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    Connect to Internet by Cell Phone

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by luxuguy, Apr 25, 2005.

  1. luxuguy

    luxuguy Notebook Guru

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    I have a Dell 600m. My fone has bluetooth. If I buy the USB bluetooth for the laptop, can I connect to interent via my cellfone ?
    I don't have a fone line at home --> no dial up or dsl either ... also no cable ... cellfone is the last hope. I need it in case I want interent and starbuck is closed ...
    Thanks ...

    ... Forever is never ...
     
  2. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    you can connect via cel phone, but bluetooth is not an broadband technology; it merely connects devices to each other. if your cel phone has the ability to act like a modem and you have some sort of internet connectivity plan with your cel phone provider, than yes, you can do it... however, it's unbearably slow and unreliable. i used to use my phone to surf during class and it would never last longer than a couple minutes before crashing. as well, it willl probably come off your minutes so unless you're only surfing for a couple mins a day, you're gonna pay overcharges

    basically, don't bother, it's not worth it.
     
  3. Andrew Baxter

    Andrew Baxter -

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    as drumfu says, to use your cell phone to connect to the internet you'll need a dataplan from your cell phone provider (such as T-Mobile, Cingular, Sprint...) and that costs a monthly amount and then the Bluetooth connection between your cellphone and laptop has to be stable. In my experience this use of Bluetooth has been okay for downloading a few smaller emails or using IM, but a terrible experience for browsing the web.

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    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 2, 2015
  4. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    get a phoneline? you probably would have spent that much on a dataplan anyways.
     
  5. luxuguy

    luxuguy Notebook Guru

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    if so ... is there any suggestion for my situation ? (my cellfone is the only way of connection whem I'm home)

    ... Forever is never ...
     
  6. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Depending on who your phone company is, you may be able to get broadband without phone service. I know Qwest offers this and other phone companies like Verizon are working towards it. I have dsl without phone service from my local company. Good Luck.






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  7. d-roC

    d-roC Notebook Guru

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    Actually, depending on where you are, with an EDGE phone and data plan, you could make out well with broadband speeds. I have Cingular and an the unlimited data for $20/month and between my palm and occasional connections via my desktop when not in a hotspot, it works great for everything but streaming media.

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  8. luxuguy

    luxuguy Notebook Guru

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    a ha ... thanks d-roc ... would you please tell me more how u get the connection b/w ur fone and ur latop? is it through bluetooth?

    ... Forever is never ...
     
  9. Conscript

    Conscript Notebook Geek

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    Actually all these people are wrong.

    You have two choices for connecting anywhere.

    If you're willing to spend a little money Verizon Wireless offers Wireless Broadband service at up to 768kbps (basically DSL speed). It costs $79.99 a month for unlimited, cheaper if you accept bandwidth limits.

    T-Mobile has a cheaper solution, for $29.99, you can get unlimited internet access although it is 56k on their GSM network nationwide.

    Both services use a PCMCIA card that you slide into your laptop in order to connect and both require a contract for at least 1 year.

    So while you are using cellular technology to connect to the internet, you aren't using your cell phone per se or your minutes, just a PCMCIA card you slide into your laptop.
     
  10. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    the wireless broadband cxn's are flaky. a friend of mine has one of those cards issued from work. they only work in hotspots which are not ubiquitous. he took it with him on a business trip to SF and there was no signal in the entire city (as an example). when there is no hotspot, it connects at normal cel phone speed which is about 19.2
     
  11. Brian

    Brian Working at 486 Speed NBR Reviewer

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    Some aircards are better than others. I have a T-Mo card and it's pretty damned slow, but works in a pinch. I'd much prefer the Verizon service, which has great coverage and is very fast, but the cost is 3 times more for unlimmited data.

    Brian

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  12. luxuguy

    luxuguy Notebook Guru

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    First of all, I want to thank all of you guys. You are very kind to help me solve my problem.
    To HeartofGod: I'm sorry for dissapointing you. My fault is that I made u guys confused w/ the situation.

    Let me explain my situation. The reason I wanna use my cell to connect is that I can ask my company to pay for a data plan. I didn't say that I couldn't afford a phoneline at home. I just don't wanna have it because I'm rarely at home, and that when I'm at home, I just wanna check mails and stuff, so a highspeed one is not neccessary. I would pay for it when I really need it, but now, I can have my company pay for it ..., why wouldn't I ask for ? ...[ :D]

    I haven't decided yet. I'm still thinking about the suggestions that you guys offered. ( and still there are some that I would like to understand carefully, that's y I keep asking ... ). Just consider this toopic as a technical discussion ...

    Again, thanks all of u for ur helpful responses.
    This topic has not ended yet. And I'm welcome everyone to discuss ... ( unless ur Admin doesn't want to ... lol ) ...

    ... Forever is never ...
     
  13. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    just to clarify...

    my friend that complains about his broadband wifi has the 80/month verizon one. of course, he only complains about the cxn since the company foots the bill.