Congratulations to the data team at T-Mobile UK who have been named Dongle on The Move Winner in the Broadband Genie Road Trip 2010 Awards.

The chaps over at Broadband Genie took USB dongles from each of the major UK networks and tested them out during a two-day 350 mile road trip. They then subjected the dongles to a series of real-world tests (podcast downloads, youtube/spotify streaming and so on).

T-Mobile came out top in the download speed test — knocking back a top speed of over 3Mb. Nifty. This score led T-Mobile to trounce the competition on average across the other tests. I’m pleased to see Vodafone ranked reasonably well in most of the tests but managed only a miserable 0.3Mb upload top speed compared to 3UK’s shocking 1.6Mb top speed.

You can read the full analysis on the Broadband Genie post.

If you’re on the hunt, T-Mobile will give you a Mobile Broadband USB dongle for 8.99 plus a tenner top-up. Data will cost you 2 per day, 7 for the week and 15 for the month. Entirely reasonable. Plus, for the month of April, if you do a 2 top up, you’ll get 30 days free data.

Goodness me the cost of broadband has come down quite substantially hasn’t it? If you’d like to pay monthly, T-Mobile will give you a free dongle and unlimited (3GB fair use) data for a tenner a month (for the first 3 months) then 15/month.

I’m still turned on — in a geeky way — by 3UK’s PAYG MiFi deal. 69.99 buys you the MiFi unit bundled with 3GB of data usage valid for 3 months. Again, that looks very reasonable to me.

MiFi makes a heck of a lot of sense to me. I’ve been using this Novatel MiFi unit I was given to test for ages and it is a simply fantastic experience. I love the fact that more than one device can connect to it — and that I don’t have to mess around with connection screens and software installations. Just press the ‘on’ button and your devices are ready to connect.

If there’s one thing that’s true about Oprah, it’s that she’s everywhere: on TV, in movies, in her magazine, you name it. And now, at long last, Oprah fans will be able to follow her ample activities on yet another platform…the iPhone.

The new Oprah Mobile app gives you plenty of content: video clips and previews from the show, air times and channel information for Oprah’s show based on their location, the show’s weekly calendar, and audio clips from Oprah Radio. There are video and audio clips, polls, pledges, photo galleries, and articles, drawn from Oprah’s myriad of networks. Oprah Radio, O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah.com, and even Oprah’s Twitter account are all represented. And if that’s not enough “O” for you, the app will even alert you when tickets to her last season become available online!

Phew. It’s rare enough that people manage to comprehend the iPhone’s capabilities, but this complex offering really does do the Oprah brand credit. The interface is smooth and lightweight, and the app manages to integrate a staggering amount of content in a tiny package. Of course, if you want this Oprah-overload in the palm of your hand, you’ll have to pay: unlike many branded apps, this one comes with a modest $1.99 price tag. Oprah Mobile certainly offers plenty in return for that small entrance fee, though, so if you’re an Oprah fan, go check it out!

Oprah Mobile

Category: Entertainment
Released: 2010-04-22
Price: $1.99

[ New Oprah Mobile App Brings “O” To Your Phone is a post from 148Apps ]

This high-end Windows Mobile smartphone sports a huge screen with capacitive multi-touch technology, fast processor and a thin body. Other features include 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, 3G data and GPS navigation.

You may have seen me before in an airport terminal – I’m the guy lugging around the heavy backpack, squinting at food menus in an attempt to find something palatable to eat before my flight leaves me behind. You may see me twice, having reversed directions after finding nothing but grease huts down the first leg of my journey. You pity me just a little as Mr. Infrequent Travel Man, since it is obvious I have no idea what I’m doing.

Enter GateGuru to save my life (well, my arteries anyway). This travel app offers a user-review system much like ballyhooed Yelp, but with a new twist – it only covers amenities within airports! Considering that the other apps that GateGuru compares to typically stop outside the airport, GateGuru fills a much-needed niche in the travel world.

With a very Unix-like attitude of “Do one thing and do it very well,” GateGuru shines in giving you the information that you so desperately need when stuck in an airport. Using geolocation (or by selecting from a long list of airport abbreviations), the app breaks down your chosen airport by concourse, but you can also view reviews from the entire airport.

Once the reviews are displayed, you can sort them by the categories Food, Shop, and Services. The initial listing of reviews shows the name of the shop, its type, where it’s located, and the average user rating depicted with stars. To get more info you can tap the name of the business, which allows you to read all of the user reviews that have been submitted, as well as write your own review, add the business as a bookmark for later reference, or update the amenity with new data of your own. If a business or service is not referenced in the app, you can add it yourself. I don’t see this being necessary at this point, however; GateGuru users have cataloged everything from ATM kiosks to shoeshine stations! If you’re socially-minded, you can even connect with a Twitter of Facebook account to share your picks with friends.

My only gripe with the interface (beyond minor waits for data to download from GateGuru’s website) is not being able to sort amenities by star rating. I can see myself wanting to step off a plane, quickly sort by star rating, and then choose the best-reviewed restaurant to suit my tastes, but the option is currently not available. Some users may also be put off by the fact that the app currently only covers the United States, so globetrotters are currently out of luck until Mobility Apps releases an update with the feature (which they’ve promised). Lastly, you are required to create an account with GateGuru in order to use it, but registration is done within the app itself, is fairly painless, and won’t bug you again once you’ve completed the simple steps.

Given that the once-paid app is now free, GateGuru is an excellent addition to the repertoire of travel apps to keep on you at all times. Once they add international airports, you’ll be hard-pressed to go without an excellent dinner (or a quick souvenir) as you scurry between flights.

[ GateGuru Review is a post from 148Apps ]

This Android smartphone is the first with tri-band CDMA, and is notable for its large, high-resolution display, EVDO Rev. A 3G data, turn-by-turn GPS navigation and electronic compass. Other features include 3-megapixel camera, WiFi, accelerometer, 3.5mm headphone jack, and memory card slot.