Internet Sticks - Globe Or Smartbro?

[Bundy]

Thanks all!

I was hoping that, with the 4G networks coming online, the 3G networks would be less dense in traffic and thus make them a better choice for a student with a very limited budget and a very strong desire to become a teacher. As I said, she is on a very limited budget but is also very independent and proud - university is a family responsibility. As I am still in Canada, she considers my financial responsibility is to follow my original plan - pay off all my debts and then I can get my butt over to Cebu... Hers is to get through university and become a Teacher of children with disabilities. She is a very smart woman! I'm sure she will make a wise decision regarding which internet stick to go with. After all, she did chose me, did she not? OH NO!!!

:mocking:

Bob, i'm currently using a Globe 4G Flash and i'm presently in Banilad. It doesn't work on 4G, only 3G and it's certainly not "flash" either :hystery: :hystery: :hystery: still i gotta say it's better than my experiences with smartbro.Agree with what the others are saying, one may work good in a certain area and the other works better in other places.At best i think both are really only a "backup measure"

[CebuAndy]

Edit to my own post #7 before:

WiMax is said to be the fastest usb dongle at the moment, according to local tech forums.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Only in da Philippines

I mentioned that I use the Smart USB dongle (SmartBro 3G) and the Globe Tattoo USB dongle (3G)

Both have many ways to part the consumer from his cash. The popular ones let you prepay a certain amount of megabytes or days of use and you choose how much cash you spend.

I usually use the 'time' feature where you can get unlimited (yeah right) megabytes for 30 days for 999 pesos but I realized I don't do pictures, videos or other high bandwidth things so I opted for buying 300 Megabytes on Globe and 250 on Smart then using them interchangeably for a month.

Here is the *facepalm moment. The 300 megabytes of Globe were gone in 24 hours. USING EXACTLY THE SAME sites and bandwidth, the Smart 250 megs have lasted me 2 weeks and are only half used up. Just to be sure it was not me, I tried the same experiment twice.

Conclusion: For low cost surfing and research with no high bandwidth uses I recommend the SmartBro 'ON 299' plan whereas the Globe 'SUPERSURF' plan (daily or monthly) is good when you have a higher budget.

I use both because there are times when one is down and I hate being without Internet.

Just as an update: It looks like Smart is getting devious with the 'per MB' plan. They disconnect me every hour or so while their computer calculates how much I have used (I get a text to tell me when it is close to my limit) BUT that means whatever I was working or playing on has to get get downloaded again . . every hour . . so my MB get used up faster. This is a recent development so I am hoping it is a glitch but if it is making them more $ then it will stay.

With Globe I figured it out. They are somehow calculating the total I have downloaded on Smart AND Globe and charging me for all of it. Go figure.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Dave Hounddriver

[banyanman]

I would not want to have just one.

I agree, Dave. I have a Smart 3G microSIM in my iPad (which I believe is the same microSIM that's used in the USB dongles) and I use it all over Metro Manila. Performance is roughly: one third of the time good, one third of the time slow, and one third of the time no connection (keep getting messages saying server not responding, but I think that's a Smart excuse for their system being overloaded). What annoys me most is when I have good reception on my phone (also Smart) but the iPad won't connect. I guess they must give preference to voice over data when the system gets overloaded.

[Fred & Mimi]

I have a globe usb stick and decided to try the supersurfer50 on a certain day as the sister of my GF works in Japan and was to join us via skype at a combined birthday party for her Mom, Dad and brother. All was going well until about 5hrs after we connected on skype the connection stopped completely. A text was received saying that we had used 800MB and that the service had stopped and would resume after midnight some 2 hrs away. There was always the option of cancelling the surersurf and resuming pay for use :th_unfair: .

I don't believe that represents unlimited internet but I'm sure that it is written they Globe can do as it wishes in the small print where ever it is located :angry: .

[i am bob]

An update on this - My Special Someone had purchased the base 3G Pre-paid stick. It was ok in Cebu but in Lutopan it dies when it rains. Go figure. And one accidental drop and it doesn't work at all anymore. So... She is going to check some others in Lutopan who are using Globe to see how they like the service there. Lutopan is her home and she is there on weekends so what ever she uses should be able to work there as well. I"ll ask her if Sun has any towers near Lutopan but I don't think they do - I have heard they stick pretty well to the busier areas.

[Thomas]

Hers is to get through university and become a Teacher of children with disabilities. She is a very smart woman! I'm sure she will make a wise decision regarding which internet stick to go with. After all, she did chose me, did she not? OH NO!!!

Are you smart enough :) to make the rough search for her?

My Internet is much faster and don't cost any extra undepending of how much I use it, she is short of time, and I do much research anyway, so sometimes I make some rough search my gf can have use of, and send her the links to them I believe can be interesting for her, Then we save both time and Internet costs totaly. (I mean when it's in English, very seldom in Tagalog and never in Visayas, because of missing language knowledge.)

[Dougbert]

I have a globe usb stick and decided to try the supersurfer50 on a certain day as the sister of my GF works in Japan and was to join us via skype at a combined birthday party for her Mom, Dad and brother. All was going well until about 5hrs after we connected on skype the connection stopped completely. A text was received saying that we had used 800MB and that the service had stopped and would resume after midnight some 2 hrs away. There was always the option of cancelling the surersurf and resuming pay for use :th_unfair: .

I don't believe that represents unlimited internet but I'm sure that it is written they Globe can do as it wishes in the small print where ever it is located :angry: .

My GF also has the Globe/Tattoo USB wireless modem stick. She tried the 999php/mo "unlimited" plan for a while, but we found the same problem doing long skype calls twice a week. There is an 800MB/day limit. Now she just gets the normal load when she needs it and it works out to be cheaper for her uses. BTW, Skype tries to adjust to changing bandwidth availability by varying compression during the call. So if we call when a lot of people in her area are using the network, the call quality degrades pretty badly and sometimes drops the call completely for a minute or two. Irritating, but compared to what we could have just a few years ago (not much!) I guess I should be happy.

Oh, and she borrowed a friend's USB modem from another carrier for a few days--it was actually worse in her area (Mactan) than Globe. YMMV.

[Thomas]

My GF also has the Globe/Tattoo USB wireless modem stick. She tried the 999php/mo "unlimited" plan for a while, but we found the same problem doing long skype calls twice a week. There is an 800MB/day limit. Now she just gets the normal load when she needs it and it works out to be cheaper for her uses. BTW, Skype tries to adjust to changing bandwidth availability by varying compression during the call. So if we call when a lot of people in her area are using the network, the call quality degrades pretty badly and sometimes drops the call completely for a minute or two. Irritating, but compared to what we could have just a few years ago (not much!) I guess I should be happy. Oh, and she borrowed a friend's USB modem from another carrier for a few days--it was actually worse in her area (Mactan) than Globe. YMMV.

Yes, speed is often bad by many users at same time. When I and my gf want to have webcam calls, but the connection is to bad, then we "solve" it by only open one webcam at the time. (Switching days, so I don't need to shave some days :mocking:

[chrisandging]

I use a sun dongle. 799 a month.

if you go to a sun shop they will let you have a trial for 3 days