Vodafone 3G card saves INQ hack

WHILE OUR BELOVED leader, the Mageek, has been fighting a losing battle with Wi-Fi connexions here at SnowBIT, Hangover, a 3G PC card on kind loan from Vodafone has proved to be a lifesaver. This INQ reporter can claim to have filed stories while travelling @ 140 Kph on an inter-city (ICE) train from Berlin to Hanover using the card.

Unfortunately the INQ has also broken the fragile brass connector which enables the user to insert the 3G data card's antenna into the PC Card. Never mind, it still works. Bit of a design fault, though.

But in the chaos, the INQ also managed to forget to attend the launch of the 902T from Toshiba, a 3G handset which is simultaneously supposed to save Vodafone's bacon in the highly competitive Japanese market while ramping up Toshiba's chances of breaking into the lucrative European market.

In Europe the same Toshiba handset will be known as the TS 921. It'll be interesting to see how the TS 921 performs. Previous experience shows that PC connectivity and Bluetooth compatibility are weak points when it comes to Japanese designed handsets for the European market.

CeBiT has also highlighted just how complicated this roaming business is. As a Vodafone user you can roam onto GSM networks in 114 countries. With the standard Vodafone live! (WAP based service) you can roam in 49 territories. Plus 3G (W-CDMA) voice roaming is available in 17 different countries. Yet Vodafone live! 3G roaming is possible in only 16 countries. Finally, video call roaming is only available in three countries.

Luckily video calling isn't the INQ's main bag. µ