3G Internet Access Via PCMCIA Card

An anonymous reader writes "Found this on a European site. It's a PCMCIA card that connects you to the internet over a 3G network. With a download rate of 384kb/sec, it's close to broadband speed, and it works wherever there's network coverage. If you're tired of searching for a WiFi hotspot when you need one, this could be the answer."

Comments

Why always somewhere else?

[BWJones]

So the question is: Why is the US the last place that gets many of these technological advances in networking and wireless data access? When I was over in NZ a couple of weeks ago, there were little tiny cell phones from Japan that were unbelievable in their capabilities. Stuff that typically takes years to show up here in the States are being used by Japanese school kids as a matter of everyday life. A card such as this that connects to a 3G network and auto switches to GPRS where available! (yes, I did read the article) would be huge here in the US particularly given the diverse geography throughout the US as one travels from one place to another.

Now if I could only get this either built into my Apple portables or get a 12in Powerbook or an as yet unreleased subnotebook with a PCMCIA slot....because the implementation and use of this particular card seems a little cluttered. You have to reboot with the card present in the PCMCIA slot which could be a Windows issue with networking I suppose. "You must restart your computer for the changes to take effect" type crap that I have to deal with whenever I use Windows systems.

Re:Why always somewhere else?

[agristin]

because networks take infrastructure...

to cover japan in a 3 G network we'll say it takes X cell stations and it will cover all N Million Japanese.

to cover the US (unscientifically a zillion times the size) it would take Zillion x X cellstations and it will cover all N Million Americans.

Upgrading the Japanese network requires retrofitting X cellstations, while upgrading the US network requires zillion x X cellstations.

Very few networks actually cover the entire united states, because of the related problem of:

polulation density.

Japan is packed with people, and overall there are more people per square mile-

the US when averaged out, is not very dense. Sure there are some dense areas, and that is where the tests and pilot programs and prototypes are tried out...

but this impacts cost. So if you could deploy a network and it would be used pretty thoroughly all the way through with users paying for it, you would have a good network economic efficiency (in terms of dollar earned per dollar spent on infrastructure).

The US with it's low density tends towards poor network economic efficiency (except on the coasts) while Japan has high density and tends towards good network economic efficiency.

This higher efficiency in turn makes it easier to make enough profit which make it worthwhile to upgrade the network to offer more services to sell to your clients.

-E

BTW... The 15" PB has PCMCIA.

Re:Why always somewhere else?

[megaversal]

I never really understand this argument. I'm not saying you're wrong, but here... every cell phone provider has dead zones everywhere. I have Sprint, and between all of my friends, we cover every major provider... yet no matter where we go, we always find our signal being dropped everywhere. Step inside a building? Lose signal. Elevator? If you haven't already lost your signal, you're about to lose it.

When I was in Japan last month, I found that none of these problems existed. On train rides in between cities, people were still using their cell phones as if they were standing next to a tower. I had many chances to interact with people who had the latest and greatest phones and they were watching TV on the phone, underground.. where my cell phone wouldn't even get signal.

If it's a population density thing, why do I still have this problem in a city like Los Angeles, yet they're fine travelling in between cities where often we get 0 coverage.

The only downside to their wireless system that I found was that whereas we get tons of cell phone minutes to talk, they get about 30 minutes... but their messaging system is really cheap. So where we spend most of our time with our cell phones to our ears, they're busy typing.

Re:Why always somewhere else?

[spectral]

No, it means that Americans are blind to the fact that they're being raped on connection charges, and their phones suck.

I bought a Japanese phone, it has a real address book (not just a phone book), built in email, web browser that would show pictures, games, and many other goodies.. plus it just looked sexy as hell.

That was two years ago. The phone was being phased out for a newer model.. I got it for $46 USD. My plan was $16 USD/month (I did have a student discount, so take this number w/ a grain of salt), and just paid as I went. No dealing with minutes or crap like that. Texting over there is insanely cheap, and it's the way people usually communicate on the things. Only if necessary do you call someone. Sorry. Emailing, since it was pointless to use C-Mail, Sky-Mail, whatever.. Every phone over there had its own email address, and the other texting networks weren't compatible with each other.

I just bought a phone here in the US (Verizon, unfortunately). No email, just SMS (though thankfully it works between providers). My web browser doesn't display pictures. My address book won't even store birthdays. I used to carry my Japanese phone around with me too, because it just did what I wanted, in a quick and easy fashion. I couldn't make calls on it, but I could take quick voice memos, and it stored my addresses. I often reach in to my pocket still and look for it, and am disappointed when I find my $150 verizon phone that can't do any of it.

So, perhaps I'm atypical. But I think it's just because the "Average American Consumer" doesn't demand features in their products that makes it so I have to deal with not being able to find a good phone over here.

(Yes, I know I could go tmobile and spend $700 to get a decent phone or something, but the coverage around here sucks.)

They charge like wounded bulls...

[Goonie]

They have this in a number of countries with post Stone-age cellular networks (that means most western nations except you, USA), but it's not at all cheap. In Australia, you get about 500 megabytes download a month for about 70 USD. Over that limit, though it's 2.80 USD per megabyte!

I don't think you'd be downloading warez and pr0n at that price... :)

Re:Ehh....why is this on /.?

[TheNetAvenger]

How feasible is online gaming on one of these cards?

Depends on the network, card, and game...

I have a Verizon 3G card...

In San Diego or DC where they have the full 3G implementation, my download is faster than DSL driving down the road or at the beach.

I can also play real-time FPS when in my home city of San Diego, no problem.

Outside of San Diego or DC, I get the standard 144kps connection, and real time gaming is not fast enough for FPS type of games.

However, if you are playing something like Star Wars Galaxies or other online role playing game, even outside the 3G cities, it works fine, still better than dialup.

Like the above poster said, this stuff isn't new, not even in the US. I have had my verizon card for months and have been getting better than DSL speeds on average no matter where I am in the San Diego area. I have only tested it at the airport in DC, but it worked just as fast there as well.

As for regular coverage, I just did a road trip from San Diego to Reno, and after leaving LA the radio stations on the car started dropping off.

So I turned on the laptop, tuned into one of my favorite radio stations on the internet and listened all the way from LA to Reno with only a couple of drop offs, and it reconnected within secs.

It was ironic that out in the middle of nowhere in the valley, we could only get static on the car radio, but had full internet service and could listen to radio over the Verizon card.