Telecoms

Smart Bro Mobile goes Prepaid

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief April 14, 2008 · 1 min read

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Update: The Smart Bro Microsite, Sugod Na just went up. Check it out here!

As most of you may have notice, I’ve got ads up for the new Smart Bro Prepaid. Couldn’t blog about it until the banners were up.

The Pre-Paid Kit for Smart Bro Mobile 3G is available for Php4,500, one-time. That includes the USB dongle, the SIM card and a 30-peso free load (that’s one and a half hours of free credits).

The pre-paid kit can be re-loaded with Smart Bro pre-paid cards worth Php100 and Php300. You cna also use e-Load to top up your account for as low as Php30 from any of the local e-Load stations (i.e. tiange)

I saw one 3G USB dongle in a shop at MOA and they cost Php7,500. The Php4,500 looks cheaper. I still use both of my HSDPA phones to hook up but the dongle’s advantage is you don’t have to worry about running out of cellphone battery.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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380 Comments

REY · 18 years ago

Hi,

I am writing to this forum, to inform you of the possible HEAD ACHE that you may encounter if you avail SMART BRO PRE PAID.

You will not encounter problem connecting to SMART NETWORK, but as you use your internet, you will notice that you cannot connect to any site that you want to visit.

Now, as you look into you connection, you will see that your PC is connected to SMART Network No. 57 or 58, etc. etc…. BUT Smart Network to Internet is NOT CONNECTED……

And the worst thing is your time is running…… MEANING YOUR LOAD IS BEING CONSUME EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET…..

MAIINIS LANG KAYO……

SO THINK TWICE IN GETTING THE SERVICES OF SMART BRO PREPAID….

regards,

Rey Atienza

TellyBuhay · 18 years ago

Just got the Smartbro prepaid.

My boss got disappointed with globelines, due to it’s frequent connection problems.

We now use the smartbro as a backup internet connection, aside from our compass internet dialup connection.

and we’re also planning on getting pldt dsl.

so now, we got 4 different internet connections in our office.

John · 18 years ago

Is it ok to use smart bro prepaid in the province? Exact location is San Fabian, Pangasinan.

Tnx

solution2008progess · 18 years ago

try this one
the solution for low speed
internet connection here in the philippines

=http://rapidshare.com/files/135159125/your_answer.zip

apatheticGirl · 18 years ago

I just wish that SMART advises its subscribers what places/cities/provinces ang meron na 3G signal na OK pang browse. So there won’t be dissapointed people.

Jan Blando · 18 years ago

The price has gone down to P3,800 from P4,500.
http://smart.com.ph/SmartBro/Products/BROPrepaid.htm

Jan Blando · 18 years ago

The price of Smart Bro Prepaid has gone down to P3,800 from P4,500. http://smart.com.ph/SmartBro/Products/BROPrepaid.htm

jhayne · 18 years ago

well..ndi ako msaya..ang dami ng hassle n nngyari skin s smart bro prepaid n to! to the point n ngsadya n ko s wireless center at pnalitan nla ung unit ko! asar toh! pg ngload ng 30, for one hour q lng xa ngagamit..bsta pg P20 p remaining bal. mo, asahan m for half hour nlng un imbes n one hour pa! pakshet! hirap p kontakin ng teknikal suport n yan! bwisit! kung di lng talaga nbili q n nku ndi ko pgtytyagaan!

dollarearners.blogspot · 18 years ago

well, smart bro is one of the best internet connect here in the philippines, because the speed are very much fit to our needs, compare with globelines (broadband) there sucks!

franz · 18 years ago

Smartbro prepaid SUCKS. I have been getting 35 kpbs ever since I bought it even I am in a 3G site.

richard · 18 years ago

Mahal pa nga talaga…. sana man lang makakasure ka na malakas ang signal sa inyo… ska kung 10 peso kada oras…. dapat diba mas mura sya sa mga comp shop… sa amin kc 15 per hour…

edwin dalmino · 18 years ago

WALANG KUWENTA ANG SMART BRO PREPAID NYO….MABAGAL NA LAGI PA WALANG CIGNAL….PURO NALANG NOTHING TO DISPLAYED>>>>>KELAN KAYA ON TIME MAG KA DISPLAYED….

edwin dalmino · 18 years ago

i’m living in bcda taguig c5… i have smart bro pre paid… sabi nyo mablis at mura how come that ni website nyo di ko ma buksan..dahil laging wala cignal..i’m lucky today na open ko ang web nyo..di ko nga ma balance my balance open>>>wala kwenta pag tyagaan ko nalang to SMART BRO NYO>>>>

Denver · 18 years ago

I’d still like to get my own dongle than use my phone. For one not all phones are 3G and HSDPA. The device is already HSDPA ready and you can actually get HSDPA speeds. I do have one by the way.

It is a bit expensive but it’s just like buying a phone as well. I guess it also depends on how much you need it.

Lito Oliveros · 18 years ago

I have been using the SmartBro prepaid service for the past 3 weeks, and so far satisfied with the speed and reliability. This comes in handy, if Wifi is not available.

rhoda · 18 years ago

for TREB: Globe Visibility is sulit if:
1. you’re not getting new laptops within the 24-month lock-in period. The software that comes with the data card is not working with Windows Vista.
2. you are really mobile. kasi if you’re gonna use it at home… mag smartbro ka nalang
3. there is good 3G signal in the places where you plan to use your Visibility.
Kaya lang… latest I heard, they don’t offer Visibility to individual plan holders na eh, pang corporate nalang daw.

mijoba6 · 18 years ago

I prefer DSL!!!! wired connection is better than wireless. Wireless needs signal.

hghj · 18 years ago

ghjghjgh

RafaelC378 · 18 years ago

I use Wifi & other broadband to download stuff from Itunes (I have a US Store Account), mostly songs & TV Shows. Aside form that, I don’t really need broadband. But using dialup for that purpose is maddeningly slow. It takes 2 days of 24/7 downloading to complete a 1hr (~500Mb show). So I splurged for the SmartBRO Prepaid.

No complaints so far. Am using it to download some videopodcasts and it takes only minutes what would take hours using dialup.

For technical stuff, I got the following connection & download data from speedtest.net:

Download 414kb/s
Upload 43kb/s
Ping: 811ms

Not bad. I’m located in the Sampaloc Area near UST for 3G coverage reference.

baby_honey · 18 years ago

for heavy user.. hindi sulit…

hukblahap · 18 years ago

Iâ€™m really planning to get this oneâ€¦ But before buying one, i need to read more comments both constructive and destructive.

I worried becuz since its thru a mobile phone there would still be a great difference between using a real PC and a mobile phone. Issues like web caching, signal traffic, QoS(strong & reliable connection, no DCs), security, uncontrolled interferences, like bad weather, signal coverage, etc. etc.

The most important thing is, can it handle video/audio streaming or large file torrent downloads? I mean â€œ384 kbpsâ€ is more than enough for itâ€¦ but is it reliable?

Thnx in advance.

nagred · 18 years ago

OK lang sana kung lahat damihan naman ng Smart ang area ng kanilang 3G coverage. para di lang gprs ang nakukuha pag labas sa 3G area nila.

Rondon · 18 years ago

@TREB

While I don’t own one, I’ve personally seen a Globe Visibility in action. I cannot comment on the lock-in period though.

The one I saw used a Huawei E220. Varying speeds depending on what signal you get:
Edge / GPRS – estimated near dial-up up to 384kbps
3G – greater than 384kps

I saw it download torrent at 40kb/s with a 3G signal.

No problem working on Win2K / WinXP. It even worked with the Asus eee PC too (with Xandros default OS). Had trouble making it work with Ubuntu though (on the same eee pc).

TREB · 18 years ago

for rhodamarie or yuga, kindly comment naman sa globe visibility, takot kasi ako sa 24months lock-in period nila. globe says up to 1.4mbps. ok lang if it,s true, if not lugi sa 2k na monthly. what’s the speed you are getting. I’m from las pinas.

Macpinoy · 18 years ago

Unboxing pics (and first impressions) at http://www.macpinoy.com/2008/04/18/smart-bro/

vhonne · 18 years ago

mahal p rin… d2 kc sa shop samin… 15 pesos lng per hour… ung 30 pesos n load nila… pumapatak ng 20 pesos per hour… magaling p sa shop n lng mag-internet…

pero smartbro subscriber po ako… ehehe…

franz · 18 years ago

quite expensive for me

Tahn · 18 years ago

They definitely expanded their horizons. But I still hate Smart’s service.

Roger D · 18 years ago

My bottom line is the speed, I used PLDT WeRoam and I was very very very disappointed with it. Mabilis pa 14.4k na dial-up, and to think I am in the metropolis. Kahit anong sabihin ng rep, it was so slllloowwww. I hope this one, it is the opposite.

rhodamarie · 18 years ago

I am currently a Globe Visibility subscriber, paying 2k per month, unlimited. I have been using this for almost two years now, however my problem is the data card. The plan came with a PCMCIA card but the new laptops now have Expresscard. =( Would you guys know of any available adapters in the market? OR at least a USB modem I could use to replace this Huawei E620 data card?

ChiQ Montes · 18 years ago

I am definitely tempted to avail of this service. Yuga, have you tried this urself?

sylv3rblade · 18 years ago

Expensive yes.
But is it worth it? As much as I hate to say it, it’s a yes.

I won’t be surprised if people bashed this because of the initial price and Smart Bro’s past woes but as of yet, we’ve still to see some move from Globe (or any other mobile ISP) to take a bite at Smart’s share.

+1 rep for the people at Smart for this product/service

-1 rep for still not acknowledging our disconnection from SmartBro =(

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 18 years ago

@Hezron, I think the dongle was just bought whole-sale from a supplier. Possibly ZTE or Huawei. (Same thing they did with all the Motorola Canopy for Smart Bro.)

And as mentioned above, if you buy the dongle from a retail shop it costs you Php7,500. That’s based on the price given to me by Silicon Valley/Electroworld in MOA.

Hezron · 18 years ago

Very expensive, why not buy LG KU250 which is capable to be used as a modem and it’s cheap. I think CP battery is not a reason not to use a CP as a modem, coz if you’ll connect it to a Desktop i’m sure the battery will still be charged coz it’s connected to PC usb.

That dongle is really expensive including the rate. Grabe naman ang SMART!

erjanorbe · 18 years ago

The expense depends on the user. If you’re always on the go, but if it’s just for emergency use (like submitting documents, etc.) prepaid is the best for you. If you’re a power user and you want mobility, then go for a post paid unlimited plan.

P4,500 is just a one time payment though, and it comes with the USB modem, sim card and P30 credits rather than getting a third party one which costs P5k and above.

But the best way is, if you have a 3G phone all you’re going to do is connect it to your laptop and using it as a wireless modem without paying P4,500. The downside, as stated above, is your phone’s battery life.

ChrisMo · 18 years ago

The province signal is my primary concern, has anyone cared to test the connection speeds while in transit? i.e., bus going to somewhere…

I hope the advertised speed is also holds true in provincial areas…

Dexter · 18 years ago

medyo mahal pa rin yung 4500

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 18 years ago

Actually, because of such circumstances, this pre-paid kit makes more sense — you only pay for hours you used. So if you can’t get good connection for a month ‘coz you’re in the province, you don’t pay anything since you didn’t use the connection time.

calvin · 18 years ago

paano pag mahina signal kung san ka pupunta? for example sa province. hindi ba lugi ka?

penoi · 18 years ago

pede kaya ito sa smartbro fixed??? kasi may antena pa ako ng smartbro na hindi nila kinukuha.. heheheh…

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 18 years ago

I think Smart is just covering all of its bases — WeRoam, Smart Bro Fixed, Smart Bro Mobile Plan, Smart Bro Mobile Prepaid. I guess that’s the best way to target various segments of the market.

I heard that the 3G market in the Philippines is still very small so all players are trying their best to capture the biggest slice of the pie.

jake lim · 18 years ago

1) Not all mobile phones are 3G capable. Nokia only sold 70M 3G phones out of over 1 Billion Nokia phones worldwide.

2) There’s software reloading via PC via Prepaid card and there’s e-Load available.

3) Smart already has a Post Paid plan. This Pre-Paid Plan is complementary. This is for those who are with Globe plans and don’t want to switch plans with Smart but still want Smart 3G.

Jeric · 18 years ago

@ MiGs

As far as I know, you can reload your SmartBro Prepaid even without a mobile phone. You just need to look for an e-loading store and the Smart e-load and the SmartBro load are the same. You could check the balance of your SmartBro prepaid through I website.

But I agree with point 1 & 3.