I’m currently on a grandfathered plan through Tmobile. My phone is a 1st gen Razr.
I’m considering upgrading to one of the 3G Android phones with an unlimited data plan.
Is it possible to connect one of these to my laptop for internet access? If so, what sort speed can I expect? I looked on their coverage map, and i’m dead in the center of the dark purple 3G zone. I’m moving soon and money will be tight for a while, but I was thinking the upgrade to 3G, if it can let me connect via laptop and if I could get say 800kbps reliably would be fine for my needs short term. For the next 6 months i’d just like to be able to check the news from my laptop, read the SD and check email. The upgrade to my phone plan would be cheaper than getting a broadband package. Also I’ve been wanting to play with a new smartphone.
If the above will work, any suggestions on pros/cons to the various android phones TMobile is offering?
Also, if you think i’m wrong on Android and want to sing the praises of ATT and IPhone, i’d appreciate those thoughts as well.
Connecting a cell phone to a laptop in order to provide it Internet access is called “tethering”. Some phones can do it, some can’t; with Android it was introduced in 2.2. It works over USB, and the bus speed of USB 2.0 is pretty healthy 480 Mbps, so that’s not going to be your bottleneck; the speed will probably be similar to the speed the phone itself gets.
As for phones, the HTC Desire is the phone that peoplepaidtohaveopinions about these things widely consider to be the best. You won’t be able to get one for cheap, however.
I’ve had my Droid X for eight hours and am DYING to post about it!
You can use it as a wireless hotspot for your computer, but it costs extra. I won’t be doing that. My monthly cell phone bill will be $90 from now on. It’s ridiculous…I keep telling myself that it will go down eventually.
It’s my first smart phone, and already I’m wondering how I ever got along without it. Apps are awesome…it’s a LOT easier to use an app as opposed to a web site (the weather for example).
The phone isn’t extremely intuitive…but the learning curve is high and fast. Swype (the way you “type”) is awesome. The voice recognition seems to be adequate; it will probably get better once it trains me.
What I was really looking forward to was using Google Calendar. I’ve never had an electronic planner, and already I love this. If I add an event via my computer to the calendar, it syncs to my phone immediately. Of course, I’ll have to actually check my calendar now, but at least I’m taking the first step towards not missing appointments
And just like any other phone I’ve owned, it synced to my Blue Douche® easily and fast.
FWIW, PDAnet is an app that allows older Android phones tether using USB but not Bluetooth. I’ve got a myTouch 3G with Android 1.6 and it works pretty well for tethering over USB using T-Mobile’s unlimited data plan.
Also note that many smartphones (including both my Motorola Droid X and my wife’s HTC Droid Incredible) can also connect to the Internet via WIFI. We have WIFI in our house and have our cellphones set up to use the house connection. No tethering needed, piece of cake, and works like a charm.
Tethering is the other way around - connecting the computer to the internet via your cellphone, not connecting your cellphone to the internet via your computer. That allows the cellphone user to disconnect his internet and save himself another bill to pay.
My husband has (I think) PDAnet, like Darryl Lict recommended. He thinks it’s keen and works well, but I don’t know what sorts of speeds he gets from it. I know he’s done email through it; not sure if he’s done anything more intensive.
We have the MyTouch 3g phones from T-Mobile, bought last December. Rumor has it that they’ll be upgrading our Android to 2.2, but they haven’t yet; we’re still running 1.6 (I think). So the PDAnet app is a must.
You don’t really have to check your calendar as you can set alerts at any interval (mins or hours prior to event) to pop up and remind you of an upcoming event. You can have an app that displays a widget on your home (or any other) screen that lists your upcoming events. The one I have is called Quick Calendar and I chose it because the widgets come in several sizes that include the small and unobtrusive 2x1 – meaning it only takes up two columns on one row and displays the next two events with their day and time. When I click the widget, Quick Calendar opens to display an scrollable agenda of all of my future events.
BTW, when you add an event to your calendar via your phone, it also shows up almost immediately on your PC. My favorite aspect of Google Calendar is sharing with others. My husband also uses it and I can see (and update) his calendar and we both use a calendar for my daughter’s school events and extra curricular activities. My MIL can see all of our calendars, so she knows when she can help us with babysitting and/or attending daughter’s activities. It is the number one reason our family has moved over to Android phones. The ability (and ease) to coordinate, communicate, and organize is astounding.
You can connect it, but the carrier may charge an extra fee for the official/supported way to tether your phone.
If you root your android phone you can easily both Wifi tether (have the phone serve as a wifi router) and USB Tether. So were I you I would pick a phone I could easily root and you would be set for the normal phone + data package fee.
Note there are a few phones that are hard to root or at least install ROMs on - the Droid X mentioned earlier here being one of those.
There are Android apps that allow USB tethering without having to root the phone. I use PDANet on my TMobile G1 and it works fine. It may not work on all phones though - I seem to recall hearing that AT&T locks down their Android phone, and you can only install apps from the Android Market.
I was never a fan of Google…um…whatever, calendar, docs, etc. But I get it now…my calendar on just my computer wouldn’t be as useful as one on the internet that is accessible everywhere.
I don’t need to share my calendar, but my friends who are married do…they love it for all the reasons you stated.
