Travel Technology - My BlackBerry is ON FIRE!

So cable internet went down in our apt today, and.. we freaked out. But behold the technology...

Me
|
MacBook-[Bluetooth]-BlackBerry 8830-[Sprint EVDO Network]
|
[Built-in AirPort]
|
Friend 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

So 6 of us are hooked up via my MacBook's AirPort Wi-Fi, and through my Sprint-tethered Blackberry via Bluetooth.. w/ myself downloading a video file at 142 KB/s stable... (that's 1136 Kbps...)

I knew this was possible, but until now it was just too much to put into reality... But come to think of it, I should really start doing this at gates before departures.. haha! Maybe carry a sign that says "cheap, flat-rate, unlimited wifi connection available for a cookie. (until i depart)"

:D:D

Don't yell at me, I have to pay for college.

i can only laugh cause that rocks. ive been meaning to look into setting up my AT&T 8310 and my laptop so i can get access at airports and not pay the stupid tmobile fee.

:D That's an 'innovative' use of Blackberry! I like that. @:-)

This is a good solution!

A warning, however, is depending on where you are and how much you are charged for data roaming, this can get pricey. If you have a US plan and you do this in Country X where the data charges are high, and your buddies A, B and C download a lot of stuff, you can run up quite a bill.

UCB, I use my BB 7290 as a tethered modem on the Amtrak NEC between NY and DC regularly (Tmobile network) and have never been impressed with the speed. Occassionally it does come in handy, though.

Here is a set of instructions:

http://www.blackberryforums.com/blackberry-guides/2019-user-howto-use-blackberry-modem-laptop.html

Marc David Miller
MDM@DiscoveringRussia.com

This is a good solution!

A warning, however, is depending on where you are and how much you are charged for data roaming, this can get pricey. If you have a US plan and you do this in Country X where the data charges are high, and your buddies A, B and C download a lot of stuff, you can run up quite a bill.
good warning! i ran up a hefty bill while i finland, germany, and iceland over the past few months. those data charges hurt!

UCB, I use my BB 7290 as a tethered modem on the Amtrak NEC between NY and DC regularly (Tmobile network) and have never been impressed with the speed.

TMobile has the worst data speeds, by far, of the US networks. They are supposedly introducing 3G speeds in May, but your experience on the train is par for their service these days.

This is a good solution!

A warning, however, is depending on where you are and how much you are charged for data roaming, this can get pricey. If you have a US plan and you do this in Country X where the data charges are high, and your buddies A, B and C download a lot of stuff, you can run up quite a bill.

It's cool, I'd never go out of the country unless... i get some amazing job that requires me to... then id be willing to put down some cash for international data roaming...

but for now, im enjoying this unlimitedness... the cable company is giving me a free month so holla!!!!!!!

i can only laugh cause that rocks. ive been meaning to look into setting up my AT&T 8310 and my laptop so i can get access at airports and not pay the stupid tmobile fee.

Operates on GSM, GPRS and EDGE networks

fail. no UMTS HSDPA.

So cable internet went down in our apt today, and.. we freaked out. But behold the technology...

Me
|
MacBook-[Bluetooth]-BlackBerry 8830-[Sprint EVDO Network]
|
[Built-in AirPort]
|
Friend 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

So 6 of us are hooked up via my MacBook's AirPort Wi-Fi, and through my Sprint-tethered Blackberry via Bluetooth.. w/ myself downloading a video file at 142 KB/s stable... (that's 1136 Kbps...)

I knew this was possible, but until now it was just too much to put into reality... But come to think of it, I should really start doing this at gates before departures.. haha! Maybe carry a sign that says "cheap, flat-rate, unlimited wifi connection available for a cookie. (until i depart)"

:D:D

Don't yell at me, I have to pay for college.


Or you can get this, leave it in your rollerboard, and be a mobile hot spot. :)

http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/873/63/

Operates on GSM, GPRS and EDGE networks

fail. no UMTS HSDPA.

is that bad? EDGE seems to be pretty quick both here and overseas.

is that bad? EDGE seems to be pretty quick both here and overseas.
EDGE is fine for text-only browsing on a mobile device, but practically unusable for more complex web pages. Typical speeds are <100kbps (can be higher in some cases, but not consistently). Certainly not broadband :)

EDGE is fine for text-only browsing on a mobile device, but practically unusable for more complex web pages. Typical speeds are <100kbps (can be higher in some cases, but not consistently). Certainly not broadband :)

ah ok, thanks for clearing that up ^

so to get the faster speeds i'd need a better (sic) blackberry device?

Might wanna be careful with that. I remember reading somewhere that Sprint/Verizon would charge for data use over 5GB even if you have an unlimited data plan.

Not sure if it's still the case but you might want to check it out before going too crazy.

Might wanna be careful with that. I remember reading somewhere that Sprint/Verizon would charge for data use over 5GB even if you have an unlimited data plan.

Not sure if it's still the case but you might want to check it out before going too crazy.

That is mainly Verizon. Sprint doesn't seem to care too much what you do...

Careful though. There are some reports that unlimited really isn't unlimited. Tethering your blackberry to a laptop is technically not allowed and there are some threads on sites like HoFo that people got billed per MB when they used something like 500MB in a few days.
I do like Tmobile with their international email (and I can get some regular surfing out of it) package.

Actually, Sprint's FAQ actually directly describes that all BlackBerry Power Pack users will be able to enjoy Phone-As-Modem included as part of the unlimited data plan. So it seems like they made the feature official.

Actually, Sprint's FAQ actually directly describes that all BlackBerry Power Pack users will be able to enjoy Phone-As-Modem included as part of the unlimited data plan. So it seems like they made the feature official.

Good to hear that they put that in. No need for a cable modem anymore ^