A Consuming Experience: 3

Showing posts with label 3. Show all posts

Monday 14 June 2010

3 Mifi: internet (almost) anywhere - improved model due out in July - preview

Three UK will soon be bringing out a new improved version of their Mifi device (which will be a Huawei E585), on 2 July 2010.

See my previous blog post on what's a Mifi, for those not familiar with it - basically it's a pocketable device which provides a mobile internet connection, via 3's mobile network, for any computer, iPad or iPod Touch etc that is wifi-enabled. And you can share the connection so that up to 5 devices can use it at the same time.

Last Thursday 3MobileBuzz hosted a demo and talk by 3's Mifi product manager Matt about the new Mifi, to which they kindly invited several bloggers including me. (I was mistaken in my previous blog post, I'd thought we would have trial devices to take away with us but we didn't, so I've updated the post.)

Above is a nice official photo of the new device, from the 3 press releases page (black front, silver-ish back).

And here's a rather wobblier photo of the new Mifi and old Mifi side by side (new one on the right), which I took at the event:

As you'll see, the size and shape of old and new models are pretty much identical.

What's new? The innards, the buttons and the screen info.

Other companies and PR/marketing firms would do well to take a leaf from the books of Three and 3MobileBuzz (run by 1000 Heads). Because they have actually listened to and acted on the feedback on the first device given by bloggers in reviews or via the Mifi Consumer Panel of which I was a member (see my post about their first Mifi model; I didn't blog all the issues with the device but gave them thoughts by email and in a feedback session.)

To try to deal with the main issues raised, which were chiefly to do with usability, they've improved the Mifi so that the E585:

only has 1 button to turn it on and do all the connecting etc, yay (with the current E5830 model you have to press different buttons in order, very confusing and unnecessary) - so they call this model "one-touch", see this pic:
has a much less confusing and more informative screen e.g. (if I'm not mistaken) info on SMS texts received
can be used while it's being charged
has a shorter charging-up time - currently the 1st charge takes about 10-12 hours, but the new device they said can be charged in only 8 hours, and subsequent shorter top-up charges again should take 70-80% the time needed for the current E5830 model
allows access to its Dashboard controls and info via web browser for all main operating systems, which means Linux etc devices can now access it, see pic below which shows the Dashboard called up on a Linux notebook computer:

The pricing plans will be exactly the same as for the existing Mifi (see Three Mifi plans and tariffs). So if you were thinking of getting one, you might want to wait till 2 July.

3 do want to provide an upgrade path for existing Three Mifi users, but I don't have any info on the details yet.

No API yet, but hopefully that will come. And no hot pink or covers, either, sorry!

Added: there's no official specifications sheet yet but here's some specs info on the E585, thanks to 3 Monkeys (who deal with 3's media releases):

Form Factor Dongle-like, no external antenna connector
Weight & size 95.5mm x 49.0mm x 14.1mm, 90g
Radio Chipset Qualcomm MSM7225 (sw: AMSS7625) coupled with QCT RTR6285 RF chip.
Bands 2100/900 WCDMA & Quad-band GSM
Receiver Type 3 (Equalizer + Rx Diversity)
Power Class 3 (+24dBm)
Radio Access capabilities HSDPA cat.8 (7.2Mbps)/HSUPA cat.6 (5.76Mbps). 3G (384kbps), EDGE, GPRS class B (DTM MS-class 10)
WiFi chipset Atheros AR6002G
WiFi protocols 802.11b/g (max throughput limited to 10Mbps)
Storage memory microSD slot (up to 32GB supported)
Connectivity microUSB 2.0 High speed (480 Mbps)
Messaging support Support concatenated SMS (2048 chr)
Display OLED
Battery capacity 1500m Ah

Now for some trivia:

bloggers were ferried to the session from train/Tube stations via rickshaw. I have only one wifi device which I can (hopefully…) trust myself not to drop when trying to input a wireless key whilst crammed up against 2 other passengers in the back of a rickshaw that's constantly having to take evasive action to avoid being run over by buses, vans etc, but as I didn't know in advance that they were going to challenge us to actually try to use the new Mifi with a device during the journey, sadly I didn't bring it with me!
as well as providing some finger food, they made lovely cakes customised for each of the invited bloggers. Here's the one for ACE, next to one of the Three Mifi cakes. Tasty they were too.

Monday 25 January 2010

3 Mifi wireless mobile broadband for computer, iPod Touch, Playstation etc - review

This post is a review with tips about the Mifi, which enables mobile broadband access for your computer, iPod touch or other wifi-enabled device over Three's UK mobile network.

What's a Mifi?

What's a MiFi Huawei E5830? (Rhymes with "wifi" rather than "iffy"!)

Pictured above, it's a mobile wireless modem that provides a wifi hotspot, i.e. a mobile internet connection that can be shared between more than one device or person. Though of course you can just hog it if you prefer.

Pocketable, light and little bigger than a broadband dongle, you can connect your device to it wirelessly (any kit that has wifi should connect to it), so that your devices can access the internet over 3's mobile network - whether laptop, notebook or netbook (any operating system as long as it has wifi e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux), iPod touch, Playstation or Nintendo DSi.

The idea is that you should be able to use it to get a Net connection anywhere that you can get a 3 mobile signal.

Three are the first UK network to offer something like this.

Mifi trivia (from the 3 team, over dinner!): did you know that when Three were debating what to call their wireless mobile broadband device, suggestions included "iFi" (ultimately deemed to be too much like "iffy") and "Trouser Browser"??

In the box

Mifi, charger, USB cable, a fold out setup guide and a series of guidance cards (good: you can keep the card with the password on it in your wallet; bad: easy to lose, hopefully 3 will work out a way to keep the cards together for the next version. Some of us would also like to see the full specs in the printed documentation for reference, even on just 1 page or 1 card).

The SIM pack is separate. Random tip - the SIM card is tucked inside the "lid" lift up flap, not inside the body of the cardboard wallet. Took me a while to find it at first, I admit.

Uses

It's great when you're out and about and you need a Net connection to browse, deal with email or documents in the cloud etc, and you don't have wifi otherwise - e.g. at a meeting outside your offices or home, or on a train or bus (worked for me on a bus in Central London. Not the Tube, obviously). Much less fiddly than a dongle as you can just keep it in a pocket, briefcase or bag.

It's probably more secure than an internet cafe or public wifi (as long as you use WPA, which you should instead of WEP anyway whenever you use wifi - see below), though it's still best to use https web addresses as much as you can when logging in to Web services.

The sharing feature is cool, e.g. kids in the car can surf etc at the same time whether with netbook, iPod Touch or games console, while several colleagues can use one internet connection at the same time on their own computers.

Or if you sometimes go to stay with relatives or friends who don't have broadband or even an internet connection, then obviously the Mifi can be very handy (as long as there's Three coverage there, of course).

Some features to note

Security - the wifi is encrypted by default, so only people with whom you share your password (e.g. colleagues) should be able to access your Mifi's network. There's a card in the pack with your password, which is unique to each unit. As usual with wifi, you start up your device, look for wireless networks, find the one for your Mifi (its network name or SSID will be on the card), and enter the given password - use WPA not WEP whenever you can, it's far more secure (see more on WPA vs WEP).

There's no indication in the documentation (and there should be) of:

Battery life - they say on the website it's up to 5 hours, so probably about 3 or 4 hours max of continuous use in practice; if you don't use it it'll hold its charge OK for a few days. It would help to have this info in the manual or more obvious on the online pages (you can only find it from a popup that doesn't indicate that that's where you find the specs). Best charge it up overnight the day before you plan to use it, if you can, and have the charger with you.
Range - I've managed to use it with a notebook computer that's about 10 m away from the Mifi, even on another floor, when there was another laptop using the connection. I suspect much depends on the local environment.

When you connect it to the computer via the (supplied) USB cable you can change the password, SSID (the broadcast name of your Mifi's wireless network), send and get SMS texts, etc (the charging structure for texts isn't explained in the pack though). Many of us won't bother to change the network key, as the password is unique to each unit - just keep your card very safe! But I think that as with the cabled dongle this only works with Windows computers, not Mac or Linux.

You get the usual My3 access to check usage, topup etc if you go to the My 3 webpage while using the Mifi.

(Not easy to find the specifications - "mobile detail" is the link, it wasn't prominent or obvious enough for me, personally.)

Comparison with a dongle

Benefits over a standard mobile broadband dongle:

it's entirely wireless, which beats battling with a dangling dongle - I just keep it in a pocket when using it
only very slightly bigger than a wired broadband dongle and about the same weight, maybe even lighter
several devices (and several people) can access the internet over one Mifi at the same time - laptop, notebook computer, netbook like the Eee, iPod touch, Playstation, Nintendo DSi. (I'm not clear how many simultaneously, the man in the shop said 3 or 4 devices, I thought I heard it might be 5, but I can't seem to find the details on the 3 site)
any device which has wifi can use the Mifi, so there are no problems with drivers for Mac, Linux etc
speed - about the same speed as a wired dongle i.e. 3G or HSDPA depending on coverage (so they come out equal there), but of course neither will be as fast as home broadband. Way faster than "normal" GPRS data though.

The disadvantages?

more expensive than a dongle - from the 3 website, currently on Pay as You Go a wired dongle costs £19.99 to buy and £10 for 1GB of data use, whereas a Mifi costs £49.99 for the device and £10 for 1 GB (or £69.99 for Mifi plus 3GB of usage valid for up to 3 months)
you have to remember to switch it off when you're done else it'll run down without your noticing (in my view the current model hasn't got enough of a "low battery" warning when you're not online), and of course remember to charge it via the mains regularly
the more the connection is shared, the more it will slow down; the most I tried was 2 computers at once, and didn't notice any difference. But then you can't share a dongle's internet connection at all.
personally, I have had problems using the Mifi with XP computers. No idea why. Vista and Linux were fine.

On the 3 Consumer Panel & trial

Full disclosure - 3MobileBuzz at the end of 2009 kindly asked me to be involved in trials of the innovative MiFi device via UK network operator Three's new Consumer Panel, on which more below. (They also invited me to the official launch of the Mifi a few months back, which I didn't blog at the time as I wanted to get my hands on a Mifi first.)

3 will be reimbursing me for the costs of the Mifi, but I have to give it back at the end of the trial (probably in a couple of weeks), and I'm not getting any payment or kit for taking part. I just get to test it during the consumer trial period without having ultimately to pay for hardware or usage charges.

Also, they treated the panellists to drinks (though I couldn't make it there in time for that) and a tasty dinner to discuss our feedback. Thanks to Three too for permission to use their photo of the Mifi (top - the rest are my own).

The Mifi Consumer Panel is an innovative idea too, and basically involves the triallists mystery shopping and testing the Mifi, then feeding back our thoughts.

We each got different assignments, e.g. mine was to get it on Pay As You Go from a Three store (others were asked to try it on Pay Monthly contract etc).

It was up to us as to where we got the Mifi from (except we weren't allowed to get it online), and the 3 stores and independent stores didn't know that we were mystery shoppers. I opted for the £69.99 PAYG package which included the Mifi and 3GB of usage.

I've tried the Mifi with several computers at the same time, but not with another device as I don't have an iPod touch or games console. Others have, though, and report that it works well e.g. with several iPod touches using it at the same time.

It's been very impressive that 3MobileBuzz and Three have been so willing to listen to panel feedback and take on board our thoughts and ideas for improvements, about everything from hardware design to customer manuals and how staff sell it in the shops.

For instance, we all thought there were too many buttons - there should just be one - and hopefully the next model will incorporate that suggestion.

Tips and thoughts if you're thinking of getting a Mifi

As mentioned above, a Mifi is more expensive than a cabled dongle, but very much more convenient - you can just keep it in your pocket, briefcase or bag, and if you have colleagues, friends or family with you they can share your 3 internet connection.

If you like the idea of not having a pesky cable getting in the way (as I do) or you need occasionally to have more than one person or device using the internet connection, it's very well worth getting if you don't mind the £30 extra (you can alternatively get it on contract, see the Three site for details e.g. 1 month contract at £15 a month plus £49.99 for the Mifi).

But much of what I said in relation to the 3 broadband dongle still holds true.

Check your 3 mobile broadband coverage in advance (be sure to tick "Mobile broadband") to see how good the signal is in the key areas where you plan to use it, not just your home or workplace - you'll most likely be using it when you're out!

Buy it online if you can, as that gives you a much longer return period during which you can try it out so you can return it if necessary - Three allow 14 days rather than (if you buy it in a shop) 3 days. We all thought 3 days was too short for this product, and hopefully Three will increase the return period for the Mifi. (If you find after the 3 days that you are having trouble using it where you need it, then, as long as it's not like a year later, it's worth going to talk to Three - they said they'll try to help.)

During the moneyback period, make sure you take the Mifi everywhere that you think you'll use it regularly, and try to see what sort of connection you get, if at all, so that you can return it if it doesn't work out. The point is, you're totally dependent on getting decent 3 coverage. No good 3 signal, no internet on the Mifi.

However, bear in mind that 3 are upgrading their network, notably in the South of England (check your area), so you may have problems in some places. Once the work is finished it should be much improved, but it's just bad luck that (in my case at least) the works have been interfering with my Mifi trial - I now have virtually no Three reception at home. See the red below? Not good :(

There will be further works, intended to be completed by end 2010, so hopefully when it's done and dusted we'll all get better 3 signals - they're adding 3000 more stations, apparently it's the biggest engineering project in Europe currently.

Also, Three told us that they'll be bringing out a new version of the Mifi by summer 2010 which incorporates many of our suggestions for improvement (the current "3 button dance" to turn it on and get it working seems unnecessary and confusing), and should have a better battery life too.

Mifi use tips

The network password for the device is printed on a handy card. You'll want to carry the card with you (somewhere safe), or memorise the password key. It's supposed to remember the password once entered but sometimes it doesn't and you have to re-enter it, which is a big pain if you need an internet connection and you can't remember your password.
You might want to carry the charger around with you too, for obvious reasons, as you can still use it while it's plugged into the mains. Remember to charge it up regularly.
And, I repeat again, use WPA (not WEP) and https web addresses wherever possible (at least Google have now enabled https by default for Gmail).
No good 3 signal, no internet via Mifi. That should be obvious. It may cut in and out on the motorway or train for instance.
Red light at the top left of the Mifi means no go. You may be able to connect to the Mifi via wifi, but don't be fooled into thinking you'll get an internet connection. Having said that, I've had times when it's red on the top left but bottom right is light blue (it should be green for go, really, in my view - dark & light blue is too confusing), and got a connection with no problem. Go figure. Bottom line - don't necessarily trust the lights, just try it and see; it may work when you think it won't, and unfortunately vice versa too.

Thursday 22 October 2009

Free Skype on 3 (Three) - review & thoughts

A few months back I took part in a free trial of 3 UK's internet telephony via Skype, thanks to 3MobileBuzz, but didn't have a chance to write it up till now.

Most mobile network operators see Skype as a threat to their revenues, and so they won't let you make Skype calls on your mobile handset at all - or else they'll charge you for the privilege of using Skype (maybe even more than for a "normal" phone call).

3's selling point is that they actively encourage you to use Skype on 3 phones, for free, and 3MobileBuzz tell me that Skype calls won't even count as part of your 3 data usage.

3MobileBuzz lent me 5 different makes of Three phones to try Skype on, with a few friends. I distributed the phones as follows (I hadn't recorded all the exact models before distribution, my bad; I've only mentioned names where I've had explicit permission to do so):

female postgrad student who used to work in the gaming industry, and a keen Apple iPhone user - Nokia N96
female senior executive working in the City of London, and Blackberry user - Sony Ericsson
Sarah Blow, founder of the Girl Geek Dinners and a software engineer interested in things mobile - INQ
Steve Lamb - who works at Microsoft, and was the token man here! - Sony Ericsson
me - Nokia E63.

Key lesson - usability

In my view the key finding, and message for 3 and Skype, is that usability on the phone is essential if they want to facilitate and increase the use of Skype on handsets.

None of my testers are tech novices. Even the City executive, who professes not to be technical, was told by her IT Department that she was a lot more au fait with computing than most of their other users.

And yet, there were still problems with finding Skype to launch it (it was in a very weird menu location on the Sony Ericsson phones - the icon really should be on the home screen), while the N96 claimed that Skype wasn't installed at all and my friend had to keep trying to download it, taking several tries before it worked.

So I think it would be near impossible for non-technical users to use Skype on some handsets.

Where it has been thought through and fully implemented, though, the Skype integration is impressive. Notably, the INQ phone worked very well - but that's not surprising as INQ are part of the 3 group and so they make phones that work particularly well on 3 networks, with superb Skype integration.

And yes, if you're logged in to Skype, when someone calls you it will ring your phone, just as you'd expect with a non-Skype call.

Another clever integration point is that if you're logged in to Skype, missed calls usually go to your Skype voicemail rather than your "normal" 3 voicemail - although we found that sometimes it was hit and miss as to whether this happened.

However, except for the INQ phone, none of the phones tested will log you in to Skype automatically when you turn on the phone, so you have to remember to do that every time you switch it on.

The final major issue is the noticeable time lag, which is worse than when using Skype on a computer. Skype on 3 is like using a walkie talkie. You'll find that you and whoever you're talking to on Skype will often be talking at the same time or talking over each other.

We found that we had to resort to old fashioned voice procedure techniques, saying "Over" to indicate when we'd finished speaking so that the other person could start talking. One of my testers, who in fact used to be in the Territorial Army, was grateful for her knowledge of those terms when calling her ex-Army friends on Skype using the 3 phone, as they too had to revert to using "Roger" and the like!

Verdict for consumers

Skype on 3 is great for making free long distance Skype to Skype calls, but you'll have to get used to the time lag. If you don't have an INQ phone, get a technical friend or the shop (or 3 Support) to show you how to find Skype on the phone. Also note that the 3 coverage has to be good for it to work fully; one of my testers found that in certain areas she just couldn't get through on Skype.

For local calls, until the lag is eliminated and integration is improved, "normal" phone calls will offer a better user experience than Skype - unless of course you positively want to walk around looking secretive showing off your military speak! Also, if you want to be always contactable on Skype via your mobile, you should get an INQ, otherwise you're bound to forget to login to Skype sometime (you have to do that manually with the other phones).

Suggestions for 3 and Skype

Include a clear Skype icon on the home page / desktop screens of all 3 phones, so users can find it easily.
Preinstall Skype on all 3 phones to avoid downloading problems.
Make it obvious and easy for the user, once logged in to Skype, to save their username/password (if they wish), and if possible let them opt to auto-login to Skype whenever the phone is switched on (otherwise login has to be done manually each time you turn the mobile on, which is a pain and may be forgotten; even if it's saved your Skype username and password, you still have to launch Skype manually after you turn the phone on, every single time - with the sole exception of the INQ phone, which did autologin to Skype).
Reduce the lag - with technology improvements, hopefully this will happen anyway in time.

Full disclosure

Particularly given the US FTC guidelines affecting bloggers, I want to make it clear that neither 3 nor 3MobileBuzz (or indeed anyone else) has paid me anything for this review.

They did involve me in a previous trial of 3's Huawei E169G dongle, but I'd bought the E220 mentioned in that review myself for blogging or researching for the blog while on the move, and I've returned the E169G.

As part of the 3MobileBuzz "Setting Skype free" promotion they also sent me (and I've kept) a paper cootie catcher, a chocolate cake (since eaten, wouldja believe it) in a plastic box with a file tool, and also a trowel (escape theme, geddit?) plus a little cage with a padlock to imprison my usual phone in while trying the Skype phone. With a key, fortunately, as they now have the 3 phones back! There was a London Dungeon event to tie in with the jail/break theme, but I couldn't go.

3 also kindly invited me to their event on the 3 Mifi device, which looks a very desirable piece of kit, but I haven't had a chance to trial it yet (I have something specific in mind for that), so stay tuned for a report when I do.

This was Improbulus speaking. Over and out!

Wednesday 23 April 2008

3 mobile broadband: Huawei E169G HDSPA, E220 USB modems review - first impressions

Thanks to 3mobilebuzz I have been testing 3's new Huawei E169G high speed mobile broadband USB dongle for portable computers on a short term free trial of 3's mobile broadband service.

Here's a pic of what you get in the box:

You remove the USIM card (like a SIM card for mobile phones) from the plastic card and bung it into a removable USIM holder in the stick. Remove the end cap and insert the dongle into a spare USB port (there's a short USB cable too if your port's in an awkward place). It installs itself, at least with Windows (XP, Vista, 2000) and it's also meant to be compatible with Mac OS X. With Windows you get some software installed; I'm under some time pressure to get this first post up so I'll try to add screenshots another time.

The specs on the back of the user guide match the Huawei E169 specifications on the Huawei site (except I couldn't see any microSD slot) so it's:

HSDPA / UMTS（900/2100MHz）- for non-techies, that's 3G or fast(er) speeds i.e. mobile broadband
GSM / GPRS / EDGE（850/900/1800/1900MHz） - that's standard slooowww (or rather, normal) mobile phone speeds.

Pricing, tariffs

This particular model seems already to be available on the Three website (in black or white) for free on a £10 a month 18-month contract. For full details of deals see the 3 mobile broadband dongles page - Lite £10, Plus £15 and Max £25 a month with data allowances of 1, 3 and 7 GB respectively; for a 12-month contract on Lite you'd have to pay £49.99 for the dongle. (I have to say I don't see why anyone would sign up for a 24 month contract when the monthly payment's no less than for the 18-month but you're tied in for longer).

It looks like you can even get the modem on Pay As You Go, in white at least, though then you can't get it free). I don't know if the E169 is available via the shops yet.

Existing 3 mobile phone customers can add mobile broadband on 18 or 24 month contract for half the standard line rental rate, i.e. £5 a month in the above example, and keep paying the half price rate for as long as they have another 3 contract - with the dongle being free if they order before 31 May 2008 (unless Three extend that date of course).

This promotion to existing customers makes a refreshing change from the more usual practice of offering new customers discounts to lure them in, but zip to existing loyal customers (helloooo T-Mobile, the Non-Listening Network? New web n walk Plus or Max customers will get free wifi at T-Mobile hotspots, they announced in Jan 2008, but existing customers won't get that free wifi even if they upgrade to Plus or Max. Or so their customer "services" people, the ones who'd even heard about that offer for new customers anyway, told me after over an hour of waiting on the phone. /rant)

3 do seem to offer that special promotion discount to new customers as well as old (why not make both types of customers happy, eh?) but you'd have to sign up for a 3 mobile phone contract too.

I had in fact signed up for mobile broadband with 3 just a few weeks ago, the full £10 a month deal with free Huawei modem, but then they just had the older Huawei E220 model. Timing 'r' us, not! At least this means I can compare the two Huawei modems for your benefit. (3 also offer another brand of modem, the ZTE - but I'd avoid that if you're ever thinking of using a Linux notebook like the Asus Eee, as I gather you can coax the Huawei into Linux compatibility, which is why I chose it, but I've not heard that you can do that with ZTE. Does anyone else know differently? By the way: the sales people in the 3 Shop didn't even know what Linux was.)

First impressions

By mobile broadband, people mean getting high speed internet access on the move via your laptop or notebook computer or UMPC, rather than your mobile phone. Some people are even opting for "go everywhere" mobile broadband instead of fixed line Net access.

I'd recommend you look at 3's mobile broadband FAQs before you dive in -they're pretty informative. In particular, they say the speed available is "2.8 Mbps in our Turbo coverage areas, and at 384 Kbps in our Video coverage areas." (They split the country into areas; obviously you get higher speeds in a "Turbo" area than in a "Video" area.) You can even check their coverage in your postcode - and you should. Even if you're supposed to be in a Turbo area.

But - it's slower than top ADSL/cable broadband speeds, and you're very dependent on how good the signal is in the EXACT area where you want to use it.

If it's getting fast(er) HSDPA, the modem LED glows blue. Blue is nice. I like blue:

If it can only get an old slow GSM signal, it goes green. Green is not nice:

Even more strongly, I'd recommend that, if you can, you should get the dongle from the 3 website and not from a 3 shop. Why? Because of the much better returns period.

At the time of writing anyway, if you get it from a shop you have only 3 days (including the date of purchase) to try it out in all the places where you might want to use it, especially if you travel a lot. If you order it online, you have 14 days from the date of delivery -but you can't return it if you've used it on more than 3 separate days during those 14 days, so you'll need to plan your trial - use it in place A, drive or train it to place B on the same day and try it there phew, the next day go to place C, try it there, go to place D etc. 3 days only, restrain yourself! Obviously if it works fine everywhere you need it, you don't need to return it and you can use it on as many days as you like.

You can tell I don't think much of that returns policy. The whole point is that 3 should be targeting and marketing mobile broadband to people who are often on the move and need broadband access on their laptop in a number of different locations. Imagine how annoyed and frustrated people will be if they tie themselves into a 12 or 18 month contract, then find they can't get the speed they thought they were paying for.

Isn't it better to give everyone a 14 day returns period, let them try it out as often as they like during that period (as long as they pay for the data used if they end up returning the dongle), and let them return it if it doesn't work where they need it? Then, they'll think "What good customer service and what a customer orientated network, I'll tell my friends, & next time I'll try them again" - rather than "Pah, I now have to pay over the next year for a service I can't use properly, I hate 3". They should be making it easier for people to test it in different places, not hard.

The reason I'm going on at length about trying it out everywhere, or at least the 2 or 3 places where you're most likely to need it, is this: you can't necessarily assume their postcode checker is definitive - coverage isn't as good as I'd hoped, and you need to check it out before you get stuck with a contract for a service that you can't in practice use.

I live in London, pretty centrally. That's Turbo if anywhere is, and so their postcode checker said. But with both the E169G and the E220 modems I'm lucky if I can get 56k (yes, that's dial-up speeds) in my living room, even though T-Mobile's web n walk on my mobile isn't web n crawl (for a change) in the same room. I couldn't go anywhere at 56k on my notebook via the 3 connection, even in the lightning fast Opera browser. Through experimentation, there's only one room where I can get broadband-like speeds, and then only if I'm right by the window. The E169 does maintain broadband speeds if I then move to the next room - but the E220 doesn't.

In my office in the City it's even worse, but then my building seems to be in a mobile black spot anyway (see my BarCamp moan!). Yes their postcode checker had said I'd be OK there, but I wasn't.

Both modems are fine at the South Bank complex however, at least if you're not in a lower ground area - not that I've tried every single lower ground area there, but you get my drift.

I'll be testing it at various other locations as soon as I can, including outside London.

There's meant to be a 3 Web Accelerator to speed up usage for Windows computers Again, I've not had time to download or try it out yet.

So, that's my first impression - how well it works is very, very dependent on the exact few feet (or metres) where you want to use it. So you need to try it out before you buy, in the places where you'll be needing it. Initial niggle - when you remove the end cap which protects the USB connector on the E169G, you have to find somewhere safe to keep the cap, as it won't fit over the other end of the dongle; not very good design, that, it would have been so easy to make it fit.

When (or rather where) it works, it's good, much better than GSM, though not as fast as wifi. More on the nuts & bolts of 3 mobile broadband in use in my next post.

Full disclosure

3's PR people at 3mobilebuzz have set conditions on lending me this dongle:

I can use it free for about 3 months
I have to blog about my experiences with the modem - good or bad (which I would do anyway)
In my first post I have to drill down into some specifics around the pricing structure and link to their pricing page.

They specifically wanted to know "if, as a blogger, you think their pricing/tariff will make a difference to how, and how much, you blog. Their plan means that, if you use 3 for your phone contract (either as a new or existing customer), you get any of the 18 or 24 month mobile broadband packages half price before the end of April [Imp note: now, end May]. Do you think this would encourage you to blog in a more mobile way? And how important are text plans to you as a blogger - for example, is 3's new unlimited text deal a big hook, so you can feel free to update Twitter or Jaiku as much as you want? Or is the fact you can IM for free on 3 mobiles using MSN and Yahoo! Messenger more important? what you think of the USB stick and whether you think it could make a difference to yourself and your readers. Do you think it could help you as a blogger? Does it make blogging easier while on the move?"

Follow up post - to follow!

Regular readers of ACE and those familiar with my LG posts will be expecting a more detailed, practical post than this.

Well, you'll be getting one. I really don't feel I can review any gear properly without fully testing it, and a week or two just isn't long enough. As I can use the E169 modem for 3 months, or rather less than that at this point, I'll be trying it out at different locations and will report further when I've done so, and I'll also give my views on choosing mobile broadband in the UK generally, and compare the two Huawei modems more fully, plus relate my experiences with trying the 3 Web Accelerator.

If you're impatient and can't wait - go for the E169G, not the E220. Personally I chose 3 for mobile broadband rather than Vodafone or T-Mobile, and I made that decision and signed up for an 18 month contract with 3 before I'd even heard of 3mobilebuzz - I'll explain why in my follow up review, as well as why I chose the particular plan I did.

Also, I am in the queue for an Asus Eee PC 900, the 8 GB version, which I hope to get in May. I'll be testing the E169G with the Eee then, and obviously checking its Linux compatibility and reporting back on that.

In my next post I'll also answer 3mobilebuzz's questions about my views on their pricing, text plans etc and their implications for bloggers - and, I think more relevantly for readers of ACE, people generally, not just bloggers. If you have thoughts on those issues too, do please let me know.

If any Mac users would like to offer their laptops temporarily for a quick trial of the dongles on a Mac (maybe at a London Geek Dinner or coffee?), again please let me know.

Finally, dear readers, where in London would you like me to try it out and report back? Free location tester here, take advantage of me while you can. Within reason... I'm not going to the top of the Millennium Wheel or hanging out of the Tower of London with laptop & the USB stick! Well, not unless someone's willing to pay for m'ticket...