Europe : Kevin Thomas of 3G.co.uk reviews the Vodafone 3G Mobile Connect Card.

Above shows the front and rear of the 3G Mobile Connect Card. The SIM slots into the slot provided on rear.

What It Does

The Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G / GPRS data card is used with almost any laptop to provide high-speed internet services and email access, letting you work on the move. This includes :

- access to internet-based email accounts
- browsing web page
- send and receive text messages
- chat using instant messages
- monitor your usage

What You get

Above shows what's provided in the kit.

The kit includes : Case ( top left ), Antenna ( top middle ), User Guide ( top right ), CD-ROM ( bottom left ), 3G Data Card ( bottom middle ) and the SIM Card holder - with SIM ( bottom right ).

First impressions

I was pleased to see the new Vodafone 3G logo ( see above ) on the front of the case and user guide to highlight the fact that this is a 3G service called "Vodafone live with 3G". It is based on the popular Mobile Connect GPRS service which was launched in 2003. In a third generation environment, 3G Mobile Connect performance reaches new levels with speeds achieved akin to ADSL access.

The kit is well presented with a great deal of thought having gone into making the “Box” as small as possible whilst keeping the kit protected from transit damage.

The outer box is a plastic cassette housing the 16 page user guide, SIM card, CD-ROM called “Vodafone Mobile Connect”, and the 3G/GPRS data card.

The data card measures approx. 12 cm x 5.5cm x 1cm and is manufactured by Option.

It's possible to access files on your company Local Area Network (LAN). You'll need I.T. support to arrange a link between your computer network and Vodafone's 3G mobile network. An IT guide ia available.

Where It Works

Currently, "Vodafone live with 3G" covers the following major towns and cities in the UK : London and the area inside the M25, Greater London, Reading, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Southampton. Rapid expansion scheduled planned.

Does It Work

The Mobile Connect card software is installed via the supplied CD-ROM which is pretty straightforward to install. No probs. There is one control panel which you display on your Laptop to control everything.

Hit the connect button and you can use the SMS, email, web and the Vodafone Instant messenger.

"Vodafone live with 3G" is 7 times faster than GPRS. "Vodafone live with 3G" service is just about the same speed as a "wired" broadand connection into your office.

During our usage we were experiencing download speed of 330kbit/s and an upload speed of somewhere around 55 kbit/s. The max claimed speeds are 364 and 64 kbit/s.

It seems as though the card itself automatically setups all the access codes for dialing etc.etc. The SMS control panel is the place to manage text messages.

There are four possible modes of operation for” Vodafone live with 3G ”

3G only – only connects to 3G network. No 3G signal no connection.

3G preferred – Connect to 3G. If no 3G then seeks GPRS.

GPRS preferred – Connect to GPRS. If no GPRS then seeks 3G.

GPRS only – only connects to GPRS.

The kit has a plug-in external antenna which seems to be needed at all times. You need to hook it up somewhere. Its need to be vertical.

I live on the outskirts of both 3’s and Vodafone’s 3G coverage so my connection was shunting back and forth and it seems to manage this rather well.

I wonder is this just a laptop thing or can phones handle the dual-band ( 3G and GPRS ) handovers just as well. I don’t know till I try this out on a phone.

What It needs

The card requires:

An Intel compatible PC that runs Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 Pro, NT4-SP6a, XP Pro/Home Edition.

Win98 must be the Second Edition (SE) - the First Edition is not supported. This is because Microsoft implemented advanced features for the dialup networking in 98SE. These features are necessary for the VMCC.

WinNT4 must be updated to Service Pack 6a (SP6a) or later. No older versions are supported.
- 90 MHz Pentium-compatible CPU
- 32 MB of RAM (64MB recommended)
- 50 MB minimum (100MB recommended) of available space on Hard Disk
- CD-ROM drive
- PC Card (PCMCIA) Release 2.1, Type II or Type III card slot.

What It Costs

Low user
The card costs £200, £11-75p per month provides 5MB of data per month with each additional MB costing £2.35p.

Medium User ( currently a special offer is available )
The card costs £150, £23-50p per month provides 50MB of data per month with each additional MB costing £1.76p.

As can be seen from above it is not cheap but I suspect that a mid to high end user would find this an acceptable business expense.

Overall Conclusion

At this early stage of 3G in the UK, I suspect the majority of subscribers will come via mid to high end users and road warrior types.

I can certainly see “slick” website designers and sales people going bundles for this as they show-off in front of clients.

"Vodafone live with 3G" is more convenient than having to locate a Wi-Fi hotspot and gives more freedom at a price not much more than your broadband internet connection at home.

Vodafone themselves have stated their target market is the business user and also those that travel on business.

The 3G Mobile Connect Card is a common product aimed at these countries (Australia , Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta , Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom ).

Vodafone has roaming agreements in Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands ( with others following up soon ) and Vodafone claim full continuity.

The 3G Mobile Connect Card performs well and as long as you can afford the monthly costs I see no reason not to have this.

After all, this is part of the reason 3G was developed.