cingular "aircards"
 

cingular is advertising option gtmax, sierra 860 etc for laptops.
does anyone have any experience with them or opinions and are they a good option for traveling from US to europe when needing internet access when no wifi or other connection avail... any idea as to costs for service etc. thanks

still struggling with way to connect this summer.. also thinking of blackberry,,, but would prefer to use laptop....

I have cell/data service (Treo) through Cingular and an aircard through Verizon. They (aircards) are great for places where you're unsure of the WiFi situation. Also, I'd rather pay $80/month and have service everywhere than have to hit-and-miss at $40/month on T-Mobile or pay $10/day to random providers.

I imagine that the Cingular cards work about the same as Verizon cards do (besides the fact that Cingular is GSM/Edge and Verizon is CDMA/EVDO). But I think the rub you'll run into is the data roaming rates in Europe. You may buy an unlimited data package here in the US...but you'll pay through the nose for data roaming in Europe. You'd probably be better off looking into data plans/coverage from European cell companies rather than Cingular. Try Googling for Vodaphone and Orange.

I have a Global 3G card from Cingular, it blows away Verizon in markets that are 3G, in other markets it just falls back. I love the thing, I get decent DSL speed in most major markets. GO FOR IT!

-Vincent

"Blows it away"? That's hilarious. First of all, Cingular hasn't turned on the UMTS/HSDPA system anywhere but a handful of markets yet, while both Verizon and Sprint have got EVDO in most major cities (and Sprint is getting set to roll out Rev. A). Second of all, HSDPA speeds are claimed to be 400-700kbps down (according to the Cingular website)...EVDO (Rev. 0) is also claimed at 400-700 down (again, according to Verizon's website). I regularly get 1.2Mbps here in Memphis with Verizon. If you "fall back" to EDGE speeds (as you're likely to, since Cingular doesn't have much 3G coverage yet) you're going to get maybe 100kbps tops.

It's my understanding that the actual improvement in the UMTS/HSDPA system is upload speed, not download. Which is great if you're trying to stream video from your laptop or use VoIP...none of which the OP specified.

What's more, our experiences here in the US are essentially irrelevant. The OP will be attempting to utilize this service in Europe. He/she needs to check with the European providers.

Which is why the poster said "it blows away Verizon in markets that are 3G,"...

Here is a report from someone with actual experience with the service:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...34&postcount=3

UMTS-HSPDA is available in the follwing Markets:

Arizona—Phoenix

California—San Diego

California—San Francisco and San Jose

District of Columbia and Baltimore

Illinois—Chicago

Massachusetts—Boston

Nevada—Las Vegas

Oregon—Portland

Texas—Austin

Texas—Dallas

Texas—Houston

Utah—Salt Lake City

Washington—Seattle and Tacoma


I haved used it in those I bolded. NYC is actially the next market to get turned on, and Washington DC is unoffical - actually you will find some markets are unoffical HSPDA/UMTA Markets.

HSPDA is a leap ahead of VZW and Sprint, they are just careful to not over set expectation so that they don't disappoint.

-Vincent

Which proves my point nicely. He (the poster in the thread you quoted) gets "1100kbps" down on a speed test. As I posted, I regularly get 1.2Mpbs (1200kbps) here in Memphis on Verizon's EVDO network. The companies involved are quoting exactly the same speeds, 400-700kbps. As another poster in the thread you quoted mentioned, that's the speed (roughly 400kbps) he gets in Cingular's HSDPA system in DC. And once again...coverage matters. Sprint and Verizon have significantly better coverage with their EVDO networks. Right now Cingular has rolled HSDPA out to about 12 markets. As I wrote in my initial post...I have service from both companies (Cingular cell service first). If Cingular was a viable option I'd have gone with them, but Verizon's coverage was so much better in all of the cities I travel to (not just Memphis, where HSDPA is not yet deployed) that it wasn't even worth considering. Why would anyone buy service that they can't use because they're not in the markets where it exists? So far, all of the reports I've seen regarding actual speeds experienced (HSDPA vs. EVDO) are a draw...go read up on Broadband Reports if you don't believe me.

Please read that thread you posted. The aircard he mentioned doesn't work in Europe because the Euros are on a different frequency. Which for the sake of this thread renders the entire discussion moot. The OP here is looking for a card/service he can use in Europe this Summer. He/she needs to contact the European providers to see what the offer.

There is an Aircard that has all Global Frequencies available from Cingular.

I only pay 59.99 (79.99-25%) for my Unlimited 3G Data Card Plan. - No complaints from me, I don't know what you're doing online on the go, but for me its never more than email and web brosing for which either service is fine. I have used LimeWire - with very very decent result on Cingular.

I don't know it seems you're getting so argumentative, I'm just offering my view point from my expereince. Simmer down.

-Vincent

I appreciate all your responses but dont want to cause any problems.
To be clear i live in NY and I travel to Europe and Argentina, I dont seem to have problems in B's As with Wifi and Broadband connections but in Italy especially I spend time in an area with no hard line phones nor any cable or Wifi, I am trying to use my laptop or if necessary change my mobile phone (Cingular) for a blackberry with internationally service (cingular has it) Cingular is now selling aircards for laptop Sierra 860 and Option gtmax (plus another one) and they say that they are good internationally. I tried calling Cingular but of course the people I speak to do not seem to know anything about them or the service plans and whether there are roaming charges. Or do I have to sign up with vodaphone or timm.

In any event since I am totally confused I appreciate any help...thanks

The URL listed below will shoot you out to a page for Cingular's International Data program:
http://www.cingular.com/international/abroad_data
There are a couple of numbers listed towards the bottom, look for the one listed as "International Wireless Care". I suspect they may be able to answer your questions. Keep in mind though that UMTS/HSDPA is extremely new for Cingular. I'd be willing to wager you could walk into a lot of corporate store locations and they wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about. Have patience, be clear about what your questions are and don't be afraid to ask for a manager if necessary. Sooner or later you'll get to someone that knows what you're talking about.

PS- you may have better luck with your question at a technically-specific site like Howardforums.com

The best top of the line 3G Data Card is this one http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/cel...23&WT.svl=mod2

It's Triband UMTS/HSPDA and Quadband EDGE - it will work everywhere in the world data signal is available.

Read more about it here http://forums.cingular.com/cng/board...essage.id=2700

BTW this card supports the newest speeds of 3.6Mbps from HSPDA.

-Vincent

After I switched all of our cell phone service to Cingular, I found that the availability of high speed data markets was so poor I cancelled the data card and went back to verizon for the data. High speed specs don't do crap if there is no high speed service in most markets.