A simple conclusion, based on my experiences of the last 12 months.
Trying to keep this brief: I've been using the two networks for both mobile phone and dongle internet.
The test area is North Yorkshire, Cleveland, County Durham and Tyne and Wear.
Vodafone works everywhere, the calls are clearer, and the dongle's quicker, even when it's only getting a 2G signal.
In contrast, Orange is patchy in every respect, fine on the rare occasions there's a good signal, but there rarely is, for phone or dongle.
My next conclusion is you get what you pay for.
Whichever way you cut the various tariffs, Vodafone is more expensive than Orange.
My £20 a month phone and dongle package on Orange would cost £30+ on Vodafone.
|
|
I think you will find both Vodafone and O2 have a big advantage for coverage. They both have access to the GSM 900MHz frequencies. Therefore as a fall back you will have a better signal. Soon they will be using those frequencies for 3G which is a little unfair because their competitors do not have these. Indeed the 900MHz frequencies were sold (or maybe given away?) long before mobile broadband was even thought about.
|
|
Isn't Orange piggy-backing T-Mobile's signal nowadays ?
|
|
Tmobile coverage is worse than Oranges anyway! Call quality on both is lousy. O2 is much better I have found. Voda is the only network I haven't tried. Friend has orange phone and cannot get a signal at home properly. I found t-mobile would have no signal when at my parent's home and yet o2 had full 3.5g coverage in the same place with the same phone.
|
You think Orange UK is rubbish...
Think yourself lucky you have nothing to do with Orange France (which has now also brought its special brand of ineptitude to the landline network that used to be efficient France Telecom).
|
Ive had Vodafone mobiles for 14 years and ive stuck with them for good reason.
My wife has O2, but the countless number of times she cant get signal or the call gets cut off as we are driving around tells me that my ultra reliable Vodafone signal is well worth hanging onto.
Doesnt matter how much cheaper the contract is, if that one time you REALLY need a mobile and you cant get signal, no amount of cheap deals will make up for a phone that cant ring anyone.
|
|
I agree with the comments re Vodafone coverage. I have bargain package with them which gives me 900 minutes a month to landlines and mobiles plus unlimited texts for £12.50 a month
|
Have corporate Vodafone and my personal phone is with Virgin.
Vodafone around everywhere I go (Cambridge and environs, including swathes of East Anglia) is without exception utter rubbish in comparison. That might be, of course, because it's an iPhone 3GS which although it might be very clever in some areas is a dreadful phone.
|
|
My iPhone is on O2 and I have a little rugged Nokia thing I use on the bike which switches between Voda SIMs and and O2 one, no appreciable difference in quality on either. My wife uses Orange - not many issues from what she says. Wish there was more 3G in this area though.
|
>> Isn't Orange piggy-backing T-Mobile's signal nowadays ?
>>
Yeh but! I had to ask them to do this as we were getting rubbish / no service for several weeks ( in a rural area like Esher) even though the base stations are less that 400 yards away.
We are both on Orange as we have contracts that cost £0 per month so we just pay for use.
No plans to give up those deals.
No plans to pay for fancy phones as calls and texts are fine for us.
|
All depends on where you live and generally hang about.
The 02 and Voda signal where I live is rubbish. The Orange signal is full strength as there is a transmitter just up the road from me. The nearest 02 / Voda is 3 or 4 miles away.
At work the signal strengths for 02, Voda, & Orange are the same, but the only 3G signal is from Orange.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 10:45
|
...Isn't Orange piggy-backing T-Mobile's signal nowadays ?...
I enabled that on my Orange phone, and if I happen to glance at the screen it sometimes says 'T-Mobile', so it is working.
Except it isn't, because the reception and call quality remains poor.
I'm particularly disappointed with Orange in towns, even when the phone's showing full signal, the call usually cuts out for a split second every few minutes.
Vodafone, by contrast, is crystal clear, better sometimes than my landline/cheapo cordless.
|
Orange and T mobile (or whatever they were called since inception) have been much poorer than O2 and Vodaphone.
To those who say, ah my but my Torange is great, clearly you don't get around much!
|
My Orange is great and I do get around much. Voda and o2 here utterly pointless.
On a slightly different subject my contract is up for renewal again and I will be sticking with Orange. However I want a smart thingy BUT with the ability to turn off 3g as a 2g phone signal here is far better. No replies asking me why please unless there is a sensible reason to ask it.
Cheers
|
>> I want a smart thingy BUT with the ability to turn off 3g
iPhone has that option. I suspect most if not all smart phones also have the option.
|
|
Martin, I regularly switch the 3g off on my Samsung Galaxy phone - makes the battery last so much longer.
|
New iPhone5 is rumoured to have much longer battery life.
|
|
TBH, battery life on the Iphone4 is not a problem.
|
A Google for 'iPhone battery life' reveals hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints.
Which is why the new iPhone will have a stronger battery.
|
I dont care what you get by googling. How many iphone's are sold? what proportion of those are moaning about battery life?
Battery life on my Iphone 4 is not a problem. I dont suppose mine is a special version with increased battery life just for me.
|
...I dont care what you get by googling. How many iphone's are sold? what proportion of those are moaning about battery life?...
Predictably tetchy response, but if the reverse was true - you were complaining about battery life and no other users were - the new iPhone wouldn't have a better battery.
Apple is merely responding to the market.
|
Ok Google for good battery life from an Iphone 4 gets 15 million hits
Google for poor battery life get 1.5 million hits.
Of course they are responding to the market, any good you can say is good to say. But battery life has hardly been a barrier to sales to date, has it.
I was merely passing comment on a personal experience, with no other intention which you clearly took in some other way. When you get an Iphone and tell us your personal experience I might be a little less tetchy, OK?
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 13:23
|
...But battery life has hardly been a barrier to sales to date, has it?...
The most complaints I've heard about smartphones of any make is battery life.
I reckon some prospective purchasers will have been put off, but there's no easy way of proving that one way or the other.
Were I marketing a new smartphone, I would want to have a good answer to the question: "How long does the battery last?", because I think it's a question which will be asked many times.
Last edited by: Iffy on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 13:39
|
The thing that takes up most power on a smartphone when used is the screen. But then a phone with a bright 4" colour screen would need a lot of power. Looking at the battery use stats on my phone for the last 4 hours:
Display: 38%
Cell Standby: 14%
:
:
Wifi: 5%
:
etc
My phone after 24 hours can easily have close to 50% of battery left.... or sometimes be flat long before than. It all depends.
|
|
Something else that makes a difference (Rob's post reminds me) is what it's doing in the background. Mine is checking emails frequently and sync'ing not only with Google but also my work calendar periodically.
|
As a general point, I dont think "being put off" is a phrase that Apple buyers have encountered, let alone comprehend. One would have thought that the fact the Iphone 4 went deaf when one held it as god intended, and Mr Jobs then blaming it on users, would have "put buyers off"
It didnt it seems.
|
|
They're ultimate shiny kit - bit like a branded item of footwear or clothing. You become blind to the little flaws.....I like my iPhone but don't really love it, makes the various Blackberries I used in another life very clunky....Where's my iPAD ?
|
|
And for some I know the battery life of an iPhone can be poor and it's just accepted. I was on a course in Egham last year. Quite a few on the course had iPhones and as soon as they do otto the classroom in the morning they plugged them into a USB port to charge.
|
>> As a general point, I dont think "being put off" is a phrase that Apple
>> buyers have encountered, let alone comprehend. One would have thought that the fact the Iphone
>> 4 went deaf when one held it as god intended, and Mr Jobs then blaming
>> it on users, would have "put buyers off"
>>
>> It didnt it seems.
>>
Thus proving that Apple sales are a triumph of marketing over the product itself.
So long as they remain such, I will never buy one. Mrs A has an iPad which I use a bit, but the lack of flash on it renders it almost useless as an internet browsing device. And yet they outsell all other tablets, I presume. Our other tablet, a Samsung, has no such drawback. I didn't buy that one either though (it came from Mrs A's office), as I have a personal boycott in place over Samsung stuff due to their sponsorship of a certain vile football team.
|
>> either though (it came from Mrs A's office), as I have a personal boycott in
>> place over Samsung stuff due to their sponsorship of a certain vile football team.
Thus proving you are a sucker for marketing.
|
>> Thus proving you are a sucker for marketing.
Well, it's more a case of not having to supress a gag reflex every time I see the Samsung logo, but you can see it that way if you like.
Sure, we're all swayed by marketing to an extent, otherwise marketing wouldn't exist, but when people slavishly buy products which have an irresolvable fundamental flaw, such as the iPad and its lack of flash, then the sickness is very deep indeed.
|
My iphone has no flash. I thought it would be a problem. In fact, in use, I forget it does not have flash. Its never been a problem as most sites recognise the device as an iphone (or ipad ) and provide other methods of video.
Lack of Flash is an old, discredited anti pad/iphone argument.
|
>> most sites recognise the device as an iphone (or ipad ) and provide other methods of video.
Does the BBC offer this now? If so, I've missed that. As it's one of the sites I use most, lack of flash is a significant problem.
I haven't tried, but does YouTube work on an iPad? Vimeo?
|
>> Does the BBC offer this now?
Several BBC iphone/ipad dedicated apps. But if you choose to go to the site via an opera browser it sees you have a phone or pad and selects the right site.
>> I haven't tried, but does YouTube work on an iPad?
www.apple.com/ipad/built-in-apps/youtube.html
Vimeo?
Yup. Ipad and Iphone.
|
|
So it's a faff without Flash. No thanks.
|
|
Everywhere. Install apps, install differnet browrers, generally faff about. Don't want it. I want my device to access internet content without having to go through all that. Switch it on, surf, switch it off. Not: switch it on, surf, get error message, work out what's missing, find it and dowload it, install it. Faff.
|
Alanović, you're missing a point about using a smartphone. You do want to use apps. The screen is a bit small anyway.
What's wrong with using a fully featured app for iPlayer or Youtube instead of using a web page?
|
>> you're missing a point about using a smartphone.
I've got a smartphone, and I don't mind apps on that, given the tiny screen. Of course, it isn't an iPhone, which are dreadful.
I'm talking about iPads here.
To me an iPad is an alternative to a laptop/netbook (smartphone is a different kettle of fish). It costs as much, and doesn't do as much, and it isn't really any more portable. It's for posing. I'm not sold on the whole tablet concept (even though we have one at home and I do use it a bit), and I think the iPad is the worst ownership proposition and the worst value in that range.
I actually work for a tablet manufacturer (not going to say which), my official "work" line on the subject is somewhat different!
Last edited by: Alanović on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 15:34
|
...I actually work for a tablet manufacturer...
"Hello, is that Mr Alanovic?"
"It's the MD of Samsung UK here, we'd like to offer you a job for £100K a year."
|
>> "It's the MD of Samsung UK here, we'd like to offer you a job for
>> £100K a year."
>>
Hello, Mr MD. You know that place where the sun don't shine?
Call me back when you've stopped sponsoring the footballing world's biggest shower of excrement.
Last edited by: Alanović on Fri 5 Aug 11 at 10:09
|
...Call me back when you've stopped sponsoring the footballing world's biggest shower of excrement...
I like a man who sticks to his principles, even in the face of temptation.
If Emirates Airways offered me a job as communications director for £100K, I'd take it.
Reminds me of a keen Sunderland fan who went to see the Rolling Stones at St James's Park, Newcastle, many years ago.
"Can't stand the band," he said. "I only went to dig up the pitch."
|
>> I like a man who sticks to his principles, even in the face of temptation.
We bought a Samsung fridge, before they started sponsoring the team from Walham Green dog track. When we moved house, I insisted that the fridge stayed at our old place for the new owners. I couldn't bear to look at it any longer.
|
...I couldn't bear to look at it any longer...
Understandable.
I avoided JVC when they were sponsoring arsenal.
Sounds childish, but I didn't want to be reminded of that lot every time I turned on whatever appliance it might have been.
edited as the filter had wrongly kicked in
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 5 Aug 11 at 13:33
|
>> I actually work for a tablet manufacturer (not going to say which), my official "work"
>> line on the subject is somewhat different!
Lets be honest, you are not a great advertisement for your employer.
Mind I too think tablets are a solution for a non problem or application. They are difficult to handle and hold, and limited in use.
When I look at a Macbook air and an Ipad2 2 side by side, one makes sense in both size, weight, function and use, and the other doesn't.
|
I agree on Macbook Air vs iPad/Galaxy Tab. Hard to justify the MBA price though. I'd not use it enough. And for portability it would need to be the 11" one and then the screen isn't that big for some of the uses I'd have.
So I'll sit on the fence a bit more. But the new MBAs are pretty decent performers.
|
My iPad is replacing my old Gateway widescreen laptop - which is a sort of an additional laptop to my MacBook - It will will obviously be more portable than the MB, handy to take on holiday and that.
The Air was too expensive for what I wanted.
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 16:56
|
Opera is the default browser on Iphone and Ipad, it comes installed. Just like IE on windows.,
One uses it like any other browser for Vimeo, youtube or BBC.
PLUS - IN ADDITION, the likes of the BBC and youtube have dedicated app designed for the Iphone and the Ipad, which are free, easy to install, and written to exploit the use of touch screens.
>Everywhere. Install apps, install differnet browrers, generally faff about.
I think you have a problem with your browser BTW, it seems to be adding things I didn't put in the post.
|
...Opera is the default browser on Iphone and Ipad...
Surprised it's not Safari.
|
Opps quite right iffy - It is!
Slap wrist
|
And me - thought Opera was a dead duck, my iPhone has Safari and according to the blurb so has the iPad.
iPod,iPad, and iPhone all have dedicated YouTube shortcuts as standard and they work.
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 15:20
|
>> iPod,iPad, and iPhone all have dedicated YouTube shortcuts as standard and they work.
Ah but thats the beauty of the Iphone and the Flash argument, ignore the youtube app, go to the standard Safari ok ok it was a typo , type in www.youtube.com and it will still work! No problems, no faff, no downloads.
|
What app do you use for iPlayer, Zero? I've not found one for my iPhone so always have to use Safari to get there, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Be grateful for a pointer.
|
|
Go the App store, click search, BBC I-player in the search box, and bobs your uncle.
|
There you go. Crankcase is the victim of "Apple Faff Syndrome".
;-)
|
Opps my mistake, its been removed, YOu just go to the iplayer on Safari and create a icon on your desk top. It sets itself up automatically to not use Flash.
Alanovich, I am surprised you even mange to post on here? too much faff surely? WHat do you use for your mobile internet?
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 15:49
|
Ta. I've been trying to work out why the rest of the world goes on about the iPlayer App when it never came up in a search in the App Store for me, so if it's been removed that explains it. Ok, so you do just do it with Safari. But sometimes it says "cannot play this content" for no apparent reason, but another programme will work.
I'm afraid I do find it a bit clunky, and further, iPlayer won't even stream to my AppleTV, unlike the Youtube content which does that fine. iPhones aren't really made for video though imho, way too squiddy a screen for more than two minutes.
|
>> Alanovich, I am surprised you even mange to post on here? too much faff surely?
>> WHat do you use for your mobile internet?
>>
Just spotted this one.
I don't really bother with mobile internet much. Occasionally look at summat on my Nokia N8 with Opera. I do use an app for Twitter on it a fair bit though. I don't mind apps on phones, a necessary adaptation due to the limited size of the screen, but on tablets you should be able to view websites and their content through a standard browser without needing an app for it. That's where iPads fail me.
I had a quick squint at the iPad at home this morning to look for an item on the Argos website. Of course, it couldn't display product images as you need Flash to do so. Groan. Is there an Argos app I need to faff around getting?
|
>> Does the BBC offer this now?
If you mean iPlayer then it will work - it was the stream used for iPhones that allowed you to download non DRM iPlayer content ;-) But if you mean the inline videos in some news articles then I think these are still Flash. I cannot check as my Android phone has Flash 10.
|
>> It didnt it seems.
Actually (to drift this a little) an Apple buyer can be put off. One might be laying the seeds for a future acquisitions of an Apple product, perhaps a Macbook Air, if ones ageing laptop could be on its last legs. To this end one might take ones wife to an Apple shop to show of its delights, its looks, its practicality, and generally discuss what a good and sensible purchase this might be.
If one could get near to the product after fighting ones way through the crowds of disgusting, pushing, fighting, schoolchildren, squabbling over who gets access to the machines to twitbook to to their friends.
An Apple store in the school holidays is a no-go area.
It may have put ones plans back by months.
|
>>Were I marketing a new smartphone, I would want to have a good answer to the question: "How long does the battery last?", because I think it's a question which will be asked many times.
Iffy, unfortunately phone companies are similar to car manufacturers quotes on mpg. They can quote ridiculously high figures that are laboratory tested but in real life use, with email, surfing etc the figure would be totally different.
|
...Iffy, unfortunately phone companies are similar to car manufacturers quotes on mpg. They can quote ridiculously high figures that are laboratory tested but in real life use, with email, surfing etc the figure would be totally different...
I'm aware of that, just as makers are aware even buyers who are only vaguely aware have easy access to independent tests.
Thus when I bought the MacBook, I checked what Apple say about battery life, found that was confirmed by a couple of reviews, and bought the computer in the expectation the battery would last all day.
Which it does.
My further expectation is battery life will decline as the years pass, but that shouldn't matter too much as I only need it to last for a few hours.
What I wanted to avoid was buying a laptop with a three hour battery which, two years later, only lasts for an hour.
I've already got one of those.
|
|
My iPhone's charge lasts for nearly a week without much activity, it's then down to a three four days, depending on what applications I use and how many calls etc...I always allow it to fully discharge before a re-charge. My Blackberry Bold was consist ant and needed re-charging every two days regardless of use. iPhone's battery is fine for me. It takes an hour or so to charge so no worries from me on consumption. I have a car-charger if it fails on the move, but I rarely use it.
|
I was initially disappointed with the battery life on my iPhone4, but then someone said to me just use it as a phone and see if the battery life is longer. It was.
It was also pointed out to me that I wouldn't expect my laptop battery to last all day, so why expect your iPhone to when using it to surf and email, etc.
|
They also improve with use.
Plus when you first get one, you are always playing with the features! You need to choose some apps with care as well, GPS (location services) left on (which some apps do) will help drain power.
|
iphone 6,7 and 8 apparently get better still
|
All phones (smartphone or not) on a 3G signal will have poor battery life if you have a marginal signal. This is because the radio in the phone has to increase power to communicate with the network.
I have exactly the same with my Galaxy S. On a strong 3G signal it lasts well but if it was a poor signal the battery will run down quicker. And that's totally understandable.
Running any phone on 2G instead of 3G will prolong battery life - even official figures point that out. And official standby times for phones like the iPhone and various Android apparently have them in flight mode...
At least with an Android phone you can carry a spare battery.
|
....Running any phone on 2G instead of 3G will prolong battery life...
A related question.
The software for my Vodaphone dongle has these options: 3g preferred, 3g only, GPRS preferred, GPRS only.
Why is that?
It doesn't seem likely battery life would be relevant for a device routinely plugged into a laptop.
|
>> It doesn't seem likely battery life would be relevant for a device routinely plugged into a laptop.
Some devices when configured to use 3G or GPRS will use a very weak 3G signal even though there is a very good GPRS one. So it makes sense to give the option. Clearly for data 3G is preferred because it is faster.
I've said on here before, where I live, the 3G signal according to Vodafone is good. It isn't. We also have a base station nearby. And yet on 3G my phone will use a far more distant 3G base station and drain the battery quickly. So I leave it on 2G and switch to 3G if needed. As I'm back to working from home a bit it's on wifi most of the time.
Something I experimented with on my Android phone though which makes a bit of difference. When asleep I don't need it using Wifi or come to that Bluetooth or even data. So during the night I have it turn off unused services and turn them back on first thing in the morning. The phone itself remains on.
That reminds me that some people claim days and days of phone capacity.... but they turn it off in the night. So they're not measuring days like I would. Mine is not turned off.
|
...Some devices when configured to use 3G or GPRS will use a very weak 3G signal even though there is a very good GPRS one. So it makes sense to give the option...
Thanks.
As I mentioned, the Vodafone signal is generally good on my patch, but it's handy to know it might be worth changing settings if the signal's struggling.
|
>>
>> Running any phone on 2G instead of 3G will prolong battery life - even official
>> figures point that out. And official standby times for phones like the iPhone and various
>> Android apparently have them in flight mode...
>>
>> At least with an Android phone you can carry a spare battery.
>>
Every 3G phone I've used (Nokiax5, SEx2, HTCx2) has had the option to use 2G only, indeed that was how I set my phones up until I got my SureSignal. As designs have improved the difference between 2G and 3G battery life has decreased though, at least for standby conditions.
As you pointed out upthread Voda and O2 have always had the advantage of 900MHz spectrum which will give better coverage for a given number of base stations and power level. I can't recall the yearly cost of a GSM900 license, but it's trivial compared with 3G cost from the spectrum auction.
|
|
Just disabled the 3G on my newly charged iPhone - see what happens.
|
Slightly off track but:
Last week my neighbour/friend + family went on holiday to Dinas Dinlle in N.Wales. He had to come home early due to work committments but on the Friday contacted me as he had lost contact with his family for two days and mobile calls went straight onto answerphone despite the system apparantly working ok whilst he was there. The family had been up Snowden the previous day and he was becoming concerned, even considering driving there despite the fact that they would be coming home the following day.
Despite my reassurances that he would be the first to know if something was amiss and it was more than likely a network issue he was still concerned.
Not being too enthusiastic, it was Friday night and shift changeover time, I recognised that the only way would be to call on Britains finest which he did. 35 minutes later he had a phone call from the family by way of the Officers mobile. Everything in order.
So firstly a feather in the cap of the local Heddlu ( Wasn't the Gaffer was it RP?)
Secondly I have no idea of the good or bad networks in this case so really this post is of no use to the thread :-S. But its a story with a happy ending:-)
Last edited by: Fullchat on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 22:24
|
No the gaffer works in "other" areas !
02 was down in some areas around here over the weekend according to my FB pals.
Local Heddlu have Orange !
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 4 Aug 11 at 22:58
|
Yes Orange signal does drop once in a while, mainly in some rural locations, it's not a problem i'm not trying to guide in a precision missile strike.
The hyped use of T Mobile's signal hasn't made a scrap of difference.
The deals i get from them just by renewing make keeping with Orange a no brainer.
|
|
My wife, not normally a slave to fashionable shiny kit, got an exceptional deal with Orange for her iPhone4 recently, plus a hefty work related discount.....she doesn't seem to have a problem with her signal..
|
>> Isn't Orange piggy-backing T-Mobile's signal nowadays ?
>>
Not Quite
Orange customers can "roam" onto T-Mobiles in the event that there is no Orange Coverage but there is T-Mobile and Vice Versa
You are billed / charged in exactly the same way, but as far as a customer is concerned you have run out of Orange Coverage so you "roam" (as you would if abroad) on T-mobiles network or Vice Versa
"Piggy Backing" is a company who sell their own airtime but rent the use of a network such as Virgin and Tesco Mobile.
although you could argue that's what T-Mobile and Orange are doing - It's technically not classed as that they you are simply roaming on each others network when there is no coverage of your "home" network.
Last edited by: Redviper on Fri 5 Aug 11 at 17:20
|
Vodafone's great, but Orange is rubbish - rtj70
