Out of Control is an Aussie blogger with an INQ1, and they’ve given their readers the full picture on the handset.
The post is positive about the device and concept, “Many of us are living on a tight budget but still want to enjoy the convenience and entertainment from technology, here’s an inexpensive solution: Enter INQ1 mobile.”
There is also a plethora of great images, click through to view!
PCAuthority Australia is covering 3’s latest broadband dongle – the E180.
The E180’s defining feature is the ability for a user to ‘swivel’ it 270 degrees to optimise reception. Author of the article William Maher is yet to try one and therefore reserves judgement on whether or not it can actually speed up downloads.
As an added bonus the dongle also comes with 8GB of storage. Tried one of these? If so then let us know what you thought below.
Gizmodo’s Nick Broughall was taken aback by the INQ1, admitting he was unsure of what he was actually expecting, but with the device in hand he found it ‘comfortable and intuitive’.
Running through the features, specifically the social media ones, he states that the integration allows you to do the job of keeping up with your contacts ‘amazingly well’. He found the 2.2 –inch screen not conducive to a pleasurable browsing experience though, and also would have liked to have seen Twitter integrated.
Nevertheless, for the teenage market he believes it’s aimed at, the INQ1 is a ‘Holy Grail’, finishing by stating, “If only all cheap phones were so appealing”.
The reviews come courtesy of our US based Newlaunches.com and the Australian ZDnet who give the INQ1 a once over before it lands on their shores.
Newlaunches.com suggest that despite the device despite being centred on Facebook integration does do “a lot more than satisfying your crave for the popular website.”
ZDnet focuses on the price of the INQ1; “The INQ1 is easily the most impressive phone we’ve seen at this price point.”
If you’re currently residing in Australia or the US, let us know your INQ related thoughts…
House-sharing can be a minefield at the best of times, so when johnboy over at Riot Act needed to sort out a new internet connection, he ran into numerous problems with line-rental ownership, previous internet contracts and no takers to sign on the dotted line with a new ISP.
Fortunately he’s able to resort to that modern saviour of no-strings-attached internet that is the 3 Mobile Broadband dongle, but before parting with any cash, wants the low down on the service namely speed, service and the competition.
Jump across to see what’s been suggested.
Owen Hodda of Night Apes Dream has written about the release in Australia of the INQ1, or the ‘Social Mobile’ as he has referred to it.
He mentions 3 not carrying the iPhone in the region and how the INQ1 is a move away from such things. Instead, concentrating on offering the full integration of services including Facebook, Skype and WLM at a competitive price point.
Owen has had his interest peaked by the INQ1, and if a Twitter client can be fitted into it he’ll be “more than interested in picking one up.” To read the full post click here.
Shaping the Future of the Newspaper has written on the INQ1 and the potential it has as a low cost smartphone.
There are comparisons of pricing structures, notably with the G1 and iPhone, along with quotes from Mobile Entertainment and INQ’s Frank Meehan. Due to launch in December in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong, you could do a lot worse than read some of the words and follow a few of the links contained in the SFN article.
Tech venue Cnet has reported on the latest development for 3 Australia, prepaid mobile broadband for 12 months.
Prepaid mobile broadband is available through other operators, but only over a 90 day period as the maximum. 3’s offering of a year paid up front for mobile broadband is a first in Australia.
Reported by iTNews is Vodafone and 3’s struggle in Australia of price points on their respective mobile broadband services.
The latest development is that Vodafone have piled on the reductions by unbundling its ’special pricing’ and offering the $39.95 for 5 GB per month and 1 GB plan to $19.95. These adjustments see a new customer saving about $10 per month in comparison to the previous structure.
Despite this change, 3 still offer the better deal and as iTNews states, “[Vodafone's] pricing is still only on par – or worse – than that of its rivals, who have been involved in a price per GB war in recent months.” In the case of 3 they are competing at what can be described as disruptive pricing. They currently edge the battle by providing a GB extra at $39.99 and doing the 1GB plan for almost $5 less.
Over at Club Troppo, Nicholas Gruen has posted on his experiences with his brand spanking new 3 dongle. After leaving Optus due to poor reception and service, he signed up to 3 on the 1GB per month contract, for which he pays $15 per month plus $5 for the dongle.
Though 3 thought it might not pick up a strong reception on his mother’s farm, Nicholas found “it works just fine and dandy”, downloading at a cool 2177 kbps and uploading at 350 kbps. He’s planning to use the dongle around and about, so one thing he’s realised is that he needs to watch that 3 connection- if he goes outside the metropolitan area and can’t connect to the 3 network, roaming charges could be quite steep. However, he’s “a happy camper” with the connection so far and recommends it to all. Check out the full article here.
As the iPhone looks toward making an impact in the Australasia territories, 3 have had to revert to old fashioned ’strength in numbers’ tactics.
SMS Text News report that only three of the four main operators in the region will be getting the Apple device. That’ll be the confirmed Optus and Vodafone and the due to be confirmed Telstra. This leaves out 3, who seem to have been unable to broker a deal for iPhone to be brought into the 3 inventory. In light of this they have turned to consumer power, setting up this site where 3 users can leave messages for Apple declaring their reasons and desire to see the iPhone on the 3 network.
As Julia states in the SMS piece, it is unlikely that this will sway opinion, especially as normal avenues have not been fruitful for 3. However, it’s good to see them doing their best – a sentiment shared by 3 service users if the comments left on the It’s Good to be 3 site are anything to go by.
ITWire’s Alex Zaharov-Reutt has spent a good proportion of the first page on his article about 3’s wire free dongle debating the wire. This is in light of the renaming of an article on CNET which was changed in accordance with 3 having not ‘dropped’ the dongle but, as Alex points out, having just released a new one.
So consider that all sorted and delve into his words and figures around the Australian release of the USB dongle. Alex gets stuck in with no number-based piece of information left in the wilderness, plus, any guy who can get you to keep reading after four paragraphs of wire or no wire discussion has a certain something.
Skype Nomad Rebecca is on a round the world trip and is keeping in touch with people via YouTube, her blog and also, as demonstrated by this video, her Skypephone. Her objective is to “not stop to sleep or eat. She will do everything on the move, using as many different forms of transport as possible” and the Skypephone is one method she can use to organise her trip while on the go. In the video, she explains what the 3 Skypephone is, mentioning the different colours it’s possible to get it in, demonstrates how to access Skype and uses it to call her friend Zoe in London. All in all, it’s a beautiful demonstration of the ease of communication using the Skypephone.
Gadget News have a small piece on the 3 dongle in relation to the MacBook Air that they’ve been playing with for the past couple of weeks. Though they love the Air, the one problem they’ve been having is “a lack of mobile broadband solutions.” Though there are USB ports for wireless broadband “most of them are hideous dongle things that just don’t suit the Air’s pleasing, minimalist design.” Enter the 3 mobile broadband dongle- Gadget News like the look of it as well as the fact that “It plugs straight into a USB slot and away you go”. Two salient points boiled down to the basics, just what we like to see.
It has already happened once, and now the phantom arrival of significant amounts of SMSs arriving on an account balance has happened again. This time to Nathan at Fit for Public Consumption.
After topping up his device, so as to continue utilising the Skype calls, Nathan noticed an anomaly. When logging in to check his balance, rather than the 240 SMS’s that should of been there, they had been joined by another 239,760. For those who struggle with numbers that is a total of 240,000.
Obviously this incident holds remarkable similarities to Scott Yang’s experience, notably both occurring down under. Maybe Nathan and Scott could text one another indefinitely, for the rest of time. That said, with Nathan working out that his random accreditation of 240,000 texts is worth a cool $60,000, lets just hope 3 Australia don’t ask for the monetary value back…
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