I’ve got the USB adaptor…I’ve got the web-enabled Treo(Earthlink/Sprint)…I’ve got the laptop…I don’t have a USB 2.0 slot 
I haven’t installed anything or given it a spin yet.
What can I expect trying to get online in this manner?
I’m hoping that it will be enough of a connection to do a periodic travel blog (including uploading pictures) and just generally pass the time (network willing) on our upcoming 10 week sabbatical roadtrip around the US.
One month from today will be my last day in the office prior to departure.
WOOT!!!
I will also have an AC adaptor for the cigarette lighter socket for laptop power.
In general, it’s going to be rather noticeably slower than the average dialup analogue modem. Uploading large photos is going to suck, but if they’re just smallish ones taken on the Treo, it won’t be so bad.
I was doing something similar a while back, using a bluetooth adaptor to connect to my cellphone and using that to get out to the Internet.
It. Was. Slow.
Even browsing the web was painful, especially now that most sites have adapted to widely spread broadband usage and don’t give as much thought to those users still connecting via modem.
It did work okay for IM, so that is what I primarily used it for. I would also expect (although I did not find occasion to try it) that uploading anything would be even slower than downloading.
If you have the budget for it (and it’s available in your area) I highly recommend the Verizon DSL card. I use it for my laptop and while I think they are kidding themselves by referring to it as “DSL”, it is noticably faster than dialup and works well for browsing and small downloads.
The downside is its close to 60 bucks a month and they require a two-year commitment. I justify it because I am on call for work every other week and being able to answer an emergency support call from pretty much anywhere is too good to pass up.
Mostly though, I use it for dope and poker 
I’ve been talking to a few folks at work who also have Treo 650s, and this was reported (both by a friend and by a review on the site) to provide speeds of 300k+, for some folks at least.
I might have to give it a try. I could always sell my USB adaptor (still in the box) on eBay.
Now if I can just find all of the cables that came with the phone…
I’m trying out the PDANet free trial now.
I don’t get a very good signal here at my house, only one bar, but I’m still connecting at 192. This is very encouraging.
I don’t think I’ll even try and mess with Bluetooth. I won’t really need to be 65 feet away from the Treo when online with the laptop.