I know I’ve reviewed giffgaff before, but this time I’d like to talk specifically about the comparison of giffgaff to other mobile contracts.
Bear in mind that giffgaff is pay as you go only, but I happen to think the goodybags are tough competition to mobile contracts.
For just a tenner a month (no contract), you get 100 minutes to any network, totally unlimited texts and totally unlimited data. Up it to £15, and you get the same but 300 minutes. Up again to £35, and the same but totally unlimited minutes.
You have to bear in mind that all of those plans include free gg calls, texts and video calls (so it’s free to contact anyone on the giffgaff network, basically).
In addition, you can also get the £5 goodybag which is plain and simple unlimited texts with no FUP – this will be great for teenagers (like myself).
I happen to think that those prices are comparable to other network’s contracts – and there’s no obligation or contract whatsoever. Seems like a handy idea if you are short on cash!
I was wondering around my local Maplin store and stumbled across a new gadget taking advantage of the sun.
Now if you read my blog frequently, you may be aware that I’m a big fan of solar gadgets. I love the fact that I can get free electricity for my gadgets with help from cheap(ish) solar technology.
This gadget is called the Freeloader Pico. It’s very clever because it’s no bigger than a standard mobile phone (if not a tiny bit thicker) yet it holds an 800mA battery and a 75mA solar panel. You can charge the battery via the solar panel or from a mini USB input. It can take as little as 10 hours to charge from the sun and 4 hours to charge over USB.
Once charged, it will charge a gadget for between 30 minutes and an hour. What makes it stand out for me is that it delivers it’s output via a standard USB port, meaning you can charge almost any device that supports USB charging.
It also comes with four output plugs and you can buy more online.
I think it’s great. I can carry it around in my pocket and get it out when I need juice. It charges fairly quickly from the sun and provides quick, efficient power. It’s ideal for walking trips or long trips without access to the plug.
I recently stumbled across this new UK mobile network, and I have to say – it’s a dream come true for me.
They are a very interesting phone network because they are unique in many ways. When you’ve got your SIM card running and you’re using the network, it all seems very standard and basic – but take a look under the hood and you’ll notice a very clever concept.
The basic idea behind giffgaff is very simple. They cut all the expensive marketing and support services and replace them with much cheaper and efficient solutions. By doing this, they can provide a mobile phone service that is considerably cheaper than competitors whilst having happy customers.
For example, they don’t do telephone customer service. Instead, they provide an online community forum that people can submit problems to and members of the network respond with possible solutions. There are also moderators and managers who can help with the slightly more technical problems. And for peace of mind, they also provide an “Ask an Agent” service for the people who need administrative help such as call bars and setup help.
They don’t own any masts – these are provided by O2 and work pretty well. 3G coverage is not brilliant (O2 have always had a bad reputation for 3G coverage) but 2G is coverage is very good for calls and texts. You’ll get 3G in large towns and cities but don’t expect to get it in your rural countryside home.
That brings me nicely onto the subject of costs. They are trying to keep things simple by simply providing one pay as you go tariff. The basic cost of this tariff is as follows:
FREE calls (anytime) to other giffgaff members (as long as you top up £10 per 3 months)
FREE texts (anytime) to other giffgaff members (as long as you top up £10 per 3 months)
8p per minute calls (flat rate, anytime) to any other UK landline or mobile phone
4p per text to any UK phone.
8p per call to voicemail
FREE (100MB per day FUP) internet usage until 25th May 2010 (as long as you top up £10 per 3 months), internet price after that date to be confirmed
FREE calls to any 0800 number (I believe you have to remove the 0 at the beginning – ie 800 not 0800 – no longer true, just dial the number as normal and it’s free), and many other freephone numbers including 0500 and 0808 numbers.
So as you can you see, it’s pretty good value. They haven’t sorted bundles (eg for texts or calls) yet, but as far as I am aware, they are working on that.
If you’d like to give it a try, head over to giffgaff.com and request your free SIM. You’ll have to pay £10 when you get it to activate it (this will give you £10 credit) and you’ll be away within a few minutes of activation.
I really love it and I’m pretty sure 3 will be losing my custom as I’m not impressed by their upcoming price increase. I suggest you give it a try. You’ll need an unlocked phone – that’s it.
Skype has recently made Skype Access available in its new Skype beta 4.2. With the new beta there are a few bugfixes (apparently), a new call transfer mode (which was apparently in previous versions of Skype but non existent since 4.0), and a new feature called Skype Access.
Skype Access allows anyone with Skype credit to be able to pay for public wi-fi access via Skype. You simply connect to a hotspot that is supported by Skype and then use Skype Access to pay, per minute, for the service. As far as I know, the service currently costs about 15p per minute.
There’s no contract or anything like that, and it is available whenever you need it as long as you are connected to a supported hotspot.
I think this is a really good idea – very handy if you’re in somewhere like an airport and you need to quickly check your email or your Facebook page. I’m guessing people with netbooks are more likely to use the service since netbooks are much easier to carry around.
Skype reports that the service can now be used at over 100,000 wi-fi hotspots (in the UK, I think).
For me I will enjoy it most when it becomes available on devices such as the iPhone or iPod Touch – which I’m sure it will do eventually – as that means I will be able to instantly get wi-fi in a number of public places.
Ah well, nice work Skype. This might actually pay off.
Yes folks, you are reading that right. If you are in possession of a Symbian mobile phone, you’ll be delighted to know that Spotify today launched Spotify for Symbian.
You’ll of course need a Spotify Premium subscription costing £9.99 per month, but I promise you it is well worth the money.
Sadly, I don’t have a Symbian phone so I wont be testing the new software anytime soon. However, if you have a Symbian phone, head straight over to m.spotify.com and you’ll be redirected to the right download. If you aren’t sure whether you have a Symbian phone or not, you can use that link anyway and the site will let you know whether you’re good to go or not.
This is good news for Spotify as the new release hugely broadens the market that Spotify can get to and will hopefully help the company to persuade more people onto their premium plan.