Tu Go

[bilko2]

Is Vodafone going to do anything like O2's Tu Go?

IE being able to make and recieve calls to my vodafone number over WiFi

Bill

[jeffkinn]

BT Smart Talk also uses your mobile number when you make calls over Wi Fi. I agree that Tu Go is an excellent app but there are lots of ways to keep in touch.

[jonnyP]

Once again your missing the point. What we want to do is make and receive calls form eg an ipad over wifi, rather than mobile. In particular if someone try's to ring me on my mobile number I want to be able to pick up on the ipad over wifi. This is particularly useful when out of mobile signal range, as for example happens at my parents, there are still quite a few locations in the uk where the signal drops off, obviously mainly rural, but where there might be wifi. If O2 can do this as standard why on earth can't Vodafone? Disappointing.

[jeffkinn]

The networks are not all the same - they all have different offers. For instance, Vodafone has for several years now offered the Sure Signal as a great way of getting a full 3G signal in your own home. It is only now, after some years, that the other networks have started to offer something similar. Vodafone is giving Spotify or Sky Sports as part of its 4G tariffs - no one else is. I completely agree that it would be an excellent app for Vodafone to be able to offer its customers. But just because O2 has it does not mean that Vodafone will develop an equivalent any time soon.

[Yodadatoka]

Hah! Vodafone giving away Sky Sports! If only it would work! I recently signed up myself and was conned into that one. I already pay for 'Music All Access' so Spotify isn't any good to me. No, I would happily forego this 'added bonus' if Vodafone would rollout their own version of TuGo. 4G isn't in Reading/Winnersh and won't be for the foreseeable. And that will only bring with it data connectivity benefits. I work in a useless modern building which seems to sap all the signal because as soon as I step outside I get 5 bars of HSPA+ @ 42.2Mbps. Can't bring my old SureSignal v1 to work. WhatsApp, Skype, Viber et al have their uses but you need to have others on the same to realise the benefit. BT & VMs offering is tempting but then I'd be diverting my calls to my home number all day when I'd rather be canning the fixed homeline. No, the TuGo concept really is the only way to go. C'mon Vodafone this is the game changer you need to bridge the gap with EE.

[diztig]

I'm with Citori on this...

To me, the BT, VirginMedia, Skype apps are all ok work-arounds, but the beauty of TuGo is that it's completely transparent to your contacts and almost transparent to you as your calls and texts come through as normal to your usual number - something that none of the other apps can do.

If you're an iPhone user, you can also use FaceTime Audio only to other iPhone users. The sound quality is superb.

[humadoon]

I used to be VF customer but I moved to O2 the so called thick walls of my building don't stop me from receiving 4-5 bars on my phone as it stopped VF.

I used VF for last 8 years and it was a difficult decision however bad customer services made it easier for me to decide but that does not mean VF has a bad CS I just had a bad experience.

[diztig]

@dsw76 I’m pleased you also found it interesting J I think that if the competitors start building features such as these into their services as standard, then it’ll hopefully keep everyone else (Vodafone, I’m looking at you!) on their toes to roll it, or something equivalent out.

However, if you’re considering a move from Voda to EE, make sure you have plenty of opportunity to test first. I’ve first-hand experience of a recent corporate shift from Voda to EE, and whilst it’s fair to say that you currently see 3G rather than 2G in more places on EE than we did on Voda, EE’s reliability in comparison to Voda has been abmismal – no point having a signal show if your calls go straight through to answer-phone or you hear three pips when trying to make a call L

@humadoon I’ve gone full-circle with my personal phone… 3 years with Voda, then 3 yrs with O2, and now I’m into my second year with Voda again. Visiting many different places, I’d say that traditionally the blackspots have been 50/50 between the two operators, i.e. I found as many Voda blackspots as I did O2 blackspots. I’d say that O2 had better urban indoor 3G coverage than Voda due to them rolling out UMTS 900MHz a few years before Voda (VF are catching up on this alongside their 4G rollout), but Voda are more reliable and better call quality.

The cities where Voda have completed their 2G/3G upgrades alongside the 4G rollout generally have superb coverage now, where I’m frequently enjoying indoor 3G/4G coverage where EE customers are barely getting 2G and poor old Three customers get nothing.

I guess it’s still that age-old situation of trying to find the network which overall works best for you personally.

[humadoon]

@diztig thanks for your message I work in Central london EC2V postcode and I unfortunately don't have any VF signal at all however O2 ( I am using lyca much cheaper) has signal at my work place even basement.

[diztig]

@humadoon: Interesting... Being as O2 and Vodafone supposedly began site-sharing for their transmitters (i.e. a Vodafone transmitter on every O2 site, and vice-versa) one would presume that each operator's coverage in the 4G-upgraded areas would be pretty much identical, with perhaps just a little variation depending on whose transmitter is furthest up the mast/pole.

I've found a similar situation in a couple of spots in Nottingham where I know O2 had indoor 3G coverage when I was with them previously, yet Vodafone - despite the upgrades - still fall back to 2G only, which in itself is a mystery when the 4G signal is 800MHz and the 2G is 900MHz, meaning 4G should have slightly better penetration.

Either it's not as cut-and-dried as it seems on the face of it, or Vodafone still haven't fully completed the site-sharing project, even in areas such as London and Nottingham which went live with 4G almost a year ago now. It's such a shame that all of the networks are so secretive about specific areas/sites, meaning we'll probably never get a real answer about what is going on in spots like this.

[bcrumley]

add me to the "I want it now" pile.