Now that used laptops are available for as low as $300 or less (for a slow one that you can write papers on and browse the internet on) i am moderately thinking of getting one. However i dont know much of anything about how internet access works.
Do you need a cell phone to get internet access anywhere?
How does WiFi work? What are WiFi hotspots? I assume colleges and libraries, anywhere else?
It seems that unless i get a cell phone or get WiFi and am at a college or library i couldn’t get online. is this correct?
I’m no expert but I have a wireless network at home and use it with a laptop. I have not used commercial hotspots.
A cell phone with broadband Internet service and the proper software and connection to your laptop will get you connected to the Internet anywhere you have a phone signal. However, that level of service isn’t free. Browse rates at www.verizonwireless.com for examples.
WiFi is just a radio connection between your computer and a router, instead of an Ethernet cable. You need a wireless card for the laptop (runs maybe $30-80 range, lots of new ones have it built in). When you are within range of a wireless router (a “hotspot”) your laptop will pick up the signal. If it is a pay-for-use connection, I think you get a web page on your browser that lets you make a payment; I’m not sure, I’ve never used one.
Some coffee shops or other businesses have them either free to customers or at a fee. There are a bunch of web sites that list WiFi hotspots. Try searching on “wifi hotspots”.
“Wireless Internet” (Internet over a cell phone-like connection) is very slow and costly. But you can roam around while using it, just like a cell phone.
WiFi is much faster and cheaper. But you can’t roam around a lot without having to re-establish a connection.
There are other wireless connectivity systems like Bluetooth which are Future Dead Technologies. There is also the start of “wireless USB” but that’s really for use within a home or office.
Nextel’s currently offering (right now, only in Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill) wireless broadband. As of now, $50 a month gets you 750K download/200K upload, where $75 gets you 1.5M down, 375k up. Burst speeds of 3M down are not uncommon, and depend on network conditions
Sadly, it’s only available in that one market, where it’s being productized, and will not be on the main screens for the immediate future, if at all. Would be a hell of a product, though.
1xRTT can get up to 144 kbps, and averages around 60-80 kbps. It’s not great, but it’s faster than a modem. It’s currently available nationwide - Verizon calls it National Access, Sprint calls it Vision.
1xEV-DO apparently averages 300-800 kbps, and can get up to 2+ Mbps. That’s comparable to DSL. It’s currently available in San Diego and Washington, D.C.; Verizon says they’ll have it in most large markets by the end of this year, and nationwide by the end of next year.
Sprint is skipping EV-DO and going straight to the next level, 1xEV-DV, which I believe can get up to 5 Mbps. I don’t know when they plan to roll it out.
As for the price… yes, it’s expensive if you use it during peak time. I don’t know about Sprint’s prices, but Verizon has plans that bill NA out of your regular voice minutes, so you can use your free nights & weekends to get online.
