Alienware M11X R2 and Mobile Broadband

I'm considering ordering an R2 and curious about one of the options. It's for an internal antenna that allows for mobile broadband with a carrier, Verizon or AT&T. I have no immediate use for mobile broadband and have never used it before with any device, but it's something I may be interested in in the near future. So, is this something that I can skip for now and purchase and add myself at a later date? Or is it something I need to include now if I ever want the option of mobile broadband? Thanks for reading, and pardon my ignorance.

 

TL;DR version: Don't bother getting mobile broadband built in to your laptop.

There are many options for getting mobile broadband access on your laptop. You can:

1. Use a separate mobile broadband card (USB or ExpressCard) that you insert into your laptop.
2. You use an internal mobile broadband card that was built into your laptop.
3. You tether your laptop to your smartphone and use your smartphone as your mobile broadband modem.

The only difference between scenarios #1 and #2 above is whether you want an external broadband card/modem, or whether you want it to be internal. Personally, I would choose an external card because they are less expensive than the internal option, and can be used on multiple machines. The internal broadband cards can only be used on the machine in which it was installed. The only advantage of internal broadband is that it is internal - no additional card/peripheral to carry around and possibly lose.

Note that once you buy your laptop WITHOUT the internal broadband card, you usually cannot just add it in later on. The internal broadband cards depend on the actual card (which is easily installed in a slot inside your laptop chassis), and the antenna for the card. Typically, the antenna is not installed on machines that are not factory-configured for mobile broadband, and is not a part that is easily installable after the fact.

In cases #1 or #2, you will need to pay for a data service plan with your mobile carrier that will cost anywhere from $40 to $60 per month, depending on the carrier. This will be separate and in addition to any other service or plan that you already have with them.

Case #3 is the idea of tethering your smartphone to your laptop, and using your smartphone as your mobile broadband modem. If you have a Blackberry or certain models of Android-based phones (not iPhone), you can often contact your carrier and ask them to add laptop tethering. This will cost an additional $15-$30 per month on top of what you are paying already for your smartphone plan.

However, there are ways of tethering your smartphone to your laptop without paying the additional carrier fee. Getting caught doing this may void your phone's warranty and/or violate the terms of your contract with the wireless carrier, so do it at your own risk. If you have an Android smartphone, you can either root your phone and get access to tethering (USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi), or you can choose not to root your phone and download a program like PDANet by Junefabrics to get USB / bluetooth tethering. Either method will allow you to use your smartphone as a broadband modem without paying an additional monthly fee. If you have an iPhone, you can jailbreak the iPhone and use a program like PDANet to get USB tethering.

 

Hey, thanks for the detailed response. I forgot to check this since the day I posted it. I went ahead and ordered the system without the internal card pretty much due to the reasons you posted. The plans are too expensive for me right now, anyway, and I can always use an external device if I change my mind. Although, I would prefer internal, I think. Dell does appear to have the internal card in question for sale on their website (a Gobi 5620, or something). Not sure if that's all I'd need. Really doesn't matter right now, though. Well, thanks again. You went out of your way to provide a lot of info, and I appreciate it.