In the first part of this Lagos-Zaria adventure series, I gave information about the mobile gadgets that I took along for the trip.

In this second part, I will give account of our experiences with the various mobile networks during our trip.

Networks
All along the route, MTN mobile internet was available for the most part, but apart from voice calls and SMS, it was a complete disappointment. We were unable to do anything that required internet access with it. It was Glo GPRS/EDGE that saved the day.

Courtesy of Glo, Dayo was able to moderate comments on Mobility blog all through our ten and half hour drive from Lagos to Abuja. Of course, after Ibadan, we had to make do with just GSM/EDGE all the way to Abuja.

We got 3.5G service on both Glo and MTN back on arrival in the Federal Capital Territory, but in Zaria, especially Ahmadu Bello University where we operated from, getting a stable signal on almost any GSM network was next to mission impossible. At Abuja, both networks delivered fast internet access at our University of Abuja, Gwagwalada location.

By the way, we decided that there was a need to polish up the name from Gwagwalada to “Gwags” or “G-lada”. “Gwagwalada” was just too much of a mouthful for our refined lips. Which is your preference?

Along Kaduna-Zaria Road

We did not get a 3G signal on any network during our stay at ABU Zaria. Etisalat was the most stable for mobile internet, and I had to replace my MTN SIM with one from that network.

Dayo, who took along only a phone with his MTN SIM could access the internet only while we were at Abuja. Before and after that, he was one frustrated mobile traveler for the most part.

Of course, we were able to make and receive calls all through the trip as long as there was a signal. However, again, the ABU Zaria area was just terrible, as we experienced dropped calls again and again.

Our return trip was a straight drive from Zaria through Jebba to Lagos. Glo GPRS/EDGE served us well, though there wasn’t always a signal. There were times we lost the Glo signal but MTN was live and well.

Of course, our trip was not a scientific experiment, so we must have missed out a number of things. We were not looking at the devices for a signal every single moment. I am just sharing in general our observations.

Camels shared the road with us in Niger state, Northern Nigeria!

Because our return journey was a stretch and on an older road, we did less observing, and did more of avoiding craters, potholes and articulated vehicles almost all the way from Zaria to Lagos.

Up Next
How did we find our way through the 800 kilometres to the north and back? Enter: Ovi Maps – plus some streak of wild adventurism!

Here at the Mobility blog, we have been conducting a national survey of mobile subscribers for some months now. We had covered some cities in the West of Nigeria. We also had Abuja covered.

We recently made a contact in Zaria, and then decided to get there to set things in motion. Being the adventurous person that I am, I thought it would be fun to drive all the way with Dayo. We would go via Abuja. I had been to Abuja twice before this time, once by coach, and the other by air.

My wife gasped, choked and spluttered at the news of the road trip. My staff protested. I persisted.

Gadgets
First up, and probably most important gadget for a road trip is – wrong – a car. Yep; its mobile; isn’t it? My vehicle is a 1.4 cc engine Hyundai Accent 2008 model with a mileage of just 35,000 kilometres on it since its purchase 3 years ago.

Next was my Nokia N8 which served as a mobile phone and exclusive camera all through the trip. With the N8 around, there was simply no point attempting to take pictures with any other device. It also served as a backup web browser at various times.

I had a backup device, the E7. Its primary duty was to serve as a mobile PC to get our work done on the move.

I also had a portable loudspeaker for enjoying great quality music in our hotel rooms.

Those were the gadgets that I packed along, though Dayo had his own small list.

In the following parts of this series, I will share with you how Nokia Maps helped (or hindered) us in navigating hundreds of kilometres across Nigeria. I will also share our experiences with the various mobile networks, as well as pictures we took here and there.

Have you taken a cross-country trip of this sort before? What were your experiences with mobile networks like? What gagdets did you put to use and how did you use them?

This afternoon, members of the Mobility Nigeria team took time out to take Matthew Dawes on a tour of Lagos. Matthew is Managing Director of All Amber, organisers of Mobile Web West Africa taking place at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos on Wednesday 2nd & Thursday 3rd February 2011.

I had my trusty Nokia N8 (remember that awesome 12 megapixel camera?) with me and put it to good use. As such, we have a few shots for you to enjoy.

Dayo and Matthew - Shopping at the Galleria

Matthew at the Tafawa Balewa Square complex

Matthew at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos

Dayo and Omo chilling after some driving around

Matthew tackling a bowl of Pounded Yam and Egusi soup

Me - tackling a bowl of Fufu and Egusi soup

Matthew proudly showing off his empty bowl after a delicious meal of Pounded Yam and Egusi soup

Matthew at the University of Lagos

Matthew with yours truly

I look forward to meeting some of our readers at Mobile Web West Africa in a couple of days time.

To our readers, we wish you a merry christmas (if you believe in Christmas), and a happy holidays (if you don’t).

Wherever we stand, this season is certainly a colourful and exciting one. And having a superb camera on a device like the Nokia N8 means being able to capture really lovely shots in almost any situation. Enjoy the following Nokia N8 productions (feel free to click through to view the full 4000×3000 images, but watch out, that means files of over 1.5 MB in size) –

Beautiful dusk at the Lagos Bar Beach, Victoria Island

Kart racing at Get Arena, Lekki, Lagos

Driving through Surulere yesterday morning and ran into Santa passing traffic - Ho! Ho!! Ho!!!

My sweetheart and I haven't been to a Christmas party in years, but yesterday was different.

Step in the name of love....

In all, the Nokia N8 delivered and we sure will have great pictures to go down memory lane years from now. I recorded some videos too. One thing is sure, for media contant creation, the Nokia N8 simply has no competitors.

How is this year’s Christmas at your end? Where you able to put your phone to use in capturing those moments and memories in audio, still and/or video?

‘Yomi and ‘Dayo were at the West African International Telecommunications & Information Communication Technology Exhibition (W.Afri.Tel) yesterday and spent some time at the stands of various mobile networks and manufacturers.

There wasn’t much that was new happening on most fronts, but still there are a number of things worthy of a mention. Mobile-related exhibitors at the event include: Etisalat, GloMobile, MTN, Visafone, Multilinks Telkom, Anabel, and Mi-fone.

Detailed reports on the way.

Meanwhile, the exhibition is still on today through tomorrow, so if interested, Victoria Island is the direction you should be heading. More specifically, you’ll be driving into the premises of the Ocean View at 1415 Adetokunboh Ademola Street, adjacent the Bar Beach.

The West African International Telecommunications & Information Technology Exhibition (WAfriTel) is coming up in Lagos from the 2nd through the 4th of June.

Members of the MobilityNigeria team will be there to pick up scoops from mobile operators, value added service providers, and developers (if any).

If we find anything really interesting, we will also have video clips for your viewing.