digisocialist
Standard Member
Both I and my wife are considering an iPhone 3Gs (each). I'm still reading through the wealth of info here about the various pricing tariffs in order to work out the best option for us between PAYG and contract. If that weren't difficult enough, there's one question I can't seem to answer in my own mind; what exactly does all of this mean when it comes to Internet Access?
My wife currently uses a macbook. She wants an iPhone because it will be easier to carry than her macbook. She can't drive so uses public transport and sees the world from a very different perspective to me as she is truly mobile i.e. isn't sat in a car most of the time simply traveling to and from work. Rather, she travels on bus/train to and from work, works around the country (getting there by national rail services) and does spend time in cafes, libraries, museums, conference centres etc (a lot), due to the type of work she does. She often gets FREE Wi-Fi access in many of these places!
As I understand it, you can currently use a FREE Wi-Fi hotspot (wherever one is available e.g East Coast Mainline train) and this is at no charge (my wife currently does with her macbook). However, where a FREE Wi-Fi spot is not available my wife has a couple options; she can pay to access the Wi-Fi HOTSPOT where it is not free e.g. a BT Openzone access point (such as when procrastinating in Starbucks), or if she became an iPhone user, she would simply (a) use one of the available FREE Wi-Fi host pots (as she currently does with her macbook), (b) use one of the Wi-Fi hotspots provided by a partner of the network operator you have your iPhone with (which is limited) OR (c) switch to 3G on the iPhone (when out of Wi-Fi range) and accesses the internet over the 3G/GPRS network.
So, with this in mind, if considering an iPhone, I don't understand what exactly you are paying for (on the internet side of things) because 'unlimited' Wi-Fi access provided under the terms of an operator contract tariff or via PAYG seem to be limited to a 'partner' provided Wi-Fi access point e.g. Openzone and therefore this to me is not much different from the limitations of using available FREE Wi-Fi access points i.e. its down to coverage - basically where they are. My wife currently encounters lots of free ones on her journeys, though admittedly there are times when she doesn't and wants to hop on the internet on her journeys.
So, is paying a contract tariff or PAYG monthly charge to use the Internet on an iPhone (this is besides all the mobile calls/txt stuff), really only to access available Wi-Fi points for that operator - am I correct? And, when a wi-fi point isn't available you can switch to 3G and access the internet via GPRS and this cost is included in the tariff with no extra charge for the duration of the session i.e. if browsing the internet for 3hrs over 3G you're not charged some extortionate mobile call rate for doing that because its GPRS are you?
Understanding this is fundamental because it massively influences whether there is a real value add to us. Of course there are loads of pros with the iPhone such as portability, features/functionality etc etc... but these devices are very expensive and the main reason for getting one is to have internet access on the go and it not cost a bomb.
My wife currently uses a macbook. She wants an iPhone because it will be easier to carry than her macbook. She can't drive so uses public transport and sees the world from a very different perspective to me as she is truly mobile i.e. isn't sat in a car most of the time simply traveling to and from work. Rather, she travels on bus/train to and from work, works around the country (getting there by national rail services) and does spend time in cafes, libraries, museums, conference centres etc (a lot), due to the type of work she does. She often gets FREE Wi-Fi access in many of these places!
As I understand it, you can currently use a FREE Wi-Fi hotspot (wherever one is available e.g East Coast Mainline train) and this is at no charge (my wife currently does with her macbook). However, where a FREE Wi-Fi spot is not available my wife has a couple options; she can pay to access the Wi-Fi HOTSPOT where it is not free e.g. a BT Openzone access point (such as when procrastinating in Starbucks), or if she became an iPhone user, she would simply (a) use one of the available FREE Wi-Fi host pots (as she currently does with her macbook), (b) use one of the Wi-Fi hotspots provided by a partner of the network operator you have your iPhone with (which is limited) OR (c) switch to 3G on the iPhone (when out of Wi-Fi range) and accesses the internet over the 3G/GPRS network.
So, with this in mind, if considering an iPhone, I don't understand what exactly you are paying for (on the internet side of things) because 'unlimited' Wi-Fi access provided under the terms of an operator contract tariff or via PAYG seem to be limited to a 'partner' provided Wi-Fi access point e.g. Openzone and therefore this to me is not much different from the limitations of using available FREE Wi-Fi access points i.e. its down to coverage - basically where they are. My wife currently encounters lots of free ones on her journeys, though admittedly there are times when she doesn't and wants to hop on the internet on her journeys.
So, is paying a contract tariff or PAYG monthly charge to use the Internet on an iPhone (this is besides all the mobile calls/txt stuff), really only to access available Wi-Fi points for that operator - am I correct? And, when a wi-fi point isn't available you can switch to 3G and access the internet via GPRS and this cost is included in the tariff with no extra charge for the duration of the session i.e. if browsing the internet for 3hrs over 3G you're not charged some extortionate mobile call rate for doing that because its GPRS are you?
Understanding this is fundamental because it massively influences whether there is a real value add to us. Of course there are loads of pros with the iPhone such as portability, features/functionality etc etc... but these devices are very expensive and the main reason for getting one is to have internet access on the go and it not cost a bomb.