bringing a laptop to China
#31
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If you are only a short-timer in that apartment, then a USB modem is probably the way to go. Any city of any decent size will have at least one big electronics market where piles of vendors will have shops. Take a Chinese friend or colleague along, bonus points if same is a techie. I don't know what these things cost.
#32
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SIN / SFO
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I'm guessing the USB modem is what I'm looking for? From the chinese page are you able to tell me the approximate costs? I would imagine I would need a pre-paid as i have no residency status in China.
I would usually surf for about an hour a day for email, airline info and the news (just text news, no video or voice content).
I would usually surf for about an hour a day for email, airline info and the news (just text news, no video or voice content).
The plans are as follows (prices are per month):
- CNY 80 for 1GB
- CNY 150 for 3GB
- CNY 200 for 5GB
- CNY 300 for 10GB
All the plans are listed at http://3g.10010.com/3gindex/card_money.html.
If you're only doing e-mail and text-based news, 3GB should be plenty. You can pay by charging your account with prepaid cards, or 充值卡 (chōngzhíkǎ).
Your other option is to get an unlocked 3G phone that supports tethering, such as the HTC Desire, and just use that with a China Unicom SIM. That way, you only have to carry around one device. You can get plans that range from CNY 66 a month for 50 minutes of voice calls, 240 SMS, and 300MB of data to CNY 886 a month for 3000 minutes of voice calls, unlimited SMS, and 3GB of data. All these plans are listed on http://3g.10010.com/3gindex/money928.html.
I'm not sure where in China you'll be staying or how you're arriving, but I know that there is a China Unicom shop in T3 at PEK that sometimes has English-speaking staff who should be able to help you get set up. If you're not at an airport location, though, try to bring along a Mandarin speaker or you'll be spending the better part of the day trying to get things set up. Just as a note, if you do things at an official China Unicom store rather than buying from a random vendor, you'll have to show your passport or residence permit and let them photocopy it.
Hope this information helps!
Edit: One word of warning that I just thought of is that the software/drivers for using the card will almost certainly be in Chinese only, and may require you to set your computer to Chinese language to use (because Chinese software rarely seems to use Unicode, all the text in the software will appear as mojibake/garbage characters if the system language is set to something other than Chinese Simplified [PRC]). If this will be an issue for you, you may want to either go the tethering route or buy an unlocked USB modem with English drivers and bring it with you.
Last edited by Scifience; Aug 5, 2010 at 3:46 am
#33
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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While I've never shopped for phones there I find just the 元 character is fine for recognizing prices. What else besides a price would be expressed in yuan in a store?? It's also easy to remember--it's pi with a line over it.
#35
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: DL SM
Posts: 178
Power Plugs
I have blown a power supply (luckily with no computer damage) using a two-prong plug in Asia, apparently due to some grounding problem. Except for dire emergencies, I would always use a three-prong plug. The standard Chinese three-prong has three flat prongs, with two being angled to one another. Get one before you leave!
#36
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Location: Shanghai
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I have blown a power supply (luckily with no computer damage) using a two-prong plug in Asia, apparently due to some grounding problem. Except for dire emergencies, I would always use a three-prong plug. The standard Chinese three-prong has three flat prongs, with two being angled to one another. Get one before you leave!
#38
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Silicon Valley
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There's just ONE THING to be careful about in China. Nearly EVERYTHING you get in the form of DVDs, CDs, memory sticks, etc, will be FULL of viruses. I bought several low-end camera devices (a little camera hidden in a pen, and one in a "car remote") a few months back in Beijing, and when I plugged them into my computer, it tried to run an "autorun" that would have installed all sorts of nasty things.
Good think I try these things out in a scratch virtual machine that I can delete and re-copy from a read only device....
Good think I try these things out in a scratch virtual machine that I can delete and re-copy from a read only device....
#39
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Original Poster
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FWIW, I have never experienced a similar problem (and spend quite a bit of time on my computer wherever I am). I actually only bring 2-prong adapters to China, when possible, because they can be used in almost all outlets/power strips. Naturally, I make sure that they are rated for 220v, but most laptop/phone adapters are 110-220 these days.
Also, I was a bit surprised that wired access was much more common than wireless in Chinese hotels (both Western-run and Chinese-managed). They always had a cord available, though. But maybe it would also be a good idea to bring one if you have one.
#40
Ambassador: Peru
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I brought a netbook, everything was fine. Yes bring a plug adapter.
Wireless is a bit stricted at hotels, but if you ask at front desk, everything goes fine. Well I was at 4* hotels.
Wireless is a bit stricted at hotels, but if you ask at front desk, everything goes fine. Well I was at 4* hotels.
#41
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,530
skype in China
On a related note, I'll be going to Beijing for the first time in the next month or so. Will I have free access to skype whilst I'm there? Keeping in touch with my wife and especially my little daughter will be rather important to me.
thanks,
tb
thanks,
tb
#42
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Location: Shanghai
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Skype works fine on reasonably fast connections.
#43
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast USA
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Posts: 6,710
Make sure before you head for China, that the regular Skype program is downloaded onto the hard drive of your machine. The key program is the skype.exe file. Once in Beijing, access the internet connection, then from the Run menu, browse your drive until you get that skype.exe file up, and run it so it opens. Check the Skype menu on your desktop to make sure you are online, and then use as you normally do.
If you are not bringing your own laptop, you'll have to deal with the Chinese version. In which case, whatever you are discussing, assume Big Brother has Big Ears.
#44
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http://www.filecluster.com/downloads/Skype.html
If not, since the file size is less than 25 MB, anyone with a gmail account could chop of the .exe and email it.
#45
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SIN / SFO
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So here's what you do to avoid the website access issue, assuming you bring your own laptop:
Make sure before you head for China, that the regular Skype program is downloaded onto the hard drive of your machine. The key program is the skype.exe file. Once in Beijing, access the internet connection, then from the Run menu, browse your drive until you get that skype.exe file up, and run it so it opens. Check the Skype menu on your desktop to make sure you are online, and then use as you normally do.
Make sure before you head for China, that the regular Skype program is downloaded onto the hard drive of your machine. The key program is the skype.exe file. Once in Beijing, access the internet connection, then from the Run menu, browse your drive until you get that skype.exe file up, and run it so it opens. Check the Skype menu on your desktop to make sure you are online, and then use as you normally do.
In any case, if for whatever reason you do find yourself having to use the Tom.com version (perhaps because you don't have your own computer with you), it really isn't that big of a deal. It's no less secure than making a regular telephone call or sending an unencrypted e-mail from China. The vast majority of people use Skype because they want to call people back home for free, not because they're paranoid about government spies and need foolproof encryption. Trust me, the Chinese authorities really don't care what you talk about with your brother or your girlfriend on Skype...