With the ever persisting presence of Smart 3G booths across the major malls, I was tempted (and gave in) to upgrading my N7610 to N6680 so I can try Smart’s free-for-a-limited-time 3G access. Being an internet professional, my real interest in 3G is high-speed internet connection and not really with the video calls and video downloads — who shall I video call in the first place when 3G enabled phones are not yet popular? With that in mind, I tested Smart 3G’s internet connection speed. I remember, Ka Edong performed a test on Globe 3G networks. For the sake of fairness, here’s my own test on Smart’s.
Using the built in Opera Browser on Nokia 6680, I went to http://utilities.globequest.com.ph and did the bandwidth test. I got 136kbps. Not bad. Considering that I did it this afternoon when everybody who has 3G phones must be doing the same thing. In fairness, when I tested their speed last night as a modem for my laptop, I got about 240kbps. Good enough as a replacement for the DSL connection, eh.
Here’s a tip for 3G users, especially Smart’s. As long as Smart is offering this for free, you can actually go around the metro, sip a coffee at Starbucks and surf the internet without a WiFi connection. Just download a Nokia PC Suite, activate your phone as a modem, connect to the internet and surf in broadband speed!