TZ owners poll: are you using Sprint on yours?

I'm just curious how many people are actually using WWAN? I signed up with Sprint a couple of weeks ago (I waited until I was taking a trip - just got back) and I've been pretty pleased with this. I'd previously used Verizon's service with an external pc card - it's great having access anywhere without using any slots or an antenna sticking out. If you can swing the $60/month, I recommend it!

Side note: because of this capability, my laptop was relentlessly borrowed by friends and family.

 

When I recceive my TZ I will be using this service.

 

I voted yes, but I'm not using the built in WWAN, I'm using an ExpressCard34 WWAN card for Sprint. I've been with sprint for about 4 years, and have been very happy with their EVDO coverage.

 

Is the reason you havent called up and changed it because you use it on multiple laptops? Anyway I would use built-in wwan if it was not sprint. Right now I use Bluetooth PAN to my ATT tilt and get sweet internet service in Baltimore (3G widespread).

 

bejand...how much do you pay to use your laptop on at&t?

i've done the internet sharing over bluetooth with my 8525 a couple times and didn't notice any extra charges on my bill. however, i'm not sure i've actually got the right plan to do this. i just don't want to get hit with a bunch of extra charges suddenly.

 

I pay nothing extra. Technically you are supposed to have a tethering plan but ATT decided just to hide the utility called Internet Sharing (i.e. no shortcut in programs). I have found it and it has two options, USB and bluetooth. I use bluetooth Personal Area NEtwork (PAN). Currently my internet plan is unlimited for $40 (PDA connect w/1500 txt). I think new plans may be unlimited text. I use the internet on the laptop quite a bit and have been doing so for about 6 months now, often getting close to 1GB of data used. Still no extra charges..keeping my fingers crossed; but technically i'm not "Tethered" because its bluetooth. HAHAHA

 

I keep thinking i'll enable the Sprint service, but currently I "tether" to my Moto Q via bluetooth. Alltel is my provider which has roaming agreements with Sprint, so essentially i get the same exact service as I would if i enabled the built-in Sprint on my TZ. The only downside to my current method is when I receive phone calls on my Q, it knocks me off the internet.

But for anyone wondering if having the Sprint service is worth it, i'd vote yes. I find more and more when i travel that its hard to find reliable and free hot spots, even in major metropolitan areas. And when I ride the train, its very handy to be able to have internet connection.

 

i didn't use mine. it's too expensive. 70$ a month for unlimited plan. that's too much for me

 

sweet! i still may use the sprint plan's free trail period when i go to hawaii in july. but other than that, i'll stick with the bluetooth PAN!

 

I already had the card, and like the option of using it on other laptops besides my TZ.

Sprint service has been great for me. I tried AT&T and took it back within the 30 day no hassle return period because the service was too slow in my area.

 

I'm on my free month but I keep getting bumped off. Is there any settings I should do on my TZ? I am getting a great signal and it will work great than boom I get knocked off for some reason ????

 

from what one of sprint's RF engineers told me, voice traffic has a higher priority than data. so if there is a lot of traffic you can get bumped. does it mainly happen during peak call times?

 

Darn. I thought Sprint had a separate network for data; I know the above is a problem for Verizon - it's pretty much why they freak out and dump you if you're downloading big files.

 

I'm loving mine. Connection speeds are reasonable pretty much everywhere I've traveled so far. I can't think of one time I've been disconnected.

This is pretty nerdy, but we had some decent storms in Dallas last night and my house lost power. I work in IT and one of our customers broke. I was able to connect to the server and make repairs in the dark since the cell tower stayed up. The TZ also doubled as a candle

Also, it's easy to cost justify if you travel. Since most hotels charge $10 per night, $70 can actually save money.

 

just confirmed this with my friend (the sprint rf engineer):

"The voice and data networks are not separate. Yes, if the voice network is under heavy load the data network gets affected by either call block/drop or much slower data rate."

so, my guess is that if it's happening during non-peak calling times, it may be some other problem. does it happen no matter where you go or just in a particular place?

 

pretty much everywhere and I usually on it at non peak hours. It has gotten a little better just once so far tonight. There have been no updates for it right?