Mifi dongles

[1gear]

Hi guys
Thought I'd give it a quick ask. I've got an iPad 2 which I will be taking away with me when I start to work away. It is just he wifi version but I'd like to be able to get Internet on it. I've been looking at those Mifi dongle things for a while for it but there's a few different companies doing different ones. 3, orange, t mobile seem to be the ones doing one, I was hoping O2 would bring one out but they haven't. Has anyone got any experience with them? Which network to stay away from and what good deals?
Il be using it for some browsing on websites, emailing and maybe use it to look up where I'm going if need be.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers

[Tewdric]

My Three one works well enough - it's the original Huwaei jobbie.  It's good in that up to 5 devices can hang off it, and you can position it for the best signal - in the window of the pub, for example.  I keep thinking of changing to a little USB dongle for neatness as I only ever use it with my Eee PC, but I have half an eye on a tablet soon and it might come in handy.

[1gear]

My Three one works well enough - it's the original Huwaei jobbie.  It's good in that up to 5 devices can hang off it, and you can position it for the best signal - in the window of the pub, for example.  I keep thinking of changing to a little USB dongle for neatness as I only ever use it with my Eee PC, but I have half an eye on a tablet soon and it might come in handy.

The Three one does seem to give a good deal on data. I sort of wish that I went for a 3G iPad now however I didn't so never mind.
How much data allowance do you normally use? I have mobile broadband on my phone but the counter never seems t be very accurate.

[Tewdric]

I top up 1GB per month and the timer runs out before the data does.  I generally just use it for email and YACF at work though, so nothing very demanding.

[Zipperhead]

Am I the only one who read the subject as "Milf dongle"?

Mine's on 3, I use it for when I need net wireless access away from home, and also as a backup for home in case there's a power cut or a proble with the ADSL.

[tonycollinet]

Mines on 3 as well. It is possible to by sim cards from amazon resellers with 3 months/3gb for around £12. I've never managed to use 1GB of that in the three months. Makes them pretty cheap to run. Hang on.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Broadband-Preloaded-Mobile-Devices/dp/B003Z0T3X2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326051537&sr=8-1

I've had 2 so far, and have a 3rd waiting to be activated next time I need mobile broadband.

[Paul Rainbow]

I have an iPad 1 (wifi only) and the USB connector, thought I would try out the orange mobile broadband dongle I use with my laptop. When I plugged it in it said unsupported device.

Maybe different with the iPad 2 but the USB connector has limited functionality and is mainly for use with cameras and keyboards.

I believe you maybe able to tether the iPad to an iPhone to use it.

[1gear]

I have an iPad 1 (wifi only) and the USB connector, thought I would try out the orange mobile broadband dongle I use with my laptop. When I plugged it in it said unsupported device.

Maybe different with the iPad 2 but the USB connector has limited functionality and is mainly for use with cameras and keyboards.

I believe you maybe able to tether the iPad to an iPhone to use it.

Which is why you need a Mifi dongle and not just a normal USB dongle. The Mifi acts as a wireless router.
It will be about my main source of Internet from Monday to Friday/Saturdays besides my phone and will be what keeps me from being bored in the evenings and on my breaks.
I don't really  get the the T mobile one, so I may need t go in and ask. It says if you go over your allowance then you don't get charged extra(I think) but you get restricted.
I will be mainy using for looking on Internet forums mainly.
What's the signal like on three? Didn't it used to be crap?

[Paul Rainbow]

Ah! Obviously not up to date on my dongle knowledge!

Just googled mifi doh! But very interesting, a useful gadget for many wifi enabled devices

[Manotea]

When my iPhone 3G went missing I used the insurance money to buy a HTC Desire S.

Smartphones which can act as a wifi hotspot are the way to go.

[sas]

I don't really  get the the T mobile one, so I may need t go in and ask. It says if you go over your allowance then you don't get charged extra(I think) but you get restricted.
I will be mainy using for looking on Internet forums mainly.

I've got a T-mobile mobile broadband dongle (which should be the same data plan as the mifi), when you hit the data allowance they say they'll prevent you downloading or streaming large files but allow normal browsing without a penalty. I've only hit the limit once and didn't notice any difference in speed. They've also got an agreement to share their network with Orange.

[fuaran]

You could buy a mifi on whatever network is cheapest, then unlock it. Then you could use an O2 SIM in it if you want.
I think most mifis are rebranded Huawei or ZTE, which can be fairly easily unlocked - might cost about £5 or £10 to unlock.

[Wombat]

When my iPhone 3G went missing I used the insurance money to buy a HTC Desire S.

Smartphones which can act as a wifi hotspot are the way to go.

^^^^^^  Wot 'e sed. 

Still working out the finer nuances of my Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, but I have used its wifi hotspot function already.  Seems a far easier way, as pretty well all of us that want to do this sort of thing tend to have a phone of a fair standard.  I must confess to some amusement over all the things you can't do with an iphone, though.  I gather they don't cover certain "wavebands" for other countries, I came across this whilst investigating NZ prepay sim cards, and I kept reading "you can't access this one on an iphone because" whilst going through the various providers.  Mine seems to have all the "wavebands" I saw mentioned.  I certainly didn't think about that when I chose it, although I probably should have done...