mobile laptop internet - whilst driving
Discussion
What are the current options on being able to use the internet on a laptop whilst travelling in a car, motorhome, bus etc.
I am thinking of going on a euro-tour, but whilst travelling, my girlfriend in the passenger seat could be using the likes of google earth to pick out interesting things en-route.
Is this possible, or currently prohibitively expensive?
What about if just travelling around the UK? ...can it be done?
neither of us have a contract mobile phones by the way...we are both pre-pay...but are there any other methods of getting a laptop connected to the internet without having to sit stationary outside a building with wi-fi for example?
I am thinking of going on a euro-tour, but whilst travelling, my girlfriend in the passenger seat could be using the likes of google earth to pick out interesting things en-route.
Is this possible, or currently prohibitively expensive?
What about if just travelling around the UK? ...can it be done?
neither of us have a contract mobile phones by the way...we are both pre-pay...but are there any other methods of getting a laptop connected to the internet without having to sit stationary outside a building with wi-fi for example?
ds.Tom_C76 said:
AJI said:
so these USB dongles, they connect through the mobile phone to get to the internet?
Nope, they have their own sim card and built in transmitter, aerial etc all in the dongle. You get a separate contract for it.TC
So I guess they are connecting to satallites in a similar way to satnav units?
AJI said:
Tom_C76 said:
AJI said:
so these USB dongles, they connect through the mobile phone to get to the internet?
Nope, they have their own sim card and built in transmitter, aerial etc all in the dongle. You get a separate contract for it.TC
So I guess they are connecting to satallites in a similar way to satnav units?
timbobalob said:
As far as I know, you would have to track your location on Google Earth as the USB dongle just connects you to the internet like at home/office.
Not sure if this helps!
yes, tracking on google earth was the plan...I would be telling her which road we'd be on and then getting her to look ahead of the journey so she can pick out anything of interest.Not sure if this helps!
I've just been looking on this website : http://mobile.broadbandgenie.co.uk/3g-broadband/pa...
And after reading through some of the user reviews it looks like these dongles do not give any usable bandwidth, whereby webpages are taking ages to load, if at all.
Using google earth with them maybe a non-starter if they can not quickly load graphical info.
I use mobile internet as I travel around on trains/listen to internet radio in the car etc. The speed of downloads depends on the signal where you are and whether you are connected to a 3g mast or one of the old 2g ones. It can make your music stop playing when you drive from the towns into the boondocks because of this.
You can either have an internet package on your mobile phone and connect your laptop to it with a cable or via bluetooth/wifi. Any decent business phone will let you do this using the cable that came with it. Some phones may need software installing.
Nokia (Any model starting with a 6, E or N, plus some others):
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. Install nokia pc suite and click "connect to internet". That simple. Most Nokias are geared up for the business market and lots of people still like to dial up their company or send faxes on their mobile phones so this capability is built right in. If you have a series 60 smartphone such as an E or N series install "Joikuspot" to let you turn the phone into a wireless access point.
Blackberry: The software that came with it lets you dial up with the cable/BT, much like Nokia (designed to be a business phone again). Install tetherberry for the wifi stuff.
Sony Erricson:
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. I don't know the specifics on this one but know it can be done.
Apple iPhone:
Jailbreak it. There is software you can install to turn it into a wifi access point. Not designed for business so no modem capabiliy designed in but your friendly neighborhood hackers fixed it.
Windows Mobile (i.e. HP, XDA, most HTC phones): Use the cable, or bluetooth. There is software similar to Joikuspot for it but I don't use winmo so don't know what it is called.
Android (Google ADP1 & T-mobile G1(aka HTC Dream), HTC Magic): Install PDAnet for Android on the laptop and it will install stuff on the phone to connect you to the internet over the cable.
If you have a phone with root access such as an ADP1, or a phone with alternative software image on it with root access i.e. the JesusFreke image on a G1 you can install wireless tether which will either turn the phone into a wireless access point or let you use bluetooth. This is not a business phone so no built in modem support, T-mobile also pressured Google into locking down things like tethering but Google made such a token gesture towards doing that they practically had instructions on how to get root access printed in large friendly letters on the cover.
Easy method:
You can also get a 3g dongle/card which does exactly the same as the above. They are basically mobile phones without keypads and a handset. They speak to your computer exactly the same way as a mobile phone plugged into it does. Most of them are designed to automatically set themselves up when you plug them in though which helps if you are not very computer literate.
You can either have an internet package on your mobile phone and connect your laptop to it with a cable or via bluetooth/wifi. Any decent business phone will let you do this using the cable that came with it. Some phones may need software installing.
Nokia (Any model starting with a 6, E or N, plus some others):
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. Install nokia pc suite and click "connect to internet". That simple. Most Nokias are geared up for the business market and lots of people still like to dial up their company or send faxes on their mobile phones so this capability is built right in. If you have a series 60 smartphone such as an E or N series install "Joikuspot" to let you turn the phone into a wireless access point.
Blackberry: The software that came with it lets you dial up with the cable/BT, much like Nokia (designed to be a business phone again). Install tetherberry for the wifi stuff.
Sony Erricson:
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. I don't know the specifics on this one but know it can be done.
Apple iPhone:
Jailbreak it. There is software you can install to turn it into a wifi access point. Not designed for business so no modem capabiliy designed in but your friendly neighborhood hackers fixed it.
Windows Mobile (i.e. HP, XDA, most HTC phones): Use the cable, or bluetooth. There is software similar to Joikuspot for it but I don't use winmo so don't know what it is called.
Android (Google ADP1 & T-mobile G1(aka HTC Dream), HTC Magic): Install PDAnet for Android on the laptop and it will install stuff on the phone to connect you to the internet over the cable.
If you have a phone with root access such as an ADP1, or a phone with alternative software image on it with root access i.e. the JesusFreke image on a G1 you can install wireless tether which will either turn the phone into a wireless access point or let you use bluetooth. This is not a business phone so no built in modem support, T-mobile also pressured Google into locking down things like tethering but Google made such a token gesture towards doing that they practically had instructions on how to get root access printed in large friendly letters on the cover.
Easy method:
You can also get a 3g dongle/card which does exactly the same as the above. They are basically mobile phones without keypads and a handset. They speak to your computer exactly the same way as a mobile phone plugged into it does. Most of them are designed to automatically set themselves up when you plug them in though which helps if you are not very computer literate.
esselte said:
aspen said:
You can get yourself a 3 dongle for free, comes with a pay as you go sim. Saves spending £30 on one from 3 directly...
3dongle4free.co.uk
Do you already have to be a 3 customer to get this?3dongle4free.co.uk
He isn't a 3 customer.
sadako said:
I use mobile internet as I travel around on trains/listen to internet radio in the car etc. The speed of downloads depends on the signal where you are and whether you are connected to a 3g mast or one of the old 2g ones. It can make your music stop playing when you drive from the towns into the boondocks because of this.
You can either have an internet package on your mobile phone and connect your laptop to it with a cable or via bluetooth/wifi. Any decent business phone will let you do this using the cable that came with it. Some phones may need software installing.
Nokia (Any model starting with a 6, E or N, plus some others):
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. Install nokia pc suite and click "connect to internet". That simple. Most Nokias are geared up for the business market and lots of people still like to dial up their company or send faxes on their mobile phones so this capability is built right in. If you have a series 60 smartphone such as an E or N series install "Joikuspot" to let you turn the phone into a wireless access point.
Blackberry: The software that came with it lets you dial up with the cable/BT, much like Nokia (designed to be a business phone again). Install tetherberry for the wifi stuff.
Sony Erricson:
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. I don't know the specifics on this one but know it can be done.
Apple iPhone:
Jailbreak it. There is software you can install to turn it into a wifi access point. Not designed for business so no modem capabiliy designed in but your friendly neighborhood hackers fixed it.
Windows Mobile (i.e. HP, XDA, most HTC phones): Use the cable, or bluetooth. There is software similar to Joikuspot for it but I don't use winmo so don't know what it is called.
Android (Google ADP1 & T-mobile G1(aka HTC Dream), HTC Magic): Install PDAnet for Android on the laptop and it will install stuff on the phone to connect you to the internet over the cable.
If you have a phone with root access such as an ADP1, or a phone with alternative software image on it with root access i.e. the JesusFreke image on a G1 you can install wireless tether which will either turn the phone into a wireless access point or let you use bluetooth. This is not a business phone so no built in modem support, T-mobile also pressured Google into locking down things like tethering but Google made such a token gesture towards doing that they practically had instructions on how to get root access printed in large friendly letters on the cover.
Easy method:
You can also get a 3g dongle/card which does exactly the same as the above. They are basically mobile phones without keypads and a handset. They speak to your computer exactly the same way as a mobile phone plugged into it does. Most of them are designed to automatically set themselves up when you plug them in though which helps if you are not very computer literate.
Thanks for that :-)You can either have an internet package on your mobile phone and connect your laptop to it with a cable or via bluetooth/wifi. Any decent business phone will let you do this using the cable that came with it. Some phones may need software installing.
Nokia (Any model starting with a 6, E or N, plus some others):
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. Install nokia pc suite and click "connect to internet". That simple. Most Nokias are geared up for the business market and lots of people still like to dial up their company or send faxes on their mobile phones so this capability is built right in. If you have a series 60 smartphone such as an E or N series install "Joikuspot" to let you turn the phone into a wireless access point.
Blackberry: The software that came with it lets you dial up with the cable/BT, much like Nokia (designed to be a business phone again). Install tetherberry for the wifi stuff.
Sony Erricson:
Use the cable that came with it or use bluetooth dialup. I don't know the specifics on this one but know it can be done.
Apple iPhone:
Jailbreak it. There is software you can install to turn it into a wifi access point. Not designed for business so no modem capabiliy designed in but your friendly neighborhood hackers fixed it.
Windows Mobile (i.e. HP, XDA, most HTC phones): Use the cable, or bluetooth. There is software similar to Joikuspot for it but I don't use winmo so don't know what it is called.
Android (Google ADP1 & T-mobile G1(aka HTC Dream), HTC Magic): Install PDAnet for Android on the laptop and it will install stuff on the phone to connect you to the internet over the cable.
If you have a phone with root access such as an ADP1, or a phone with alternative software image on it with root access i.e. the JesusFreke image on a G1 you can install wireless tether which will either turn the phone into a wireless access point or let you use bluetooth. This is not a business phone so no built in modem support, T-mobile also pressured Google into locking down things like tethering but Google made such a token gesture towards doing that they practically had instructions on how to get root access printed in large friendly letters on the cover.
Easy method:
You can also get a 3g dongle/card which does exactly the same as the above. They are basically mobile phones without keypads and a handset. They speak to your computer exactly the same way as a mobile phone plugged into it does. Most of them are designed to automatically set themselves up when you plug them in though which helps if you are not very computer literate.
As I'm not an IT 10th dan, I have gone for the easy method and that free offer as mentioned in the above post.
Just for info, the above link to the offer does not require you to be a 3 customer, as it is pay as you go it is a prospoective offer wherby they will get the business as you top up. The only payment is postage (£5).
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