Tag: allowance

Unlimited voice and data for job seekers. Only £10.

Available on the Vodafone VOXI brand, a new “For now” plan delivers unlimited 5G-ready data, minutes and texts for six months for a mere £10 a month. It’s available until January 31st 2021 and is ideal for job seekers during these testing times. To be eligible, you’ll need …

SMARTY – On test

Just a few days ago I ran out of data. Stuck in hospital, and with only a relatively slow WiFi connection, I’d basically nailed all my allowance and was a bit “stuck”. Luckily though, a lot of phones now have dual SIM trays, so – even if you …

When your allowance doesn’t quite keep up

My Vodafone SIM-only plan has been absolutely perfect for my needs over the last few years. I don’t make many calls or send SMS texts, so when I originally took the deal, 500 minutes of calls was fine. I was never going to make 8 hours of calls …

New connected laptops coming to EE

It’s certainly been a while since a network got in touch to tell us about a new laptop they’re ranging. EE are taking the Windows-powered Lenovo Yoga C640 4G laptop. It’s the first in a range of connected laptops available on EE and, if you choose one of …

How much data does your radio app really consume?

Some 9 years ago I performed a test of radio streaming over the internet. I was fed up with the slim choice of very “samey” FM radio station so, with the aid of some cabling (or a smartphone FM transmitter) I fed the audio output of my smartphone …

The big Vodafone announcement. Limits are history, baby!

With all these 5G launches happening, it’s easy for things to get lost in the fog somewhat. However, what Vodafone announced recently is really rather interesting. Instead of offering yet more packages with present limits, they’ve instead announced packages which let you grab as much data as you …

BBC iPlayer and YouTube now added to the EE Video Data Pass

Heard about the Video Data Pass? On EE it basically means that you can watch as much video as you like from selected providers without it impacting your allowances. We covered it and the other Smart Plans in detail back in May but now there’s some even better …

Heading abroad this year? Get a local SIM.. again

I think it’s fair to say that, if you can afford it, you’ll have a bit more confidence travelling to the USA for your holiday this year. With a Hard Brexit, Soft Brexit or No Brexit still being discussed, there’s a huge amount of confusion over whether flights …

Unlimited data on the 4G Home Router from Three

Remember the £20 per month deal on Three that we mentioned just recently? Well, if you’re in an area that struggles to get traditional fixed-line broadband, you might want to check out the Three 4G home router. Right now, this deal is on and, I have to say, …

The landline and text messaging. Both officially dying.

A weirdly intriguing set of stats from Ofcom have just landed and it confirms a lot of our suspicions regarding how people live and work with mobile technology. First, let’s have a look at the amount of outgoing calls that people are making from that funny phone-shaped object …

O2 Refresh gets big….refresh

The big news just now comes from UK network O2. They’re making a big update to their Refresh contract offering. In case you did not know, O2 Refresh split your contract into two payments. First an airtime part which is for your talk / text / data, and …

Vodafone reveal continued increase in data usage

A trading update? That’s normally quite a dry document and not one we’d feature here on Coolsmartphone, but the latest one from Vodafone has a number of pretty interesting points. Amongst mentions of “Q1 organic service revenue” and “acceleration in AMAP”, it also shows that data traffic has …

MWC – Remember when we used to hunt for WiFi?

After returning from the Barcelona madness, I’ve finally got chance to reflect a little on the experience. It’s somewhere I don’t get to see a great deal, and instead it’s the inside of taxis or the rather excellent Metro system which runs through the city that I see …

Virgin Media – Data usage gets throttled

Would you class more than 3.5GB of monthly data as “excessive”? Well, Virgin Media doesn’t seem to think that. At least not when selling their SIM-only packages. As an example, you can buy a 4GB plan for £15 per month or an 8GB plan for £23 per month. …

Today I ran out of data on giffgaff. Guess what happened..

I’ll be up front and honest here. giffgaff have not sent me any cake, beer or phones to say any of this. I’ve started using them because the in-building coverage on my previous network wasn’t great and giffgaff are offering plenty of data plus a fuss-free service for …

Are you on the right plan?

Let’s be honest. Look at your phone. Did you get a good deal? Many people choose their phone based on a monthly budget, and want the phone for nothing up-front. For many it’s typical to pay around £36 a month for two years, but you can find yourself …

Three remove out-of-bundle data charges with new contracts

New plans will shortly be added to the Three offerings to stop out-of-bundle data charges. The network has already delivered “The One Plan” for those wanting the unlimited data experience, but now the “Ultimate Internet” offer something pretty similar – and plans start from just £18. The Essential …