 hours so i had to call them back again and explain them all the process which we had gone through with Microsoft and HP. They finally told me that i have to go back to Carphone Warehouse and get it exchanged. When i went to the Carphone Warehouse, they informed me that they are no longer dealing with Vodafone !!!! and that i have to go back to Vodafone itself.
Now i come back again and call Vodafone and tell them what happened, they again tell me to go to a nearby Vodafone Store. I have gone to the local Vodafone store and got a reply that they cannot do the exchange, that i have to go back to Carphone Warehouse. (Inspite of explaining all the prior conversation with the customer service).
For the Card which i purchased from the Vodafone store, i have it exchanged successfully, but for the 3G DataCard which i have purchased it through Carphone Warehouse @:@:L!"£$!""!
So now i am still fighting to get a replacement for the faulty Vodafone 3G Data Card which i purchase through Carphone Warehouse !!!!!!!!!!!
If anyone of you know how to address this in a better way and find a resolution, please let me know.
Conclusion :
The Broadband on the move is a blessing for people who are on the move and can afford it. I would advise this if this is being used for business purpose and for those who are always on the move.
Apart from my bad experience, which has to do with the faulty Card, I would advise people if they are planning to go for this one, to go and get this from a Vodafone store itself and not from any other sources, to avoid the kind of bad experience which i am having.
For more information check this link http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/index.cfm?go=dataproducts.mobileconnect
The Customer Services numbers in the UK 08700 700 191 Opening hours - lines are open 24 hours
Advantages: Quick delivery, ease of installation, ease of use. Disadvantages: Limited 3G coverage, fragile external aerial socket, temperamental software
...it broke off! Vodafone were NOT very helpful on the matter at all and said as it was an aftermarket antenna that it was the antenna that had caused the problem. How when the antenna was only being connected and disconnected is beyond me.
*Adult verification needs to be carried out to access certain websites like MySpace!! I think it should be censored if the user asks for it, not uncensored when the user asks.
*Software can be very temperamental ... ...the following issues.
1. Starting on startup of machine and then crashing for no reason
2. No real integration into the Windows environment.
3. Occasionally will show NO connection details (such as connection speed, upload/download speeds). This wouldnt be a problem if the unit wasnt so temperamental in its switching between coverage methods (3G/GPRS) but you often need to monitor this because:
4. You can connect using a "3G only" connection ...
centaurandrew 05.12.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vodafone Mobile Connect Card 3G/GPRS
Advantages: Connect your laptop to work and the internet anywhere Disadvantages: Costly for large data transfers, 3G coverage still patchy
...and a laptop with the Vodafone 3G connect card I set out to prove if this really was more than just another way to get online with your laptop but a real solution to the pocket full of small portable devices.
Installing
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The device comes neatly packaged in a DVD sized case and contains the connect card itself, a SIM card, instruction leaflet and a CD containing the connect software. To use this you need to have a laptop PC with a PCMCIA ... ...this is a call to Vodafone for technical support but in this case I checked the ports suggestion on the error message after reinstalling and rebooting and trying again for an hour. On the last reboot I entered the bios to check the laptop's port settings. I disabled every device that I wasn't using that required a port. Things like the infrared, serial and parallels ports. After the starting up it connected first time. I later found out that a port ...
hardmanphil 08.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vodafone Mobile Connect Card 3G/GPRS
Advantages: Good cheap way of getting internet on the move Disadvantages: Took a little time to find the right AP address
I bought the 3g datacard off ebay for a fairly good price. I was intending to use it with the ubuntu linux operating system, after I read that other people have been successful in getting it to work on Ubuntu.
The card has a small LED which lights up according to the status of the card. It lights up red when it can't find a signal, or it's trying to find a signal. The LED goes green if you are able to connect to a GPRS connection. GPRS usually gives ... ...if you find that you have the great little blue light, you're good to go onto the 3g network. 50KB/s. Much faster.
I've found that this card has been quite reliable at keeping a signal. I'm using the driver that is built into ubuntu linux, which helped setting up the card easily and quickly.
This is great value seeing that most 3g phones that you could use as a modem are so much more money.
Well worth the money in my opinion ...
webspot 11.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Vodafone Mobile Connect Card 3G/GPRS
Product Information for "Vodafone Mobile Connect Card 3G/GPRS" »
Modem
Interface Type
PC Memory Card
Connectivity Technology
Wireless
Cellular Enhancement Protocol
GPRS, HSCSD, GSM, GPRS, HSCSD, GSM, GPRS, UMTS
Antenna
Internal integrated
Antenna Qty
1
Max Transfer Rate
384 Kbps
Manufacturer's product description
The Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card can be used with almost any laptop to provide high-speed Internet services and email access, letting you work wherever you are.
Related tags for Vodafone Mobile Connect Card 3G/GPRS »
