I will be visiting China in the near future. I will use Skype or Gizmo5 while in the hotel from my PC to callback to the U.S.
But I am taking my HTC Dash (GPRS, EDGE, no 3G) with me and still wanted to be able to receive Outlook email while out and about, browse Internet using mini-Opera, maybe use Gmaps a little bit. I went to T-Mobile's website to see how much data usage was when roaming in China. It's $15 per MB which seems really steep. (Also, 1MB??? How much can you really do with only 1MB?)
So instead I'm looking to purchase a prepaid SIM. I will be visiting Beijing, Changsha, Guangzhou, and spend 1 night in Hong Kong. If anyone has any experience on what would be the best plan to get, please let me know.
Also, about how many MB's do you think I'd need for a 2 week stay? Like I said, I'll be checking my email, using mini-opera to browse for news & such, some gmaps usage. I'll use WIFI whenever there's something open I can connect to. (Is it quite easy finding open WIFI spots in those three cities or do you think they'll be scarce?)
Also, if I use the java version of Gmail to check my mail, instead of downloading it to Outlook, is that a better way to conserve on data? Will it make much of a difference?
Thank you,
Tim
Related
I seem to be able to get internet and go to any site I want to when I connect T-Zones. But I do not pay for any data plans at all, just my Get More 600 plan. Is this normal? Am I going to get billed if I use it? It is using minutes instead?
Be carefull. T-Mobile will let you access what you like without a data plan but charge you a fortune for it!!!!
First time I did it, I downloaded a few emails and before I knew it my data cost was over 90 pounds!
Ring them and check your current bill/plan.
same happened here on cingular. It adds up fast. (im currently looking into how to prevent the un-intentional ussage of such a feature. ITs on by default. Scarry.
Be very careful! Many providers do that, if you did not purchase data plan then you will most likely pay much more than expected.
If you disconnect very often then it will make it worse because they count data transfer in big blocks for example 50KB instead of real usage.
Some even round up data blocks every hour, so if you use 10KB and stay connected then in an hour they will round up for you, as if you used 50KB - which you did not.
I don't know about T-Mo USA, but T-Mo Hungary has a default data plan pretty much for everyone. It has no monthly fees but the data is very expensive and has a daily activation fee.
I too appear to be getting free internet/wap/gprs. I sent in a message to T-mobile USA and they said that I was NOT getting charged for my usage and that they were probably doing work in my area.
I expected them to say "Oh, you are getting free service! Well lets fix that right away. Please forgive us for this heinous inconvenience, sir." but the gut just shrugged it off.
Despite this, I don't use it incessantly. I figure they'll surprise me with charges sooner or later.
prepaid
I been getting free internet by using a prepaid sim(no charge to credit in account) for the past week or two but i havent had a chance to test this on another wizard and a different sim. I think its a problem with tmobile like when you could send free sms through gprs on some nokia phones and tmobile could not notice how many you were sending. if you tried this pim me with the results
Hi there to all oz people...
Im heading for Sydney next week and will stay there for some three years to complete my Bachelor Degree on accounting..
Now as i use my PPC (HTC TyTN) for all basic e-mailing need (Push Mail) and some bit of internet browsing or talking in skype time to time on mobile gprs...so i will also need a gprs/edge/3g/hsdpa data connection plan when i wll buy a mobile sim after reaching there.and as this is my first time in australia so i dont have any knowledge on there mobile operators and the facilities they provide.so my question goes here..
1) Will i be able to use gprs in any prepaid (like pay as you go) package? Bearing in mind that im a student.and if yes then which network providers support this and whose cost is lowest?
2) Does they have any unlimited data plan in prepaid or postpaid?and if yes then which network providers support this and whose cost is lowest?
3) Which mobile operators facilities is the best and you reccomand most?
Thanks in advance....
br.
Sajib
PS: I also posted the same question on Network subforum but didnt get any answer in 3 days so posting it here again..
as i guess here definately has a number of oz people and they could help me out here..
it depends on how much you will travel and where you will based. I live across the road from unsw and get good coverage on 3. they have good data packs (for australia) but there is no unlimited here. pre paid is also not normally allowing full use of gprs or 3g. the problem with 3 is they have a small coverage area in the 3g zone, so if you travel much it will go back to gprs with high cost. I spend $85 on mobile+data a month and I doubt you will be able to do better and still be able to use it frequently. I think 3 push mail is $3 unlimited a month as an add on (this post was done under their 3g coverage on my heremes but 20 meters away I get no covereage)
Australia sucks for mobile data, 3G or gprs theres not alot of difference in the price.
we must give thanks to telstra for that
Australia is like third world country when it comes to internet/broadband. In saying that your best option is to go with 3 as they have least laughable data plans. Also, 3 is about to introduce X-Series which means unlimitied browsing, orb, MSN, Ebay all for very decent price. Mind you very limited number of handsets will be supported for X-Series.
While this may sound like me complaining, I do understand I ws getting away with not having to pay for internet.
Has anyone else noticed that the TZones loophole has been cutoff. At approx 1:30am MST this morning both my brother and I noticed that our phones stopped syncing with our exchange OTA. He looked in to a couple of things on the exchagne and couldn't find anything wrong. We both power cycled our phone and still nothing. I then tried to browse the net and sure enough I couldn't. I checked\double checked\triple checked all of the settings - wap.voicestream.com - 216.155.165.50 and still nothing. I posted a thread on Howard Forums and have received a couple of responses but not enough for me to think that TMo stopped the service. Maybe they are just doing some sort of upgrade\maintanence? Wishfull thinking. I guess if not I will have to pay which is not a problem. The nice thing about the "loophole" was getting Exchange to sync OTA. I rarley used it for browsing.
I too posted in HoFo about the "outage"...
I've been out of contract with t-mobile for over a year now, enjoying the "non-proxied" direct internet access for $5.99/month that they've been offering- but in my situation, there's no way I'd pay them $30/month for unrestricted EDGE-only access.
I've been a t-mobile customer for 10+ years, but I'm strongly considering jumping ship to Cingular--doing the math, I can go to them for $20 more a month instead of $30, get rollover, AND get 3G speeds (and services, in my area) on my 8525. Hotspot service is useless to me, since I have municipal wifi access where I am 99% of the time.
So, $30 more for EDGE speeds (and useless hotspot service) or $20 more for 3G speed? For me, it's a no brainer.
I am back up and running. I removed the "My ISP" connection and set up a new one under "My Work". I then set up the Proxy agian to use port 8080 instead of just 80.
I've done the same--however, most data-capable apps (gmail app, resco radio, remote desktop) don't seem to be proxy capable and fail to work.
Oh well. Direct Push is working, and PIE can browse the web. It was nice while it lasted.
kugeln said:
I've done the same--however, most data-capable apps (gmail app, resco radio, remote desktop) don't seem to be proxy capable and fail to work.
Oh well. Direct Push is working, and PIE can browse the web. It was nice while it lasted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Houston folks, same here I need to switch around ISP and The work network to use either email or web browsing, google map, etc... what a pain in the neck. hopfully someone out there smart enough to find a work around to do both.
sonystyle said:
Hey Houston folks, same here I need to switch around ISP and The work network to use either email or web browsing, google map, etc... what a pain in the neck. hopfully someone out there smart enough to find a work around to do both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the way I am set up I can do both, email and browse. While the browsing seems to be limited to true WAP sites I don't really mind. I really only need to connection for Push anyway.
The same thing happened a few months ago. It lasted for about 3 or 4 days and then everything was back to normal.
I'm confused. Are you the guys that are back up and running paying at least $4.99 a month for data or are you getting completely free data access??
FallN said:
I'm confused. Are you the guys that are back up and running paying at least $4.99 a month for data or are you getting completely free data access??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I am paying $5.99 for TMobile Web (TZones) and yes I am back up and running.
I'm also paying $5.99 a month for T-Mobile web and I just checked and I'm back up and running again without having to change any settings.
I'm also paying $5.99 for T-Mobile web and I just checked and I'm also back up and running without any changes in my settings.
xeno1 said:
I'm also paying $5.99 for T-Mobile web and I just checked and I'm also back up and running without any changes in my settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you don't have the Proxy settings in? That is the only way I can get mine to wrk for both Browsing and Push Email.
i wish mine still worked.
none works with or without proxy, i had it working for a few weeks when i got my PPC phone, but now its gone, i dont think i have tzones but i do have unlimited txt/mms stuff (family plan)
Mines back to not working again either. They must be having some kind of problem with their servers because i I can't even get to the T-zones and even if they were trying to close some loopholes so that people couldn't access the entire net they wouldn't shut down T-zones with it.
T-Mobile Making a Big Mistake
I just found this thread. I have two plans with T-Mobile. One for myself (work) and one for my family. I have been with T-Mobile for a year. After coming from Verizon and Cingular. It's been a good experience.
However, T-Mobile's lack of either a 3G network or a decently priced plan is going to push me back to Cingular. I used a Wizard on T-Mobile for the past year. I paid $29.99 per month for their "Total Internet" package. The package includes unlimited Edge Internet and Hot Spots. The hot spot service is next to worthless.
Until T-Mobile offers a full 3G network, the price for unlimited internet on a Wizard, Dash, or Wing should be $14.99 (half what they are now charging).
Since March, I've been using a TyTN on T-Mobiles network. One week ago, I got a Cingular ATT card and Cingy's data plan for $44.00 and it is worth it. I'm crusing the web between 400 and 1000 kbps. On T-Mobiles Edge, I get 75 to 146 kbs. This is not worth $29.99.
I'd keep my wife and kids on T-Mobile and get data plans for two or more of this if the cost were no more than $14.99. That's all it's worth. I've talked to many loyal T-Mobile customers who are switching to AT&T for the same reason.
I hope T-Mobile is listening. They need to get their 3G launched and keep their data rates competetive until they do.
hi
because i am moving around more and am less likely to use wifi hotspots i am thinking oif joining 3 mobiles generous PAYG 2.50 a week unlimited data and the other addon data stuff.
firstly, is anyone doing this and is it any good.
secondly, what is meant by "unlimited data" and how freely can you use up your unlimited browsing- any website?, any app?
that leads me to my last question of is IM and VOIP allowed or do they block the ports and are there any ways of getting around these- proxy maybe?
thanks, oh yeah, if you guys know any better deals or service providers then please let me know.
cheers
I'm on 3UK
I use 3UK's unlimited data plan on my contract phone and I'm always surfing the net, I get push email service from funambol and I'm constantly using applications like Google maps with GPS and TOM TOM 6 navigator which are heavy data users.
I don't use IM or VOIP because my free calls/texts per month are enough for my communications to remain free(ish) but I have had no problems with data use.
I believe there is a fair usage policy of about 1GB data per month but as long as you're not using the phone as a modem I doubt you'll exceed that, especially if you use a browser like Opera mini which uses a lot less data than PIE.
I don't think you'll find another data plan that can match 3UK's
and no I don't work for them,
I've tried to look else where because they lack quality phones but had no choice but to stay with them.
thanks for that, very useful insight.
i have also been search and found nothing can really stand up to 3 in terms of price and data.
it would be insteresting if someone new about what apps and voip/IM can be used over 3's network....
Slingplayer for ppc doesn't work with these data plans. They want to force you to pay for the X series.
i looked at the x series, but im not to sure on being in a contract,
i just want to buy a weeks addon whenever i know im going to be outside of a hotspot...
anyone know their minimum contract deal?
whats the deal with the 2.50 addon- do i get the 10 000 windows live messages and unlimited skype to skype minutes like in the x series??
cheers
spitfire123123 said:
i looked at the x series, but im not to sure on being in a contract,
i just want to buy a weeks addon whenever i know im going to be outside of a hotspot...
anyone know their minimum contract deal?
whats the deal with the 2.50 addon- do i get the 10 000 windows live messages and unlimited skype to skype minutes like in the x series??
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know if this is spamming as you asked the question, Mods feel free to erase or edit this post...
If you want more info on 3UK's deals, the pros and cons, go to http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/forumdisplay.php?f=120
All your questions will be answered there.
Again Mods if this post is unacceptable then please delete.
enough with the accusations of spammification!
if the mods find it spam, then they will "feel free" to remove it.
but another question popped into my head-
i took your advice and went to the 3g forum place and soon found out that 3 mobile dont allow there sim cards in 2g fones (mines a HTC excalibur) due to the roaming chargers they pay to orange/o2 becaue i would be constantly roaming on a non 3g network.
so is there any non 3g network which provide data which is unrestricted to how you use it like voip / IM??
cheers
EDIT:
looks like tmobile is the best 2g alternative to 3
Hi!
I will soon travel to London for a while and I realized I have no idea whatsoever on what providers exist over there and which is the best.
I will mainly use it for 3G (or are there lots of free WiFi-spots?) and phoning home to Sweden. I will probably need to send SMS and call inside UK sometimes to, but mostly Sweden. It should be a prepaid alternative.
Any recommendations?
I used an Orange card when I was there for a few days last winter. I used it for calls and texts, but I think they had 4 different pre-paid plans, depending on your preferences. It was cheap, and I'd use them again.
Thank you
Best coverage is vodafone, cheapest pay-as-go is orange (£1/day data). Vodafone has 3g pay-as-go, but cannot get 3g on my orange pay-as-go. Many wi-fi hotspots around. Best look at vodafone/orange websites - they are the biggest & best in UK
I'm with O2 and can't really fault them, but Vodafone currently have a deal where you don't pay extra for roaming, so you could take it back to Sweeden and not get caught for extra cash (check terms and conditions though...) O2 do a 'bolt on' which you can buy unlimted web data for a fixed fee (was about £7.50 when I subscribed).
Lots of free wifi (McDonalds is one, but there are more) and plenty of idiots that don't have security on their wifi access points. I know it's stealing, but it can get you out of a fix and it's not like you'll use it for hours on end sitting in someone's front garden...
Check out the '3' network.
Every time you top-up (GBP10) you get 150MB of free data, and a lot of free sms messages.
If 150MB is not enough for you, for GBP5 you can get the Internet Monthly add-on which allows up to 2GB limit over 30 days.
Also, they have a free Skype facility using a modified version of ISkoot (search XDA-Developers for details of how to make it work on WM devices).
I use data far more than calls and sms and I find '3' to be the best deal.
66mustang said:
I'm with O2 and can't really fault them, but Vodafone currently have a deal where you don't pay extra for roaming, so you could take it back to Sweeden and not get caught for extra cash (check terms and conditions though...) O2 do a 'bolt on' which you can buy unlimted web data for a fixed fee (was about £7.50 when I subscribed).
Lots of free wifi (McDonalds is one, but there are more) and plenty of idiots that don't have security on their wifi access points. I know it's stealing, but it can get you out of a fix and it's not like you'll use it for hours on end sitting in someone's front garden...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I do. £7.50 for unlimited 3G is brilliant, and even though I get EDGE on my Elf, it's still really quite fast. Albeit I only get G or 2G coverage where I live (north of Bristol) but it's still quite nice to have the ability to forget about my emails, and then pick it up and they're sitting there for me.
O2.