Wireless Internet Services

My g'friend has a Dell i9300 with the PC Card from Sprint that allows her internet access anywhere (like a cell phone). The speed is good enough for web surfing and such. Have yet to ping a game server with it.

My Xps140 is equipped with an ExpressCard slot. Anyone find a wireless internet service that sells expresscard adapters?

 

Not yet as there isn't quiet a critical mass of laptops equiped with that device. But they will be rolling out in the next 6-9 months. I would go with Verizon's EVDO technology - it's more robust and provides superior connection in terms of speed and performance over ATT's EDGE.

 

He has Sprint, EVDO with Sprint or Verizon is basically the same with Sprint having a larger coverage area. As of now your Sprint EVDO card is REV 0 and you will ping from 150-300 usually if you have a good signal. Sprint announced at CITA of expanding network coverage and rolling out REV A EVDO in the first quarter of 07. Rev A cards should be out late fall. Pings on Rev A will be lower and as low as 50ms with most ranging 50-120 range per Sprint. Check out more on evdoforums.com

As for an express card Novatel has released samples of thier 620 Merlin card in express format but I believe it is Rev 0. It is not available or sold through either Sprint or Verizon atm and really even if it was why upgrade unless you have to when you can get a Rev A card later this year.

As far as usb dongles they are not out yet but again thier has been one announced by Sprint but it is not really a dongle as much as the card itself. Thier was also an EVDO to wifi router announce but it will not be out til the second half of the year. I would love one too.

As far as cellular internet service goes right now Cingular's HSDPA service is top tier but only available in 11 markets so suffice to say it will only work for a very limited number of people and the service is not expanding rapidly. Don't confuse HSDPA with the EDGE service though since it has terrible latency and much lower speeds (70k-150k) roughly. It is comparable to Sprint and Verizon's 1xRTT service in areas where EVDO is not enabled yet.

 

very informative reply, thanks. wish I knew what the acronyms meant HAHA, no biggie tho.

I'm sure once expresscard catches on as industry standard, I'll see one. Maybe by then these wireless internet providers will have their pings hitting levels capable of challenging the higher bandwidth abilities of the expresscard.

Wish Dell would have offered both expresscard and pcmcia (known as 'people can't memorize computer industry acronyms') in their laptops untill expresscard caught on.

 

I know the feeling on acronyms but truthfully there is no need to memorize what they all mean as long as you know EVDO and HSDPA are broadband speeds while 1xRTT, EDGE and most connections via cellular are isdn speeds with very high latency. I learned so much about them because cellular service is my only option other than dial up or satellite. EVDO really is a wonderful service though and will be even better when vast majority of the network is converted and even more so when the lower latency ReV A hits the market.

 

Hi,

what is this "latency" u folks are talkin' about??

I noticed this thread is 6 months old. Any new updates on the state of wireless ISPs thru' cell phone compmanies in the states?? I live in Dallas and want an alternative to my tethered cable connection at home.

 

Arevee,
Simply put, Lower latency = faster surfing. As far as the state of wireless in the US, the 2 leaders are Verizon and Sprint. Verizon started first, and had the lead but Sprint has since passed them and now are way ahead. For a great comparison see http://moremobileinternet.com/sprint-vs-verizon