Tag: data
Well, that’s all done. I’ve just completed a 200+ mile ride across the Pennines for Edward’s Trust. I’ve gone on about it quite a bit this last weekend as I traveled from the Lake District to the Peak District. What I can tell you, from a personal perspective, …
For a long time now Three have been the network many people flock to for All You Can Eat (AYCE) data. The popular One Plan may be no more, but customers still got AYCE on the phone and up to 4GB for tethering. But what if that 4GB was …
About a year ago we covered the not-spot fixing being undertaken by Vodafone. Rural hamlets and villages, traditionally lacking any kind of signal, were getting outdoor “Sure Signal” boxes installed to boost coverage. The “Open Sure Signal” tech delivers 3G and voice / text coverage by hooking into …
Following a massive U-turn on the last attempt, the EU has today announced that data roaming charges will be dropped from June 2017. Other roaming charges, including calls and texts, are set to have additional charges removed too. For years this has been a massive cash cow for …
Like many parents, we’ve reluctantly brought an iPad with us on holiday. It keeps the kids entertained on the plane with movies or games and, whilst you’re running around trying to get changed for an evening meal, it’s a quick gadget to keep them from running amok. However, …
First, a bit of detail about how all this came about. Phones. I get a lot of them to review. I borrow them then send them back, but with different sizes of SIM cards and some handsets offering dual-SIM functionality, it can result in me using Pay As …
If you like your data, check out this deal from EE. Right now they’re offering a limited edition SIM, plus you can win tickets to Glastonbury. Order by 31st May and top up a £10 1GB data pack with 50 texts and 50 minutes of calls. Once that …
SIM only deals, to me at least, usually mean one month rolling plans. However, if you want to lock yourself into a longer deal and possibly get even better value for money, you can go for a 12 month plan. Tesco Mobile has today become the UK’s first …
UK network EE has announced they have reached the 10 million 4G customer mark. This makes them the biggest 4G network in Europe. The company, which was created by merging both Orange and T-Mobile UK, was a landmark merger for the telecoms industry. It meant that 4G could …
A new MVNO is to come to the UK in July, but its a bit different. Called FreedomPop, it will offer free and paid-for SIM-only plans in a few weeks time. I’ve just used their website from the USA to check out what’s currently offer in America. For …
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 …
Available next month and using Three for the infrastructure and masts, Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World are looking to disrupt the mobile landscape by offering cheap plans and free roaming to more countries than their host network. Called “iD”, details are still being polished, but they tell …
Every network is pushing 4G at the moment, even the MVNOs – those networks that use the likes of O2, Vodafone, Three and EE as the back-end infrastructure but supply their own service on top. giffgaff is probably one of the most well-known, mainly due to their community …
This past year I’ve travelled around Europe quite a bit and the data roaming and connectivity costs are just insane. We were promised by the European Commission that this would all be sorted out soon enough. Now I don’t care who I upset, this is a massive cash …
Picture the scene. You’re about to go abroad. You’ve got your passport, you’ve booked the hotel and the flight. What about your phone? Unless you’re lucky enough to be using a network like Three and going to one of the countries in their Feel At Home plan, you’ll …
Here in Europe we’ve long reached and breached the point at which everyone has a smartphone. Many of you may even have two smartphones. For those working in phone stores, it’s rare that someone walks in without currently having a phone, and then walks out again with a …
Yup. It looks like it’s happened again. Twitter is slowly filling up with messages about the giffgaff data network being down and, if you reboot or switch data off and on, you’re getting a message asking you to sign into the network. After a quick scan of the …
EE recently announced the launch of their upgraded LTE-Advanced network here in London. This runs at a maximum of 300Mbps with real-world max speeds of 150Mbps promised and a realistic 90Mbps during the day. Vodafone also launched their service in London with the same speed expected. But are …
OK now, don’t get too excited, it’s not a great deal of data but still, this is worth investigating if you’re thinking of getting a tablet as a gift. It’s only 100MB, but if you have a tablet or phone that mostly lives near a WiFi hotspot it …
On EE? Got data issues? Yeah, you’re not the only one. This evening, and for a number of hours now, data connectivity issues have continued to plague users. The most recent update we have now is from the EE community section, and this is being given out to …
This got pushed into my Twitter timeline and, despite it being in beta, it looks fairly promising. If you’re looking for your next phone and are considering a switch to another network, coverage maps are always good to check. They’ll let you know what the signal is like …
It looks like O2 are about to join other networks in launching a roaming plan to help cut down your holiday horrors. Pay monthly customers will soon be able to get as much data as they need whilst abroad in Europe for a mere £1.99 per day. If …
Got giffgaff? Well, right now you probably haven’t. Many of their customers have been in contact with us after internet connectivity mysteriously dropped and, as we type, it still hasn’t come back online again. A status page has been updated on the giffgaff website and it shows that …
The advent of superfast 4G connectivity comes as a double-edged sword. For the customer this is the ideal solution for that traditional “last mile” issue. For the provider, you have to provide a service which is priced to discourage it being used as an always-on fixed-line broadband replacement. …
Our continuing look at MVNOs (or “virtual network operators”) has already got us looking at the likes of giffgaff, Virgin Mobile, TalkTalk and Tesco Mobile to name just a few. Ovivo was also on the list, but they recently shut down without notice. The reaction from some was …
Morning. 😉 It’s a minute into Wednesday and EE have just announced a refresh to their 4G monthly plans. A new set of entry-level 4G plans mean that you can get a 10GB package for just £13.99 per month. That pricing, we must point out, is for all new …
We’ve mentioned Ovivo Mobile quite a bit here at Coolsmartphone.com and we were big fans of their business model, even though it didn’t seem to work out in the end. Things seemed to be going pretty well. You pay up-front for the privilege of having an Ovivo SIM, …
Ovivo Mobile, the MVNO that offered free minutes, calls, and data for absolutely nothing per month, appears to have closed its doors in the past couple of hours. In a statement posted on its website, the company said: Dear OVIVO Customers, We are very sad to announce that …
If you’re thinking of trying a new network out, we’ve already mentioned Ovivio quite a bit. You pay for a SIM to be delivered and then, on plans like their Freedom 0 offering, you get 250 minutes, 300 texts and 500MB of data to use every month for …
I’ve a couple of questions for you. Firstly, are you on O2? Do you have a package providing 1GB or more of data per month ? If so, you’re in luck, because O2 seem to be delivering access to their 4G network for free if you tick those …
For most people a 1GB data package will suit their needs. Sure, it’s not ideal and I’d much prefer if we could all have unlimited packages, but sadly it’s not the case. So if you’re looking for more data, what options do you have? Vodafone have today launched …
Three have just announced they will be stocking the new Samsung Galaxy S5 phone on their UK network which we did expect to happen after they range most other top Samsung phones. Specs of the S5 include an impressive 5.1 inch 1920 x 1080 resolution screen, 16 megapixel …
If you are in the UK you should have seen the now famous pony in the Three advert called “Socks”. This has been visited over 8 million times on YouTube. Then came Mabel, their PAYG Pug dog celebrating the launch of 3-2-1 plan on PAYG over Christmas time. …
Ovivo have ramped up their “Freedom” packages with an extra 50 minutes of talk time. Existing and new customers can benefit from the additional minutes, which are now being added to “Freedom 0” and “Freedom 5” plans. For those who don’t know, Ovivo is an MVNO using the …
We’re hearing from many of you that your mobile data connectivity on Three hasn’t been well this morning. Symptoms seem to range from extremely slow data throughout all the way through to having no data connection at all. Twitter is also alive with frustrated customers who are without …
We recently heard how O2 saw a 62% increase in data usage over the New Year festivities. Vodafone have now been in touch and they’ve seen an even greater increase – their smartphone customers used 80% more data than New Year last year. It seems that texting, although …
When it comes to data access in the UK, many customers flock to Three due to their great pricing and high data allowances. Oh – plus the fact they have a very fast DC-HSPA network offering 3G speeds of up to 42Mbps. This new dongle, made by ZTE, …
New in Android 4.0.3 and above it the ability to have USB On-the-Go (OTG). This basically alllows devices to plug into your phone through the microUSB port whilst your phone or tablet acts as a host. With a lot of phones now not having microSD card slot, despite …
No, I’ve not heard of them either but, if you pop along to Poundland or buy one of these online, you can get 1GB of days over 30 days worth for just a quid. If you go into the high-class Poundland stores you can pick a Vectone Mobile …
Are you one of those people who simply must be able to get online to read email? Or send a tweet? Is the mere thought of having no data coverage your worst nightmare? If so then the Be-Bound app, available on Android. might be just the thing. The …
