Mobile broadband provider Orange has given names to its three major mobile broadband price plans in order to bring them in line with the animal-inspired brands of its mobile phone tariffs.

The three new plans have been dubbed Panther, Dolphin and Raccoon, with the intention being that mobile phone customers currently on Orange will have a better idea as to what each package will offer and the wireless broadband prices will echo the mobile tariffs after which they are named.

The cheapest of these new deals is Raccoon, which will cost you £5 a month for a fixed 18 month minimum contract. For your money you will have a 500MB data allowance, which is adequate for modest surfing needs and should be suitable for anyone who requires only sporadic internet access.

The mid-range Panther mobile broadband tariff is also tied to an 18 month minimum contract and it gives you 10GB of data allowance per month for £25 each month. This is for heavier users who might need to send and receive lots of emails, download files and even stream video.

The most comprehensive new tariff from Orange is called Dolphin and with it comes an unlimited data allowance for £35 each month. As with all unlimited plans, there is a fair use policy to adhere to, which ultimately means that you will have over 20GB of data each month and for all intents and purposes is more than enough to meet the needs of the heaviest of single users.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “Orange has always been a leader when it comes to wireless broadband prices and mobile broadband innovation and it is now renaming its key tariffs to make the choice even easier. Users who have enjoyed its mobile phone packages should know roughly what to expect and Orange’s unrivalled 3G coverage levels are also an important asset to consider.”

Customers looking to get into the mobile broadband market might be interested to learn that Vodafone has slashed the price of its basic mobile broadband package to just £4.25.

This package is intended for business users and for the first three months this low price will apply, before increasing to £12.77 for the remainder of the contract.

Vodafone’s mobile broadband networks can offer download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and the provider has been shown in recent surveys to offer some of the fastest and most consistent mobile broadband connections in the UK.

The standard business mobile broadband package from Vodafone comes with a 3GB monthly data allowance, which it is suggested will give you about 100 hours of use each month.

Vodafone includes a free USB dongle with this package and there are a host of other freebies to enjoy. You get a software suite to protect your PC or laptop from viruses and hackers and you also gain access to free online backup and data restoration, which means that sensitive files and documents can be copied and protected. Up to 2GB of your data can be stored in this way.

There is a minimum 24 month contract with this new low-cost business mobile broadband deal and it compares favourably to other wireless broadband prices.

If you do not want to commit for the full 24 month period, there is an 18 month option. The initial monthly premium is higher, at £8.50, but after three months it rises to precisely the same level as the 24 month option.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard noted “Mobile broadband can be a real asset for business users, allowing them to get online virtually anywhere and Vodafone is now making it as cost-effective as possible”.

People looking for shorter minimum contract periods in the mobile broadband market will be able to take advantage of a new pay monthly package from Vodafone.

For £15 a month you will get a 3GB data cap and there is a 12 month minimum contract to cover. However, your money also bags you a free USB dongle to help you get online.

Vodafone offers a similar package for people who want a rolling contract similar to a pay-as-you-go scheme. The monthly price and data cap are identical, but with a one month minimum contract you will need to pay £19 for the dongle.

Whether you like the sound of this Vodafone package will depend on how you respond to wireless broadband prices. If you know that you will need the service consistently for at least 12 months, then it is a good deal as you will save the £19 fee for the dongle.

Vodafone has undercut its closest 12 month-offering rival Orange, which has the same data cap and free dongle deal costing £18 monthly. Orange gives you the option to upgrade the USB dongle to a premium edition that comes with a free microSD memory card and the claim of offering a better connection, but you will have to pay £20 for the privilege.

By looking at these latest deals it is easy to see how much mobile broadband prices have fallen over the last year. Data caps have virtually trebled in this lower price bracket and a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband contract is nearly as attractive from a financial point of view as a fixed term option.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “Vodafone now offers its users some of the most competitive mobile broadband packages out there, along with fast download speeds.”

All 3 Mobile Broadband contracts have had a dongle upgrade! They have replaced the ZTE dongle with the new, sleeker Huawei E1750. The E1750 is no available, free of charge, on all contract tariffs, although pay as you go mobile broadband packages will still include the ZTE MF627 dongle.

The Huawei E1750 is a “next generation” dongle, and is typically twice as fast when uploading files such as photos and large email attachments. It is also 50% faster for general website browsing. It is compatible with both PC’s and Mac’s and has a plug & play design, making it incredibly easy to use.

If you are due an upgrade now or are looking to make a purchase, it is worth bearing in mind that another new dongle is due to be released in March, the Huaweu E122. This promises to offer even fast speeds, so is definitely worth keeping an eye out for in the coming months.

Good news for people thinking of signing up to a mobile broadband deal – the trend of offering a free laptop for new sign-ups seems to be continuing.

Orange are offering free laptops to any new customer signing up to two of their offers. Customers signing up for the £35 USB mobile broadband can help themselves to a free Compaq CQ61 notebook laptop. It has a 15.6″ screen, Windows 7 Home Premium and a massive 250Gb hard drive! For more information click here.

Any customer signing up to Orange’ £25 mobile broadband deal can take home a free Asus 1005HGO laptop, which has built-in mobile broadband, so you don’t even need to worry about remembering your dongle! For more information click here.

You are still able to get a Compaq CQ61 notebook on a cheaper tariff, but this does incur an upfront fee for the laptop. For example, on a 24 month, £25/month contract, the laptop is available for purchase for £130.

Why not take a look at our mobile broadband comparison page, to see which deal might be best for you?

For anyone considering making mobile broadband part of a Christmas present, the news that Vodafone has unleashed a new laptop on its pay monthly packages will be most welcome. There is nothing to pay up front and the bundle includes a free laptop and free Vodafone mobile broadband USB dongle to get users online wherever they are. You will need to commit to a 24 month contract, but the specifications of the new laptop make this an attractive package.

Unlike other free laptop deals, the Compaq Presario CQ60 which is included is not a lightweight, low-powered netbook. With a large 15.9 inch high resolution screen, a powerful processor, 2GB of RAM and Windows Vista pre-installed it will be able to deal with all of the latest software and tasks that you could reasonably require of it. There is even a limited subscription to a security software suite included, as well as 60 days access to Microsoft Office straight out of the box.

As you might imagine, the CQ60 is far from feather light; indeed at nearly 3KG it could give you quite a workout if you are going to lug it around all day, but that is the price you invariably pay for a more powerful and versatile system. A DVD writer and a built-in card reader round off the package, making it ideal for multimedia playback and image storage on the 250GB hard drive.

The CQ60 may come with built in wireless connectivity, but you will still need to plug in the Vodafone mobile broadband USB dongle if you want to connect to the mobile broadband network. Current Vodafone customers will be able to take advantage of a lower monthly cost than new customers, which means that if you have a Vodafone mobile contract or an existing mobile broadband deal with the company then this offer becomes even more appealing.

The increasingly popular route to getting your hands on a free or cheap laptop by signing up for a mobile broadband contract has got 2 additional options thanks to O2 Mobile.

The maths for these mobile broadband and laptop offers is interesting. The monthly costs for a contract with a laptop is higher than a ’standard’ contract and it does require a two year commitment. However, the incremental charge can be of the order of £250 over the term of the contract (although it can be more, so do the sums) – £250 or so for a laptop is a not a bad price but its notional cost being spread over the course of 24 months is what makes these offers rather attractive.

The latest deal from O2 mobile broadband is for either an Asus 1005H laptop or a Samsung R519 laptop with a 24 month contract – whichever option you go for there is a £29.38 charge for the laptop. The monthly charge is then £24.48 (3Gb download limit) or £34.36 (10Gb) for the Asus 1005H and £34.26 (3Gb) or £44.05 (10Gb) for the Samsung R519.

These types of mobile broadband and laptop offers are becoming more widespread and will appeal to a wide range of mobile broadband customers but particularly those who wish to avoid the upfront costs of a laptop. Students are a clear target here but in times or recession where poor cash flow affects many people these deals will have wider appeal.

3 Mobile Broadband is offering a voucher code that gives £3 per month off to customers signing up to their a 5Gb Mobile Broadband 18 month contract. This 3 Mobile deal is not available on the high street.

To take advantage of this 3 Mobile Broadband deal here’s what you need to do…

• Click this link to get to the 3 Mobile website
• Select ‘Mobile Broadband’
• Pick the ‘5Gb Mobile Broadband 18 month contract’ (£15)
• Pick your modem (choice of one!)
• Click ‘Buy Now’
• Enter 3MBB3OFF in the box marked ‘Got promo code?’
• Check out

The expiry date for this offer has not been announced so it is probably best to take it up quickly, before 3 Mobile change their mind on this deal!

Don’t forget, you will still get a free USB modem and free pay-as-you-go SIM for a friend, as with the standard 5Gb deal, there is no change to that – other than that you get £3 off every month!

You get the standard 3.6Mb connection, and 5Gb usage is plenty for surfing the internet on your travels. Sign up here for this 3 Mobile Broadband deal.

Orange Broadband doing its best to woo the ever growing number of students with an attractive offer of a £20 HMV voucher for those  signing up to one of their mobile broadband deals with either a dongle or a laptop. With prices starting at just £9.79 per month this looks like a good opportunity for students who are already looking for broadband on the move.

Click here for more information on the Orange mobile broadband HMV offer. And if you were thinking of pretending to be a student to get the HMV voucher you will not get away with this as you need to enter your NUS number to qualify!