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3G Internet Access Via PCMCIA Card

Posted by timothy on from the posted-from-a-found-wifi-spot dept.

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."

47 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Ehh....why is this on /.? by halo1982 · · Score: 5, Informative

    How is this anything special?
    Sprint has a variety of aircards operating on their 1xRTT network at up to 144Kbps. Verizon has an aircard for their 1xEVDO BroadbandAccess network with download speeds of up to 2MBps (also 1xRTT compatible) and another aircard for their 1xRTT NationalAccess network. AT&T Wireless also has an EDGE aircard at up to 384Kbps (they may have a WCDMA one too...not sure) and all of our GSM carriers have GPRS cards. Anyway any carrier with GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/1xRTT/EV-DO or any other wireless data network offers aircards (American or not) and you can pick up unlocked ones up on eBay at decent prices. So why is this front page news?

    1. Re:Ehh....why is this on /.? by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.

  2. Already in the UK by FalconZero · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This kind of thing has been in the UK for quite a while now. I've used both the VodaPhone 3G and the Orange 3G datacard for employees. I personally prefer the Orange one for the benefit of the superiour network, but the Vodaphone one has a real no-brainer user interface, so I spend less time with employees ringing me up with that one. The one I'm REALLY waiting for is a 3G datacard that incorporates an 802.11b tranciever with seemless switchover when our employees enter one of our WiFi zones.

    --
    Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
  3. Why always somewhere else? by BWJones · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    --
    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    1. Re:Why always somewhere else? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are several reasons.

      Japan is about the size of a postage stamp, so "upgrading" the network takes a long weekend.

      The US is quite large, and "covering" the bulk of the US with a new technology is a vast and expensive undertaking.

      Also, we live in a political society that loves to write useless legislation that does nothing but complicate small matters and slow down new and cool undertakings.

    2. Re:Why always somewhere else? by cmowire · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ummm... Verizon has a EV-DO card that can get in the megabit range. And it downgrades to lower grades of CDMA if you are out of EV-DO range. So there *is* a card just like that already out here.

      Also remember that the phones available are targeted at individual markets. It's not like there's some brand new extra-cool battery technology that they've got in Europe, it may just be that the average American consumer wants different features than a Japanese or European consumer. It's either that Americans want different features, better battery life, less cost, etc.

      I mean, really. Does the lack of state-of-the-art Japanese toilets with sophisticated controls in America mean that we're behind or something? No, it just means that we prefer a simpler way to take a crap!

      --
      Gentoo Sucks
    3. Re:Why always somewhere else? by agristin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

    4. Re:Why always somewhere else? by agristin · · Score: 2

      That is why I covered size and density and network economic efficiency (which is the cost of the infrastructure taking into account # of users and amount users pay for network features).

      -A

    5. Re:Why always somewhere else? by megaversal · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

      --
      Sig!
    6. Re:Why always somewhere else? by Talez · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm so sick and tired of this bullshit excuse. I live in a country with a population that has a population density one tenth of that of the US and a market almost one fifthteenth smaller than the US and we've had 3G in the form of WCDMA in our state capitals for over a year now.

      For places that don't have 3G coverage yet we *gasp* roam using GSM.

      Also, you can only fit so many users on a base station and in a CDMA based system the cells only get smaller as more and more users jump onto them. So if you have large population densities you get sucky coverage and require more cells. If you have a small population desntiy you'll get longer range per cell and require less of them. While it doesn't work out exactly the same (the balance is still biased in favour of large population densities), X isn't nearly as small a number as you would think.

      As for the network efficiency argument, stick the freaking towers in the middle of New York and LA. Theres 30 million users. 1/10th of the US market in 2 cities. Sure it doesn't solve the problem of "why can't I get 3G in the middle of the Arizona desert!" but theres no excuse for major cities not to be eqipped with the latest in cell phone technology.

    7. Re:Why always somewhere else? by spectral · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.)

    8. Re:Why always somewhere else? by candiman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Australia is as large as the continental US with a popolation 15 times smaller. Yet all the mobile phone networks cover the entire country.

      This is due to legislation that stated if you want to build a mobile network in Australia you must cover the entire country.

    9. Re:Why always somewhere else? by elhaf · · Score: 2, Funny
      So where we spend most of our time with our cell phones to our ears, they're busy typing.
      I can just see all the US Soccer Moms typing as they go down the road in their giant SUV's, running over motorcycles with wild abandon. Oh the humanity!
      --
      Six score characters.
      Brevity being wit's soul
      I have enough space.
  4. Summary for US readers by RobertB-DC · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Mobile Connect, as the full name suggests, is a 3G data card [...] connect to the Internet over Vodafone?s growing 3G network. The card also supports GPRS [...] You?ll also find a user guide, a driver CD and the all important SIM card.

    So, for us norteamericanos, the summary of this story is simple: Nothing to see here, folks, move along.

    (But I guess we can still slobber. And they say Slashdot is too US-Centric!)

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  5. Available in Australia by roly · · Score: 3, Informative

    In Australia, this service is already available from 3. It's expensive, and the coverage isn't great (roams onto GPRS when no coverage), but it's available at the 384kbps speeds. In .au, that's more than the upstream of most Cable Modems and DSL lines!

    --
    "With Microsoft, you get Windows. With Linux, you get the full house" - unknown
  6. Yes indeed... by hamisht · · Score: 2, Funny
    If you're tired of searching for a WiFi hotspot when you need one, this could be the answer.

    Only if the questions is: "Why can't I find any 3G coverage around here?"

  7. You can do this via Bluetooth or USB already by evil0ne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been using my Sanyo VM-4500 phone with a USB cable to my powerbook to connect to Sprint's "Vision" service. Future Dial has been offering this for awhile.

  8. Further Irritation by FalconZero · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The only thing that DOES irritate me with these is when employees go to places like China w/ laptops, and complain that its really slow, I consider explaining 3G vs GPRS/GSM, but is about as productive as explaining why we cant use bluetooth to make free calls.

    --
    Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
  9. Already available in Australia by dan_barrett · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hutchinson's/Orange already sell this in Australia under the "3" brand (their 3g network).

    Apparently it works well as long as you don't mind the AUS$10 per MB download charge and are in the reevant coverage areas.

    Details are here.

  10. data plan == arm & leg by sPaKr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are a ton of these pcmcia wireless cards floating around. Now if they had a unlimited data plan that didnt break the bank that would be NEWS!

    1. Re:data plan == arm & leg by hcsteve · · Score: 2, Interesting

      T-Mobile has an unlimited data plan for ~$20/mo. And you don't need a pcmcia card - many bluetooth phones can do this as well. Works great with my 12" powerbook and nokia 3650.

      --
      If you were a hot dog, and you were starving, would you eat yourself?
    2. Re:data plan == arm & leg by sPaKr · · Score: 2, Funny

      Run voip over the data plan and get cheaper unlimited minutes?

  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. This is NOT new by crapnutassneck · · Score: 5, Informative

    We have had "cellular data cards" in the US since about 97. It started on the TDMA side with CDPD at 19.2kbps (9.6kbps usable) mainly from ATT over the TDMA network. They then went to GPRS (30kbps in real life) and now EDGE (120kbps in real life) and in select markets UMTS (actually a WCDMA technology that is hitting 800kbps on unsaturated networks). Previous to this they were doing the circuit switched thing over AMPS (some of this still exists for telemetric devices).

    Concurrently the CDMA carriers started with CS/CDMA (going off hook and dialing a modem at 14kbps over the CDMA network), then went to 1xRTT at 50kbps in real life, then to 1xEvDO and eventually to 1xEVDV in some markets (saw evDO tested and was about 720kbps in a mobile environment). The reason we don't have ubiquitis coverage with said devices is the pure and simple fault of the FCC for breaking up spectrum the way they did initially. This is NOTHING NEW. I was installing and deploying CDPD to telnet into servers/routers in 98-99 (before I went to work deploying this stuff for one of the carriers). It is available at dialup/bri speeds everywhere you get CDMA or GSM voice today and at dsl speeds in many major markets.

    --
    .-=Wit is educated insolence=-. -Aristotle
  13. People claim Australia is lagging.... by thehenman · · Score: 2, Informative

    ... but Americans are surprised at this technology? This technology is nothing new in Australia, even though the take-up is not as expected, due to exorbitant pricing structures.

    1. Re:People claim Australia is lagging.... by kayak334 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ... but Americans are surprised at this technology?

      No. The article is very old news to us also.

  14. Finally, damn stalkers by Man+in+Spandex · · Score: 3, Funny
    If you're tired of searching for a WiFi hotspot when you need one, this could be the answer."


    I can finally be rest assured to have less bandwith-seeking nerds entering my wireless hotspot but, IANAL.
  15. They charge like wounded bulls... by Goonie · · Score: 4, Interesting
    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... :)

    --

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
    --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
  16. 384kbps by highway · · Score: 2, Informative

    I've been using a novatel card to get 384kbps for 2 years now. Sprint is even offering a 2mbps service in select areas. My toshiba cellphone through a usb cable averages about 300kbps.

    I'm working with sprint global right now to provide a dedicated secure link to police cars in City of Atwater. The service is called Sprint DataLink. That link will be 384kbps. Soon it will be upgraded to over 2mbit.

  17. Been connected for a while with Orange 3G by caluml · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have an Orange Novatel Merlin card plugged in right now, and it's pretty good. I every wrote a HOWTO in case people were having trouble getting connected, but it just looks like ttyS1 to me. Saves all that faffing around installing drivers for Windows.

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker
  18. Re:Any Work with a Mac/Apple? by O · · Score: 4, Informative

    Get a Bluetooth phone. My Nokia 6600 works great with my PowerBook G4.

    --

    1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 -- Mathematics is the Language of Nature.
  19. maximize profit, not maximize quality of life by Cryofan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    America was set up from the beginning to maximize investor profit, at the expense of the quality of life of the average person living in America. Well, just look at the early history of America--a great place to be a wealthy businessman--plenty of slaves and indentured servants and exploitable Indian hunting grounds; and with a Constitution set up to guarantee maximum investor profits--at the expense of the quality of life of said slaves, indentured servants and Indians.

    And that SAME Constitution is around today. Every other western nation has gone on to modernize their government and system. And as a result they have a better quality of life. But here in America, the structure of our govt still enslaves us, by allowing corporations to do as they pretty much please. It is not as bad as it once was. At least that is their justification. Why, in a couple of minutes, some rightwinger will reply to this post, telling us how good we have it...compared to the 3rd worlders.

    Anyway, by stringing us along with slow upgrades, wringing out of the consumer every bit of profit possible before moving on to modern infrastructure, the corporations make more profit. Same as it ever was....

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
    1. Re:maximize profit, not maximize quality of life by Tralfamadorian · · Score: 2, Funny

      You should shut up about the US. People in the US have it much better than people living in third world countries.

    2. Re:maximize profit, not maximize quality of life by anothy · · Score: 3, Informative

      you're wrong on a number of fronts. the American Revolution was as much a revolt against the domination of British corporations as it was against the British government. the event that made reconciliation between the colonies and the British government impossible - the Boston Tea Party - wasn't an attack on British government or its assets, but on the East India Company. it was that company that then pressured the British government into punishing the colonists (not to say that the government wouldn't have anyway, but EIC certainly influenced the nature of those measures). after the revolution, the resulting American government was exceedingly wary of corporate power. corporations were heavily restricted and regulated, and violation of one's corporate charter would result in that corporation simply being disbanded (a real corporate death penalty!).

      then came the Civil War, and reconstruction. the Civil War was, in a very real way, a fight over the idea that what's good for business is good for the country. in many southern states, the state had in many ways taken the place of the corporations you (and i) dislike so much, with the accompanying abuse of power - only more so, with government approval and arms. the Federal government was fighting a war to be able to regulate that power, for the good of its citizens.

      the Federal government (in the form of "the North") won the civil war, but - sadly - lost the reconstruction. they were indeed now more able to regulate the states, but lost control (or, more probably, gave away control) of corporations. the landmark decision came in the form of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. an almost off-hand assertion by a single Supreme Court Justice was used repeatedly over the next several years as the grounds for elevating corporations to the status of "natural persons". this began the almost totally unchecked growth of corporate power in America, and secured, at least to the present day and for the near future, the place of the Corporation as a fixture of American life, politics, law...

      the dissolution of the state as a pseudo-corporation with immense power arguably influenced the types of mega-corporations seen immediately afterwards, in particular the railroad companies. take a look at social security numbers, for example. the first three digits indicate the state of birth. but did you know there was a specific three-digit head reserved for railroad employees? nothing like that existed before the civil war, nor (thankfully) does it today.

      that's because, after the huge spike in corporate power at the end of reconstruction, the government has been struggling to reign in those corporations again. while corporate power is still well beyond anything seen pre-reconstruction, it's well less than the reconstruction peak. i, at least, would like to see it further limited, but it is a difficult fight, and contains many legitimately difficult questions that need answering about how to fairly - and in many cases, safely - do that.

      you make the mistake (among others) of equating very rich individuals to corporations. it is, of course, true that the early American government allowed slavery, and that this was meant for maximizing profits of landed (white male) aristocracy. both slavery and indentured servitude, mind you, were inherited directly from the British. regardless, the power of any of these individuals pales in comparison to the power of, say, the railroad and oil companies of post-reconstruction America, and even a large collection of such powerful individuals had more direct accountability than a pre- or post-reconstruction corporation. it is simply not a useful comparison.

      even post-reconstruction, corporate power in America, while certainly not any less in degree, has a very different character than that p

      --

      i speak for myself and those who like what i say.
    3. Re:maximize profit, not maximize quality of life by jsebrech · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The simple truth of the matter is, no matter what sort of government construction you try, it's going to suck. Flopping to socialist democracy from liberatarian is merely exchanging one set of problems for another.

      No, the simple truth of the matter is that the US electoral system is designed to shut out third parties by making it next to impossible for small parties to form coalitions and thus get any power. As a result you get two behemoths who take positions on issues, and people choose the least of two evils. That's not a very democratic way of running things. And you see this reflected by government policy often being contrary to what the american public actually wants.

      You can't just wave the magic government wand and make things that aren't profitable suddenly be worth people's time. Russia and China both tried that and history shows that it doesn't work.

      Russia and China were communist nations (china is gradually transitioning away from communism). There is a world of difference between communism (the abolishment of private property with the aim of maximizing quality of life by providing goods and services on an as-need basis) and social democracy (government funding and regulating of enterprises that are unprofitable and/or natural monopolies with the aim of providing a minimum quality of life by guaranteeing a minimum level of service). If you take something that is not naturally profitable for some segments of the population (like healthcare), and you leave it entirely to private enterprise, private enterprise will cut out service to the least profitable segments of society until it makes maximum profit. That's why so many americans don't have affordable healthcare. You need government involvement in some classes of enterprise to be able to provide that minimum quality of service and life.

      As an aside, the reason communism failed was not government involvement, it was lack of personal incentive. When working hard gets you no more than working the absolute minimum, you lose all motivation to work hard. Productivity in Russia was abysmal. Social democracy does not have this lack of personal incentive, and as a result productivity per hour of labor in Europe is roughly equal to the US. The reason Europeans have lower net wages, is because they work fewer hours, have more free time, spend more time with the kids. It's a lifestyle choice, not some inherently bad design of government.

      This lack of personal incentive can occur under capitalism too. Everyone knows at least one person who slaves away at a job that won't pay them more regardless of how well a job they do, and as a result spends most of their job hours procrastinating and generally being useless.

  20. Re:linux by Alan+Cox · · Score: 3, Informative

    They should do. The ones I've seen are cardbus USB bridges hardwired to a USB serial device that talks AT commands. I guess they've gone from PCMCIA serial to cardbus usb serial because they need it for the bitrate and want to keep AT interfaces.

  21. Re:Any Work with a Mac/Apple? by JohnnyGTO · · Score: 4, Informative

    MotherInLaw is using Verizon with her G4 laptop with great success! You need to find the appropriate drivers. This software supports the Express Network PC Card (PC 5220) in Mac OS X, for use on the Verizon Wireless network. To use this card, you need an account with Verizon (fees may apply).

    --
    Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
  22. Yawn. I use 1xRTT from Verizon, and by CFD339 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    AT&T has their supposedly 3G version out now here in the states.

    Reality: You get an "effective speed" that feels just like dialup from a hotel room.

    Itself, it isn't bad when you need the link in the middle of nowhere.

    In town, its usually much faster to pop up Net Stumbler and drive into the first suburban neighborhood you see. It generally takes less than 5 minutes to find an ssid called "LINKSYS".

    --
    The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
  23. Nextel Broadband by brgomeistr · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Nextel Broandband has been doing a trial of its 750Kbps - 1.5Mbps service in the Raleigh/Durham area for months now.

    They have both a wireless PC Card and Wireless AP for your home (both of which are $50 for now, though who knows what the price of a nationwide rollout would be).

    A coworker has been demoing the service for my office for a few months and has nothing but good things to say...DSL-like speeds with little latency, and no interupted service that he has noticed. It is definately more expensive than DSL, but may be a nice alternative for travelers or those who can't get DSL or Cable.
    At least there is no annoying Nextel "beep beep" when it connects...

    --

    void theoremProver(){
    print "this product is correct"
    }
  24. Free -- albeit slower -- alternative! by Oliver+Aaltonen · · Score: 4, Informative

    For T-Mobile customers: all T-Mobile accounts -- including prepaid EasySpeak customers -- have free WAP access available. T-Mobile doesn't charge minutes usage or bandwidth used for GPRS internet access. If your cell phone can connect to your laptop via Bluetooth, IR or with a cable, this means free internet access via GPRS from your laptop. The speeds aren't great, about that of a 56K modem, but definitely useable for the convenience it offers. Check out T-Mobile.HowardForums.com for more details and discussion. If you're interested, more information on my experience with T-Mobile GPRS internet access and a Nokia 6610 here and here.

  25. unlimited plan at Malaysia by doubtless · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's already an unlimited wireless "broadband" over cellular network right here in Malaysia, granted they are using EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) instead of 3G. The data rate is about triple that of GPRS. It goes for RM99, which works out to be around US$26 per month.

    thier FAQ is here.

    Remember, there are more to Malaysia than just good quality pirated discs.

    --
    geek page at KY speaks
  26. ...and this is special because? by Lesrahpem · · Score: 2, Informative

    I used to have a Verizon phone (don't remember the make and model) which had 3G net connectivity and a USB port so it could be connected to a computer and used as a "modem" for 3G access to the internet. Therefore, I really do not see why this is all that special.

  27. This is way over priced by max+born · · Score: 2, Informative

    I build access points and donate bandwidth for the sflan project with the hope of bringing low to zero cost Internet access for everyone in San Francisco. One of our problems is the ridiculously low FCC imposed power restrictions on our trancievers while phone companies who paid millions to buy their part of the spectrum are allowed to use thousands of times the power we are.

    I don't want to come off as a pessimist but my concern is that the furture of wireless be look more like the control-and-toll method of owning the spectrum and charging what you like for, spending nothing on R&D yet billions on marketing to create a lockdown system of over priced mediocre service.

  28. Any of these (E.U. or U.S.) have Linux support ? by pspinler · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Any of the cards mentioned have support in the linux kernel ? Do they appear as a modem to the PC, or something totally non-standard ?

    Thanks,
    -- Pat

    --
    The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred
  29. Re:sig reply by FalconZero · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just feel it sums up windows....
    Do nothing,
    Do nothing,
    Do nothing,
    Do nothing,
    Reboot.

    --
    Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
  30. This is Old by Mikelikus · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is old news for Europeans.
    This is old news for Americans.
    This is old news for Asians.
    This is old news for Africans.
    This is old news for Everyone.

    But it makes Slashdot's front page...

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    -- Would it be acceptable to just put my name on my sig?
  31. so what? by RMH101 · · Score: 2, Informative

    that is NOT a 3G phone. you can use if for GPRS, but that's analagous to dial up speeds, as opposed to 3G broadband cards