After sending back an upgrade and deciding to leave, Orange have improved their retention offer to me, However I'm still in a dilemma over the amount of mobile data. I'm a customer of Virgin Media for my Digital Media Services and I've learned I can get a good deal from them that includes unlimited data.
Here are the deals.
Orange;
Free Galaxy S3
Unlimited calls, unlimited texts, Unlimited e-mails, 1.5Gb Data.
3Gb BT Openzone (I assume this is what is now called BT-Wifi, as it doesn't include BT-FON Openzone)
1 Free Swappable.
Plus insurance at £6 pcm
Total = £30 pcm
Virgin Mobile
Galaxy S3 £19
Unlimited calls, Texts and Data
Insurance included (Mandatory I think).
Total = £36 pcm (if I remain a Virgin Media customer, £41 pcm if I leave Virgin Media).
My experience is, that with a Smartphone like the S3 that makes it easy to watch TV etc and that makes doing a lot of fancy things a pleasure, I could potentially use a lot of data. While I have the 3Gb BT-Wi-fi, BT-Wi-fi isn't available everywhere. I've never used anything like that, so I'm not sure how useful it is in general compared to mobile data - especially if you're outside in the street.
I note that Virgin Media are releasing a similar TV-On-The-Go service to Sky GO that I would certainly use a lot. I assume that this will require a 3G connection, as I believe Sky GO does. This will swallow up Orange's entire 1.5Gb data allowance very quickly.
Moreover, I worry that being locked into a contract on Orange for two years with limited data might eventually become restrictive, even if it isn't at the moment. It's a reasonable assumption to make that mobile data will become more useful over time with improvements in technology and services. Some people say that 1.5Gb is a lot at the moment, but then 100Mb used to be a lot in the days of WAP and not that long ago the prospect of a 1Mb broadband connection would have seemed like overkill to many people.
What would you do? Stick with Orange's limited data and 3GB BT Openzone, or go with Virgin Media's unlimited data for £6 more a month (or £11 more a month if I ever leave VIrgin Media)?
Here are the deals.
Orange;
Free Galaxy S3
Unlimited calls, unlimited texts, Unlimited e-mails, 1.5Gb Data.
3Gb BT Openzone (I assume this is what is now called BT-Wifi, as it doesn't include BT-FON Openzone)
1 Free Swappable.
Plus insurance at £6 pcm
Total = £30 pcm
Virgin Mobile
Galaxy S3 £19
Unlimited calls, Texts and Data
Insurance included (Mandatory I think).
Total = £36 pcm (if I remain a Virgin Media customer, £41 pcm if I leave Virgin Media).
My experience is, that with a Smartphone like the S3 that makes it easy to watch TV etc and that makes doing a lot of fancy things a pleasure, I could potentially use a lot of data. While I have the 3Gb BT-Wi-fi, BT-Wi-fi isn't available everywhere. I've never used anything like that, so I'm not sure how useful it is in general compared to mobile data - especially if you're outside in the street.
I note that Virgin Media are releasing a similar TV-On-The-Go service to Sky GO that I would certainly use a lot. I assume that this will require a 3G connection, as I believe Sky GO does. This will swallow up Orange's entire 1.5Gb data allowance very quickly.
Moreover, I worry that being locked into a contract on Orange for two years with limited data might eventually become restrictive, even if it isn't at the moment. It's a reasonable assumption to make that mobile data will become more useful over time with improvements in technology and services. Some people say that 1.5Gb is a lot at the moment, but then 100Mb used to be a lot in the days of WAP and not that long ago the prospect of a 1Mb broadband connection would have seemed like overkill to many people.
What would you do? Stick with Orange's limited data and 3GB BT Openzone, or go with Virgin Media's unlimited data for £6 more a month (or £11 more a month if I ever leave VIrgin Media)?