It’s an exciting time for mobile data access: On the one side, we see the emergence of wireless hotspots, where with just the aid of a wireless LAN-enabled notebook and a pin number, business users can access broadband Internet services, their office network and e-mail in a café or airport and potentially in any urban location. On the other, GPRS services have matured and should offer almost universal Internet coverage to business travellers.
With its Mobile Connect product, Vodafone is making a strong case for the widespread adoption of the latter.
The beauty of the Mobile Connect Card is that you don’t have to be a technical wizard to use it. It delivers a suite of practical applications packaged in a very user-friendly environment.
The Mobile Connect Card takes the form of a Vodafone-branded PC card with antenna which slots into the PCMCIA card on the side of a standard notebook. The card allows you to insert a GPRS sim card into it so you can establish a data connection with the Vodafone network. It also bundles with a specially designed and Vodafone-branded software management system as part of the package. This software application pulls together all of the mobile applications into one user-friendly interface. It offers six ‘direct access’ buttons to connect or disconnect from the GPRS data connection, and a usage meter that helps you manage expenditure on the data connection by measuring the number of megabytes downloaded. The service also allows you to send a text message directly from your notebook. Direct access to Internet Explorer enables Web browsing and access to Web-based e-mail from the Vodafone.ie website, once you sign up to its subscribers’ service.
Ease-of-use and access to ‘killer apps’ aside, coverage, connection reliability and access speeds are other critical factors in making a truly mobile data product work; on two of these counts, I was disappointed with the product. Access and downloads speeds were fine, averaging at about 28Kbit/s, which is comparable to a standard dial-up connection over a fixed analogue line. Maintaining a connection was a different kettle of fish: I live in an apartment central Dublin and the coverage here was patchy to say the least. I couldn’t access the service at all in my living room. I had some success in my bedroom, albeit with a connection that would drop four to five times per session as the GPRS signal was lost — probably due to network congestion. In my office in Glasnevin, the signal was slightly more robust but still dropped calls in each session. The ultimate test for any mobile worker is the reliability of a communications product while they are on the road or travelling across the country. I took the train from Dublin to Ballina and enjoyed coverage in every county except for parts of Roscommon and Mayo where from Castlerea to Ballyhaunis, there wasn’t any GPRS coverage at all.
Specs
-
Targets corporate users but there is many a small business manager or sales rep who would benefit from being able to send text messages and access Internet services sans wires.Rating: 3.5 starsPrice: Vodafone Mobile Connect Card EUR299; Data-only SIM rental EUR7.50; EUR2 (per Mbyte) up to 5Mbyte, EUR1.50 from 5 to 20Mbyte and EUR1 for over 20Mbyte.
Vodafone: 1800-308020 (Ireland only)
10/07/2003
]*>/gi, ' ') .replace(blockWrapperRegex, '') : program.requiredTemplate.replace(divRegex, ''); legalTextElement.textContent = ''; const parts = template.split(/(.*?)/g); parts.forEach(function(part) { if (!part) { return; } const anchorMatch = part.match(/(.+?)/); if (anchorMatch) { const linkElement = document.createElement('a'); linkElement.href = sanitizeUrl(anchorMatch[1]); linkElement.target = anchorMatch[2] ? sanitizeHtml(anchorMatch[2]) : '_blank'; linkElement.rel = 'noopener noreferrer'; linkElement.textContent = sanitizeHtml(anchorMatch[3]); legalTextElement.appendChild(linkElement); } else { legalTextElement.appendChild(document.createTextNode(part)); } }); } function generateDropdownOptions(smsProgramData) { if (!smsProgramData || smsProgramData.length === 0) { return ''; } var programs = true ? smsProgramData.filter(function(p, i, arr) { return arr.findIndex(function(q) { return q.countryCode === p.countryCode; }) === i; }) : smsProgramData; return programs.map(program => { const flag = getCountryUnicodeFlag(program.countryCode); const countryName = getCountryName(program.countryCode); const callingCode = program.countryCallingCode || ''; // Sanitize all values to prevent XSS const sanitizedCountryCode = sanitizeHtml(program.countryCode || ''); const sanitizedCountryName = sanitizeHtml(countryName || ''); const sanitizedCallingCode = sanitizeHtml(callingCode || ''); return '' + sanitizedCountryName + ' ' + sanitizedCallingCode + ''; }).join(''); } function getCountryName(countryCode) { if (window.MC?.smsPhoneData?.smsProgramDataCountryNames && Array.isArray(window.MC.smsPhoneData.smsProgramDataCountryNames)) { for (let i = 0; i < window.MC.smsPhoneData.smsProgramDataCountryNames.length; i++) { if (window.MC.smsPhoneData.smsProgramDataCountryNames[i].code === countryCode) { return window.MC.smsPhoneData.smsProgramDataCountryNames[i].name; } } } return countryCode; } function getDefaultPlaceholder(countryCode) { if (!countryCode || typeof countryCode !== 'string') { return '+1 000 000 0000'; // Default US placeholder } var mockPlaceholders = [ { countryCode: 'US', placeholder: '+1 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the US country code +1 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'GB', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the GB country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'CA', placeholder: '+1 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the CA country code +1 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'AU', placeholder: '+61 000 000 000', helpText: 'Include the AU country code +61 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'DE', placeholder: '+49 000 0000000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die DE-Ländervorwahl +49 ein', }, { countryCode: 'FR', placeholder: '+33 0 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays FR +33 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'ES', placeholder: '+34 000 000 000', helpText: 'Incluya el código de país ES +34 antes del número de teléfono', }, { countryCode: 'NL', placeholder: '+31 0 00000000', helpText: 'Voeg de NL-landcode +31 toe vóór het telefoonnummer', }, { countryCode: 'BE', placeholder: '+32 000 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays BE +32 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'CH', placeholder: '+41 00 000 00 00', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die CH-Ländervorwahl +41 ein', }, { countryCode: 'AT', placeholder: '+43 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die AT-Ländervorwahl +43 ein', }, { countryCode: 'IE', placeholder: '+353 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the IE country code +353 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'IT', placeholder: '+39 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Includere il prefisso internazionale IT +39 prima del numero di telefono', }, { countryCode: 'NO', placeholder: '+47 000 00 000', helpText: 'Inkluder NO landskode +47 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'SE', placeholder: '+46 00 000 00 00', helpText: 'Inkludera SE landskod +46 före telefonnumret', }, { countryCode: 'DK', placeholder: '+45 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Inkluder DK landekode +45 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'FI', placeholder: '+358 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Sisällytä FI-maakoodi +358 ennen puhelinnumeroa', }, { countryCode: 'EE', placeholder: '+372 0000 0000', helpText: 'Lisage EE riigikood +372 telefoninumbri ette', }, { countryCode: 'PL', placeholder: '+48 000 000 000', helpText: 'Podaj numer kierunkowy PL +48 przed numerem telefonu', }, { countryCode: 'SK', placeholder: '+421 000 000 000', helpText: 'Pred telefónne číslo uveďte kód krajiny SK +421', }, { countryCode: 'LV', placeholder: '+371 0000 0000', helpText: 'Iekļaujiet LV valsts kodu +371 pirms tālruņa numura', }, { countryCode: 'LT', placeholder: '+370 0000 0000', helpText: 'Įtraukite LT šalies kodą +370 prieš telefono numerį', }, { countryCode: 'GR', placeholder: '+30 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Συμπεριλάβετε τον κωδικό χώρας GR +30 πριν από τον αριθμό τηλεφώνου', }, { countryCode: 'PT', placeholder: '+351 000 000 000', helpText: 'Inclua o código de país PT +351 antes do número de telefone', }, { countryCode: 'HR', placeholder: '+385 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Uključite HR pozivni broj države +385 prije telefonskog broja', }, { countryCode: 'SI', placeholder: '+386 00 000 000', helpText: 'Vključite SI kodo države +386 pred telefonsko številko', }, { countryCode: 'IS', placeholder: '+354 000 0000', helpText: 'Láttu IS landsnúmer +354 fylgja á undan símanúmerinu', }, { countryCode: 'LU', placeholder: '+352 000 000 000', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays LU +352 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'MC', placeholder: '+377 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays MC +377 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'AD', placeholder: '+376 000 000', helpText: 'Incloeu el codi de país AD +376 abans del número de telèfon', }, { countryCode: 'JE', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the JE country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'IM', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the IM country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'GG', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the GG country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'AL', placeholder: '+355 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Përfshini kodin e vendit AL +355 para numrit të telefonit', }, { countryCode: 'SM', placeholder: '+378 0000 000000', helpText: 'Includere il prefisso internazionale SM +378 prima del numero di telefono', }, { countryCode: 'FO', placeholder: '+298 000000', helpText: 'Inkluder FO landekode +298 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'MT', placeholder: '+356 0000 0000', helpText: 'Include the MT country code +356 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'LI', placeholder: '+423 000 0000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die LI-Ländervorwahl +423 ein', }, { countryCode: 'GI', placeholder: '+350 000 00000', helpText: 'Include the GI country code +350 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'MD', placeholder: '+373 00 000 000', helpText: 'Includeți codul de țară MD +373 înaintea numărului de telefon', }, { countryCode: 'HU', placeholder: '+36 00 000 0000', helpText: 'A telefonszám előtt adja meg a HU országkódot +36', }, { countryCode: 'NZ', placeholder: '+64 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the NZ country code +64 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'ME', placeholder: '+382 00 000 000', helpText: 'Uključite ME pozivni broj države +382 prije telefonskog broja', }, ]; const selectedPlaceholder = mockPlaceholders.find(function(item) { return item && item.countryCode === countryCode; }); return selectedPlaceholder ? selectedPlaceholder.placeholder : mockPlaceholders[0].placeholder; } function updatePlaceholder(countryCode, fieldName) { if (!countryCode || !fieldName) { return; } const phoneInput = document.querySelector('#mce-' + fieldName); if (!phoneInput) { return; } const placeholder = getDefaultPlaceholder(countryCode); if (placeholder) { phoneInput.placeholder = placeholder; } } function updateCountryCodeInstruction(countryCode, fieldName) { updatePlaceholder(countryCode, fieldName); } function getDefaultHelpText(countryCode) { var mockPlaceholders = [ { countryCode: 'US', placeholder: '+1 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the US country code +1 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'GB', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the GB country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'CA', placeholder: '+1 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the CA country code +1 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'AU', placeholder: '+61 000 000 000', helpText: 'Include the AU country code +61 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'DE', placeholder: '+49 000 0000000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die DE-Ländervorwahl +49 ein', }, { countryCode: 'FR', placeholder: '+33 0 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays FR +33 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'ES', placeholder: '+34 000 000 000', helpText: 'Incluya el código de país ES +34 antes del número de teléfono', }, { countryCode: 'NL', placeholder: '+31 0 00000000', helpText: 'Voeg de NL-landcode +31 toe vóór het telefoonnummer', }, { countryCode: 'BE', placeholder: '+32 000 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays BE +32 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'CH', placeholder: '+41 00 000 00 00', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die CH-Ländervorwahl +41 ein', }, { countryCode: 'AT', placeholder: '+43 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die AT-Ländervorwahl +43 ein', }, { countryCode: 'IE', placeholder: '+353 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the IE country code +353 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'IT', placeholder: '+39 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Includere il prefisso internazionale IT +39 prima del numero di telefono', }, { countryCode: 'NO', placeholder: '+47 000 00 000', helpText: 'Inkluder NO landskode +47 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'SE', placeholder: '+46 00 000 00 00', helpText: 'Inkludera SE landskod +46 före telefonnumret', }, { countryCode: 'DK', placeholder: '+45 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Inkluder DK landekode +45 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'FI', placeholder: '+358 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Sisällytä FI-maakoodi +358 ennen puhelinnumeroa', }, { countryCode: 'EE', placeholder: '+372 0000 0000', helpText: 'Lisage EE riigikood +372 telefoninumbri ette', }, { countryCode: 'PL', placeholder: '+48 000 000 000', helpText: 'Podaj numer kierunkowy PL +48 przed numerem telefonu', }, { countryCode: 'SK', placeholder: '+421 000 000 000', helpText: 'Pred telefónne číslo uveďte kód krajiny SK +421', }, { countryCode: 'LV', placeholder: '+371 0000 0000', helpText: 'Iekļaujiet LV valsts kodu +371 pirms tālruņa numura', }, { countryCode: 'LT', placeholder: '+370 0000 0000', helpText: 'Įtraukite LT šalies kodą +370 prieš telefono numerį', }, { countryCode: 'GR', placeholder: '+30 000 000 0000', helpText: 'Συμπεριλάβετε τον κωδικό χώρας GR +30 πριν από τον αριθμό τηλεφώνου', }, { countryCode: 'PT', placeholder: '+351 000 000 000', helpText: 'Inclua o código de país PT +351 antes do número de telefone', }, { countryCode: 'HR', placeholder: '+385 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Uključite HR pozivni broj države +385 prije telefonskog broja', }, { countryCode: 'SI', placeholder: '+386 00 000 000', helpText: 'Vključite SI kodo države +386 pred telefonsko številko', }, { countryCode: 'IS', placeholder: '+354 000 0000', helpText: 'Láttu IS landsnúmer +354 fylgja á undan símanúmerinu', }, { countryCode: 'LU', placeholder: '+352 000 000 000', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays LU +352 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'MC', placeholder: '+377 00 00 00 00', helpText: 'Incluez le code pays MC +377 avant le numéro de téléphone', }, { countryCode: 'AD', placeholder: '+376 000 000', helpText: 'Incloeu el codi de país AD +376 abans del número de telèfon', }, { countryCode: 'JE', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the JE country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'IM', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the IM country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'GG', placeholder: '+44 0000 000000', helpText: 'Include the GG country code +44 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'AL', placeholder: '+355 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Përfshini kodin e vendit AL +355 para numrit të telefonit', }, { countryCode: 'SM', placeholder: '+378 0000 000000', helpText: 'Includere il prefisso internazionale SM +378 prima del numero di telefono', }, { countryCode: 'FO', placeholder: '+298 000000', helpText: 'Inkluder FO landekode +298 før telefonnummeret', }, { countryCode: 'MT', placeholder: '+356 0000 0000', helpText: 'Include the MT country code +356 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'LI', placeholder: '+423 000 0000', helpText: 'Fügen Sie vor der Telefonnummer die LI-Ländervorwahl +423 ein', }, { countryCode: 'GI', placeholder: '+350 000 00000', helpText: 'Include the GI country code +350 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'MD', placeholder: '+373 00 000 000', helpText: 'Includeți codul de țară MD +373 înaintea numărului de telefon', }, { countryCode: 'HU', placeholder: '+36 00 000 0000', helpText: 'A telefonszám előtt adja meg a HU országkódot +36', }, { countryCode: 'NZ', placeholder: '+64 00 000 0000', helpText: 'Include the NZ country code +64 before the phone number', }, { countryCode: 'ME', placeholder: '+382 00 000 000', helpText: 'Uključite ME pozivni broj države +382 prije telefonskog broja', }, ]; if (!countryCode || typeof countryCode !== 'string') { return mockPlaceholders[0].helpText; } const selectedHelpText = mockPlaceholders.find(function(item) { return item && item.countryCode === countryCode; }); return selectedHelpText ? selectedHelpText.helpText : mockPlaceholders[0].helpText; } function setDefaultHelpText(countryCode) { const helpTextSpan = document.querySelector('#help-text'); if (!helpTextSpan) { return; } } function updateHelpTextCountryCode(countryCode, fieldName) { if (!countryCode || !fieldName) { return; } setDefaultHelpText(countryCode); } function initializeSmsPhoneDropdown(fieldName) { if (!fieldName || typeof fieldName !== 'string') { return; } const dropdown = document.querySelector('#country-select-' + fieldName); const displayFlag = document.querySelector('#flag-display-' + fieldName); if (!dropdown || !displayFlag) { return; } const smsPhoneData = window.MC?.smsPhoneData; if (smsPhoneData && smsPhoneData.programs && Array.isArray(smsPhoneData.programs)) { dropdown.innerHTML = generateDropdownOptions(smsPhoneData.programs); } const defaultProgram = getDefaultCountryProgram(smsPhoneData?.defaultCountryCode, smsPhoneData?.programs); if (defaultProgram && defaultProgram.countryCode) { dropdown.value = defaultProgram.countryCode; const flagSpan = displayFlag?.querySelector('#flag-emoji-' + fieldName); if (flagSpan) { flagSpan.textContent = getCountryUnicodeFlag(defaultProgram.countryCode); flagSpan.setAttribute('aria-label', sanitizeHtml(defaultProgram.countryCode) + ' flag'); } updateSmsLegalText(defaultProgram.countryCode, fieldName); updatePlaceholder(defaultProgram.countryCode, fieldName); updateCountryCodeInstruction(defaultProgram.countryCode, fieldName); } var smsNotRequiredRemoveCountryCodeEnabled = true; var smsField = Object.values({"EMAIL":{"name":"EMAIL","label":"Email Address","helper_text":"","type":"email","required":true,"audience_field_name":"Email Address","merge_id":0,"help_text_enabled":false,"enabled":true,"order":0,"field_type":"merge"},"FNAME":{"name":"FNAME","label":"First Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"First Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":1},"MMERGE2":{"name":"MMERGE2","label":"Second Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Second Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":2},"MMERGE3":{"name":"MMERGE3","label":"Company Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Company Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":3},"MMERGE4":{"name":"MMERGE4","label":"Job Title","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Job Title","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":4},"SIGNUP":{"name":"SIGNUP","label":"Signup form location","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Signup form location","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":5},"MMERGE6":{"name":"MMERGE6","label":"Image URL","helper_text":"","type":"imageurl","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Image URL","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":6}}).find(function(f) { return f.name === fieldName && f.type === 'smsphone'; }); var isRequired = smsField ? smsField.required : false; var shouldAppendCountryCode = smsNotRequiredRemoveCountryCodeEnabled ? isRequired : true; var phoneInput = document.querySelector('#mce-' + fieldName); if (phoneInput && defaultProgram.countryCallingCode && shouldAppendCountryCode) { phoneInput.value = defaultProgram.countryCallingCode; } displayFlag?.addEventListener('click', function(e) { dropdown.focus(); }); dropdown?.addEventListener('change', function() { const selectedCountry = this.value; if (!selectedCountry || typeof selectedCountry !== 'string') { return; } const flagSpan = displayFlag?.querySelector('#flag-emoji-' + fieldName); if (flagSpan) { flagSpan.textContent = getCountryUnicodeFlag(selectedCountry); flagSpan.setAttribute('aria-label', sanitizeHtml(selectedCountry) + ' flag'); } const selectedProgram = window.MC?.smsPhoneData?.programs.find(function(program) { return program && program.countryCode === selectedCountry; }); var smsNotRequiredRemoveCountryCodeEnabled = true; var smsField = Object.values({"EMAIL":{"name":"EMAIL","label":"Email Address","helper_text":"","type":"email","required":true,"audience_field_name":"Email Address","merge_id":0,"help_text_enabled":false,"enabled":true,"order":0,"field_type":"merge"},"FNAME":{"name":"FNAME","label":"First Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"First Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":1},"MMERGE2":{"name":"MMERGE2","label":"Second Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Second Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":2},"MMERGE3":{"name":"MMERGE3","label":"Company Name","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Company Name","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":3},"MMERGE4":{"name":"MMERGE4","label":"Job Title","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Job Title","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":4},"SIGNUP":{"name":"SIGNUP","label":"Signup form location","helper_text":"","type":"text","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Signup form location","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":5},"MMERGE6":{"name":"MMERGE6","label":"Image URL","helper_text":"","type":"imageurl","required":false,"audience_field_name":"Image URL","enabled":false,"order":null,"field_type":"merge","merge_id":6}}).find(function(f) { return f.name === fieldName && f.type === 'smsphone'; }); var isRequired = smsField ? smsField.required : false; var shouldAppendCountryCode = smsNotRequiredRemoveCountryCodeEnabled ? isRequired : true; var phoneInput = document.querySelector('#mce-' + fieldName); if (phoneInput && selectedProgram.countryCallingCode && shouldAppendCountryCode) { phoneInput.value = selectedProgram.countryCallingCode; } updateSmsLegalText(selectedCountry, fieldName); updatePlaceholder(selectedCountry, fieldName); updateCountryCodeInstruction(selectedCountry, fieldName); }); } document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { const smsPhoneFields = document.querySelectorAll('[id^="country-select-"]'); smsPhoneFields.forEach(function(dropdown) { const fieldName = dropdown?.id.replace('country-select-', ''); initializeSmsPhoneDropdown(fieldName); }); });
Listen to Tech Radio
Ltd
