Please can someone take pity on me and help me see choose a pay as you go dongle....

[Mumof]

for my bro

I bought him the HP 2133 Mini-Note Netbook - C7-M 1.2 GHz - 8.9Inch - 1 Gb Ram - 120 Gb HDD - WiFi - Linux OS but it needs a mobile broadband dongle to use it on the internet and I know he haw about them

I think they are all much of a muchness, to be honest. I have a Three PAYG dongle and it is pretty good, good coverage and not expensive. I use it all the time. It is not great with Mac software but others have told me it is fine with PCs so you should be fine. I've also heard good reports about the 02 dongle.

I was told by comet that Linux does not except the dongles, only broadband, sorry

My mum bought a HP Linux and it never worked, she had to exchange it for windows

Sorry, the netbook worked but not the internet with the dongle, they are not compatible

Thanks was thinking about this deal AT DIXONS here but it says the 3 reception where he is is dodgy hmm

is there a website I can punch in his pcode do you know to find the best reception? x

oh really as this notebook is linxus! I didnt know that lol!

HP says there's a Linux version and a Windows version.

If you have the Linux version then some dongles will work, e.g the Huawei E220, but you probably need someone technical to help get it set up. Note, I haven't actually done this myself. I'm going by what I find on Google.

really ok thanks ill look

dunno quite what that measn for my partic model

will try to look........

HI cruel, how did you work out what dongle would work ie the Huawei E220 and is that a dongle on wireless network or mobile network do you know. ps, thanks!

Huawei E220 is a mobile dongle (modem)

There are a number of different models out, the one I have at home (I'm on a friend's PC right now) is the E160 (on Three), I think.

Later numbers came out, some may offer faster connection speeds.

I came across this page describing problems getting an E160 to work from Linux, so stick with Windows XP at home (I have a few PCs with Linux, but XP works and I'd prefer to use the net than explore how to get it working under Linux).

One way round it, which is far from ideal, is to use the wi-fi 'share the Three' connection unit, which the dongle plugs into, and then laptops etc can connect via wi-fi. However, I see that Three coverage isn't great for your brother.

As for a postcode check, I don't know of one which shows best coverage for all networks, but there is the Ofcom Site Finder which shows which masts are nearby.

Do remember that some 'networks' are 'piggybacked' on others, probably not, yet, for data (only the big 5 are offering internet modem dongles) but for example, Asda mobile uses the Vodafone network, Virgin Mobile is using the T-Mobile network for voice, and there are others like Tesco and CPW Talk Mobile tariff. (So you won't find 'cell' masts for Tesco, Asda, etc.)

oh right thanks!!!!! so much!

Think I should return it and buy him something with windows (is it?) rather than linxus?

Is that doable for £200 as thats my max budget?

any tips re what to buy? thanks again!

I recently bought an O2 dongle for use with my netbook.

It cost £20 and I paid for a day's access for £2.

I thought it was really slow, tbh. It was still definitely broadband (much faster than dial-up), but I kind of lost momentum trying to show my Facebook photos to elderly relatives.

I'm glad I have it though, as £2 for access isn't something to worry about. Since we have proper BB at home, it is only for occasional travelling

I bought an O2 one which I'm taking back (coverage not good here) but the good thing was it was PAYG - orange only do contracts.
It was £30, then £2/half gigabyte for 1 day, £5 for 1G for a week, £7.50 for 2G for a fortnight, £15 for 3G for a month I think

Vodaphone do one where the credit doesn't run out after a month or whatever if you haven't used it - think mine was about £35 with £30 worth of credit.

oooh do they!!
That's what we were looking for - after I tried O2 and orange I assumed it was standard.
We could really do with one (assuming reception is good) but would use it sporadically so that would be perfect. Thanks.

Yes, if you check CPW or similar, you'll see the various "pay monthly" and "PAYG/ top up" deals. Many have 30 day limits, one showed 90 days, one Vodafone deal had no apparent time limit, and there's a 70 quid package at Dixons giving 12 GB with a 12 MONTH limit (on Three).

Mumof will check a few sites tomorrow - there might be some 'netbook' deal but where Linux normally scores is not having to pay Microsoft a fee of 50 quid or more for the Windows OS.

The Vodafone PAYG deal is here. When you get it, there is a 180 day limit, but very badly worded, so I'm not sure exactly what it means. My best guess is that you have to register the voucher within 180 days, but it could be credit expires after 180 days or 180 days after last use.

The modem I got on this package was the K3565 and it seems to be compatible with the Betavine package on Linux (see the other thread for a link).

Thanks xx any help is and will be gratefully accepted still dont know whether to keep the netbook and let you guys choose me an actual dongle thatll work with the linux hp2133 or tell me what to buy instead once I return it

I found a netbook at 220 quid (sorry - over your limit) on Ebuyer: see
www.ebuyer.com/product/172718 but I guess for the HP2133 there might be some forum comments about getting a UK mobile dongle working (unfortunately my net access is limited as I have no electricity at home at present, so depends on visiting a friend and being let loose on that PC for a bit, so time / access limited!)

thanks webdude will look at that

no elecy eek for you!

eeek indeed. Pain is when I see something nice in a supermarket and then spot only 'microwave' option. Had a nice chicken curry the other day (metal plate went in the gas over so I knew it was thoroughly heated through, but much longer than 4 minutes in the microwave).

However, it is causing me to do a much-needed 'spring clean' (5 years overdue) as I cannot escape to a PC 18 hours a day...

Nice find yesterday was a box of plain white wax candles, dating back to the mid-70s when I lived in Sussex and there was a Co-Op up the road selling such essentials (during the power cuts when I was at school).

aw bless you

the good old days