PlusNet Extra broadband – a fantastic package with unbelievable value

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Following the release of the new broadband plans, I was quite intrigued by the Extra package.

The new plan costs a mere £11.49 a month (in Market 3 areas – go to www.samknows.com to check your exchange). For that, you get a large 60GB monthly usage allowance with unlimited usage between 12 midnight and 8am. You also get a connection up to 20MB and the possibility of not having a contract.

So, we took the offer up. We got the offer with the first 4 months free too (offer expires 27th May) so the only down payment was a £25 setup fee and we chose not to have a contract. Within 5 days it was up and running, and I was astonished with the results.

Our previous provider, IDNet, was giving us a speed of 5Mbit per second (on average), but now with PlusNet (we are still in testing period, I know) we’re getting 8-9Mbit per second – a huge improvement.

There is traffic management, but it’s very well organised. YouTube is throttled to 2.5MB per second between 6-10pm, and many large download sites (such as Megaupload – which often contain illegal content) are throttled during most of the evening and night, but that’s about it. At least we actually get to know how the traffic management works – most ISPs don’t reveal that information.

The offer almost seems too good to be true – but evidently it isn’t. I’m really happy with the fantastic value service. So overall here – a definite win. A fantastic price that can’t be beaten. Amazing!

Spotify introduces a new inbetweener package for non-mobile users

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Spotify has today launched a new go-between package, presumably to try and increase the amount of paying customers.

The new package sells at £4.99 per month. It includes unlimited streaming (see Free package below), abroad usage for more than 2 weeks and no advertising. However, it lacks the offline syncing and mobile use. I actually think that this is a clever idea – not everybody has a phone or device that works with the mobile system so it makes sense to have a cheaper PC only package.

The £9.99 Premium package remains unchanged. However, Spotify have now introduced a new free package that doesn’t require an invite. You essentially get the same as the old free package, but you are limited to 20 hours streaming per month. You also don’t get the Spotify radio mode, but I don’t believe that many people use it.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased. It won’t really affect me, but for those who don’t have a compatible mobile device it makes sense to just go for the cheaper option.

Skype introduces new fixed minute monthly plans but hikes up prices at the same time

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Skype, the giant VoIP network, has recently launched their new subscriptions which mean you can now by monthly subscriptions which give you a certain amount of minutes per month. This supposedly makes the service cheaper for users who don’t get through many minutes in a month.

You can also get plans with unlimited minutes (subject to fair usage) but these seem to have heavily increased in price.

Anyway, for the UK, the fixed minute plans actually seem to be very good value. The 100 minute per month plan to UK landlines costs just £1.19 per month (ex vat) and seems very practical. For 400 minutes, you’ll be paying £2.99 per month (ex vat) which also seems to be very good. However, you have to consider that this is a substantial price increase, as you used to be able to get unlimited (FUP of 10,000) minutes per month for £2.95 per month (excluding vat), so eBay (the company behind Skype) are obviously trying to make more money.

As for the mobile minutes plans, I’m very disappointed. In the UK, 60 minutes per month to UK mobiles costs a whopping £6.99 per month (ex vat). You might be thinking big whoop, £6.99 isn’t much – but when you consider that with giffgaff I get 100 minutes to any number + unlimited texts + unlimited calls/texts to people on the same network for just £10 a month, it matches Skype and has the added convenience of being mobile.

So overall, I’m pretty uninspired by the price increases. I think it’s just increased prices broken down into new plans, but I suppose some people will like the new plans which could be better value for people only using Skype casually for PSTN calls.

Oh and by the way, if you currently have one of Skype’s old subscriptions (such as the unlimited calls to UK landlines for £2.95 per month ex vat), don’t cancel it. You can keep paying the old, cheaper rate if you keep your subscription. However, as soon as you cancel it or miss a payment, you are subject to the new rates.

Ubuntu 10.04 out in the wild!

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In case you aren’t already aware, Ubuntu 10.04 is now out of beta and in a final release. You can either download it at ubuntu.com or update directly from 10.04’s predecessor.

I haven’t got round to downloading it yet but I hope I’ll be able to do so in the very near future. It looks there’s a lot to look forward to.

As soon as I’ve got it up and running, I’ll review it here on GEEK!.

PS: I’m trialling a new writer here on GEEK!, so if you see a post not written by GEEK!, don’t worry – the site hasn’t been hacked.

Nokia 5230 Review – The best budget phone I’ve had so far

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I recently acquired my first ever smartphone (at last!). It’s the Nokia 5230 – a budget phone that packs a lot of punch.

For the best part of £80 from the Carphone Warehouse, you can get the phone brand new and unlocked. It includes HSDPA internet, GPS, Symbian S60 5th edition and a 2 megapixel camera. Personally, I think that’s a great line up for such a low priced phone.

The phone is very similar physically to the 5800. It’s a very similar size (but slightly thinner) and has the same sized screen. In fact, the 5230 only lacks wi-fi and a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash compared to the 5800. The 5230 is very nice to hold and fits comfortably in my hand.

On the left side of the phone, you’ll find slots for the MicroSD memory card (up to 16GB) and a SIM card. Whereas on the right of the phone, you’ll find a volume control, a lock slider (to lock the phone) and a single press camera button. On the front of the phone, you simply have the 3.2″ touchscreen and 3 hard buttons.

The interface of the phone is very easy to use. The Symbian S60 firmware means you get great ease of use together with brilliant functionality. As part of Nokia’s recent changes, you also get free worldwide Ovi Maps to go in harmony with the GPS receiver. Overall, I found Ovi Maps to be very impressive with the latest firmware to date. It is very fast and is relatively good at following your movements. The GPS receiver is one of the best built-in receivers I’ve used so far, being very good at getting strong signals even when in the car or on a bus.

The 2 megapixel camera is slightly lacking in today’s standards, but I feel that it still performs relatively well. I was very impressed with video camera, which is capable of shooting 640×480 video at 30 frames per second. The phone was also very good at getting decent, well focused shots in fast movement. I wouldn’t use it for professional photography, but for casual out-and-about usage it is perfect for the job. There’s no front facing camera, so no video calls, but who ever did video calls?

You also get a mono speaker which I thought was pretty good, but putting my own earphones into the 3.5mm jack sounded much better.

In terms of what you get in the box, I was slightly disappointed. In the UK, you’ll get the phone, together with a charger, manual and wrist strap. It also includes a very low budget stylus in the shape of a guitar pick, however I can’t really complain at the price of the phone. You don’t get a micro USB cable for the phone, so you have to rely on bluetooth for syncing with your computer. However, you can get these on eBay for about £3, so it may well be worth budgeting for.

Overall, I’m very happy with the phone. It packs a lot of punch for £80, and I’m happy to take it as an upgrade for my old 3120 classic.