If you are on Vodacom PrePaid then check your package and change….

If you are on a Vodacom PrePaid cell phone plan, then make sure that you change your plan from the expensive default plan (4U PrePaid) which charges R2,75 per minute to the much cheaper “Vodacom PrePaid 79c per minute” plan (billed per second).
Register and login to the the Vodacom portal: https://myvodacom.secure.vodacom.co.za then click on “Account Summary” and click on “Free Change” to change your plan:

Here are the costs per plan so that you can see which suits you best:
1) Yebo Vodacom 4 Less: R2.89 per minute (billed per second); SMSs (peak): 80c;  Up to 100% discount on calls throughout the day, plus other rewards. 
See here for more info: Vodacom-4-Less 
Read the terms and conditions carefully: Vodacom-4-less-terms-and-conditions
2) Daily Free calls: R1.20 per minute (billed per minute); SMSs (peak): 80c; Pay for the first 3 minutes, get the rest of your call Free (to Vodacom numbers)- Guaranteed 57 FREE minutes on every call (to Vodacom); plus other rewards; 
See here for more info: Daily-Free-Calls
Read the terms and conditions carefully: Daily-Free-Calls-terms-and-conditions
3) Anytime per second: R1.20 per minute (billed per second); SMSs (anytime): 50c; Get Free Night Shift: 60 minutes free calls between midnight and 5am for 7 days with every recharge of R12 or more; 
See here for more info: Anytime-Per-Second
Read the terms and conditions carefully: Anytime-Per-Second-terms-and-conditions
4) Vodacom Prepaid 79c: R0.79 per minute (billed per second); SMSs (anytime): 50c;  This promotion runs until Tuesday 31st March 2015 at 23:59, whereafter you will revert to your previous plan.
See here for more info: Vodacom-Prepaid-79c
5) 4U PrePaid: R2.58 per minute (billed per second); SMSs (peak): 80c;  This is the default plan for older SIM cards

Vodacom Prepaid customers can opt in to the Service via FreeChange, by calling 1181 or by dialling *111# from their Vodacom cellphone, or by using the “Free Change” button on the “Account Summary” page: https://myvodacom.secure.vodacom.co.za/personal/myaccount/accountsummaryprepaid 

Free calls:
100 Recharge
111 Customer care
112 Emergency
121 Voicemail
1181 Change price plan

Telmap 5 maps were not showing [Solved]

I was extremely happy with the beta version of Telmap 5 on my Blackberry Bold (9700) until the maps disappeared at the end of June 2011 and I was wondering what was going on.  A colleague even emailed Telmap support and got a response to call Vodacom support as they were contractually not allowed to deal with clients directly (#Fail).

I kept on opening the maps to see if they were back.  I read on the Internet somewhere that the Telmap servers were undergoing an upgrade so I was hoping…

Until last week the maps were blank.  Funnily enough the maps of Europe were displaying fine – so I then suspected that perhaps Vodacom were blocking the maps for some reason – perhaps to force users to use the Vodafone Sat Nav software :( 
Luckily (for Vodacom) that wasn’t the case :) 

I was quite a happy user and excited when I eventually found an app that provided turn by turn navigation! – and I certainly didn’t want to be forced to use the SatNav software.  It shows weather at my locations and other widgets too.

Last week, I opened the Telmap software and it wouldn’t open saying that the software had expired!  I pressed the BB button and there was a link to “upgrade”…
I took a deep breath and thought that if I upgraded then I would lose “My places” – and wondered how I could extract these from the BB backups that I had made. 
Another deep breath accompanied by a click on the “Upgrade” link and I started downloading the new software…

A short while and a reboot later the software started up; the maps were visible again, and I didn’t even lose “My Places”! :) :)
Navigation working again too :)

I am now upgraded to version 5.41 build 49

Now if only this software would show traffic info and tell me where the speed traps are…

Similar posts:
Update your Blackberry Bold 9700 Vodafone Sat Nav GPS Navigator

I knew there had to be a catch with that 8ta deal for a Blackberry for R90 per month.... with free calls to a landline number

I received a couple of calls asking me if this was a great deal for a Blackberry 8520.  Over the phone it seemed to be a brilliant deal (especially how it was read to me over the phone): it included a free phone, and BIS, for only R90 per month, and (as it was read to me) free calls to any landline number. plus had 500MB free YouTube streaming per month!

So, I had to investigate…

Here’s the ad:
 
Here’s the small print – with catches highlighted in red:

Blackberry 8520 @R90 for the first 3 months; includes free BIS subscription worth R49.
Thereafter R139 x21 months.

· 500MB Free YouTube streaming
· Call one Telkom landline number for FREE
· Send five SMSs per day and receive 50 FREE to send for that day
· 90 FREE minutes 8ta to 8ta / national landlines
· 15 FREE 8ta minutes to other local SA networks
· 25MB FREE data
· Free SIM & connection

So, don’t be fooled: it doesn’t offer free calls to all landlines – only to one nominated landline.
It’s R90 for the first 3 months – the remaining 21 months are charged at R139.

I recently purchased great contract deal from Vodacom’s RED specials on TopUp 135 for R135 per month:
(Unfortunately, it’s no longer available from the Vodacom Direct web site).

Things to watch out for that make it great:
Free phone, Free SIM, Free connection, Free delivery, 2 year warranty on phone, includes R135 free any time minutes (note: that it’s any time minutes, and not off peak minutes), the unused minutes roll over for up to 5 months (so you don’t lose the unused minutes).
So, for R135 per month, you got R135 airtime and a free phone!
These are per minute rates and they are cheaper than the Vodago rates.

The deal details (no longer available):
“
Blackberry 8520 RED including BIS FREE at R129 per month when signing an initial 24 month contract on Top up 135 (per minute billing only).

FREE SIM, FREE CONNECTION AND FREE DELIVERY.

This offer includes a 2 year handset warranty and for your own peace of mind, should you not be satisfied with your purchase you can return it within 14 days from delivery.

Phone features:
Dedicated Multimedia keys
Full QWERTY keyboard
2 megapixel camera
BlackBerry® Media Sync and Wi-Fi
”

Calculator: How much data does WhatsApp use and what are the costs?

WhatsApp is one of the few apps that I will gladly pay for when the beta period is over, but how much data does it use?  I have done some experimentation over this weekend and have published the results in the attached calculator.   
Click here to download the calculator: HTT’s WhatsApp Costs Calculator
Note: This is by no means a scientific experiment/calculator, I just wanted to get a feeling for how much data is being used and what charges are actually being charged by Vodacom on my prepaid, no data bundle account that charges R2 per MB.If you are on a BlackBerry then WhatsApp uses your BIS or BES service (refer to WhatsApp FAQ), so it doesn’t incur any additional data costs (as long as you are not roaming internationally).  See posting here for how to set up your phone while out of your home country: Roaming using your Blackberry and don’t want to use Data Services from the cell phone network: SOLVED

If you have a phone that can connect to WiFi routers (like your ADSL router at home) then WhatsApp will connect over that WiFi connection rather than incurring costs on your cell phone’s data bundle.  As you can see from the spreadsheet the costs for 4KB over WiFi on ADSL is 1/100th of a ZA cent.

Polling data costs:
OK, so how much are we spending when we send WhatsApp messages and how much when we’re not?
Hold on there…. how much do we spend when we’re not sending messages? – What on earth does that mean?
Well, I noticed that even when you aren’t actually sending text messages there are data packets being sent (and charged for).  I call these data costs “WhatsApp polling” overheads.  I assume that WhatsApp is communicating to their server to keep the channel open. 
It’s difficult to figure out how many polls are made per hour.  I’ve noticed sometimes up to 4 per hour – and some hours with none at all.
I’ve taken an average of 3 polls per hour, makes 72 per day, of 1,024 bytes charged at ZAR0.01 per poll: costs R21.60 per month 

Messaging data costs:
Then there are actual costs for sending messages.  The receiver will also incur data costs if they are not on BIS/BES or other cheaper data connections.

Note: cell phone network providers allow you to buy pre-paid bundles of data at a much reduced rate – beware though, it’s on a “use-it-or-lose-it” basis. Vodacom gives you until the end of the following month to use up the data. Note: that’s not a 2 month window! (unless you buy on the 1st of the month). If you buy a bundle on the 20th of April, then the data will expire at the end of the following month ie: end May in this example.

I sent some experimental messages and one specific message of precisely 100 characters to see what was actually billed by Vodacom.
I checked her mini-statement online using Vodacom’s online “Mini-Statement” – updated hourly (more or less).
BTW: @Vodacom, please allow prepaid users to see more than 1 page of their billing for free!  Unless you are really trying to keep them in the dark on the costs – the last 10 transactions is really so pre-data connections!… like ummm so 1990‘s

Note the 100 character message that I sent:
     a) row 9: WhatsApp message of 100 characters was charged ZAR0.22 by Vodacom.  I expected that to be much less than that – so I resent that message later in the day:
    b) row 3: WhatsApp message of 100 characters was charged ZAR0.01 by Vodacom – that’s more like it!  So, I tried it again – to be sure (if that’s possible)
    c) row 2: WhatsApp message of 100 characters was charged ZAR0.01 by Vodacom – OK, so now I’m sure… the first message must have included some polling “extras”.

It also seems that Vodacom round the data charges to the nearest KB (thousand bytes).

So, as you can see it’s not a scientific analysis, but I am pretty sure the SMS and call costs that I would incur if it were not for WhatsApp would be much higher than the above illustrated costs. 

Battery cost:
The “always on” way that WhatsApp communicates with its home server uses the phone’s data channel – which uses more power than if there wasn’t data communications happening.  So, expect to be charging your phone more often than before.
This is not a problem for me – but might be for some.
I guess, it’s a trade-off between how many SMSs you normally send vs how many you don’t now that you have WhatsApp.  For me, it’s a no-brainer! 

WhatsApp program cost:
You can use the app for free for 12 months, then you need to pay per year.
Download by clicking these links:
Nokia and BlackBerry and Android: $1.99 USD/year (~R13.50);
iPhone $0.99/year (~R6.75); 

The latest versions of WhatsApp allow sending of group messages and photos and voice notes – note: these are larger in size than “plain” text instant messages, so costs will go up due to higher data costs – but it’s still cheaper than sending MMS messages (MultiMedia messages).


WhatsApp, you are great – thanks… and I will definitely be purchasing an annual license for my phones!

Yebo Millionaires: here’s a more automated way of entering for free and you could win R1,000,000

Did you know that you if you are a Vodacom subscriber, then you get 2 free SMSs per week to enter the Yebo Millionaires competition?
Further to my posting in Aug 2009 “Yebo Millionaires: enter for free and you could win R1,000,000” I’ve discovered other ways of entering the competition – the most convenient is the UPICK (read “you pick”) option below:

You can enter the competition in one of three ways:

1. SMS any nine alphabet letters to 32082
Pick nine letters from the alphabet, in any order
Receive and answer an easy entry question via SMS
Wait for a confirmation SMS that includes your reference number
Your entry is instantly added to the weekly lucky draw
You are allowed to enter two free SMSs per week with any nine letters
Prepaid and Top Up customers get an additional SMS for every recharge made during the week
SMSs cannot be carried over to the following week and extra SMS entries will be charged at R1.00 (VAT included) per SMS

2. SMS ‘UPICK’ to 32082
With ‘UPICK’ Vodacom will randomly generate nine letters for you
SMS the word ‘UPICK’ to 32082 and the same UPICK will be entered for the next four consecutive draws
Your UPICK entry will use your free SMSs first
Each ‘UPICK’ equals one entry
Each ‘UPICK’ entry returns an SMS confirmation with a reference number, draw date and the nine lucky letters
After the four consecutive draws are used, an SMS reminder is sent to re-enter your ‘UPICK’
If you have entered more than two UPICK entries, additional entries will be charged at R1 per entry

3. SMS ‘SAME’ to 32082
SMS ‘SAME’ followed by a space and nine lucky letters to 32082 to enter the same letter for the next four consecutive draws
Your SAME entry will use your free SMSs first
Each ‘SAME’ SMS will count as one entry
Each ‘SAME’ entry returns an SMS confirmation with a reference number, draw date and the nine lucky letters
After the four consecutive draws are used, an SMS reminder is sent to re-enter your ‘SAME’ again
If you have entered more than two SAME’ entries, additional entries will be charged at R1 per entry

This info was found here: http://www.vodacom.co.za/portal/site/vodacom/yebomillionaires/?ciFormat=format7

So, all you Lotto players - try your hand at this method of winning some $s

Free SMS 31050 to get Vodacom info: Current Balance Or Call Limit Is, Or How many Available Minutes You Have

{From Vodaworld: http://www.vodaworld.co.za/showarticle.asp?id=1810)
Or, do you prefer a dose of jokes and riddles every now and then? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you will love Vodacom's Keyword SMS service.  Keyword SMS is an easy-to-use service that allows Vodacom Service Provider customers to send keywords via SMS in an abbreviated format, to request information relevant to their package.

How does it work?
SMS the "keyword" to 31050.  You’ll receive a reply SMS with the requested information. You don’t have to call in and speak to a Customer Care consultant - the answers to your questions are right at your fingertips.

Keywords available to Prepaid and Top Up subscribers:
SS for Service Summary
CS for Call Sponsor
RH for Recharge History
AB for Account Balance

Keywords available to all Vodacom subscribers:
OTA for Over the Air Settings
ES for E-mail Service Status
ACS for Adult-Content Status
2YW for Two Year Warranty
HELP for Help
MENU for Available Keywords

Keywords available to VSP Contract & Top Up subscribers:
AB for Available Balance
AB for Account Balance
ADD for Address
*AM for Available Minutes
*AS for Available Seconds
AT for Airtime Transfer
BD for Banking Details
CB for Current Balance
*CL for Call Limit
CS for Call Sponsor
LI for Last Invoice
LP for Last Payment
MM for Used Multi-Media
PI for Proposed Invoice
RD for Random Riddle
RJ for Random Joke
*SB for Available SMS Bundle
SP for Who is my SP?
SS for Service Summary
SUM for Summary
UG for Upgrade
VAS for Active VAS


*Not applicable to Top Up subscribers

International calling from your South African PrePaid cell phone: if you’re with Vodacom, then you’re getting ripped off!

If you have a Vodacom PrePaid cell phone, then here are some tips to avoid the very high Vodacom call charges (R10 per minute).  One could use an MTN SIM card and save over R6.51 per minute!  Or dial a local CellC number and save over R6.40 per minute – here’s how:

A friend asked me how much it was to call Italy from his MTN Prepaid cell phone – here are the outcomes from my investigations:
Vodacom PrePaid cell phone to Italy from a PayAsYouGo phone is R10 per minute. http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgmenus&pkgTypeId=2&pageId=21

{If you had a contract: Vodacom Talk120: International Calls (Per minute):
Off Peak: 0.99 + Telkom Off-peak (landline = 0.83; mobile = 2.82) ===> Off peak to a landline: R1.82 per minute; Off peak to a mobile: R3.81 per minute.
Peak: 2.10 + Telkom Peak (landline = 0.99; mobile = 3.19) ===> Peak to a landline: R3.09 per minute; Peak to a mobile: R5.29 per minute.
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/internationalcallservice/cost.html
}

 

For MTN PrePaid Classic: it costs (per minute) R3.49 to dial a mobile phone directly in Italy, and R2.90 to a landline in Italy (billed on a per second basis).
http://www.mtn.co.za/Travel/International%20Calling/Pages/default.aspx?index=2 

Wow, seems like MTN is MUCH cheaper than Vodacom…. But still, VoipBuster to Italy landline is free for 120 days!  See here for more details: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/08/voipbuster-over-skypeout-verdict-read.html

You could also dial this CellC number (084 198 0001) and speak to over 60 international countries for no extra cost: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-cellc-call-and-speak-to-over-60.html . This works for landlines only in Italy.
{Works for cell phones in these countries: USA (most networks); Canada; China; Singapore; Hong Kong.}

Costs of calls to CellC:
For Vodacom pre-paid Vodago to CellC: to Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R1.08; Peak: R3.60 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17

For Vodacom contract Talk 240 to CellC: Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R0.98; Peak: R1.88 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=1&pkgGroupId=1&packageId=4

For MTN PayG Classic to CellC: Peak: R2.85; Off peak: R1.60 per minute.

See here for details of MTN’s peak and off peak calling times: http://www.mtn.co.za/Support/faq/NewSubscribers/Pages/MakingTakingcalls.aspx

So, HTT’s verdict:  since my friend was already with MTN (whew), his cheapest option to call a landline in Italy @off peak times is to dial the local CellC number which would cost R1.60 per minute. 
At peak times he should rather dial direct (ie: MTN call) @R2.90 per minute (the CellC number’s cost is R2.85 but the call setup time (while you’re keying in the international number on the CellC call) will use up time and nullify the 5c per minute savings).
If he needed to call a cell phone in Italy (the CellC number doesn’t cover cell phones in Italy yet) then he would need to dial directly @R3.49 per minute.

HTT’s verdict for other Vodacom PrePaid users: rather than paying the R10 per minute, get an MTN SIM card for your international calls.

But, for all of you that read this far… these costs can be slashed further if you use VOIP – even on your cell phone.  Install NimBuzz and configure a SIP connection using your VoipBuster account.  Then for the 1st 120 days you’ll pay nothing for landline calls to major international cities except for the data costs (R2 per MB on prepaid if you don’t have a data bundle). See here for more info:  VoipBuster over SkypeOut: the verdict? Read this for hands on tips on saving on your phone bill

If you use less than 150MB of cell phone data per month then you should be buying your data from G-Connect

Following on from the ADSL pricing article, here’s a comparison of Vodacom data costs vs G-Connect’s data costs, and it seems that for users that use less than 150MB of data per month, it’s cheaper to purchase from G-Connect. 
Note: If you have a SIM card from the following then sorry, you’ll need to purchase another SIM card: Pay-as-you-go, Top-Up SIMS, Nashua Mobile, Autopage Cellular, MTN, Virgin Mobile and CellC.


G-Connect https://gconnect.wirelessg.co.za/pricing.aspx Only 62c/MB (compared to Vodacom’s R1.85/MB). That’s R12.40 for 20MB (compared to Vodacom’s R28.00 for 20MB).

I see that they also have a Happy Hour (every weekday from 17:00 - 20:00) for 55c per MB
and
Super Happy Weekend (Saturday and Sunday from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59) for 59c per MB.      

   
So, buying 150MB of data from GConnect will save you R26.00.

Here are G-Connect’s FAQs: https://gconnect.wirelessg.co.za/stuck.aspx

Here’s some more info to help compare ADSL costs (from Hellkom.co.za): ADSL Accounts

VoipBuster over SkypeOut: the verdict? Read this for hands on tips on saving on your phone bill

I’ve now proven to myself that SkypeOut has been beaten by price hands down! Further to the HTT calculator comparing rates of SkypeOut to FreeCall, the voice quality and reliability of the VoipBuster service has me so impressed that I’m searching for more hardware so that I can call using a cordless phone.

Oh, the 3 reasons why I eventually decided to go with VoipBuster over FreeCall: 1) VoipBuster offers 120 free call days (others offered 60 days); 2) I could purchase airtime using my credit card; 3) Airtime purchase could be done directly with VoipBuster so there were no middle-man charges.


Download (for your PC) and register for free to create your VoipBuster account [3.5MB]:  Download VoipBuster here.
You can even make some free trial calls (limited to 1 minute each) without even purchasing any credit.
Purchase credits here: Purchase VoipBuster credits

I have even set up my Symbian cell phone to call using the VoipBuster SIP settings.  I was surprised however that the Nokia 6110 Navigator allows you to enter the SIP settings but doesn’t come with the Internet Phone application to actually use the SIP connection!  WTF!

So, NimBuzz to the rescue – which allows you create a SIP connection and call your contacts using this SIP connection (that’s VOIP over your data 3G connection).  This way, you can make a long distance call using your mobile phone’s data package…. and with Vodacom’s free bandwidth offer until end Aug 2009, you could really call for free!

BTW: if you aren’t using NimBuzz, then you’d better rush over to their web site and see how this amazing free program allows you to see all your Instant Messaging services in one place.  As on Aug 2009 v2.0.3.1535:  these are the communities supported by NimBuzz: AIM, Facebook, Gadu Gadu, Giovani, GoogleTalk, Hyves, ICQ, Jabber, MySpace, Orkut, schulerVZ, Skype, studiVZ/meinVZ, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger MSN), Yahoo Messenger.

Nimbuzz Mobile lets you call, chat, message, and send files, for free.  It combines all your buddies from Skype, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Google Talk and more.  One login, one contact list, all accounts.  There are other Instant Message aggregators out there, but none (that I know of) that include Skype as well.
If that wasn’t enough… you can even download the PC version of NimBuzz that allows you to login on your PC (and save your cell phone’s battery and data bandwidth).
Oh, wait, there’s more: if you’re at an Internet Cafe, or a friend’s PC and you don’t want to download and install anything, then there’s a Web NimBuzz version – just use your browser to log on to NimBuzz.com from anywhere. It’s free.
For those of you that have web sites or blogs, then add the NimBuzz widget and stay in touch with your visitors.

NimBuzz default SIP settings offered (as on Aug 2009 v2.0.3.1535):  A1, MWeb, Vyke, SipGate, Gizmo5, Tpad, TerraSip, Global TeleLinks, Skytel Srbija, XeloQ, ApnaTelelink, Adepto Telecom, VoIP HIT, Voiceglobe, and ‘Other’ (that’s what I use for VoipBuster) by entering the following settings:
    SIP port: 5060
    Registrar: sip.voipbuster.com
    Proxy server: sip.voipbuster.com
    Outbound proxy server: leave empty
    Account name: your VoipBuster username
    Password: your VoipBuster password
    Display name/number: your VoipBuster username or voipnumber
    Stunserver (option): stun.voipbuster.com

Fring also does SIP calls and connects to FaceBook, Twitter, Skype, Google Talk, MSN messenger, ICQ, Yahoo, AIM, orkut, Yandex, WeFi, Last.fm.

Ooops, off at a tangent – sorry.  Let’s get back to VoipBuster… So, I’ve established that using VoipBuster allows calls at a much lower rate than SkypeOut and at very good quality.  For the first 120 days after purchasing credit (minimum of €10 Euro) calls to a lot of countries are free (you only pay for the data bandwidth used).
After the 120 free days period is over (or if you overuse the free service ie: more than 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days and per unique IP address), then the VoipBuster normal rates apply.  The good news is that even these charged “normal rates” are much lower than Skypeout’s rates – so it’s a win-win situation!  For example: calls to USA on SkypeOut are 19.6c per minute, and on VoipBuster are 11.1c per minute (South African cents).
After the 120 free days, then purchase more credit for more free days or pay the normal rate.  Some people opt to buy more credit to get more free days to use on landline calls to free destinations and conserve their credit to use on cellular calls or calls to non-free destinations.

 

Here’s more details on some clever features from VoipBuster:
SIP setup for some popular SIP devices, VOIPin: get your own regular fixed telephone phone number - for only 1 Euro (not available in South Africa yet), certified VoipBuster devices (and I’m now searching for one of those cordless phones that can support Telkom and SIP), Phone-to-phone (callback service which enables you to make your VoipBuster call on your home or mobile phone), PC-to-PC free calls, VoipBuster mobile (download the app to your mobile phone), VoipSMS client for your Windows mobile phone, send cheap SMS (ZAR 33c per SMS to South Africa), Symbian contact import tool (to import your cell phone’s contacts into VoipBuster for easy dialling)

Come to think of it… the VoipBuster rate to call a South African cell phone is ZAR 88.7c per minute, compare this to the Telkom rate of R1.89 (peak) and R1.03 (off peak) per minute – it’s actually cheaper to use VoipBuster (even if you take the approx. 1MB per minute (ZAR 7c) ADSL data charges into account).

More detail on SIP calling using a wireless phone – the idea is to try and make calling over VoipBuster as convenient as using the DECT cordless Telkom phone.  I have successfully connected the cell phone’s bluetooth headset to my laptop and set up the VoipBuster program to use the bluetooth audio device.  But, the range is limited to about 5m… so, I decided to move my laptop with me, and use the laptop’s wireless LAN to provide mobility.  A more convenient solution would be to use a DECT phone and switch between Telkom and SIP connection – being able to browse through the VoipBuster list of contacts would also be a nice bonus!  So, I’m looking for one of the devices listed under ‘SIP Wireless phones” or “USB Bluetooth phones” or “USB wireless phones” here (or maybe even those ADSL routers or FRITZ!Box Fon).  Sure, there are devices costing over ZAR1,000 but I’m looking for a solution costing less than ZAR600.
Most South African households already have a DECT cordless phone, so, it would be nice to be able to use a similar phone to call your VoipBuster contacts.
Some suppliers are importing the Sedna SE-W3D VOiP/PSTN USB Wireless Handset, with LCD, built in soundcard, Keypad, speaker Phone, rechargeable, up to 50m range, no ext. power required for about R620.00… but, that’s a Skype phone – I need one that’s configurable to use SIP settings.

 

So, in other words, I agree with VoipBuster’s slogan:  “If you like Skype, you will love VoipBuster!”

Yebo Millionaires: enter for free and you could win R1,000,000

Did you know that you if you are a Vodacom subscriber, then you get 2 free SMSs per week to enter the Yebo Millionaires competition?
Vodacom customers can send their nine lucky letters of the alphabet to 32082. Letters can be repeated.
A customer who has a 9 letter match will win R1 million, those that have an 8 letter match will win R200 000, for a 7 letter match customers will receive a R29 recharge voucher and for a 6 letter match customers will receive a R12 recharge voucher.

Once customers have SMS'ed in their nine letters, they will receive an SMS with an easy multiple choice question that must be answered correctly in order to qualify to play the game. Once the question has been correctly answered, Vodacom customers are now in the game and won't have to answer it again. The entrant will receive an SMS confirming that the entry has been accepted and entered into the draw and will include a reference number for the entry.

All Vodacom customers receive two free SMS's per week to enter the Yebo Millionaires game show. These SMS's will be loaded every Tuesday morning. Prepaid and Top Up customers will receive an additional free SMS for every recharge performed during the week that will be loaded at the time of recharge. Free game show SMS's can only be used to play Yebo Millionaires and SMS's not used during the week will unfortunately not be carried over to the next week. Customers can enter as many times as they like. Once the free game show SMS's have been used, a premium rate of R1.00 (VAT included) per SMS will be charged.

(Prepaid customers must have recharged at least once in that week in order to play the game)

Entries close at 12:00 every Tuesday, the day of the draw. A random selection mechanism will be used to choose the nine (9) winning letters and the weekly results will be audited by Vodacom's independent auditors. The winning letters will be revealed on a televised game show that takes place on SABC 1 on Tuesdays just before 18:30.

See here for more details: http://www.vodacom.co.za/yebo_millionaires/overview.jsp

So, all you Lotto players - try your hand at this method of winning some $s for free!

See here for the winning numbers every week:  http://www.vodacom.co.za/personal/main/rewards/winningletters

Comply with the new law (RICA) and register your cellphone number today

RICA is the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act) and it requires that everyone who has an active cellphone number or purchases a new Prepaid Starter Pack, has to register their SIM cards from 1 July 2009.

Who must register?:
All current and new Contract, Top Up and Prepaid customers must register their SIM cards.

Existing customers:
Current subscribers who have activated their cellphone numbers prior to 1st July 2009, need to register their personal details against that cellphone number (SIM card) in order to comply with the RICA Act. This must be done within 18 months from the 1st of July 2009.

New customers:
When purchasing a new starter pack customers are required to register the new SIM card and provide their personal details. New SIM cards will only be activated on the network, once the relevant SIM card has been registered.

What information and documents do you need to take with you to register?
You are required to provide the following information when registering your SIM card:

• Cellphone number
• Full names and surname
• ID number or passport number - you will need to show one of the following documents as proof of identity: Green barcoded ID document or Temporary ID certificate, or Passport
• Your residential address: You will need to show any document that includes your name and residential address such as a bank statement, municipal rates, cellphone or retail account (not older than three (3) months), existing lease, rental or credit agreement, insurance policy, current TV or motor vehicle license.

If you live in an informal settlement you can provide a letter and/or affidavit from a school, church or retail store where you receive your post (this letter must be on an official letterhead or have the stamp of the school, church or retail store).

Please note: Registration must be done in person to confirm your identity.

Which SIM cards must be registered?
All Contract, Top Up and Prepaid cellphone numbers must be registered.
This includes:

• All data SIM cards used in smartphones, data cards, laptops, modems, etc.;
• Telemetry SIM cards such as the SIM cards used in tracking devices;
• SIM cards in lease-cost routers and other PABX routers;
• New SIM cards in order to have your cellphone number activated;
• Existing cellphone numbers - to ensure that your number does not get disconnected.

When is it your responsibility to be RICA compliant?

• If you own a SIM card
• If you are paying a cellphone contract for yourself
• When a family member's cellphone bill is in your name
• If you're a parent or guardian of minors using SIM cards
• When you transfer a SIM card from another individual's name into your name (Contract and Prepaid)
• When you port your cellphone number to another network.

The good news ;) Registration is free.


See here for more details: http://www.vodacom.co.za/Temp/vodacom9.jsp

Now, how does that affect all the visitors coming for the World Cup 2010 soccer tournament - HTT's tips need to be updated then?: Are you coming to the FIFA World Cup 2010?: How to get connected while you are in South Africa

Buy a Vodacom 5MB MyMeg data bundle for R9.25 and get 25MB for free.

Buy a Vodacom 5MB MyMeg data bundle for R9.25 and get 25MB for free. So, that's 30MB for R9.25 = 31c/MB
If you buy a bundle... then you already have the 25MB added to your account.

If you buy a bigger bundle then they add on 10% for free (whichever is the larger... so you get a minimum of 25MB for free)

See here for more info: http://ow.ly/b2nS

Valid from 01June2009 to 31Aug2009

Calculator: What's the best cell phone or contract for me?

So, your contract is about to run out and now it's time to find the best phone and/or contract for yourself. So, how do you figure it out? Well, the bad news is that there's no simple way of comparing the different networks' offerings. The good news is that HTT has found 2 calculators to help you in this mission!
1) You know what you want in a phone and you want to find the phone that meets your requirements then click here: Find the Contract that's right for you
OR
2) You know your call or SMS or data usage habits and want to find the best contract that meets your usage then click here: Package comparison tool
OR
3) You have a few cell phones in mind and want to compare their features then click here: Find the phone that's right for you

Thanks to NashuaMobile for providing these useful calculators.

Tips: What's MNP? Mobile Number Portability; here's a easy to understand guide to MNP: Number Portability

Vodacom subscribers: Who is my Service provider?
Go here for a lookup tool: vodacom4me » specific needs » service provider contact details

MTN subscribers: Who is my Service provider? Go here for a lookup tool: MTN SP lookup

Buying airtime can be done in numerous ways - HandyTechTipper weighs up convenience with discounts

I was looking for a online site that offered discounted airtime for my prepaid cell phone.
I previously used Discovery Vitality's Airtime that offered 10% discount (now discontinued and handed over to GotPrepaid).
I now purchase from Pick 'n Pay stores or Clicks.

I was looking for an online alternative - and here are my findings...

Buying airtime for your pre-paid cell phone is easy - go to any shop and they'll gladly sell you the airtime 'virtual' voucher that you can enter into your phone.
Online purchasing of airtime is also easy - if you have a credit card

HandyTechTipper (HTT) did a search for airtime vendors

Discounted airtime is also a bonus for the end user i.e. buy R29 worth of airtime for R27.

HandyTechTipper's ideal place to purchase airtime would be one that offered all of the following:
i) online vendor; ii) accept credit cards; iii) offered discounted airtime; iv) automated airtime credits.

Click here to download: BuyingAirtimeCalculatorFeb2009.xls

Note: not all vendors have been verified - use at your own risk!

Using the spreadsheet:

In worksheet "AirTimeOutlets":
Use worksheet "AirTimeOutlets" to see a summarised view of what's out there
Look through the offers and use the "ShortList" column to filter the offer that you are interested in and so home in on the offer best suited to your needs

In worksheet "DiscountedAirtime":
Use worksheet "DiscountedAirtime" to see what %age discounts are given.
Look through the offers and use the "ShortList" column to filter the offer that you are interested in and so home in on the offer best suited to your needs.

It seems that the following services come up tops for me:

http://www.airtimeforfree.co.za/ due to the highest discount and 26th voucher free offer [buy 25 of R12 vouchers for R287.50 and get airtime to the value of R312.00 [= 7.85% discount]].

http://www.vtime.co.za/ due to the random discounts and specials offered eg: R1,100 for R1,000
 
Pick 'n Pay and Clicks give small discounts (or ClubPoints), allow credit card purchases - but don't sell airtime online :(

Banks like FNB, ABSA are very convenient (no registration forms), online, 24x7, and transfer airtime immediately.

eBucks: gr8 to use up those bucks for airtime too.

Watch out for those "services" that require registration fee and transactional fees.

So, either go through the pains of registering and paying using EFT (and wait for your topup) to get your discounted airtime,
OR purchase online via your bank for immediate topups (but no discounted airtime).

Update on 7th April 2009:
I would love to be able to verify all the vendors listed but I do not have such funds (and time) at my disposal – for a proper verification of all services I would need to purchase at least 30 vouchers from each vendor and then calculate what the overall costs and savings were. This would (sort-of) then take into account the varying/random discounts and come up with a better comparison. But, even then, random prizes (eg: free cell phones, etc.) could not be taken into account…. I’d say that was an extra bonus that the end user shouldn’t bank on.

I have also noticed that http://www.vtime.co.za/Tips.asp have an ongoing offer of R1,100 airtime for R1,000.

Updated on 14July2009:
MTN users can now buy prepaid on credit (directly from MTN).
See here for more details: ITweb article

Update on 7th September2009:
Another service that accepts credit cards online is: BigTimeAirtime
There's also a small discount of R1 or R2 on amounts over R100 or so.

Y4L 60% Voda, 55% Other.... on your cell Broadcast: Anyone wondering what your Vodacom cell phone's are trying to tell you?

Well, Vodacom has just announced (11May2008) the launch of a new Prepaid tariff plan called Yebo4Less. This tariff plan offers customers variable discounts based on the customers location and time of day. {My calculator calculates savings.... see below.}

This means that I could pay a different rate depending on which corner of my house I initiate the call from! Not that I have a large house, it's just that I know that it's covered by 3 Vodacom masts! At the time of writing I have one mast giving "Y4L 55% Voda, 55% Voda" and another giving "Y4L 90% Voda, 65%"! So, obviously I would use the 90/65 connection.

The tariff plan is a per second tariff plan with a flat standard base rate that is applicable all day; i.e. there is no differentiation between peak and off-peak.

The following call charges and discounts are applicable on the Yebo4Less Tariff:
Peak & Off Peak (no difference in cost);
On Net - Vodacom to Vodacom; Standard Charge: R2.60 (=4c/sec) ; up to 99% discount
Off Net - Vodacom to Other; Standard Charge: R2.89 (=5c/sec); up to 65% discount

More details around Yebo4Less costs: http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/yebo4less/cost.jsp

Compared to my current (VodaGo per minute plan): http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17

I have created a calculator to figure out whether it's worth my while to change plans (from VodaGo to Yebo4Less):
VodagoOrYebo4Less.xls

It seems that it is worth it... but, I'm a cautious person... I'll wait a bit and see where the catches are!

Things to note (so far): there's no HappyHour on Yebo4Less; Telkom is treated as off-net on Yebo4Less; per second billing (not per minute, or 30 second part thereof)

Additionally, you also get a guaranteed minimum discount of 50% off calls made during off-peak times, to any number! You only pay for what you have to say – with Yebo4Less per second billing applies.

The discounts are based on the time of the day and how busy the network is where the customer is located.

Vodacom will determine these discounts on an hourly basis.

Yebo4Less customers will be able to obtain discounts of up to 99% on Vodacom to Vodacom national calls and up to 65% on calls to other networks, i.e. MTN, Cell C, Virgin, Telkom and Neotel. Customers can view the discounts by switching on the Cell Broadcast option on their phone or they can dial *111*444#. Cell Broadcast is not available on the 3G network.

Please note that the discount is only applicable to national voice and 3G video calls and excludes premium rated numbers and any data services.

Existing Prepaid customers will be able to migrate to Yebo4Less, via FreeChange by simply calling 1181 from their cellphone (free of charge) or dialling *111# from their cellphone and choosing option 7. Customers are able to change their prepaid tariff plan once ever 30 days free of charge. The customer’s airtime value, Talking Points and any SMS or Data bundle will remain intact after FreeChange.

New customers will be required to purchase a new Vodacom prepaid starter pack and use FreeChange (by calling 1181 or *111#) to change to the Yebo4Less tariff plan option.

Customers on the Yebo4Less tariff plan will continue to earn Talking Points when recharging with airtime vouchers; however, they will not be able to redeem their Talking Points for airtime bundles or call discounts. Talking Points can only be redeemed for cellphones and SMS bundles.

Please refer to this link for more info and FAQs: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=118048

Subscribers on Vodacom PrePaid can switch plans once every 30 days without costs: customer must dial 1181 from their cellphone or dial *111# from their cellphone and select option 7 for FreeChange.

Yebo4Less is just like MTNzone and works with area, but Vodacom gives discounts off calls to other networks too!

Additionally, you also get a guaranteed minimum discount of 50% off calls made during off-peak times, to any number! You only pay for what you have to say – with Yebo4Less per second billing applies.

When you opt in via FreeChange to the Service all accumulated on-net airtime discounts redeemed with Talking points will be lost.

Customers on the Yebo4Less tariff plan will continue to earn Talking Points when recharging with airtime vouchers; however, they will not be able to redeem their Talking Points for airtime bundles or call discounts. Talking Points can only be redeemed for cellphones and SMS bundles.

The discount applied to voice and video calls will be dealt with as follows:

• Same discount period, same area – If your call is connected and terminated in the same discount period in the same area, the discount assigned to that area during that period shall apply.
• Same discount period, multiple area – If your call is connected and terminated during the same discount period but you move between two or more areas during the call, the discount that is assigned to the area in which the call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.
• Multiple discount periods, same area – If your call is connected and terminated in the same area but your call spans over two or more discount periods the discount that applied to the period in which the voice call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.
• Multiple discount periods, multiple area – If your call is connected in one discount period but terminates in a different discount period and different area, the discount that was assigned to the area in the period when the call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.

If you are on the Vodacom 3G network, you will not receive the Cell Broadcast due to 3G network configuration restrictions.

The customer will be able to dial *111*444# to find out what the current call discount is for the particular cell they reside in at that time.

There's no subscription costs for Yebo4Less.

Send 1 free SMS every 2 hours to any network in South Africa; and 5 SMSs every 4 hours to Zim - and it works!

Further to my posting "Did you know that you can send 20x free SMSs to Vodacom cell phones?", here is a site that allows you to send 1 free SMS every 2 hours to any network in South Africa: http://www.onlinesms.co.za/

For sending free SMSs to Zim:

Register for free here: http://www.smszim.com/register.asp

Activate your account (an email will be sent to you)

Send SMS here: http://www.smszim.com/sms.asp

Then you can send 5 SMSs every 4 hours.

Here are more South African free SMS sending sites:
Mahala SMS: (no registration required) send 2 FREE SMS's everyday!
BlueWorld: Register first, then send free SMSs (I haven't tried this one yet).

Setting up your PC to connect to the Internet using your cell phones (modem settings for Vodacom, CellC, and MTN)

In my previous blog "In this day and age I'm amazed by the low number of people that use their cell phones to connect to the Internet for email, www access, cheap IM etc" I referred to using my cell phone to connect to the Internet from home.

I dived into the article stating that "I connect my laptop to my phone (using BlueTooth or the cable)" but I neglected to describe the pains that I went through in setting up my PC's DialUp networking to use the phone (Nokia modem) to connect to the Internet!

So, I have decided to share this information here:

{note: for simplicity, I have only described the use of a USB cable to connect the cell phone to the PC (running MS Windows). Using BlueTooth instead of a cable is also possible, but I have found the cable more reliable. See http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/forget-about-bluetooth-use-blooming.html for more details.}

Installing the cell phone modem:

1) Install the software that usually comes with your cell phone. For Nokia, it's called "Nokia PC Suite" and can be downloaded from the www.nokia.com web site. Ensure that the Nokia USB modem is also installed.

2) Plug in the USB cable and Windows should recognise that a phone has been plugged into a USB port and will install new drivers.

3) In the control panel: Start->Settings->Control Panel->Phone and Modem Options->Modems and select the cell phone modem, then click "Properties" then "Advanced" and enter the following in the "Extra initialisation string": (see below for your network's initialisation string) 4) In the control panel: Start->Settings->Control Panel->Network connections->Create a new connection->Next->Connect to the Internet->Next->Setup my connection manually->Next->Connect using a dialup modem->Next->Select (and tick) the new modem (untick any others)->Next->enter a name eg. "Nokia N70" ->Next->Enter the phone number: *99***1# -> Enter the username and password (see below for your network's username/password) ->Tick "Add a shortcut to my desktop"->Finish

5) A new dialup connection will now be listed in the "Network connections" list. Right click this new item (Nokia N70) and select "Properties"->Options->Untick the following 2 items: Prompt for name and password; Prompt for phone number; -> then click "OK"

6) Double clicking on the "Nokia N70" shortcut on your desktop should start the dialup process over your phone.

Here are the network dependent settings:

Vodacom:

Extra initialisation string: +CGDCONT=,,"internet"

Username: leave blank

Password: leave blank

CellC:

Extra initialisation string: +CGDCONT=,,"internet"

Username: leave blank

Password: leave blank

MTN:

Extra initialisation string: +CGDCONT=,,"myMTN"

Username: mtnwap

Password: mtnwap

Note: I am aware that the Nokia PC suite's (version 6.85.14.1 download the latest from here: http://europe.nokia.com/A4144905) "Connect to the Internet" can also be used and the setup process allows you to select the network that you're on (Vodacom, MTN or CellC).