See the link above for Sprint! I run a HP Pavillion, purchased 3 years ago, it was $680 then. Still works great and has taken a beating!

 

dell of hp would be my first choice i'm on a $550 two year old hp right now.

also something to think about is anyone with a laptop and the right software and the right antenna CAN hack into your laptop if you are using wifi....!

you can get an air card w/o having a cell phone but it will cost you alot more than $50-$60 per month, as to the air card will run you around $100 maybe less w/rebate and most will requier 2 year contract

 

I just bought a Sprint Mobile Broadband USB Modem by Sierra Wireless.

With a 2 year contract it cost $79 with a $50 mail in rebate.

The service is $59.99 a month with unlimited usage. I have a 30 day free trial period to return if it doesn't work out.

Works great here at home, I leave out on the road tonight so I will see how it really works then. So far I really like it .

I just had to have my computer worked on, probably some of the probs I had were caused by getting on free Wifi. So that is why I bought the Sprint card

I use a Dell Insprion 6000 for my laptop.

 

Sprint is the same price for unlimited service $59 a month, with or without cell service, and yes, almost all providers require a 2 year contract!

Again, it is a legitimate tax deduction if you itemize, so at the end of the year, it is all a wash!

 

What about Verizon Wireless? They offer a similar service and I get great coverage with their phone service. I think it's $80/month. Anyone try them?

 

I don't know how everyone else feels but it you're going to invest in a laptop and don't care about weight or overall size get a wide screen one that also has the number pad included in the keyboard. I have a 17" wide screen Toshiba that I've had almost 4 years. It's the first laptop I ever had and am glad I went for the wide screen.

Definitely go with a wireless air card, it's the way to go out here. Forget wi-fi. 8) 8)

 

yes it is a legitimate tax deduction but at the end of the year it is NOT a wash

$59 x 12 = $708 pre year right
you get to write off $708 (this comes off you gross income)
lowering your gross income by $708 saves you (at 30%) $212.40 in taxes
so you paid $708 - $212.40 (tax saving) it still cost you $495.60

that is what we use and we are very happy with it.$59.95 a month.

 

I got the Verizon broadband thingy too!
I like it cuz I don't need to have an account at several truck stops and sometimes I fire up the computer at a shipper, etc.

 

I already have Verizon Cell phone, so I'll probably use them when I get my lap top. I'm looking at the "tough books" by Panasonic? on eBay. Anyone have any opinions on them. Only about $200 if I have my own hard drive, which I do. Or can someone recommend a good brand for low bucks. I'm not spending $800+ for something that could get smashed or stolen on the road.
Latah,
Chikin Trucka.

 

My laptop is an HP Pavilion DV8000. It's a little over 2 years old now and is still perfect except for a couple scratches on it. It has the 17" widescreen, dual hard drives, 1gig of RAM, Windows XP Media Center and a 2ghz AMD cpu. It was a great purchase, even at $1,200 that I paid for it. The only time I've ever had an issue and had to call HP was with the drivers for the touchpad. Other than that, no probs whatsoever. Oh wait - that's a lie - the battery has died on it, but it's not an issue as the computer stays plugged into the power inverter/APC battery backup. I didn't see any reason to pay $150 for a battery when I've ran the computer off it's own battery for maybe 15 mins total since I bought it.