Is mobile broadband....

Well my 1520 will be here on monday and I was wondering if mobile broadband for it would be worth it? Which company has better speeds and what are the limits on what you can do while using it, if there are any. (Like i know some charge per kb after a certain amount and some have unlimited)

 

if you want cell phone info I would check the howardforums

 

Mobile Broadband isn't about cell phones, its a integrated Wireless internet card, or can be used in your express card slot to access the internet without a wifi spot or wireless router.

To answer your question, I've been hearing some good things about sprint and their speeds pretty fast and acceptable.

 

Sprint all the way
i sell both sprint a verizons, and sprints CDMA network is superior to verizons.
not to mention verizon has a 5gb/month which is BS lol.

 

It depends on your work usage. You might be better off tethering (as long as you don't get caught or you have a Phone-as-Modem (PAM) plan).

Right now, the best network for high speed internet is Verizon and Sprint. They both have EVDO Revision A deployed to a ton of cities. Cingular's HSPDA is faster, but you can barely find it ANYWHERE (they just deployed it @ the beginning of this year or at the end of last year).

All service providers have their own plans. Dell has a nice listing of what you can get for what price...

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...o_products?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~section=005

You can also get other pricing through other ways. For example, Sprint has a SERO Data plan for $49 (unlimited) with a 2 year contract.

Also, please note that there are quirks for each provider. For example, Verizon drops you if you pass the 5 GB "invisible" barrier (they don't mention this anywhere, but if you visit other forums, they will tell you about this). Sprint drops you if you call their customer service center too much (recent news -- they dropped 1000 customers for excessive calls to the center). AT&T has a limited coverage area with HSPDA and i'm sure their EDGE network is being taxed with the millions of iPhones out there. Of course, if you only do browsing/email, it might fit your need.

Hope that helps.

 

Please don't double post, keep it to one thread.

 

Blahdude84, thanks for the information! I was thinking about sprint because I heard they are the best on speed and signal, but most of all I get a eployee discount through them. Does anybody know if there are any limits? Has anybody been able to play games or download files good on any of them?

 

I've tethered using my PDA phone (I have a Sprint SERO plan -- 500 min with unlimited txt/data and insurance + corp discount for $31 including taxes and fees).

... and I haven't encountered any limits (I've surfed/downloaded/etc) but I just do simple business (not hardcore downloading and stuff). No one has complained anything about it either, so it seems to be good.

 

Same here, tethering and sero are the only way to go. $30 a month unlimited evdo.

 

Well see, my current mobile provider is tmobile. So i was trying to find a provider just for the mobile broadband as of right now.

 

Well... it might be cheaper to switch to Sprint or get a separate Sprint service and switch later. Just look around the forums like sprintusers.com and see what the latest deals are.

 

mobile broadband has everything to do with cell phones

 

Currently i would recommend the AT&T Mobile broadband card. You cannot beleive the Sprint commercials they are entierly missleading. They clearly state AT&T's EDGE. And yes I hope their Mobile broad band is faster than our EDGE because our EDGE is 2.5G which stands for 2nd and a half generation where as their sprint mobile broad band is their 3rd generation. however the AT&T HSDPA which is what sprint and verizon are afraid of is 3.6mbps currently and will top out with in 6 months at 8mbps. I know this for a fact i work for AT&T and i have worked for sprint and verizon and nextel. So dont be fooled when you see that or anyother sprint commercial. HOWEVER, in 1-2 years time verizon will be releaseing UMB (ULTRA MOBILE BROADBAND) which has theoretical speeds of 250 mbps which is sickening. But by that time we might have wimax out and no need for that. ALSO rates for internet at AT&T are as follows
non voice customers
Unlimited internet Laptop access 69.99
current voice customers
Unlimited internet Laptop access 59.99
or if your smart you get urself a blackjack or N75 and get our unlimited data plan
39.99 on the blackjack
19.99 on N75
and take ur sim card out and use that........YES IT WORKS I PROMISE U
I do not meed to offend anyone who works for or has sprint but their completely missleading people and it agrivates me. If anyone has any questions or needs help in the Philadelphia area feel free to PM me any time.

 

HSDPA isn't deployed that well yet though... Once HSDPA is deployed in more areas, I would definitely think about switching over to AT&T (cause of the SIM card and the fact that its globally supported). I recommend Sprint for now... and if you want something cheap ....

... like the Sprint SERO Data Plan ($49).

 

So it really looks like sprint is what to use

 

its your choice! Look at the pro's and con's for each service... and make your decision.

 

yes seriously it comes down to what works better for you. Like i said though if you are lookin for price you can get urself a 3g phone and the unlimited internet plan for the phone for 19.99 and put that in ur laptop and it will work. I have done it and tested it

 

Yep... if you get SERO... its $0 additional to the phone plan ($30 phone plan) .

 

Is that a card or internal antenna? Ive never really knew anything about this kind of stuff, so im a noob when it comes to mobile broadband

 

well there is three ways of doin it. you can get the built in one from dell, get a 3g phone ie. izar V3xx, LG TRAX or get one of out pci express cards also we have a usb 3g modem. How ever i recommend you get a phone and go the route with gettin and unlimited plan for the phone then get ur self the modem off ebay or somthin so (AT&T) dont know u have it

 

its sometimes an inconvenience if you tether through a phone... for example, sometimes i'm on a packed train and there's no room to hook up my PPC-6700 to my laptop for web surfing... and its also a hassle to pack when i realize i'm @ my destination...

 

This is true but with our phones u can use them bluetooth so u would not need any wires or have anything protruding from your computer extending its size. for example my v3xx can be in my pocket and i can pick up my laptop and click connect and boom 3.6 mbps dl speeds with burst up to 6 mbps and it didnt leave my pocket

 

bluetooth... is battery taxing... i don't know about your phone, but mine doesn't last more than two days with min. usage. I also don't have bluetooth installed on my laptop (hence the USB cable) :-(

 

So if I open an account, is the pci card just as good? Does anybody know any they would recommend for sprint?

 

That commercial is somewhat misleading in that it compares sprints evdo speeds solely to at&ts egde which isnt a fair comparison. But the fact still remains that the majority of the network doesnt have hsdpa yet while sprint and verizon can get evdo to more people.

If hsdpa is available in his area then at&t is a very good option if for nothing more than the fact that you can just yank a sim from your phone drop it in the notebook and your good to go.

My number one beef with sprint and their cdma network is the fact that we cant switch out phones without the intervention of the company.

 

Same with Verizon...

I've looking @ other forums as well and found out that both Sprint and VZW refuses to use foreign ESN numbers (so they won't switch in a device that wasn't specifically built for their network).

 

If you open an account get the u720. Its a evdo rev.a compatible usb adaptor. Sprint normally gives it out free for new accounts.

After you get it home pry it open like this and you will find a nice mini pci-e card inside.


Then put that in your notebook like so.


You've got a wwan card for "free".

Now if you've got concerns about warranties and insurance on the card i'd just get it from dell but if you'd like to keep from dropping $150 that you really dont have to then i'd go this route.

 

I wish I could reprogram the ESN for that device... but I can't find the utilities for it (if any exist) *sigh*...

 

I believe verizon lets its customers switch esns online. It just makes no sense as to why sprint is behind in this. Its like whats easier, making the customer sit on the phone with customer service for 20min or giving them online access complete with programming instructions for their phone or device.

 

Really? I have a Verizon Family Plan and I don't see this option.

I also have a Sprint phone, but I know that this option does not exist (cause I've had to switch ESN's before on my Sprint plan).

I want to reprogram the ESN on the device though... it would be easier for me to use the same plan for both devices. I know there are some side-effects from doing this... but I think I would be willing to live with them.

 

Log into your verizon account and you should have the option available to you under account maintenance.

Its been at least 6 months since i've seen someone do it but there would have been some rumblings if they took it away. I also do know they have issues with switching between standard phones and pda phones. Something to do with the plans. Basically forcing a data plan on pda phones.

 

Please...At&T is the worst provider of broadband ask the owner of the iphone

 

Get the external card so you can use it on multiple computers.

 

Or you can just teather with your phone for $20 a month for unlimited data. Cingular/ATnT has the best coverage ! I am a storm chaser and have been almost everywhere .

 

Don't know if it helps but I just bought the Razr2 and tether it to the computer using Alltel EVDO service out in the boonies where you can't get cable and dial up is 29 kb/s tops. It cost an extra $25/month on the cell bill for unlimited access and connects at about 400-600 kb/s which I thought was good. Verizon same thing $65/month. cha-right