Dongles
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Dongles explained
When it comes to new broadband technology, dongles are the gadget on everyone’s shopping list. The dongle is our key to accessing the internet on the move. We can carry a dongle around in our pockets and get broadband speeds wherever we are.
We’ve been told the tiny dongle will completely change our web experience. We’ve heard that getting our hands on a dongle could help cut home phone and broadband costs, or even that dongles could mean the end of home phone lines altogether. When it comes to making choices about broadband packages, dongles and dongle deals are popping up everywhere, yet many of us are still wondering, what exactly is a dongle?
To find out more about mobile broadband dongles and USB Sticks check out our guides:
The term dongle, or mobile broadband dongle, simply refers to a portable USB modem. Dongles plug into the USB port of your laptop or PC and provide you with mobile internet access via the 3G mobile network.
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The dongle is such a new concept that it’s not included in many dictionaries, and is often misspelled as ‘dongal’, ‘dongel’ or ‘dongall’. In fact the term dongle has been commonly used in the IT world for years. Dongle traditionally refers to any small piece of hardware that connects to a computer in this way, but as the mobile broadband revolution rolls on, mobile broadband dongle is increasingly shortened to simply dongle, so the word dongle is fast becoming part of our everyday language.
Dongles range from the size of your computer’s mouse to the size of a small phone and are usually connected to the USB port using a short wire. The dongle itself works exactly like any other modem but gives you the freedom to access broadband speeds wherever you are, provided there is mobile phone coverage.
How Dongles Work
Dongles use 3G Mobile technology, or third generation mobile technology, you can find out more about 3G in our guide ‘What is 3G?’
Dongles are designed to make life easy and with that in mind, they often require little or no installation. Most dongles are simply ‘plug and play’ so provided there is 3G network coverage where you are, you can start surfing the web straight away.
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Dongle Deals
Dongle deals are available from almost every mobile broadband provider – you can even get pay as you go Mobile Broadband dongle deals from most providers.
As competition for your custom hots up, you will find you can get a deal on a mobile broadband package and dongle for around the same as you can get a home broadband deal.
Compare cheap mobile broadband deals here >> cheap mobile broadband.
Dongles come free with many mobile broadband packages – providers currently offering free dongles with a mobile broadband contract are:
There are even some providers offering a free dongle and free laptop package to get you set up with everything you need for mobile broadband.
Compare all free laptop deals >> Broadband and Free Laptop
Different Dongles
Each mobile broadband provider offers their own dongle with their own mobile broadband packages. So you need to consider which could be the right dongle for you, as well as which package will best suit your needs.
3 Dongle
3’s newest dongle is small, white and sleek:
- Curved modern design dongle
- Maximum speeds of up to 2.8 Mbps on the 3’s new faster network
- Dongle is compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista and MacOS
Vodafone Dongles
Vodafone offer two dongles: the USB Modem Stick and the USB Modem Stick Pro. Both dongles are white and shaped much like a sophisticated USB memory stick.
Vodafone USB Stick Pro
A compact, conveniently portable dongle.
This dongle offers download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, around 14 times faster than standard
- Weighs just 27g
- Dongle is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP
- You need at least 100 MB free disk space and 128 MB RAM
- Mac system requirements: Software provided for OS X 10.3.9 Jaguar or higher.
- You need at least 50 MB free disk space and 128 MB RAM
Vodafone USB Stick
- A compact, conveniently portable dongle.
- This dongle offers download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, around 14 times faster than standard
- Weighs 29g
- Comes complete with its own MicroSD card (up to 4Gb)
- Dongle is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP
- You need at least 50 MB free disk space and 128 Mb RAM
- Mac system requirements: Software provided for OS X 10.3.9 Jaguar or higher.
T-Mobile Dongle
T-Mobile’s dongle, the USB Modem Stick, is a tiny black dongle designed to give fantastic speeds and value.
- This dongle offers download speeds of up to 4.5Mbps and upload speeds of 1.4Mbps.
- Compatible with Windows Vista, XP, and Mac OSX.
- Dongle requires 256Mb RAM or above and 25MB free disk space.
Orange Dongle
The Orange mobile broadband dongle is the sophisticated Icon 225. This small, black dongle comes with the Orange Internet Everywhere deal from as little as £15 per month.
- Very small sophisticated dongle.
- Dongle offers up to 1.8Mbps connection speeds
- Weighs 40g
- Dongle is compatible with Mircrosoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP and Mac OS.
O2 dongle
The USB Mobile broadband dongle from O2 is sleek and small, easily portable and available free with a £20 per month mobile broadband package from O2.
- A sleek and sophisticated design
- Offers up to 3.6Mbps connection speeds
- This dongle automatically connects to the fastest available network speed
- Dongle is compatible with Windows and Mac OS.
Dongles Abroad
If you want to use your dongle to get mobile broadband when abroad, it is worth checking with your individual ISP. In theory you can access the internet using your dongle wherever there is mobile phone signal, however, you may find that there are charges involved.
Find out more about using your dongle abroad in our guide >> Broadband abroad.
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