Not talkiing about WiFi here, but getting to the internet over a cell phone. Likely network choices will be Sprint or T-Mobile since they both offer reasonable rates for unlimited data plans.
I’m currently looking for a new cell plan, and I figured this time I’d bite the bullet and get a voice+data plan. Unfortunately, the salespeople I’ve spoken with at several stores have given me conflicting info, so I figured I’d ask here.
I don’t want to restrict myself to typing on a numeric keypad (I had AT&T’s first wireless internet (Pocket net?) sevice several years ago, and found it so frustrating I never used it), so I figure I have one of two options:
Get an integrated PDA/phone device, like the Handspring Treo 270/300 or 600 (I know the 270/300 is discontinued, but it can currently be obtained for very little money)
Get a Bluetooth phone like the Nokia 3650 and use it with Bluetooth enabled PDA or a laptop with a Bluetooth interface.
Questions:
If I go with a separate PDA and phone vs. the integrated solution, do I lose any functionality? I like the idea of separates since it’s likely I’ll be getting a new phone after one year, but the PDA should be good for several; therefore in the long run it will theoretically cost me less; also I’m less restricted in my choice of PDA.
If I use the phone with a laptop, how restricted will I be compared with standard dialup/broadband? Can I only access WAP sites, or can I go anywhere?
What sorts of speeds can I expect? Obviously I’m not going to be downloading software, just browsing the web and sending/receiving email.
Can I telnet over these devices? It would be great if I could dial in to work when necessary for support issues.
Any other advice in this area is also appreciated.
You won’t lose functionality, only convenience. If you’re lucky enough to find a Bluetooth phone and PDA, then you can keep the phone in your pocket and the PDA will connect to it wirelessly; otherwise you’ll need a cable, and it’ll be difficult to use the PDA to get online while you’re walking around.
You can go anywhere - it’s a real internet connection.
You can use circuit-switched data with just about any provider, but it’s limited to 14.4 kbps. CSD is where you use your phone as a modem, to dial into your own ISP or your wireless carrier’s data service. To get better speeds, you need to use packet data connections like GPRS or 1X, which connect your phone directly to the internet.
GPRS (T-Mobile) is around the same speed as a dialup modem. 1xRTT (Sprint and Verizon) is 50% to 100% faster than a dialup modem - about 80 to 120 kbps.
Some GSM carriers support EDGE, which is faster than GPRS, but I don’t think EDGE is available in many areas yet.
There’s also another choice: 1xEV-DO, which Verizon has deployed in San Diego and Washington D.C. already, and plans to have deployed in major cities by the end of 2004, and nationwide by the end of 2005. 1xEV-DO speeds are comparable to DSL speeds - 300 to 800 kbps on average, with a theoretical maximum of about 2 Mbps. But the equipment is more limited; as far as I know, there aren’t any phones that support EV-DO (the DO is Data Only), so you’d need to connect with a PC Card, which probably won’t work with a PDA.
Yes.
So, in conclusion… if you can get a good price on Sprint’s unlimited data plan, I’d recommend that. Verizon would give you the same speeds and somewhat better coverage, but their unlimited plan is $80 a month.
I have a Nokia 3650, and I still can’t get it to work right with the bluetooth card I have in my laptop. So beware that this might not work as well as they advertise. The Nokia support wasn’t very helpfull, and the bluetooth card company was worse if possible. So now I have a $80 card sitting in the bottom of my laptop case.
Just wanted to chime in here. I currently use a Sprint phone connected to my laptop with no problems at all. I consistanly get connection speeds over 400 kbps. For the most part, you don’t notice a big difference from that and broadband, and it blows dial-up out of the water. As long as your phone has signal, you have an internet connection. The connection kit (it’s a single USB adaptor cord) costs only $20.00 and requires you to download some connection manager software which is FREE on Sprint’s website. It’s the best thing for road trips or vacations and junk.
400 kbps through Sprint? :eek: That must be with some kind of compression… 1xRTT 's theoretical maximum is 144 kbps, and as far as I know, they haven’t started deploying 1xEV-DV yet (they’re skipping over EV-DO).
It looks like T-mobile is the way to go, as further research has indicated that all other carriers charge much more than 19.99 for unlimited internet via cell.
If anyone has any other info, now is the time to speak!
If you go with T-Mobile, make sure they actually have service in the area where you’ll need it. Their coverage area is pretty small compared to the other carriers.
Right up my alley. I have a Nokia 3650 and a Bluetooth adapter in my computer. I also have a T-Mobile t-Zones unlimited plan. I use the plan as a backup during my (frequent) cable outages, and also to browse the Web using my phone’s HTML browser. I like the service a lot; I love having a functional Web browser on my phone and having a backup ISP. There’s just something really cool about having my phone in my pocket wirelessly connected to my computer and to the Internet.
As of right now, you can use the cheaper unlimited t-Zones plans (the $4.99 or $9.99 ones) to access the Internet through your laptop or PDA even though they are not advertised as such, provided you have a phone capable of connecting itself to your laptop or PDA. These plans are intended for use through the mobile phones’ web browsers, but T-Mobile has not blocked the use of them through a laptop. You may consider this to see whether the service is acceptable to you. If it is, you could always upgrade to the $19.99 laptop plan, which is slightly faster and more reliable.
Would you mind shooting me an email, or explaining here exactly how you set this up? While my bluetooth PCMCIA card that I have in my notebook lets me connect and upload and download files from the phone just fine, I can’t get it to use the phone as a modem to connect to the internet.
I have verizon service and use only the quick2connect ( basically dial up). its speed is limited to only 14.4KBS but it works anywhere there is digital service.
I went on a road trip end of feb. and used it to get mail, surf the net and all that jazz. Verizon offers an much faster alternitive, 1xRTT, but I just use basic diap up speed, untill I get back to work.
Jordan
I just use a simple data cable from radio shack. $29.00.
The impression I’ve gotten from others I’ve spoken with is that you can only visit WAP sites using the cheaper plans. If not, how or why is it that this service is slower than the unlimited (which looks like it may have just gone up to 29.99)?
The official T-Mobile line is that the cheap plans are only for WAP access through a mobile device. The cheap plans allow access to the wap.voicestream.com gateway; the Internet plans allow access to the internet1.voicestream.com gateway. The WAP gateway is supposed to disallow access to HTTP sites, but it currently does not. T-Mobile knows this, but they’ve not done anything about it, but they could disallow it any day. Since WAP is a low-bandwidth protocol, this gateway is not as fast as internet1.voicestream.com; my download speeds are restricted to approximately 30Kbps. I learned this and more through HowardForums, which in spite of its animated GIFs, large signatures, and occasional LOLOLOL!!?!!1!ing is actually quite informative. I’ve used a WAP plan for wireless Internet access for over a year now with no issues.
This advice applies only to users of GSM networks, such as T-Mobile or newer AT&T Wireless / Cingular customers.
When you look at your modem list, is there a Bluetooth Modem listed? There should be – your Bluetooth adapter should have installed one. If so, create a new dial-up networking connection and call it whatever you want. Pick the Bluetooth modem as your connection device and use “*99#” (without the quotes) as your phone number. Connection type should be “PPP” and username and password should be blank. Connect the Bluetooth Serial Port through “My Bluetooth Places” and wait for your phone to show that the connection is active. Select the dial-up connection you made and tell it to dial, again with no username nor password. It should connect and just work. If it doesn’t I can’t really help, because I’ve not had any problems with it. I’m going to point you to HowardForums also, because that’s where I cobbled this together.
Also, AFAIK, the difference between the $19.99 plan and the $29.99 plan is that the $29.99 plan supports virtual private networking, so that you can connect to your office network over the Internet as though you were sitting in the building.
There are apparently currently only two Bluetooth phones availeble for use with the T-Mobile network; one is the Nokia 3650, the other is the Sony/Ericsson T610. Neither of these are flip-phones, the type I prefer. Are there any other phones that allow an internet connection, using perhaps a cable to connect the two (IR isn’t terribly practical in a portable application)?