Net Access Using an iBook, Bluetooth Adaptor and a Mac?

davesag asks: "How are people connecting to the net using Mac OS X and a Bluetooth phone, such as an Ericsson T68i? I have to buy a new mobile phone today or tommorrow and so far have not been able to find any details on how i would use a mobile phone as a modem with Mac OS X. I have seen plenty of people use their phones with computers running Windows XP but from what i can see no-one makes Mac drivers for the phones. I have seen plenty of apps for synching phones' address books etc, including Apple's own iSync, but none of these options seem to allow the Mac to take advantage of the GPRS Internet connectivity. I am keen to hear other's experiences, or lack thereof with Mac OS X, Bluetooth and mobile net access before I shell out my money."

Comments

good ole versiontracker

[SlamMan]

Head on over to version tracker

http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=135 76&db=mac

Says it works with GPRS, and "Mobile High Speed for Mac OS X supports all major countries and network operators worldwide and most compatible phones from Motorola, Nokia, Siemens and SonyEricsson. "

Hope tthat helps

Re:good ole versiontracker

[stephdau]

The actual link mentioned above should go to Mobile High Speed X

There is a bad space in the one above which end up bringing you to an adobe product instead of the one the poster intended.

Modem scripts for a pint

[roxeteer]

Check out Ross Barkman's site. He has modem scripts for Ericsson and Nokia GPRS phones - and much more. I have Nokia 6310 and D-Link's Bluetooth USB adapter and I can tell you that setting up an Internet connection with them was very easy. At least the Nokia scripts had step-by-step instructions included.

The scripts are released as "pintware". If you like them, by the man a pint of beer.

Works fine for me

[jos3000]

I've been using my iBook, a pci (the company name) USB bluetooth adapter and a T68.

I've been connecting over plain old GSM as opposed to GPRS so I have a very slow connection speed (9.6kbps) but it's fine if I want to just check my email headers now and then.

I live in the UK and have a contract with Orange. I haven't had to use any software additional to plain Jaguar.

Using iSync with iCal and Address Book works with no problems at all.

It's pretty simple...

[dhardman]

I was in the same boat about a week ago. It took me about 10min of searching and I found the following info...

First, get the modem scripts Here. The one I used was the first one in the list...the GPRS one for the t68i.

Next get the D-Link Bluetooth USB do-dad.

Make a new "Location" and call it Bluetooth.

Choose "Bluetooth Modem" as your connection.

Under PPP Leave everything blank except the phone number and type "Proxy"

Next, pair the phone with the laptop, and choose "Connect".

The phone should say "Connecting" and you'll get a 10.x.x.x IP address.

You are in bidnes...

Re:It's pretty simple...

[roxeteer]

Under PPP Leave everything blank except the phone number and type "Proxy"

Wrong.

When using Ross Barkman's modem scripts, the phone number must be the Access Point Name (APN) provided by your GPRS operator. You can find a list of them here.

Re:iBook and Motorola v66

[hoggy]

Heck!, I meant to point out that GPRS isn't anything special in terms of driver support. Normally the modem software in the phone makes GPRS available as a special telephone number. If you can find appropriate GPRS modem scripts, then you're laughing.

Also, if the phone does bluetooth, then you can make it work with a Mac - pretty much that simple. You might not always get the fancy stuff, but you'll be able to setup a virtual serial device through bluetooth to the modem in the phone. Then, as I say, you just need to get some scripts.

Works for me

[simoncoles]

I have a PowerBook (DVI) with the USB Bluetooth adaptor and a T68i connected to Orange here in the UK and it works OK. I downloaded some scripts for the modem (sorry can't remember the URL), and currently its setup as a "Ericson GPRS CID2".

Performance wise, latency feels quite low. I was sitting in a field in Orkney (islands North of Scotland) reading my mail from work using IMAP, and it felt almost as if I was on my cable modem at home.

The only problem I have at the moment is the Orange GPRS network is a little flakey. It seems quite easy at the moment to "Fall off" the GPRS network, which in some cases can be fixed by removing the phone battery with the phone on, and in other cases you need to call tech support to get them to remove and re-add you to the network.

Overall, I'm very impressed. Would be nice if the network was a little more reliable, but I guess its just teething trouble.

Simply

[matthew.thompson]

I have a Nokia 6310i, Mitsumi Bluetooth adaptor and an iBook 600. IT helps to be running Jaguar.

I put the adaptor into the iBook, I paired the phone. I selected the Nokia mode script. I enetered a phone number of *99# into the dialler and a username of "orange" with a password of Internet.

I then just click connect in the modem drop down menu item. 10 seconds later I am connected. It even keeps the connection going between the handset and iBook going whilst travelling through tunnels.

It's definately the easiest bluetooth implementation I have ever used.

Tutorial and User Experiences

[cloudscout]

I have a tutorial on my site for setting up the T68i with AT&T Wireless Services for GPRS Internet access on Mac OS X via Bluetooth.

There are also a number of reader comments on their experiences with the technology.