Mobile internet: Motoring Computer Related forum

Computer Related > Mobile internet
Thread Author: Mapmaker	Replies: 12

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Fri 23 Apr 10 14:29

Mobile internet - Mapmaker

Bobby wrote
>>Its small enough that I can take it in the car, I have unlimited web on my mobile phone
>>so I can sit at my son's football training and surf the web through the inbuilt bluetooth
>>modem. Could also do that at home I suppose but I have wireless internet in the house.

Is using a mobile phone like this the same as using a mobile bluetooth dongle?

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Fri 23 Apr 10 17:29

Mobile internet - R.P.

02 specifically point out that "tethering" the phone to the computer to use it as a modem costs loads of money, but you can use a Blacberry as a modem.

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Mon 26 Apr 10 16:15

Mobile internet - Mapmaker

Obviously the cost is a function of your mobile phone contract. But... how do the speeds compare? Is it practical to use a mobile phone as a modem?

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Mon 26 Apr 10 16:21

Mobile internet - R.P.

My AmazonKindle works the internet across the (free) mobile signal it picks up - fast enough for most things - News, Wicki etc.

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Mon 26 Apr 10 21:41

Mobile internet - Manatee

Mapmaker,

Bluetooth is (or was, these things move on) about 700Kbits/s.

As regards the cellular connection itself - I have an O2 broadband dongle which depending on what is available will make a GPRS (60Kbits/s), EDGE (about 400Kbits/s) or HSDPA (3.6Mbits/s) connection. These are the connection speeds, not download speeds. GPRS I would describe as similar to 56Kbit dial up. HSDPA usually gives me download speeds of 500-800Kbits. EDGE is noticeably faster than GPRS, but still slow. Even if you have a full 3G phone the bluetooth may limit the speed. I don't usually get a full 3G/HSDPA connection in the boondocks.

Given that you can buy a PAYG broadband dongle for £20, and you can buy 30 days/3GB of download allowance for £15, it might be a better option to use one of those rather than your phone, unless you want to use the phone directly for browsing or your contract data charges are lower.

An iPhone would be neat, but still too expensive for me - I don't like contracts!

It that any help?

Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 26 Apr 10 at 21:42

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Mon 26 Apr 10 23:29

Mobile internet - rtj70

And another option is a personal wifi hotpot (called mifi by companies now). I have one and it works well.

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Tue 27 Apr 10 00:02

Mobile internet - Manatee

>> And another option is a personal wifi hotpot

Very popular in Lancashire I believe.

Looks good

goo.gl/FnYh

and at £15 for 3GB/30 days on 3 the same data cost as a PAYG dongle. Just means paying £49.99 for the mifi instead of £19.99 for a dongle, but that's a one off charge anyway.

goo.gl/OnI8

Last edited by: Manatee on Tue 27 Apr 10 at 00:06

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Tue 27 Apr 10 00:29

Mobile internet - rtj70

On 3 I got mine with 3GB date allowance that lasted 3 months (still over 2.3GB left). But I will then unlock it to use a Vodafone SIM because the data allowance is not time limited. The advantage of course with a 'mifi' is I can use with the iPod etc. In fact upto 5 devices can use it at the same time.

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Wed 28 Apr 10 15:45

Mobile internet - Fursty Ferret

Do you have a phone on contract? My Android phone from T-Mobile comes with 3GB of data included in the contract. A bit of software turns the phone into a wireless hotspot and you're away.

I have a vague feeling that T-Mobile aren't keen on the tethering idea, but since they can't tell the difference between data from the phone and the PC, they can't strop about it.

Since we lost our broadband I've ploughed through nearly 2GB this month.

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Wed 28 Apr 10 15:53

Mobile internet - rtj70

Symbian phones I know can be turned into mobile hotspots using the Wifi to connect clients and the data connection to access the Internet.

My main phone is using a company provided SIM - and they do not allow data. Those that need data get a data card. But we all have access to WiFi hotspots globally via the iPass network. So for work I have data when I need it.

The MiFi is handy - it will be tested in Greece soon.

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Wed 28 Apr 10 17:14

Mobile internet - Bellboy

The MiFi is handy - it will be tested in Greece soon.
>>
>>>>>axle?

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Wed 28 Apr 10 18:11

Mobile internet - rtj70

MiFi is a term adopted for personal wifi hotspots. I've got one of these to use:

www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=192816

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Wed 28 Apr 10 21:56

Mobile internet - smokie

One of these might be of use to WiFi users tinyurl.com/3yxghtu

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