Orange Mobile Office Card

Just like the Vodafone card, the Orange Mobile Office Card should give you a maximum transfer speed of 384kbits/sec with a 3G connection, but I didn’t once manage to achieve a connection higher than 115kbits/sec. As a result, the Orange card does feel sluggish compared to the Vodafone Mobile Connect, and I did test both cards one after the other in an array of differing locations. Also, the coverage seemed to be slightly better from Vodafone – both cards had no problem connecting all around London and in the TrustedReviews offices in Bracknell. However, while I was in St Albans waiting for a new set of brake pads to be fitted to my car, I was unable to get any form of connection from the Orange card, while the Vodafone card provided me with access, albeit via GPRS rather than 3G. To be fair though, I’m sure there are places where the Orange card will have coverage and the Vodafone one won’t, but it’s worth remembering that if you’re planning on being outside a major city, either of these data cards could let you down.

The last part of the puzzle is cost and just as with the Vodafone Mobile Connect, the initial purchase price of the Orange Mobile Office Card varies depending on which tarriff you choose. With a purchase cost of £149 and a monthly charge of £23.50, you get 65MB of download data per month, whereas using the Vodafone Mobile Connect you get 75MB for exactly the same cost structure. To be fair, as I already mentioned, Vodafone dropped its pricing in response to Orange’s price plans, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Orange’s costs drop sometime in the near future. I would also hope that Orange will look into its software and try to create a more usable environment that allows you to use all the services all of the time. However, as things stand Vodafone is offering a better package, with superior software, faster performance and more bundled data.

Verdict

Orange has been slow out of the gate with its 3G service, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, with a clumsy interface, slower connection speed and less competitive tarriffs, Orange will find it tough to compete with the already established Vodafone Mobile Connect.