Real, easy and full mobile broadband internet finally here
It was a nice sunny morning two weeks ago, with the waves gently caressing the sides of the ship. While tourists were already sporting short sleeves and stood on the outer deck of the Gozo ferry, the rest of the passengers remained inside, chatting and...
It was a nice sunny morning two weeks ago, with the waves gently caressing the sides of the ship. While tourists were already sporting short sleeves and stood on the outer deck of the Gozo ferry, the rest of the passengers remained inside, chatting and reading the papers. With one exception - the ferry had just passed the splendid Comino tower and i-Tech was busy checking e-mails and the latest news on the Dell netbook.
Yes, in the middle of the Gozo channel it was perfectly possible to surf internet at broadband speeds, thanks to Vodafone's HSDPA mobile services from the new Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. No dongle was required as this model comes with integrated broadband connectivity.
Launched at the recent Informatix IT exhibition, this is true internet and computing on the move as the netbook provides the necessary basic facilities to access internet with one click and work with office applications on a decent screen and not that of a mobile or PDA.
"Vodafone has being offering data communication to all its customers for quite some time to complement our voice offering," a Vodafone Malta spokesman told i-Tech. "We provide a service to our customers that cover all communication needs while on the move, from your home or from your office without being tied to a cable and without having to deal with complicated configuration changes.
This includes voice and data. For us and for our customers both services are important. At this stage we have brought to the market a PC integrated with Vodafone mobile broadband with a very attractive price bringing a lot of advantages and benefits for all our customers; hence it features high on Vodafone's agenda."
Starting from €275 with a 12-month contract, the Inspiron Mini 9 delivers in a slim, sleek, piano black design. Complete with a Vodafone SIM, and pre-installed mobile broadband connectivity software, the Mini 9 eliminates the need to use an additional USB modem to connect to the web.
I-Tech was able to test the netbook and internet access for a whole week and in some cases, such as the Gozo ferry, it surpassed expectations. When the netbook was out of coverage of HSDPA or 3G access, the connection fell back to GPRS which is slow for today's multimedia internet experience. However, this was the exception and not the rule.
Weighing only one kg, the Inspiron Mini 9 runs on the Intel Atom processor, and features one Gb of RAM, a built-in webcam, Bluetooth, sealed keyboard, a solid state disc (SSD) drive, and bright 8.9-inch glossy LED display (1024x600). Our model came with Windows XP and Microsoft Office and booted up in a few seconds.
Battery life was good but sustained internet use drains it more quickly. Pity the SSD had a capacity of just eight Gb and the small keyboard keys did not help in prolonged typing, though the role of a netbook is not suited for this kind of task. A netbook with higher specs would do more justice to the internet broadband experience on offer here.
"Since we completed our 3G network deployment two years ago we have been investing to provide the best service and improved speeds to our customers. Our network is currently capable of consistent 3.6Mbps all over Malta and Gozo. This is faster than 80 per cent of cable broadband or DSL currently sold in Malta," added the Vodafone spokesman.
"Data usage is increasing constantly, and people are realising the importance of data while on the move. Businesses realise that an important phone call cannot take a whole day to get back to just because you're not at your desk, the same can be said about an e-mail, especially when considering that a lot of work and businesses are run via e-mails on a daily basis."
The Dell netbook with integrated broadband internet is not the only solution for people on the move. Vodafone customers can also used the Vodafone Internet Key to attach to their laptop or desktop, the iPhone and the BlackBerry devices.
When it comes to the Dell netbook and the Vodafone Internet Key, accessing data is done on a netbook, laptop or a PC, while with the iPhone and BlackBerry, even though access for data is the same, the experience is different. Mainly it depends on what the customer prefers and the experience s/he wants to have while using data on the move; that is mobile broadband.
http://www.vodafone.com.mt
Yes, in the middle of the Gozo channel it was perfectly possible to surf internet at broadband speeds, thanks to Vodafone's HSDPA mobile services from the new Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. No dongle was required as this model comes with integrated broadband connectivity.
Launched at the recent Informatix IT exhibition, this is true internet and computing on the move as the netbook provides the necessary basic facilities to access internet with one click and work with office applications on a decent screen and not that of a mobile or PDA.
"Vodafone has being offering data communication to all its customers for quite some time to complement our voice offering," a Vodafone Malta spokesman told i-Tech. "We provide a service to our customers that cover all communication needs while on the move, from your home or from your office without being tied to a cable and without having to deal with complicated configuration changes.
This includes voice and data. For us and for our customers both services are important. At this stage we have brought to the market a PC integrated with Vodafone mobile broadband with a very attractive price bringing a lot of advantages and benefits for all our customers; hence it features high on Vodafone's agenda."
Starting from €275 with a 12-month contract, the Inspiron Mini 9 delivers in a slim, sleek, piano black design. Complete with a Vodafone SIM, and pre-installed mobile broadband connectivity software, the Mini 9 eliminates the need to use an additional USB modem to connect to the web.
I-Tech was able to test the netbook and internet access for a whole week and in some cases, such as the Gozo ferry, it surpassed expectations. When the netbook was out of coverage of HSDPA or 3G access, the connection fell back to GPRS which is slow for today's multimedia internet experience. However, this was the exception and not the rule.
Weighing only one kg, the Inspiron Mini 9 runs on the Intel Atom processor, and features one Gb of RAM, a built-in webcam, Bluetooth, sealed keyboard, a solid state disc (SSD) drive, and bright 8.9-inch glossy LED display (1024x600). Our model came with Windows XP and Microsoft Office and booted up in a few seconds.
Battery life was good but sustained internet use drains it more quickly. Pity the SSD had a capacity of just eight Gb and the small keyboard keys did not help in prolonged typing, though the role of a netbook is not suited for this kind of task. A netbook with higher specs would do more justice to the internet broadband experience on offer here.
"Since we completed our 3G network deployment two years ago we have been investing to provide the best service and improved speeds to our customers. Our network is currently capable of consistent 3.6Mbps all over Malta and Gozo. This is faster than 80 per cent of cable broadband or DSL currently sold in Malta," added the Vodafone spokesman.
"Data usage is increasing constantly, and people are realising the importance of data while on the move. Businesses realise that an important phone call cannot take a whole day to get back to just because you're not at your desk, the same can be said about an e-mail, especially when considering that a lot of work and businesses are run via e-mails on a daily basis."
The Dell netbook with integrated broadband internet is not the only solution for people on the move. Vodafone customers can also used the Vodafone Internet Key to attach to their laptop or desktop, the iPhone and the BlackBerry devices.
When it comes to the Dell netbook and the Vodafone Internet Key, accessing data is done on a netbook, laptop or a PC, while with the iPhone and BlackBerry, even though access for data is the same, the experience is different. Mainly it depends on what the customer prefers and the experience s/he wants to have while using data on the move; that is mobile broadband.
http://www.vodafone.com.mt