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| User | Thread poster: GregorSamsa Costs of using a broadband dongle to access online dictionaries |
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GregorSamsa
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
German to English
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Hi Prozpeeple,
I'm looking at the option of buying a broadband dongle (USB modem which uses mobile phone network connection) to use with my laptop while on holiday, since I think I may have a job overrunning and would like to be able to deal with queries and additional translations from beside a swimming pool in Majorca.
Does anyone out there have any experience of using such a device? And can anyone tell me if you are racking up thousands of pounds/Euros/Dollars of costs with the modem just sitting connected full-time to a website, say Leo, or Linguee and exactly how much data are you going to download with say, a single dictionary query?
Many thanks. Cheers,
Jim
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Zoltán Kulcsár 
Romania
Local time: 14:57
English to Hungarian
| | that depends... | Jul 26, 2010 |
on the data plan you are using. Running a text search and displaying some pictures usually don't take up much data (e.g. 1 GB may be enough for weeks or months). Of course, other services may use the network too, so make sure you turn off servers, automatic updates or maybe even virus signature updates etc.
Additonally I do hope you will be using a Spanish SIM with your device, roaming charges are usually much higher than the local service
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GregorSamsa
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
German to English
TOPIC STARTER |
Thanks for the very rapid reply Zoltan.
Yes, I have finally just got through to the customer services people at my mobile phone provider and also though they were extremely vague on the actual amount of data that would be downloaded by leaving a permanent connection to a dictionary website, they did say that it would be considerably cheaper to buy a dongle locally. My priority is to get one up and running as soon as I get to my destination, this is what puts me off buying one locally and then possibly experiencing connection/usage problems. I'm not much of a Spanish speaker.
Jim
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Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 14:57
  Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| | dongles in Spain | Jul 26, 2010 |
Hi Jim, if you're lucky enough to spend your summer by a pool in Majorca then you may find it cheaper to get something when you arrive in Spain, rather than paying international tariffs.
I have a dongle on a Vodafone contract and I get charged 3€ a day (and only get charged for the days I actually use it).
You may find that it's not worthwhile though, if you're only here for a week or so.
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Noni Gilbert
Spain
Local time: 14:57
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
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| | Pay as you go dongle | Jul 26, 2010 |
I found this info on the Vodafone offer: http://www.vodafone.es/particulares/tarifas/internet-en-movilidad/bonos-prepago/
What I don't know is if you have to pay for the dongle as well, but if you didn't then their 19 euro offer for unlimited usage for a week wd look a good idea.
Can't carry on with the research right now (anyone with direct experience?), but will try to find time tomorrow.
But I am sure that this will be cheaper than using roaming - I've heard such horror stories!
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Brian Young
United States
Local time: 05:57
Danish to English
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I hope this is the same thing. The word "dongle" makes me think of the Clarence Thomas hearings, and I thought it might be some part of the anatomy. I am probably not too well informed.
I bought mobile broadband service the last time I was in Denmark. The physical unit itself (Dongle maybe?) was the size of a clothes pin, and was just inserted into a USB port on my laptop. That unit was free. I had highspeed internet service everywhere in Denmark, 24 hours a day. But, I had to pay for 6 months, even though I was only there for two. It was a necessity, so I had no choice. The cost was about $50 US a month. There was no limit on usage.
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Charlie Bavington
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
French to English
| | WiFi at hotel? If not... | Jul 26, 2010 |
beside a swimming pool in Majorca.
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Your hotel have WiFi included, by any chance?
Failing that, I think there are some stats in a trhead I started last year.
http://www.proz.com/forum/general_technical_issues/139958-laptop_dongle_roaming_internet_access.html
My local Orange shop told me a couple of weeks ago that roaming was not the way forward, and a local solution (PAYG USB dongle thingy) was preferred unless I want the bailiffs to meet me at the airport....
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Linda Kelly
Spain
Local time: 13:57
Spanish to English
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| | Yes you have to pay for a dongle | Jul 26, 2010 |
I bought a vodafone dongle about a year ago - it cost around 50€. I think other providers' dongles cost around the same.
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Manuela Junghans
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
| | Vodafone dongle | Jul 26, 2010 |
Hi Gregor
I bought a dongle from vodafone Spain about two weeks ago. The device itself costs Euro 49 and currently comes with 1 month free unlimited usage (at least when I bought it), but you will have to check whether this applies for Mallorca as well or only for mainland Spain.
If you have to top-up it costs Euro 19 for a week (but download speed will decrease to I think 128 kbps after 1GB or so, which I reckon isn´t very fast) or Euro 29 for 15 days with unlimited download.
I currently work on it and I´m very satisfied with it´s performance.
Hope that helps.
Enjoy your time in Mallorca.
Manuela
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Madeleine MacRae Klintebo
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
Swedish to English
+ ...
| | Even if it's not included... | Jul 26, 2010 |
...it's likely to be cheaper/less stressful than using a dongle, constantly checking your usage.
Charlie Bavington wrote:
beside a swimming pool in Majorca.
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Your hotel have WiFi included, by any chance?
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I paid €10 for a week's access in a hotel in Sorrento the other year. No data limits AFAIK and pretty good speed. However, the password was so easy to guess (the name of the hotel), that I might try this at first this summer
If your hotel has a pool, I guess it's likely to also have wireless/wired internet.
I needed a dongle for about 1-1 1/2 months here in the UK when I moved house at the end of last year and constantly seemed to have to buy more credits .
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Noni Gilbert
Spain
Local time: 14:57
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| | Further to Manuela... | Jul 26, 2010 |
What she says is what is indeed currently claimed by Vodafone - the price of the dongle comes with a month's free internet usage, but I think I have seen that it's only up to 150 Mb which isn't exactly generous. The 19€ top up for a week claims to be unlimited, but Manuela's comment about diminishing speed worries me.
The major phone companies all have v similar deals. And to judge from what I'm reading in the fora, a lot of the offers (including the Carrefour supermarket one which looked promising briefly) are for 100MB a day at full speed and then dead slow to stop for the rest of your activity that day. "Unlimited access" is what they may call it, but there's always a catch!
[Edited at 2010-07-27 07:17 GMT]
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Noni Gilbert
Spain
Local time: 14:57
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
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You wouldn't already have an unlocked dongle would you?
Noni
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GregorSamsa
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | | Thanks to all! | Jul 27, 2010 |
Wow, what a great level of response! Thanks to everyone who's made a contribution here.
I think I have two options:
1. Find a hotel or bar with WIFI access and try and keep off the beer. Is that comment soooo... English? My 10 day stay is at a friend's apartment, without, as far as I know any Internet access.
OR
2. Buy a PAYG dongle locally and be frugal with logging on, i.e only log on to the Internet once you have say, a good number of - in my case - dictionary queries, or need to upload/download a file.
I also seem to understand that the dongle lets you know how much usage you have left. I'll make a posting of my experiences for people's edification / amusement.
Thanks once again!
Jim
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Manuela Junghans
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:57
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
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Further to what you said I can confirm that after more than 2 weeks of working with this vodafone ES pay as you go dongle, the speed hasn´t diminished and their´s no download limit. I download and upload all my files, also big ones, pdf, etc. without any problems, you can even download programmes, which with the "same" vodafone dongle in the UK wasn´t possible. So i´m really quite pleased. You don´t have to watch the time you´re online, i´m online 24/7 basically.
The only catch i can see is really, if you only buy the 7 day package, where the speed will obviously decrease to unworkably slow after 1 MB, but any package from 15 days onwards (or the one for 1 month) seems to be perfectly fine.
And also, what you mentioned about the unlocked dongle. Yes, when I bought this one here they asked me whether my UK one was unlocked. As I forgot to have that done before I left I couldn´t use it. If you unlock it before going abroad, you´ll only have to buy a Euro 15 Spanish sim card, which does the same thing as the whole new Spanish dongle.
Manuela
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philgoddard
United States
Local time: 07:57
German to English
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| | I wouldn't bother buying anything. | Jul 27, 2010 |
You may find that neighbouring apartments have unsecured wi-fi, and there's always internet cafés. A lot of hotel lobbies and other public places have it too.
I remember the good old days when you went away for two weeks and gave no thought to work during all that time...
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| Pages in topic: [1 2] > |
The translation workplace 
