The Cloud - not just a pretty face

The Cloud, the mobile wifi provider, are not just a pretty face and a totally shit consumer front-end.

I was having a look at their hot spot location service. I stuck in my home post code. I wasn’t sure what I’d get from them — 7,000 locations it says on the site. Would that still mean my nearest one was miles away?

Not at all!

Unlike the 75p a minute T-Mobile hotspot service, The Cloud actually has service IN Billericay, Essex.

Butter me in honey and call me Kevin!

The nearest to me is a pub called The Forge, 2km away. Down the road. I could be there in 5 minutes. Excellent. The only trouble is that The Forge is …er…, what’s the word? It’s a ‘new’ pub built about 20 years ago which, alas, has one of the ugliest and oldest clientele you could find in Essix (I am quoting my friends).

So The Forge is out. I am not sitting there for a few hours and working on the laptop.

However, The Blue Boar in the High Street is worth a look. That’s the Wetherspoons pub which is a massive favourite of the youngsters of the town in the evenings. However, it’s one of the only establishments I’ve been to that has more than a few token old people in it. The place is overrun with pensioners most days and nights, thanks to the Wetherspoon’s get a meal-and-a-pint-for-£1.99 or something like that.

I MIGHT though, I MIGHT go and try working from there tomorrow afternoon with the laptop.

I’m not sure how folk will react to me flipping open the MacBook in there. If I do pluck up the courage, I will provide photo evidence. NAY! I will video it. And record the ancients for you.

There’s the Red Lion too which, depending on who you speak to, is ‘one of those pubs’.

Further away, there’s Jumpin’ Jaks. Or the Chicago Rock Cafe. If you want to experience your jeans — or chinos, this site does have quite an American following — sticking to your seat within 20 seconds of sitting down, that’s the place to go. Not taking the laptop anywhere near there.

I see the Downham Arms also has The Cloud service. That’s impressive as it’s way out in the countryside.

So, I’m not impressed at The Cloud’s consumer site. I am extremely impressed at their range of hotspots nearby. Their technical chaps are obviously competent.