For what it's worth, Mickey D's has wi-fi. I, however know nothing about it.

 

Built in WIFI only works when there is a local transmitter in the area like a truckstop. If you want to be be connected to the internet wherever you are you need a special card like Verizon or Sprint. It uses cell phone technology to connect to the net.

 

Huh? Yes, it has Wi-Fi, but I don't want to be limited to Wi-Fi hotspots. Often, I'm out in no-man's land and want to be able to connect. Even at dial-up speeds since mostly I just browse forums and such.

 

I thought if you connected with a wi-fi spot it was free or pretty darn cheap, whereas if you connect with a cell fone out in the middle of nowhere, you paid cell fone rates, which can get pretty high? Is this not true? I need to get a new cell fone and laptop and there are soooo many choices to think about, it makes me dizzy. ops:
Any suggestions?

 

There are laptops out there that still take the type 2 PCMCIA wireless card.

I recently bought a Compaq V2000 and Acer makes several models that still use the type 2 card.

I have the T-Mobile EDGE/GPRS/Wi-Fi enabled Sony/Erricson GC89 card which is a type 2....so I needed to get a laptop that would fit the card. My old laptop bit the dust, and the repair cost was almost as much as this new laptop... :shock:

Oddly enough I found the Compaq V2000 at a Super Wal-mart and they also had the Acers in stock at competitive prices. My V2000 is technically "obsolete" since it was manufactured last June, and I got their last one in that store....but I also got an extra 10% knocked off the price.

One other poster mentioned getting the "Unlimited" plan for an aircard. He was 100% correct on that. I had a friend who went against that advice and when she got her first bill....it was about $400.00. She and her husband thoroughly freaked out..... :? :?

My T-Mobile when its on EDGE/GPRS isn't the fastest, but its faster than dial-up, and I have free access to all of their hotspots...and the service is $49.99 a month unlimited usage. I've had their service for several years now, and can't complain.

 

Ok, here's how it works.

My laptop has a built in wifi card and I have a verizon wireless internet plug in card. The built in wifi card can get me on the net when I'm close to someone transmitting a signal like a truck stop but you have to pay like $4.95 for a 24 hour period unless you can find someone with an open signal like Starbucks but that doesn't happen to often when your in a truck. Right now at home there are 5 open networks around me that I could use. Most are peoples homes that don't know any better and have no security.

I use Verizon wireless at a cost of $89 per month. I can get on the net pretty much anyplace. I've been out in the middle of nowhere and I get a signal.

Verizon has 2 plans. National and Broadband. National is like $59 and Broadband is $89. If your National your download speed at best is no more than 150kps. If your broadband the sky is the limit if your in a hotspot like I am at home. If I get out of that area I revert to National but at least I still get on. Right now I'm at home and a little over 2mps download speed.

Hope this helps a little.

 

:shock:


I've got Broadband through Verizon, and it is only costing me $59 a month.

 

Same here, only $59 a month for unlimited

 

OK, sounds good, thanks! Understand it a lot better now.
I got Cingular, so I'll see what they got. I'll probably go broadband, so I can use GPS and 'streets and maps' type stuff too. later...

 

I use Cingular for my cell phone. I have had AT&T for my cell phone,ever since I got my phone,and then switched to Cingular. Cingular stunk so bad at first,but now,I dont have a lick of trouble. I dont know anything about wireless internet service. Never had any type of wireless internet service,so I dont know who is best for that. I work for SYSCO,and they have a national account with Sprint. I would get discounts on Sprint,since I work for them,but I wouldnt own a Sprint phone if it saved my life. I hear that Sprint has the best wireless internet service,though. Our sales guys use Sprint for their lap tops that they use for work. The only thing that I have heard about wireless internet,is that I talked to one of our sales guys that had Cingular for his lap top. He told me that his Cingular never lost a connection,but compared to the Sprint,it was slower than Christmas. I also heard that Verizon is wonderful,too.