Internet question.

[AuburnWarrior]

My Mum (>70) wants to buy a laptop as her current PC is rubbish.

Her internet provider is currently BT.

Now, my question is, would people recommend she stays with BT or purchase one of those 'dongle' things??

She uses the internet for e-mails and a little surfing. She doesn't download films or music and she doesn't watch TV on it. She may listen to the radio occassionally. As a result, her usage is fairly low.

She's also fairly frequently at other locations hence my dongle question.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

AW

 

[full_throttle]

an ex colleague of mine is with bt and he got a dongle as part of the package, might be worth checking out

 

[dieseldave]

If you are going to get a dongle you will need to go to mobile operators websites to see what the 3g coverage is like in the areas it is going to be used in because sometimes it's so slow you will lose the will to live.

 

[Leftie]

I'm with BT and can get free connection to the net away from home as I have signed up for BT Open Zone and Fon. This uses other BT user's wireless network. Their actual router is secure but there is a spare "free" bandwidth available for others to connect to. (At least, I think that's how it works).

Obviously, it does depend on being fairly close to another BT subscriber who has also signed up but if you look at the BT Fon site you will see that the coverage is quite good.

http://btopenzone.hotspot-directory.com/

Enter a post code and zoom in.

HTH

 

[PhilTheFragger]

You will always get better broadband from a landline based router compared to a mobile based Dongle, unless you are more than 4 miles from the nearest exchange, in which case it might be a better option

Dongle is totally reliant on a mobile phone signal and is normally a poor second to a standard broadband connection

If she finds Bt too expensive, then have a look at plusnet
they advertise from £5 per month

Fragger

PC Hero To The Gentry

 

[User20205]

You will always get better broadband from a landline based router compared to a mobile based Dongle, unless you are more than 4 miles from the nearest exchange, in which case it might be a better option

Dongle is totally reliant on a mobile phone signal and is normally a poor second to a standard broadband connection

I'd second this, the choice between a dongle & fixed broadband is no choice. The dongle is pants unless you live in the exchange.

 

[JumpANDSpin]

A #G Dongle maybe worth investing in if she is on the go... although the speeds are not great.

 

[bozza]

I have a 3 dongle and mine aint too bad. Obviously it's nowhere near as fast as broadband but i use mine for surfing the net and downloading music and so on.

I do notice it can get abit slower at peak times of the day but it's deffintley a cheap alternative and you can just pay for what you use so no contracts.

But as said above check on the mobile websites to check the coverage of where you live.

 

[sawtooth]

If she is frequently at other locations using the laptop then the 3G dongle is probably worth a look. Infact some laptops are shipping with 3G built in. If not so much a mobile worker then she should stick with Wifi as it should be cheaper and the connection (in most cases) is faster and much more stable.

Theres always the option of connecting via WiFi at hotspots which are ever increasing in numbers.

If she does go 3G make sure beforehand that the carrier provides good 3G coverage in her home. A rough test is to see how good mobile phone coverage is at her home now. If its weak or up and down for voice then 3G data is unlikely. This will vary from one carrier to another.