Mobile Phone Contract with UNLIMITED Data

[Stitch Up]

My mobile phone contract just ended with Vodafone and I was getting the usual sales phone calls from them. So I thought I'd do a bit of research.

Looking at all the different phones available I decided to go for the Smasung Galaxy 2S. It seemed to be the most full featured phone currently available and being a bit of a gadget freak it ticked all the boxes :D

So, having decided on the phone, I now started looking for the best contract to suit me. I've always been a big internet user and often got the cautionary text from Vodafone warning me that I was about to exceed my data limit 500Mb per month.

Now I'm sure we've all heard of the word UNLIMITED in the sales blurb of phone sellers but the small print, very descretely placed in the corner stating 'subject to fair play usage! In other words, UNLIMITED didn't mean UNLIMITED!

So then I see an ad by Three Mobile - All You Can Eat Data. Rather than go straight to the shop, I logged into an independent Three forum and quizzed the AYCE claim. Yup, it really is UNLIMITED - 1Gig, 10Gig, 100Gig, up to you. This was confirmed on my visit to a Three shop.

Now, you might be wondering how you could ever use that much data on a mobile phone. Three allow 'tethering'. The Samsung Galaxy 2 has an App pre-installed that allows you to very easily setup a WiFi Hotspot. This means that I can connect my PC to the interet through the Samsung's hotspot, in fact, I can connect up to 4 PCs and never have to worry when downloading large files or watching online videos.

£35pm all in, less than I was paying to Vodafone and a free Samsung Galaxy 2 = Best deal out there.

Two weeks into my contract. Phone is just amazing and Hotspot proving VERY useful.

John

[smitch6]

snap John i did exactly the same as we can't have any fixed line on the boat obviously
i went for a HTC desire though on a three contract for £22 a month :P

all the internet you want with no limits i've only just had my 1st bill so it's still new yet

the annoying thing is 3 actually stopped this all you can eat on the 31st july :(

i use a hotspot app on the phone so i connect and so can the wifey with her little net book
we used it all the time while we were away on holiday and the speed was really good seeing as we were in the middle of the welsh valleys :)

[Stitch Up]

Do you mean they stopped the 'All You Can Eat' data for new customers or you? Still shows as available on their website.

[smitch6]

i was told by 3 that it was only available for new customers up until the 31st july :~

any existing customers are fine as long as they don't change their tariff

[Andrew]

It's probably the HTC Desire HD I'm going to get now on unlimited for £20. I did look at the new Samsung John mentioned as my brother just bought one. If they were the same cost I would have gone for that as it is a tiny bit lighter but feature wise they are very similar. I never really use my mobile but these full screen jobies I'm liking for email and the rest.

[AdamB]

Hi guys - sorry, I'm a bit of a techno biff (never used to be) but when you say 'tethering' and 'hot-spot' do you mean that you can use laptops/note-books to connect to the interweb through your phone (using wi-fi)?

If so, what's the speeds like? I only say as I use the interweb with my iphone (on 3g) and it's very slow so I cannot imagine or even think about the amount of time I'd waste using it as a wi-fi hot spot.

[Stitch Up]

Yup, wirelessly connect you laptop or whatever and use the internet with your mobile acting as the ADSL Modem. Speed depends on your location but usually very good.

Many mobile phone providers specifically disallow the use of tethering.

[AdamB]

Yup, wirelessly connect you laptop or whatever and use the internet with your mobile acting as the ADSL Modem. Speed depends on your location but usually very good.

Have you got a stat for the speed John ............. ?

[smitch6]

i was told the stats and can't rem lol
but they we pretty good if you are in a good location ie a big city etc.

i can tell you that i am on a bt wifi at the minute and my 3 phone is a lot quicker than the wifi :)

[Paul]

I just upgraded to galaxy ACE with tree and picked "all you can eat". love it!

[Stitch Up]

Have you got a stat for the speed John ............. ?

I'm afraid not Adam but, when using my tablet PC at home to download stuff, surf the web, etc etc, I haven't really noticed any big difference. Again, it depands much on the sort of signal you get from the provider. Three have a map to show what you're likely to get. For me, it says, great outdoors but you might struggle in doors. So when I purchased my contract, Three provides 1 week to check your signal availability and if it's no good, take it back. Can't be fairer than that.

[AdamB]

Thanks Guys :-)