I want internet access at my place in the country. Does anyone here use a AT&T g3 or edge access card?
I used to use my 3G phone as a modem to my laptop at my buddies lake house, worked good, even with 2 bars signal. Was pretty fast. (faster than dial up)
I used one for about a year and was extremely happy with it. Mine was in my laptop that has a wireless LAN. Through it, I was able to share it on our home network.
I did get an external RV antenna for mine, which I used at home because we have very low cellular signals.
It is not as fast as DSL, but it runs circles around dial-up.
Ken
I have a verizon USB modem. Download speed is good...not as good as cable or DSL but close. Upload speed on big files such as photos and video is lacking a little but still way better than dial up. My only alternative is satellite after comparing pricing and performance I went with the G3 card...equipment for the sattelite was the deal breaker for me and the portability of the wireless card is a bonus too.
Keep in mind G4 is already in service in some cities but I think Sprint is the only provider offering it. My brother has a G3 Sprint card and is happy with it. Sprint is offering a G3/G4 hybrid card that may be worth looking into.
I've got the AT&T card. I got an adapter to plug it into my desktop computer at home and use it in the laptop when I travel. It is dog-slow at home, only slightly better than dial-up. On the road, it really depends on where I am. For instance, in the Atlanta airport, it is sort of fast. In the Memphis airport is screams.
Before you invest in one, you really need to try it out where you want to use it. It could be great or it may not work at all.
I use my Verizon Phone, the Samsung Omnia. I downloaded a program called PDAnet. It allows you to use the broadband access your phone has through your computer without having to pay the crazy fees Verizon wants to charge you for a USB modem or other similar broadband set up.
The link is:
http://www.junefabrics.com/pdanet/index.phpThe program can run on almost all service providers, just needs a Windows based PDA...
I love it! The cost is a one time $34 bucks and you get a one week trial period to see if you like it. The download speed is the same as normal broadband...
Wow this is a timely discussion. JWHAP is looking into various cellphone internet connections. When we are up at the ranch we don't have access to the internet or email. JWHAP and her dad email everyday, which they both very much enjoy, so we have been looking into alternatives. We were leaning toward the AT&T because it is one of the few cell phone services that has reception at our property. The have a 30 day trial in which in can return it if it doesn't work. JWHAP is gonna look into the system you suggested as well CJ.
Timely, discussion as I just went through this for my job. When you are talking to the salesperson at the desk. If you know the address (which you will), you can check out their corporate network coverage which they will pull up on their computer monitor off their internal network. It will show you exactly where the signals are and what strength they will be received at. This is not to be confused with the pamphlet they give you, this is a very detailed, internal, online coverage map of the specific area you are asking for.
I found AT&T had good basic coverage but their speed was lacking immensly for my applications (email should be fine). Verizon was better but slower and if you didn't have good coverage, it would drop you. Sprint, for me, offered the best coverage at the fastest speeds.
Just my pennies worth...