Wireless "broadband" notebook cards & service?
Nov 25, 2007, 4:58 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: MCI
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Posts: 34
Wireless "broadband" notebook cards & service?
I find myself frequently wanting more power than my iPhone or my Sprint Blackberry 8830 World Edition provides. When I picked up the 8830, I had grand plans of tethering it to use in a "phone as modem" setup, but never found it very effective.
I carry a lightweight Sony VAIO and think more and more about traveling with a "broadband" card of some sort, but wonder what success or failures others are having. I certainly see lots of travelers in airports and in lounges with them, but am curious what the hardcore travelers amoung FT use.
A big plus would be some international usability.
What card, what service, where does it work/not, and are you happy with it?
Thanks!
I carry a lightweight Sony VAIO and think more and more about traveling with a "broadband" card of some sort, but wonder what success or failures others are having. I certainly see lots of travelers in airports and in lounges with them, but am curious what the hardcore travelers amoung FT use.
A big plus would be some international usability.
What card, what service, where does it work/not, and are you happy with it?
Thanks!
Nov 25, 2007, 5:30 pm
#2
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY Metro Area
Programs: AA 2MM Yay!, UA MM, Costco General Member
Posts: 49,025
I find myself frequently wanting more power than my iPhone or my Sprint Blackberry 8830 World Edition provides. When I picked up the 8830, I had grand plans of tethering it to use in a "phone as modem" setup, but never found it very effective.
I carry a lightweight Sony VAIO and think more and more about traveling with a "broadband" card of some sort, but wonder what success or failures others are having. I certainly see lots of travelers in airports and in lounges with them, but am curious what the hardcore travelers amoung FT use.
A big plus would be some international usability.
What card, what service, where does it work/not, and are you happy with it?
Thanks!
I carry a lightweight Sony VAIO and think more and more about traveling with a "broadband" card of some sort, but wonder what success or failures others are having. I certainly see lots of travelers in airports and in lounges with them, but am curious what the hardcore travelers amoung FT use.
A big plus would be some international usability.
What card, what service, where does it work/not, and are you happy with it?
Thanks!
Nov 25, 2007, 6:13 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,246
There are two main players in the USA...Verizon and Sprint. Both use nearly the same technology called EVDO. Neither of these cards have much for international roaming options.
- Both cards are generally $59.99/mo.
- Sprint has a larger EVDO coverage area although both carriers are likely to serve the areas you frequent. Definitely do a comparison if you travel in any non-major city.
- Verizon limits their "unlimited" plan to 5gb month. Sprint imposes no such limit (I have found no reference to anyone canceled by Sprint for overuse).
- Sprint is in the process of deploying Xohm. Although it is unclear if they will meet the deployment projections they claim, being in a position to upgrade to Xohm (or even Xohm/EVDO cards) may be wise.
- Comparing EVDO to WIFI is pretty much impossible to do. Even the old 802.11b standard is 11mbps. Even that speed is MUCH faster than almost everyone's internet connection. If it isn't obvious, the speed of internet via wifi is dependent on the internet connection's speed.
- I find that these EVDO cards provide a similar experience to the slowest broadband connections. Rev0 has much slower response times than the newer RevA. I'm MUCH more happy with RevA than I was with Rev0.
- I would check out www.celltradeusa.com. You'll be able to take over someone's contract so you won't be locked in to a full two years. I highly recommend that site. Although equipment is less of an issue, make sure you get equipment that meets your needs (and I'd recommend making sure it is RevA compatible.)
Nov 25, 2007, 10:38 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Northwest Georgia
Programs: Delta, Hilton, ICH, Hertz
Posts: 302
I use AT&T's (Cingular) HSPDA service and have generally been satisfied with it. It works outside of the US (at least in Ireland and Germany), but roaming charges can be a killer (unless you can expense them). There are international plans available, but I can't justify the extra monthly costs for my once or twice a year international trips. I pay 49.99 a month plus all the taxes and other junk that gets tacked on.
Nov 25, 2007, 10:50 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUS/PDX
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Posts: 5,798
I use a Verizon Express Card. It's been great, though I'm not sure how it works internationally. I did use it near the Canadian border (less than a mile away) and got dinged for quite a bit of "international roaming." It wasn't cheap either.
This is a good website to check out. The people in the forums have always been super helpful. http://www.evdoinfo.com/
If you're going to move large amounts of data a month, Sprint is the way to go. Verizon's "unlimited" service is capped at ~10 gigs a month.
This is a good website to check out. The people in the forums have always been super helpful. http://www.evdoinfo.com/
If you're going to move large amounts of data a month, Sprint is the way to go. Verizon's "unlimited" service is capped at ~10 gigs a month.
Nov 26, 2007, 10:12 am
#7
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,686
If you're not an immense user of it, you might just want to buy a SIM based card like the Novatel Wireless cards that do GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA and slip your iPhone SIM card into it.
I do that instead of tethering to my phone (which only does EDGE anyways) and it works perfectly.
If you use it more frequently, I suppose if you have AT*T line sharing for your account, and you acquired a basic phone for $9/month additional (shared minutes) and then the $9.99 unlimited data for "dumb" phones...well...that would give you the same results at about half the cost of buying a data card with service.
Steve
I do that instead of tethering to my phone (which only does EDGE anyways) and it works perfectly.
If you use it more frequently, I suppose if you have AT*T line sharing for your account, and you acquired a basic phone for $9/month additional (shared minutes) and then the $9.99 unlimited data for "dumb" phones...well...that would give you the same results at about half the cost of buying a data card with service.
Steve