3UK Reveal iPad Specific Data Plans

As the iPad is emerging closer, 3UK have revealed their data plans in supporting the device. They already have a great MiFi deal which gives great access, but now they also have specific iPad data plans for those that will be purchasing the iPad 3G version.

The plans come in 2 different varieties; one for the casual user and one for more heavier users. Both are SIM only, monthly rolling contracts and cost £7p/m and £15p/m respectively with the former offering 1GB whilst the latter will include 10GB of data usage. Great news for those that are planning to purchase a 3G iPad.

Of course for those that may be getting the WiFi only version, there 3UK Mifi is a great deal as I mentioned in a previous post. It also saves £50 off the retail price and that should give you enough change for as much data one cold consume in a few months.

More info can be found on the official 3Blog post and their website.

Read More

Mobile Geeks of London VIII

image courtesy of Whatleydude

Same place, same time, different day is where Mobile Geeks of London VIII will be taking place. Friday, 28th May at All Bar One New Oxford Street to be precise.

As usual it will be a casual affair with fellow bloggers, geeks and tech enthusiasts and evangelists. This special meetup will have a few tech for those attending to get their grubby beer smeared hands on, in particular @whatleydude has had a few requests, words from the horses mouth;

We have a couple of themes this time 'round. What with the UK iPad launch imminent and the recent announcement of the Nokia N8 a few folk have come forward and made a couple of requests:

1) If you are the very lucky owner of an iPad come MGoL, then one fine, young upstanding gentleman has promised to buy you a drink. That's right. I've said to him this might be bad if we all turn up with one each, but he assures me that won't happen. We'll see ;)

2) Someone else recently enquired if I knew any linux developers who were coding for the Nokia N900. They're in search of fellow chaps they can geek out and exchange code with and, if you fit the bill, make sure you come along!

I shall be attending and so will many other cool, interesting and fellow geeks. Even for a brief pint / lemonade just pop in and say hi. All very friendly atmosphere and welcoming people in attendance. If u haven't yet, you can RSVP via Facebook to let others know, and find out who's planning to attend.

Read More

NokiaNav Challenge

I recently wrote up about the #NokiaNav challenge which was taking place and the fact I would be taking part in some of the shenanigans. Last Friday my mission was to meet up with @WomWorldNokia and do some challenges.

Upon arrival we were given our first task;

image courtesy of JonChoo

Using the provided Nokia E72 handsets using Ovi Maps to navigate to a location nearby. Upon arrival we were greeted with these motorised bicycles. Where we received our next challenge.

image courtesy of Nexus_

The second challenge was to get to the rendezvous and meet up with our partners in crime; the previously mentioned lucky drivers. I was paired up with @TheProdigalFool who I would have to team up and do the final challenge with.

image courtesy of Nexus_

The final challenge was to navigate the drivers to the final rendezvous point; WomWorldNokia Meetup. Henceforth I entered the details into OviMaps and navigated to there - Simples. Oh yeah, I arrived in a Porsche. :D

The meetup itself was a nice occasion, the usual free beverages and food was available, whilst it was also a great opportunity to catch up with fellow bloggers, and Nokia Ovi Maps staff. We were demoed a video of the whole NokiaNav initiative, which looked pretty cool - even though it was a rough draft edit. Keep your eyes peeled for the final cut, which should be up soon on WomWorldNokia's website.

For a lot more pictures of the event and cars you should check out Nexus_ and Jon Choo's respective Flickr pages. there are some awesome pictures on there.

Read More

Quick Hands-On: iPad + 3MiFi

I popped into 3mobilebuzz HQ to have a play around with the Apple iPad. My impressions of it are very promising.

The iPad is an intriguing device which is aiming to take over a market which has existed for long time, but hasn't really been filled by anyone. The iPad can be described as a large iPhone without the phone functionality. It's a cross between netbook and tablet. There is plenty of information on the Apple website about the specific functionality of the device.

Whilst using the device which was coupled with a 3UK Mifi I still haven't figured out what usage I may possibly bring out of it, but I know I definitely want one. Accompanied by the 3UK MiFi, webpages loaded pretty fast, Youtube did play initially (although my experiences was hindered by data being used up on the MiFi account), which indicates more than anything that the iPad needs a data connection and large amounts of mobile data. The screen is beautiful, responsive - I was urged to try touch typing, which I found very quickly to be accurate and comfortable. Videos payback on it smooth, no frame drops, no jittering or ghosting. It's very vibrant, the colours are well saturated and vivid. Apps like Marvel Comics were astounding to view. Watching trailers from the Apple website is a pleasure.

The only negative is the glossy screen, having had a glossy Macbook previously I can say the glossy screen is a no go for me. It reflects every single bit of light from every single angle. Using it in well lit conditions or even outside on a sunny day will not be a good experience, unless done at a precise angle. Taking pictures of the screen was a struggle as can be viewed from pictures taken; and these are some of the decent ones.

I still don't quite know what I'll use one for, but video consumption, e-mail, web and games is very much on the agenda. It's a great alternative to carrying around a netbook or small laptop. Whilst it does lack a physical keyboard, the onscreen keyboard is adequate enough and very accurate. It will take a little getting used to when it comes down to using functions like shift, characters and numbers as there is a need to toggle rather than the shift or number pad found on most keyboards. That in itself is a process of moving away from the traditional form of input - just like the single mouse button, touchpads and multi finger gestures found on Apple products such as Macbooks and iMacs.

Pricing information of the iPad for the UK and a few other locations have been announced:

• £429 (inc. VAT) for 16GB Wi-Fi iPad
• £499 (inc. VAT) for 32GB Wi-Fi iPad
• £599 (inc. VAT) for 64GB Wi-Fi iPad
• £529 (inc. VAT) for 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad
• £599 (inc. VAT) for 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad
• £699 (inc. VAT) for 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad

There is a £100 price difference between the WiFi and 3G version of the iPad, which begs the questions; is it worth getting the 3G version and paying the extra £100 premium? I personally think not. a 3UK MiFi costs £49.99 and is a great alternative and comfortable companion for the iPad. There is the option of addon data bundles required whilst saving over £50 on initial purchase of an iPad and 3G data connection.

Read More

Updates & Info On 3UK In-Car WiFi

Three recently released In-car WiFi, which is a great way to stay online on the move. It's a great way to connect many WiFi capable devices to share an internet connection for many reasons such as; streaming music, social status updates, e-mails and even watching streaming video.

Three have released some extra information after doing some research in the use cases for in-car WiFi:

• 82 per cent of parents battle with children when travelling in the car because they are bored or restless when left without entertainment
• More than half of British parents (54 per cent) would rather stay home and avoid discovering the UK by road than set out with their kids
• What’s worse is that 10 percent would rather have root canal therapy than endure car travel with the kids!
• 71 per cent of British people believe portable Wi-Fi access in a car, where up to five passengers can connect to Wi-Fi devices, would be useful for work and entertainment while travelling
• The M25 is considered the most tedious motor journey by 40 percent of British people, followed by the M1 (22 per cent) and the M6 (20 per cent)
• 8 out of 10 parents have battled with kids when travelling by car because they get bored or restless if left without entertainment
• 60 per cent would be more likely or would consider travelling in a taxi with Wi-Fi
• One in three British people (34 per cent) would use In-car Wi-Fi for social media purposes and emailing friends, followed by one in five (21 per cent) for work purposes and one in six (18 per cent) to stream online videos (eg BBC iPlayer and YouTube)

Charlotte Blanchard (Director of Products & Services at 3) also added:

In car Wi-Fi is a handy solution for parents battling the "are we there yet" syndrome. Front seat passengers can check the traffic information and read the news headlines online, while the kids in the back can download music, view social networking sites, or connect their Nintendo DSI to play games online

This clearly shows there is a need and market for on the go WiFi and Three have once again offered a service which consumers want and need. If you have one and are using it, I'd be interested in finding out how it's performed, has it changed your journey experience?

 The Three in-car WiFi is available for £59.99 in shops now.

Read More

NokiaNav Showcasing Ovi Maps

WomWorldNokia are working with some bloggers and car enthusiasts to showcase the power of Ovi maps, the initiative is being pushed pretty strongly from what I can see. Some very lucky folk have been given cars and Nokia navigation accessories to use and navigate their way using clues. You can follow the latest ongoings by clicking onto the #NokiaNav hashtag on Twitter.

The story so far; five bloggers have been given some awesome cars to drive around for a week, doing various challenges:

@TheProdigalFool - Porsche 911 - TheProdigalGuide

@Nechbi - Maserati QuattroPorte - MyPocketOS

@ItsNoel - Audi TT-S - VAGOC

@Macintosh - BMW M3 - MostlyThis

@StobbsC - Aston Martin DB9 Volante - NomadsNirvana

The whole point is to demonstrate the power of Ovi Maps, a service which Nokia has made available free for most Nokia devices. With turn by turn voice guided navigation for absolutely free, one could hardly go wrong. It's one of the reasons I went out and bought a Nokia 5800.

I'm glad to say I've been included in some of these shenanigans, I received the above card with some instructions. More info will be arriving this Thursday. Until then I would urge you to follow the lucky guys with the cars on Twitter, the WomWorldNokia guys and their website and the #NokiaNav hashtag.

Read More