I am thinking of buying a Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom tablet but haven't got WiFi at home which is where the device would be used and so will need one with 3g capability.

I have noticed that Amazon sell 1GB/3GB 'Ready to Go' data SIMs for 3g mobile devices and these, apparently can be just plugged into any unlocked mobile device and they'll work without any registration etc.
These are with the Three network and yet all the actual networks, including Three, don't seem to sell these, unless on a process of continual topping up or contract.

The Amazon ones expire in 30 days (1GB) or 3mths (3GB) depending on which one you buy. Has anyone tried these and are they a solution to someone who wants a Tablet operating on a 3g network rather than just WiFi?

Yes they can, I have been buying these sims for a couple of years now.

My current one that I use in my ViewPad7 is a 12 month expiry + 12Gb allowance which I picked up for a bargain £54 back in July. I think the current price is way above this though at the moment. My current sim was unusually brought from the 3 network site that was at that time cheaper than Amazon and EBay.

There is no registration as such and to get a balance of remaining time and data you just go to the three web sites and click / tap on “My3account”. I assume that having no password or username the system recognises your sim by its phone number.

Most of the deals on Amazon and EBay are for the 1Gb and 3Gb that you have mentioned with the 12 month expiry sim being a bit harder to come by. Basically you just have to check the site every now and again and if you are lucky you will catch a good price.

Excellent. Many thanks for that reply. It looks as though a tablet may shortly be on the cards ostensibly for my partner but suspect it'll end up in my hands quite a lot.
There again, could this supply of cards dry up via Amazon leaving one up the river without a paddle?

Three are doing an unlimited data for 25/month on a 30 day rolling contract

Yes but far too expensive to be honest for what I/my partner need.

Do you have a smart phone with a data plan, you may be able create a hotspot with it that the tablet can use

Yes, an HTC Desire S but only on PAYG with only 500MB of data/month.

I ordered a mobile data sim from o2 and it didn't work with my Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9; they thought it would work; it was the type that is used in mobile broadband dongles. Happily normal sims do work and I am using an Orange PAYG sim on a Dolphin contract (text+data). It may well be different depending on operator and device.

If you already have a mobile phone with data plan see if the sim works in your tablet before looking at Sims to use with it.

Yes, I doubt it but 500MB of data isn't going to go far.
The ones from Amazon have either 1,3 or 12GB of data on them for expiration in 1,3 or 12 months which seem a much better idea. However it depends on their availability from Amazon over time.
I'll go into my Three store and ask them why their data only cards available from Amazon aren't available in their shops - well perhaps they are but not at Amazon's prices.

I use these sims in a 3 MiFi modem which works very well. We use it mainly when we go to London as the wfi charges in the hotels is ridiculous.

I tried it tethering my HTC desire on O2/Tesco but this didn't work well at all, the 3 modem and sim has yielded download speeds of between 3 and 7Mbps.

The advantage of the modem is that it connects by WiFi (or wired) so can be placed anywhere nearby to get the best signal and that up to 3 devices can connect to it simultaneously. I use the 1GB sims from Amazon as I've yet to come anywhere near using that much in a month.

It's also handy at home if the phoneline broadband drops out as it has for me a couple of times recently.

On the 3 website: http://store.three.co.uk/SIM_Only/Mo..._Pay_As_You_Go but the Amazon listings are cheaper?!

If you are only using at home, will use a lot of data and have a phone line then landline broadband, that supply a wireless router, would be an option especially if you are on o2 with your phone.


That's pretty cool, I didn't know 3G hotspot devices were available; having one of these would mean there's no need to buy a 3G enabled tablet.

Been using my mrs HTC desire with my flytouch3, vega and transformer without too many issues. Google navigation, basic web browsing, e-mail, etc all work fine.

As far I can see there are 4 options for connecting tablets on 3G.
- Internal SIM. If your tablet supports it this could be the neatest solution
- 3G Dongle. You will need to check which dongles your tablet supports, not all dongles work with all tablets
- MiFi router. Give flexibility to connect multiple devices
- Phone tethering (if supported) or hotspot. Allows you to use existing contract. Check your contract if you can buy a data bolt on to increase your allowance. Might be cheaper then getting a separate SIM.

I haven't seen any decent tablet with a port that would take a dongle!!
If I buy one and after trying out a few today, don't know whether my partner would ever be able to use one or have the patience, I would buy a 3g one and blow the extra cost.
I think that, having looked at them, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the one for me as 10" ones are rather clumsy IMHO.
For myself a laptop every time, or, at a push, a notebook all with proper keyboards. really.

Vega & flytouch definitely work definitely work with dongles when using custom ROMS

Transformer can do it with a hack (and the keyboard unit as the tablet itself does not have USB)

As for 10" bs 8.9. Don't forget their aspect ratios are different. if you want to watch movies then you will be losing screen space with the 4:3 units making them evening smaller.

About the only place where I might potentially have a problem with with 10" units would be standing on a train.

OK I have to fess up. I'm v old now but like my toys but am not going to mess about with alternative ROMS etc and certainly won't be watching movies on it. Just need it for surfing etc. I don't use 90% of my HTC phones gizmos. I wouldnt be taking my tablet anywhere as I'd feel too self conscious using it. Others don't expect to be seeing an OAP with such things.
Should have been born forty years later!

If I was hardly using data then I would definitely look at connecting online through the phone however you said cash was not an issue so in that case I would probably get the tab over the zoom. I would get transformer over either of them but might be overkill for what you are looking to do.

The 8.9 has the exact same specification as the 10.1 Samsung Galaxy Tab and this includes the resolution (1280x800).

I don't think the loss in screen space is significant on my Tab but the larger than 7 inch screen size is great for surfing. I mainly surf at home using my wireless hotspot.

@HHGTTG: Are you going to be regularly streaming video?

Shan't be streaming video not with 1gb data max/month!

Giffgaff offer 500mb of Internet for £5 a month

http://giffgaff.com/goodybags/500MB-mobile-broadband

3GB = £13.50

http://giffgaff.com/goodybags/3GB-mobile-broadband

1GB = £7.50

http://giffgaff.com/goodybags/1GB-mobile-broadband

That's about the same charges as Three make at least for 1GB. So far Amazon seem to have the best offers if you want to buy 1,3 or 12 month's of data.

If you use the Tablet only at your home, then I suggest you to get a WiFi router which would provide a robust connection on your Tablet, especially if you are watching an online video from YouTube etc. I do not ignore 3G unless you get online even while you are outside so you could save money.