Comments on: Long-term Road Test: 3’s X-Series in the UK

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:22:51 +0000

hi all!
is there anyone out there that’s using 3 in australia that can give me any info please? i’m new to all this. i’d like to get rid of my landline (i’m sick of paying through the nose to the big corps. yes i’ve had it with optus & telstra’s over priced “service”!) i’m thinking of getting wireless broadband & a mobile phone with 3, maybe the x series. how easy is it to use the handset as the modem? can i recieve or make calls while on the internet? is it preferable to get the usb modem rather than use my mobile ph as the modem? thanks for any help.
lisa

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:01:10 +0000

@Timmy:

If you use a non-Three phone or an Three phone flashed with generic firmware the option (on Nokia S60 handsets at least) is available to you. Be aware though that whilst it is OK to use a non-Three phone it is against the T&Cs to force your phone to 2G only and if you do this you will begin to get some stern warning texts after a while.

I did it for the tests and switched back, but never have a problem with dropped calls anyway so there’s little incentive.

By: Timmy

Timmy — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:05:54 +0000

Ben: I’ve heard a lot of fuss on not being able to force 3UK onto the roaming 2g network.. How have you managed to force onto 2G in cental london (to do that data speed test)? I’d also like to be able to do this on 3UK to stop calls dropping. Have you used a seperate application, or debranded your ‘three’ phone? Thanks.

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:58:55 +0000

@Tony: Yes, the �20 is for the call package and the X-series silver add-on (�15 + �5). The Yahoo references are either ‘marketing’ or ‘to point out there’s a handy on-phone way to do web searches’ – you decide but yes, you can just fire up a browser and surf.

By: Tony Lord

Tony Lord — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:09:36 +0000

Hi there,
given the x-series prices, I am thinking about moving to 3 when I return to the UK in Jan. Just a couple of questions though…
If i buy X-Series SIlver for �20 on the nokia 6, does that include the �15 talker call plan too? I assume so, but it is rathe rconfusing.
And, I know you guys have said that the full internet is accessible through x-series, but why does it list internet access as “Web surfing with Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Go”? Surely you can just type in a web address and go directly to it?Thanks for your help

Tony

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:39:25 +0000

@Geoff: I don’t have access to any handsets that confirm EDGE or not, but forced onto a 2G signal in central London I’m getting pretty consistent speed reports around the low 30kbits/sec range on a simple web-based speed test.

Orange do run an EDGE network: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Data_Rates_for_GSM_Evolution#Europe_and_CIS

By: Geoff W

Geoff W — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:35:58 +0000

Can you tell me, when the signal drops back to 2G (hosted by Orange) does it include EDGE?

Cheers!

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:49:17 +0000

@DaveB:

Sorry – a bit trigger happy there… What I meant to say was that I’d tested random ports 1 – 999 plus 8080 and Truphone over 3G using port 5062 (TCP and UDP) and itr all works fine for me on Silver so I don’t think they do filter.

By: Is X-Series data filtered? « 3 X-Series

Is X-Series data filtered? « 3 X-Series — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:35:34 +0000

[...] X-Series data filtered? In the comments on my X-Series review over at SMSTextNews reader ‘DaveB’ commented that he thought Three were filtering the [...]

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:16:01 +0000

@DaveB:

This afternoon I’ve tested random ports

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:01:14 +0000

@nicki:

Assuming you mean a Nokia 6120 then you only need ‘X-Series Silver’ which includes unlimited data and use of the ’silver’ applications. ‘Unlimited data’ (for the same price) is what you’d go for on a non X-series phone where you couldn’t have the apps.

By: NickiW

NickiW — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:08:10 +0000

It’s still rather confusing with the x-series & having just been into one of the ’superdrug’ mini stores (UK) the young lass seemed to have less of a clue than me on how things work.

Could anyone tell me if I need both ‘x-series silver’ @ �5 & ‘unlimited internet’ @ �5? Or will the ‘x-series silver’ on a compatible mobile (i.e. nokia 8120) work OK?

thanks, nicki

By: DaveB

DaveB — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:42:49 +0000

I have to agree with shadebug. With X-Series Silver, I have found only ports 25, 80 and 100 to be open. I even tried to get it fixed by deactivating X-Series and having it reactivated. I am in the unfortunate position of having just signed up to an 18 month contract with a N95 which (I believe) cannot connect to the Nokia Positioning Server as that uses port 7275. How do you contact the X-Series help desk?

If all the ports were opened, X-Series would be great as I could use ssh, telnet and even Fring and Truphone over 3G.

By: Ewan

Ewan — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:06:43 +0000

I wouldn’t worry, Shadebug, it’s probably a glitch somewhere — I’m sure Three’s data network is entirely open.

By: shadebug

shadebug — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:07:28 +0000

I’ve just had the internet unlimited add-on activated and nothing outside of port 80 works. I just called three uk tech support and they claim that the entire internet is open to me except things not on port 80 and that no plan I get from them will allow me other ports. Apparently their x-series help desk isn’t open right now so I’ll have to call back tomorrow to get a more authoritative statement on that, but it’s certainly a worry

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:08:29 +0000

It seems to be a full internet connection to the phone to do whatever you like with other than use the phone as an external modem. I’ve run ssh on my N73 without problem (other than typing of course…).

By: shadebug

shadebug — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:14:19 +0000

I’m looking to upgrade my phone and there’s still a few niggles I’m not understanding and which 3 tech support seem ambivalent about. What exactly does unlimited internet mean? I get that it’s 1GB of data but does that include ssh access or irc use, because that’s a massive draw for me if it is and I’ve heard good things about putty on an e65, otherwise I consider it massively false advertising.

By: Jake Anders

Jake Anders — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:16:21 +0000

They seem to have launched Google Maps for this now (well, Google launched it and 3 have plugged it on their mobile-based home page – though interestingly not on their PC visible site) which is a separate download and is excellent to use, especially when you have such a big allowance of bandwidth.

By: paul

paul — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:47:39 +0000

I agree with the review. The main reason I went with 3 was the fact i travel to S ireland a lot and it’s included in my tarrif. I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Italy and again – -it’s fab not to have to worry about call costs. When I was in Italy, I noticed that 3 Italy had the N95 so I will go and check out tomorrow.
Incidentally, I bought a 3 data card in Ireland and this gives me a whopping 10Gb of data a month fo �19.99 / month (UK=�14.50) It means I can use it at work and not have to worry about the companys firewall. I use the data maodem with laptop and a recently acquired Samsung Q1 UMPC – -but hey , I am digressing. My youngest lad is about to change his contract from T-Mobile (well, I pay the bill) and tomorrow I am going to the 3 shop in trafford Centre and will get him (me) an N95.
I am also a fee paying punter of three and have no connection with the company

FINALLY, bounder, I use mobile with gmail and have never had a problem.

Paul, Colwyn Bay

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:12:20 +0000

And just to keep this rolling on, it appears from recent announcements that 3’s HSDPA rollout is going to make data far more competitive (i.e. a tenner for 1GB, �15 for 3GB). This is a LOT better and once again 3 will no doubt be leading the field…

Found the story here: http://www.tech.co.uk/gadgets/phones/mobile-phones/news/

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:01:04 +0000

@Zuber: Mark beat me to the response… so yes… what he said However, looking at 3’s Irish pricing for HSDPA (http://www.three.ie/broadband/index.htm) and a USB modem I’d say they may well rectify this gap as they roll it out across the UK.

@bounder: Thanks for the additional info. Have to say am a very heavy user of MobileMail (less so the other stuff) and it’s been rock solid on 3 different handsets all the time although I would like the disabled features switched on…

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:11:30 +0000

Zuber, you’re right about not being able to use the phone as a modem. This is pretty annoying, although from a personal POV I’m happy to pay the tenner for the rest of the benefits. If you want to use the phone as a modem you have to buy another add-on, which is nowhere near as competitively priced as X-Series.

By: Zuber

Zuber — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:10:37 +0000

This got me interested in 3 again after hearing about X series despite my by being seriously put off them some time back for less than stellar practices.

They introduced a �25 admin fee each time I want to make changes to my contract even though there was no such fee in the terms and condition when I signed up. So in effect I ended up paying more than I would have expected because I could not easily switch to the cheaper tariff I intended as permitted under the original terms we agreed without forking out another �50. It could easily have been alot more (you can only switch down 1 tariff level at a time and pay �25 each time).

Apparenly it came under the “we can change our terms whenever we like” clause in the contract. And I notice that that is still in there… Most providers don’t try it on though unlike 3.

Actually, writing this down has reminded me how annoyed I am with them. Watcg out for them pulling more stunts like that…

Getting to the point, I don’t think it allows you to use your phone as a modem with your PC. So you can’t do real surfing when you have your laptop and are away from home. Can someone confirm this ?

Zuber

By: biskero.org

biskero.org — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:51:15 +0000

[...] Here is a great review of 3 X-Series services from SMS Text News. The service is made of smartphones bundled with mobile applications that use data. 3 is a European operator running 3G only wireless network. [...]

By: bounder

bounder — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:46:59 +0000

I’ve been living with the X-Series (silver) since December on an N73. I’ve got a couple of issues with the review:

Skype: It does work well, although it crashes fairly often without any notification so you’re often not online when you think you are.

Messenger: It’s not you missing notifications I don’t think, when the app is minimised the messages aren’t shown after you get the alert – plenty of people have mentioned this on the X-Series blog and with customer support it seems, but no fix as yet.

Mobile Mail: I use GMail and despite it being advertised as working with GMail it doesn’t – the US firm say a fix may come in January 08, but as of now 3 are still advertising it as compatible – it isn’t.

Whether it’s the handset or the service (I’ve had a replacement handset, but same model) all of the apps do crash fairly often.