Internet and Mobile Devices for Mobile People

[ickkii]

it depends on how far out you are.<br><br>if you can't get cell signal then satellite internet is kind of the only option, dish and hughes come to mind. I assume this is what you mean if you're out of most coverage areas.<br>http://satellite-internet-review.toptenreviews.com/<br><br> If there are free wifi hotspots available you can extend the range with 'cantennas'. If there's cell service metro, republic, and t-mobile are the most affordable.<br><br>In any case, the further away from society you are - the fewer options you get. Most if not all of these ISPs will have bandwidth caps. Make sure you watch out for the monthly bandwidth, in addition the the speed. it's easy to go through 100-400mb a day if you're streaming stuff.

 

[blars]

In general, Verizon has the best coverage in the western US.&nbsp; AT&amp;T has coverage in some spots Verizon doesn't, but there are more where AT&amp;T doesn't.&nbsp; The others are mostly cities only.<br><br>Millenicom.com remarkets Verizon and Sprint, usually a better deal than buying direct.&nbsp; I have their "advanced" plan on verizon, but I think they ran out of the 3g usb sticks for it.&nbsp; The "unlimited" plans are all on sprint afaik.&nbsp; :-(<br><br>

 

[Seraphim]

Sprint DID have an unlimited plan until last summer.&nbsp; Our OverdrivePro poratable hotspot does a nice job for us. <br><br>Perhaps iickii can offer suggestions about extending cell range a bit.<br><br>

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hi ickkii,</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Yeh my Eee Pc is the 12v 1000HE model which came with the bigger battery pack option. I don't need an external battery charger pack as I run/charge directly off the bank. I still use the 240v (aust) AC power cord occasionally when I'm staying in RV parks.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">I also have the original smaller 7 inch Eee Pc I still use but this 9v only was hard to get a proper 12v charger for. (most converters were 6, 7.2, 9.5 or 12v here)<BR>Apparently the water board here were issued with them but had to charge them in the field with an inverter run off their trucks. I did eventually manage to get one from Hong Kong which was 9v specifically designed for the 7 inch Eeee Pc.<BR></SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">On the USB internet stick...It &nbsp;seems to be the most efficient out of all the things I've tried, (not much&nbsp;extra power usage, unlike wiFi, bluetooth add ons)&nbsp;the weird thing is, I've sent emails from the PC in remote areas where I had no cell phone coverage (same provider) (I was told it was something to do with speed of data tranfer.?? &nbsp;Does that sound right ??)</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[ickkii]

7 inches? I don't hear of many netbooks that small very often! Pretty cool gadget.&nbsp; For the usb stick it could be caching the data to send when you connect. If they mentioned speed then it could be that you're connected with a weak signal so it appears like you're offline when you're really not. If this sounds questionable to you then it's probably due to being cached offline and sent when a connection was later established. Gmail does this on my tablet sometimes, messages may not actually go through if signal is weak, but still be sent&nbsp; once a stronger connection is available. <br><br>seraphim this link may be of interest.<br>http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?N=50011553&amp;IsNodeId=1&amp;Submit=ENE<br>wireless cell phone antennas could help you if your phone/hotspot cant be used with something mentioned in OP.<br>best lowfi advice is step outside of your faraday cage <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[Seraphim]

Now you're assuming I know what a Faraday cage is lol.<br><br>Actually, most of our time is spent in regions where there is no cell service - since we grew up in those ancient days pre-cell phone, it's not much of a problem. But I will check that link when I get to a computer without a filter on the browser.<br><br>As long as the 9" B/W with the foil wrapped antenna stil works...

 

[Mouldy]

<span id="post_message_1277110243">best lowfi advice is step outside of your faraday cage <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="bbc_img"></span>

<br><br>+1 for ickkii!

 

[vanguy]

ickii, what are your thoughts on the new $250 google laptop? i think it would be a good fit for me. all i need is to browse/ check mail/ play youtube videos. i also have a playstation 3 but i think it would suck up too much power when i'm on the road.

 

[caseyc]

For a little more money, you can get a "real" laptop. The Google "laptop" pretty much only works if you have online access, and internal storage is usually minimal. You can't install any "real" programs, you can only use the online apps that Google offers. &nbsp;I personally like Google a lot, and like their Gmail account and synchronize everything from my smartphone to my Google account. &nbsp;But that's a far cry from using a "computer" by Google. But if you are intent on getting a Google laptop, just know the limitations going into it, and don't expect too much from it.

 

[Morgan7600]

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <wunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <wontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><p class="MsoNormal">I need to use an ergonomic keyboard and I do a lot of writing and working on a book deal.&nbsp; I'm doing my research for a proposed adventure beginning in 2014 and will need to get how I connect and with what equipment sorted out ahead of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I know nothing about tablets but was reading this string and it seems they have better battery life that LT’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Is this correct?</p><p class="MsoNormal">If so, I would assume that to use a tablet for writing and Internet, you just hook up the keyboard and track ball of your choice and you’ve got a way to go?&nbsp; How am I doing so far?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p><p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}</style><![endif]-->

 

[Morgan7600]

ickkii &amp; friends,&nbsp; I'm looking at using an iPad for GPS with a dash mount.&nbsp; <br>Would like to find the best apps for this.<br>Also, laptop &amp; ipad?&nbsp; Just ipad?&nbsp; I'm thinking both!<br><br>Also,&nbsp; I like to spend a lot of time on line and don't see this changing any time soon.&nbsp; I love my Netflix and would like to proceed with this in mind.<br>I love the ASUS products so will probably shop them for most everything I need.&nbsp; Still wondering about how to get on line in an RV.&nbsp; I have Directv here at home so looks like staying with them for mobile tv as well as net is a good choice.

 

[Morgan7600]

Question for ickkii, (or anyone with the answer)&nbsp; I'm getting nothing but robo calls on my ATT land line here at my home in San Diego area.&nbsp; I want to cancel it but must keep my Internet for obvious reasons.<br>My searches came up with a mishMash of info.&nbsp; Does my ATT DSL have to have a phone line dial tone in order to work?&nbsp; Should I pick up an iPad and do the tether with my iPhone?&nbsp; I'm an eBay seller so it's important.&nbsp; Thanks.&nbsp; M

 

[Willy]

I'm not yet 'sold' on Android/Apple tablets. Got an X220t convertible laptop with an SSD and, despite the worse battery life, really am lovin' it. It's also MUCH nicer for 'movie night', when my buds and I gather 'round to watch some quality entertainment. It's also rather more complete re. I/O, with tons of ports and, to an extent, upgradable. Most of the tablets out there kinda leave ya hosed in both those departments and seem to be left 'obsolete' rather more quickly. A lot of people are rockin' laptops near a decade old with no problems; Arm based tablets, on the other hand.. ..Willy. BTW.. I've got solar, so power isn't much of a problem.

 

[Morgan7600]

Hey Willy,&nbsp; Looks like the convertibles are the thing now and easy to see why.&nbsp; I like the ASUS A300 ickii was talking about.

 

[Willy]

This is what mine is like, and it has a Wacom digitizer for pen input:

 

[daminc]

I use my i-phone as a wifi hot spot, and my 17" macbook pro has a 7-1/2 hr battery life which doubles as tv and video watching... I cant really do the i-pad/ tablet stuff with the arthritis in my fingers. it also feels awkward to hold and use for me, but my wife loves her i-pad. I guess everyone has their own thing they like

 

[blars]

Morgan7600: The question is what AT&amp;T will sell you, and that is something only they can answer.&nbsp; Technicly, the only problem with ADSL on a "dry" pair (no phone) is getting the wires reused by phone techs that test for dialtone then decide the wire isn't in use.

 

[Morgan7600]

Thanks,&nbsp; I'll call them again.&nbsp; Just getting jammed up with their very high invoices.&nbsp; M

 

[caseyc]

Did I read that correctly that you're using a (10" screen?) iPad for GPS navigation?&nbsp; If so, that's the first time I've heard of anyone using an iPad for driving navigation, as it's&nbsp;(probably) too large to mount on a typical windshield or dashboard.&nbsp; It's also possible a&nbsp;highway patrol&nbsp;officer might have a problem with that too (just a guess). &nbsp;I have a 5" GPS screen, and that's plenty large enough for me.&nbsp; Just curious.

 

[Morgan7600]

As long as it's mounted below the plane of the bottom of the windshield, doesn't matter.