The demise of TuGo

[Beenherebefore]

As an app developer perhaps O2 were a little naive when they launched TuGo.

Just as Tim Berners-Lee never thought that his invention would ever be used to distribute images worldwide that contravened legislation and also allowed terrorists to learn how to make IEDs, probably O2 never thought that customers would use TuGo in a foreign country or use it when connected to a cellular network.

In other words use TuGo for purposes that O2 never intended.

They developed a product so that customers could make and receive calls and SMS using a wifi broadband connection because they couldn't connect to the cellular network.

It was the clever customers who found that there were other ways to use TuGo.

So can we really criticise O2 for withdrawing the product ?

Certainly we can criticise them for not having a viable alternative in place before closing TuGo.......one that would allow all customers to make and receive calls and SMS using wifi broadband.

[jonsie]

Great post @Anonymous and I will possibly be following your lead dependant on whether they have good coverage at my home. EE have excellent signal here but I'm hoping that Three don't finish Three in Touch as rumoured. 

[Anonymous]

The young fellah me lad who helped me out in the Three shop, mentioned that there were no immediate plans, as far as he knew, to ditch Three in Touch.  Looking at the help sections regarding Three in Touch, from what I can understand, there are two versions.  One version is for new phones and the other is the old version for the likes of us who don't quite have the latest models, but have quite advanced smart phones.  As far as I am aware, neither can be used to phone or text from outside the UK.

This is what O2 should have done.

It looks as though O2 took a narrowminded broad decision to abandon TuGo to prevent customers using it from abroad, (outside the UK), which of course you could, so I'm led to believe, although I haven't had that opportunity.  But in doing so they harmed the rest, (probably the majority), of their custom base.

Would you believe it, I can't refer to Three in Touch as T*I*T without adding the astrixes!  The site won't let me because it seems to think I'm refering to the female anatomy.

So I can't refer to a large family of passarine birds either, i.e. Coal T*I*T, Great T*I*T, or Blue T*I*T etc, etc.

You couldn't make it up!