Dongle or not?

[laurieash]

Just thinking about going on to a dongle, as my house phone does not get used
with us all on mobiles.
So its just used for Bt home Hub and thats just for internet. which i use about 2 hours a day sometimes less.
I have no experence of dongles etc. so need you guys in the know to guide me.
also want it for when touring in the caravan. seen some on O2 on pay as you go? Laurie.

[jims-terrano]

Dongle will be slower.

Also depends upon what signal strength each provider has in your area. I have a Vodafone with strong signal but very poor speed and so was my phone with them. Virgin is spot on with the phone internet so I would guess dongle will be the same. I've seen a 3 dongle in action and that too was fast.

You can also get Routers or mobile wifi's (MIFI) devices to share the internet too.

Investigate price first though if I were you.

[danielj]

As jims-terrano said. Dongle will likely be a bit slower but a lot will depend on network coverage in your area. In my experience the dongle/wireless can be affected by number of people on the network in an area at a specific time-so on heavy use times it can be slow if not inoperative at times. But again depends on the network provider. I have switched from a dongle to a wifi and I find it handy as it provides a network for up to five devices, e.g. wireless printer runs through it without cables.

[laurieash]

Originally Posted by danielj

As jims-terrano said. Dongle will likely be a bit slower but a lot will depend on network coverage in your area. In my experience the dongle/wireless can be affected by number of people on the network in an area at a specific time-so on heavy use times it can be slow if not inoperative at times. But again depends on the network provider. I have switched from a dongle to a wifi and I find it handy as it provides a network for up to five devices, e.g. wireless printer runs through it without cables.

wifi is that not from my hub? sorry a bit thick when it comes to this sort of thing

[stinka]

Dongles are the pits

Just get virgin tbh

[darryl]

i have a 3 dongle which i use on my pc its great for just surfing the net fast enough in my opinion depends on what u are doing downloading music or films no good for that darryl

[danielj]

Originally Posted by laurieash

wifi is that not from my hub? sorry a bit thick when it comes to this sort of thing

Not sure what you mean by hub but the wifi unit I have is from 3 and its about the size of a small mobile phone and works much the same as a dongle except that it does not need to be stuck into a slot on the computer and it also creates a small local network of your own.

[laurieash]

Originally Posted by danielj

Not sure what you mean by hub but the wifi unit I have is from 3 and its about the size of a small mobile phone and works much the same as a dongle except that it does not need to be stuck into a slot on the computer and it also creates a small local network of your own.

Hi looked on 3 seen a Huawel E586 MIFI is this what you are talking about? if so does it need to be plugged into a 240 mains supply. as i do not always have electric when in caravan Laurie.