Smart Bro
I had just purchased a Smart Bro pre-paid kit. One good thing about the package is that they also have an installation kit for Mac users. The installation was simple and straight-forward. Install the software. Insert sim into modem. Plug modem into USB port. Click connect. And you are connected!
Loading the sim card is as simple as going to a convenience store (e.g., 7-11) or any kiosk that does e-loading.
And how fast is the bandwidth? Quite fast. I uploaded an 11MB file to Flickr and it took me less than 5 minutes.
Cost is at P10 for every 30-minute block. And one has to be careful on how he connects because if he logs off after just 5 minutes of usage, it can be considered as a 30-minute block.
The other problem I have is that the supplied Mac software does not have the SMS capability as that of the Windows version.
But, all in all, at least now I can connect to the internet wherever there is a Smart signal.
April 18 2008 03:42 pm | Hardware
April 18th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Nice. Saw this type of 3G USB modem at Mall of Asia being sold for Php7,500.
April 18th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
i don’t think its really a good idea to buy a smart bro prepaid kit..
1. you have to buy the prepaid USB Kit worth Php4,500 which is about the same price of the cheapest 3G phone in the market.
— if you have a 3g phone with a smart sim.. thats all you need.. and if you don’t have a 3g phone then buy the cheapest rather than buying this useless piece of crap.
2. P10/30minutes - same price for smart 3G connection.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
what’s that “ZTE” thing on the manual? is this a product of the famous chinese company?
May 4th, 2008 at 8:51 am
@Kent:
1) I have a cellphone with Globe-SIM already and it’s not 3G-capable. I’m not willing to buy another phone, even if it is cheap just to get 3G-based broadband for my macbook. The “useless piece of crap” modem is smaller than a Moto KRZR and weighs as much as 2 5Peso coins. I’d rather carry that around than another dead-weigh cellphone.
2) Not surprising since it runs of the Smart 3G network.
For my purposes (as well as others with Non-Smart cellphones, Non-3G cellphones, not wanting the dead-weight of another cellphone, & not wanting to have to buy another cell) this is an excellent solution.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Hi, I’ve been reading blogs of mostly reviewers and your the 1st subscriber that I’ve found. Most of the comments on this service is the speed deteriorating after a weeks time of usage. I would like to know the performance of this after days of testing? Can you say your satisfied with it?
I’m also planning on availing this service.^_^
May 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
@mech,
So far, I have not experienced any speed deterioration and yes am pretty much satisfied with its performance. Many have lamented that it is too expensive at P4,500 but it suits my purpose, plus the form-factor makes it extremely handy.