Ken's Tech Tips

Skobbler is a free application which provides iPhone owners with free turn-by-turn GPS navigation.

If you’ve been just a little bit jealous of the Android users and their free sat-nav app, feel envy no longer. The guys over at Skobbler have launched a free turn-by-turn GPS navigation app for iPhone users in the UK and Ireland.

Which iPhone or iPod Touch do I need to use Skobbler?

Skobbler is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S and iPhone 4.

Skobbler also claim you can use it with iPod Touch, however we struggle to see how you could use the app with only wi-fi functionality. We would suggest buying the in-car MiFi package from Three. It’ll create a wi-fi hotspot in your car with Pay As You Go internet access over Three’s 3G network. This should allow Skobbler to download the maps that it requires to work.

(more…)

Ken’s Tech Tips investigates reports of Pay As You Go iPhone customers having their Pay As You Go credit eaten up.

I’ve received several reports from PAYG iPhone customers who complain that their Pay As You Go credit has been mysteriously dropping even though they’ve not made any calls or sent any text messages. This problem usually affects users who don’t have an inclusive data allowance on their PAYG tariff (or haven’t topped up enough to receive their free data allowance). Your iPhone continues to the data connection in the background even if you’re not actively using it to browse the web, etc. Although background data usage is usually fairly small, Pay As You Go tariffs such as O2′s Text and Web charge up to £3/MB for data usage if you don’t top up to get free data. This means that even a small amount of data usage can take a substantial amount out of your credit.

In this report, we’ve got a solution to this problem for iOS 4 users and for everybody else, a few tips on how you can reduce these charges.

The solution (iOS 4 users only)

If you’ve got the new iOS 4, you should disable “cellular data”. This will stop the iPhone and all applications from using data over your mobile connection. It will still allow you to access the internet through wi-fi. If you have an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S, you can download a free update to iOS 4 (although many iPhone 3G users report performance issues after the update).

(more…)

Three have launched the iPhone 4 on their network – and they’re providing the best value deals on the market so far.

Three have today launched the iPhone 4 in both 16GB (stores only) and 32GB models and in both black and white editions. The cheapest tariff they’ve made the iPhone 4 available on is £30/month and offers 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB internet every month. Aside from that, there are another three tariffs including Internet Texter 900 (which offer 900 minutes, 5000 texts, 1GB internet) and “The One Plan” (which offers 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, 1GB internet and is considered to be essentially “unlimited everything”).

What tariffs is the iPhone 4 available on?

In total, the iPhone 4 is available on 4 tariffs:

All Three iPhone tariffs come with 5000 Three-to-Three minutes, free voicemail, free Skype-to-Skype calls and Windows Live Messenger.

(more…)

Three have launched the iPhone 3G S on their network – and have undercut the prices of the other networks in the process. Plus a free storage upgrade from 8GB to 32GB.

Since O2 lost their exclusivity on the iPhone, we’ve been waiting for iPhone prices to drop. It looks like we’ve might have just seen that now  as Three have just released their iPhone tariffs and they undercut the competition pretty substantially. The lowest priced tariff (£129 upfront plus £25/month for 32GB iPhone 3G S) costs roughly the same as a cutting-edge Android phone such as the HTC Desire as well as having 4x as much storage and a larger internet download allowance.

The iPhone 4 will be available soon on tariffs from £30/month with 500 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB internet (more in a subsequent post).

iPhone 3G S: Get 32GB of storage for the same price as 8GB

Most networks offer 3 different models of the iPhone: 8GB iPhone 3G S, 16GB iPhone 4 and 32GB iPhone 4. Three are currently unique as being the only network to offer a 32GB iPhone 3G S too. Bizarrely, the 32GB model doesn’t cost a penny more than the 8GB model – which means that anyone considering buying an iPhone 3G S can quadruple their storage for free by choosing the 32GB model on 3. One thing though: the 8GB model is in Black and the 32GB model is in White.

(more…)

The Apple iPad is hitting the stores in the UK this Friday. In this guide, we outline what you should be looking for in an iPad data tariff, what it’ll cost you and how to get the best deal on your iPad data tariff.

Which iPad should I buy?

There are three different iPads – each with different amounts of storage/memory. The 16GB model costs £429, the 32GB model costs £499 and the 64GB model costs £599. Apart from the difference in the amount of memory, all of these iPads are functionally identical. All iPads have Wi-fi connectivity. There is additionally £100 upgrade available for 3G (internet via the mobile network) connectivity.

If you want to the internet on the go using a micro-SIM tariff (discussed below), you will need to pay the £100 extra for 3G connectivity and then to purchase a data tariff. iPad data tariffs typically cost around £10-£15 per month.

We strongly recommend that you think about how you will actually use your iPad in reality before stumping out for the £100 upgrade and signing up for a data tariff. Can you really see yourself carrying around the iPad with you everywhere? Will you use the iPad on the daily commute to work? Do you really need 3G data on your iPad when you’ve got it on your smartphone? If the answer to those questions were “No”, you might be wasting your money shelling out for 3G connectivity and a data tariff.

(more…)

O2 updated their range of iPhone tariffs today as reported before here and here. In doing so, they’ve introduced a new loophole which means that you can potentially save money by making individual orders for an iPhone and another for an airtime tariff. You can save up to £70 using this method, get an extra SIM card with 12 months of free internet (worth £120) and you’ll benefit from having a shorter 12 month contract too.

How does it work?

This new loophole has been introduced by O2′s new “Simplicity for iPhone” tariffs.

The “Simplicity for iPhone” tariffs provide customers with the exact same airtime allowance as the standard iPhone tariffs (i.e. the same number of minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited internet and visual voicemail) but it doesn’t provide an iPhone. For this reason, the “Simplicity for iPhone” tariffs are aimed at existing iPhone customers and are cheaper by roughly £15/month to £20/month.

However, this does not stop new iPhone customers from signing up to “Simplicity for iPhone”. The only thing is, you’ll have to source your own iPhone. And you can do that from O2 itself! By purchasing an iPhone on PAYG and then a “Simplicity for iPhone” contract, it is often sometimes be cheaper than buying the official contract.

(more…)

photo: Jeff Kubina

O2 are offering a range of “Simplicity” tariffs for iPhone users from £15/month with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and internet.

Yesterday we were the first to bring you news of the updates to O2′s iPhone tariff and the incorporation of “unlimited” texts onto their iPhone tariffs. O2 have today announced a much larger range of “Simplicity for iPhone” tariffs which are all available online. This includes a £15/month tariff which is the cheapest iPhone tariff to date.

Simplicity for iPhone is a SIM-only tariff for your iPhone. SIM only tariffs are contracts which only provide you with airtime and do not provide you with a free phone. They offer good savings (about £180/year) to people who already have their own iPhone and have completed the original contract length. It’s also ideal if you’ve purchased a second hand iPhone or had one handed onto you.

(more…)

I’ve received some information that suggests O2 will be making an update to their tariffs tomorrow. The key change is that their iPhone tariffs will now come with unlimited texts. There are some other changes too in terms of airtime allowance and the cost of the iPhone itself. We’ll update our iPhone price comparison webpage as soon as these tariffs go live and official.

What has changed?

The main change is that O2 are introducing unlimited texts on their iPhone tariffs. This is probably in response to Vodafone who launched their iPhone tariffs with unlimited texts last month. There are a few changes in the airtime allowance and cost of the iPhone too. To compensate for the increase in number of texts, O2 have either reduced the number of minutes or increased the price of the iPhone on most of the tariffs.

(more…)

Last month we brought you news of O2′s secret £20 Sim Only iPhone tariff aimed at keeping customers who have reached the end of their original iPhone 3G contracts. Vodafone have now got in on the act to poach some of these customers by launching two £25/mo. SIM only iPhone tariff. In this article, we look at how they compares to other smartphone SIM only deals and O2′s “Simplicity for iPhone” deals.

What are the Vodafone SIM only deals?

Vodafone have two SIM only iPhone tariffs: both at £25 per month. Both of the tariffs offer 3000 (“unlimited”) texts, 1GB mobile internet access and 1GB BT Openzone wi-fi hotspot access every month. The tariffs differ in the length. On the 1 month contract, you’ll get 600 minutes; sign for 12 months and you’ll get 900 minutes.

(more…)

Thousands of iPhone 3G contracts are coming to an end this month. This means it’s now possible to switch tariff or network and you can save between £180 and £300 over the next year by switching.

If you bought an iPhone 3G from O2 at launch in June 2008, your 18-month contract will be coming to an end this January. In this article, we explore the options which are now available to you. There are some huge savings to be made: most people should be able to save at least £180/yr with a quick phone call and other alternatives can give savings of up to £300.

Keep your iPhone 3G and Switch to O2′s Simplicity for iPhone

O2 offer two secret ‘Simplicity’ tariffs for iPhone customers who have completed their original contract. The cheaper of the two options costs £20/month giving you a saving of least £15/month on your current contract. O2 don’t advertise the tariff but we wrote about it last month and most readers have reported success in switching. It takes just a quick phone call to change (several readers said it took just 5 minutes) and you’ll start saving straight away.

(more…)