The top 10 dongles

Szu Ping Chan reveals the top 10 dongles for your money, and shows you how to make sure you're not disappointed by coverage claims...

It's been over a year and a half since the humble broadband dongle landed on our shores, and along with smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry, they've changed the way we get connected.

For those of you who don't know what a dongle is, this nifty little contraption looks just like a USB storage stick, and allows you to connect to the internet wherever you are.

But there are a couple of things you should bear in mind if you want to invest in one. Firstly, though 3G reception is reaching more people by the day, I still don't think a dongle can replace a good, reliable home broadband connection.

I've heard tales of people who've had to hang themselves out of their windows just to surf at a decent pace. Or worse, not getting a connection at all.

We'll get to this later. But first there's probably a more important question on your mind.

Price.

Like the mobile phone market, there are so many products on offer that you can end up feeling slightly at sea.

Here's what on offer if you're willing to sign an 18 month contract:

Less than £30 separates the networks over the 18 month term, so it's important to look at other benefits as well.

Coverage

Firstly, there's no point paying rock bottom prices if you can't get any reception. Take a look at Ofcom's coverage checker to check if your prospective provider cuts the mustard in your area.

Of course, these maps are only for guidance, and the best thing you can do is borrow a friend's phone or dongle to check what 3G coverage is like in your area.

In any case, you don't have to take Ofcom's word for it, as all the networks offer what's known as a cooling off period. If you're not satisfied with your purchase, you can return your dongle without having to pay hefty charges for breaking your contract.

T-Mobile and Vodafone offer you seven days to return your dongle if you're not satisfied, while Orange (see FAQs) gives you 14 days, and O2 gives you a full 30 days under its 'Happiness Guarantee'.

If you choose a 3 Mobile dongle, you'll have to return it within three days of purchase (or within 14 days if you purchased it online, provided you haven't used it for more than three consecutive days).

There's also the issue of limits. Most dongles offer a 3GB download limit. But what does this mean?

Thankfully, most of the providers have broadband calculators to give you a rough idea of what you're signing up for before you sign your life away. For example, check out Virgin Mobile's calculator to get an idea of your surfing habits.

Pay as you surf

One other way you can avoid being tied into a lengthy contract is by choosing a pay-as-you-go dongle. This option is becoming increasingly popular, as it offers an efficient way of staying connected while not having to pay more than you need to.

Here's what's on offer from four of the big six:

The table may look confusing, but again, it's important to look beyond the megabytes.

The best for added extras is O2, which gives you free access to 6,100 Wi-Fi hotspots with The Cloud while your credit is active.

This can come in handy in areas where dongle reception is less than ideal, and you won't eat into your data allowance either.

Vodafone's dongle plan is also worth highlighting, as its deal doesn't have an expiry date on top-ups. This way, if you only want to connect occasionally, it could save you spending cash on time not spent online.

Sharing your dongle

One of the most recent developments when it comes to dongles is MiFi. This enables you to share your dongle connection with other users through a special dock.

3Mobile currently offers two MiFi options. You can sign an 18 month contract and pay £12 or £15 a month for a data allowance of 1GB or 5GB respectively.

Just bear in mind that 1GB doesn't get you very far in surfing terms, especially if there's more than one of you online. So unless you're only going to check a few emails and do some light surfing, I'd opt for the bigger plan.

Alternatively, you can fork out a one-off payment of £69.99 and top up whenever you need it. The MiFi package comes with 3GB of pre-loaded data, with each additional GB costing £10.

The iPhone dongle

Finally, if you have an iPhone, you'll probably know that you can use it as a dongle too via what's known as tethering.

Orange, which claims to have the biggest 3G network charges £4.89 per month for 500Mb of downloads, or £14.68 per month for 3GB.

But O2 has a better option. Its tethering bolt-on costs £9.79 for 3GB, including unlimited Wi-Fi and free O2 Home broadband (normally £7.34 per month) when you sign up.

Now that's multi-tasking.

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