And because of this, I've decided to make a review of the 2 most advertized internet-broadband connection that we have. This is to give some heads up to those 'would-be' consumers of my current broaband internet provider, to be more careful and wise in choosing the service they would want to spend their money with.
We use to have dsl + landline with Bayantel for almost a year when we decided to let go of both services because of the increasingly poor phone & internet connection (we normally loses internet connection even with slight amount of rain and our phone is really staticky most of the time). Now that I have my own laptop, I thought of just getting a plug-in usb internet device that I could use with my laptop anywhere I go.
Being me, I decided to test the service first before getting it. Luckily, my friend has all 3 broadband kit (Tattoo, Smartbro & Sun broadband) and she allowed me to try them all first before I decide which service I would go to.
Smartbro Broandband
The first one I tried was Smartbro. All three broadband kit look the same. It is a usb device which is about 4-5 inches long, a plug & play device (meaning you don't have to install anything on your computer before it runs, it'll do it on its own) with an indicator light in front telling you whether your computer is detecting the device or whether it is already connected to the internet and they have this simcard inside (like the ones we have on mobile phones) that will be used to connect to their main server.
If you're a first time user, after plugging the USB device, a program will appear on your computer screen that will ask you if you want to install it (you need to agree on some terms & conditions and you need to install the software on your computer to make it work) or not. It'll take about 3-5 minutes to install everything. You should see a shortcut on your desktop screen afterwards. If you're a prepaid consumer, you need to load the broadband first before you could surf the internet.
Anyhow, the smartbro connection could run a speed as high as 2000kbps or 2mbps. If you would ask me, that's fast enough for a broaband-wireless internet. Considering that they are using a network-base signal (similar to cellphones). I'm happy with the internet speed I got from Smartbro. I was able to download mp3s in the span of 5mins. I was able to upload pictures (depending on the size) for less than 15 mins, and I was able to watch a couple of videos in Youtube (although there are times that it buffers) just fine.
The only thing I didn't like (specially if you are a prepaid consumer) is the unlimited services they have. For a day of unlimited surfing, it would amount to Php 50, then Php 100 for 2 days and Php 200 for 5 days. I was hoping they could extend the expiry dates for each amount.
All in all, I'am very pleased with the service I got from Smart. I would certainly recommend it.
Sun Wireless Broadband
After having a very good experience of service from Smart, I'am a little bit expectant of what Sun broadband has to offer. I have this high expectation from the said company because of their advetisements. You could see their commercials every so often, telling people how fast, reliable and affordable their services. I also often see their employees on the malls, giving sales talk and encouraging the public to try their service.
But to my horror, the service was very, very poor! I'am totally dissatisfied.
After installing the program on my laptop, I'am very excited and eager to try the connection. Again, my expectation is set way up high because of the advertisements. I opened my browser (I use Google chrome), and waited, waited and waited before my homepage came up! It took almost 3 minutes for the page to load! Don't get me wrong, but 3 minutes to open a single webpage which is already cache and saved on my browser is really slow. The worse part is, after logging into your account, the page didn't load up at all. It went to a 'page cannot be displayed' or 'connection error' screen and you have to refresh the page multiple times before it'll finally came up! I checked the bandwidth which could be seen on the program installed to my laptop, and the data shows that the speed is only reaching up to 50-70kbps! It's like dial-up speed. You're lucky to get 100kbps once in a while.
All in all, my experience of the service is not a good one. Personally, I would not recommend the service, at least here in our area. Maybe I need to consider something, like the location or the signal before judging the overall performance, but then again, I'am not really thrilled with the service I got. I just hope they would do something to their connection before everybody get pissed with the kind of service they offer.
Final word
I don't have anything against Sun or I'm not saying that I'm in favor of Smart. What I wanted to emphasize here is that, commercials/advertisement plays a great role when it comes to deciding what kind of service a person would want to spend their money with. As a consumer, we are responsible in checking and ensuring that we get our money's worth. Just because a certain company uses a well-known celebrities to endorse their product, does not mean that it is indeed good. But we have to double check and be careful when choosing the service we want to get because in the end, we are the ones who will enjoy or perish and not them.
After installing the program on my laptop, I'am very excited and eager to try the connection. Again, my expectation is set way up high because of the advertisements. I opened my browser (I use Google chrome), and waited, waited and waited before my homepage came up! It took almost 3 minutes for the page to load! Don't get me wrong, but 3 minutes to open a single webpage which is already cache and saved on my browser is really slow. The worse part is, after logging into your account, the page didn't load up at all. It went to a 'page cannot be displayed' or 'connection error' screen and you have to refresh the page multiple times before it'll finally came up! I checked the bandwidth which could be seen on the program installed to my laptop, and the data shows that the speed is only reaching up to 50-70kbps! It's like dial-up speed. You're lucky to get 100kbps once in a while.
All in all, my experience of the service is not a good one. Personally, I would not recommend the service, at least here in our area. Maybe I need to consider something, like the location or the signal before judging the overall performance, but then again, I'am not really thrilled with the service I got. I just hope they would do something to their connection before everybody get pissed with the kind of service they offer.
Final word
I don't have anything against Sun or I'm not saying that I'm in favor of Smart. What I wanted to emphasize here is that, commercials/advertisement plays a great role when it comes to deciding what kind of service a person would want to spend their money with. As a consumer, we are responsible in checking and ensuring that we get our money's worth. Just because a certain company uses a well-known celebrities to endorse their product, does not mean that it is indeed good. But we have to double check and be careful when choosing the service we want to get because in the end, we are the ones who will enjoy or perish and not them.
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