Mobile Phone acting as a modem ?

[juice]

Wonder if anyone has any experience of this.

I'm coming to the UK in June and bringing my laptop. The problem is, I'm going boating on the Norfolk Broads for a week so my telephone options are pretty limited (as its in the middle of nowhere. Reception has never been an issue the times I've been there before.)

My Blackberry is an older model and cannot act as a modem (a 7230). Just wondering if there are any handsets I can buy in the Uk that I can connect my laptop to to have it act as a modem (via either 3G or GPRS). I will need to run a secure remote VPN connection back to Bermuda to access various servers...I hope there's something out there I can buy otherwise I'm gonna have to put this trip on hold - which is NOT going to please the missus !

Thanks

[Plotloss]

Loads if not all handsets can act as a modem.

My MDA Pro and 'er indoors Sanyo S750 certaintly can.

[juice]

Found this - which I'm hoping I'll be able to run a VPN over...

http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch

[malman]

You will find a version of that card from the O2, Orange and Vodafone.

I know O2 allow you to use VPN stuff as they had a specific APN for it as the standard APN gave you a 10.X.X.X IP which upset some VPN clients as it used NAT

www.o2.co.uk/productsservices/vpn/pdf/VPN_Access_over_Mobile_Web_2.pdf has the info not sure if anything has changed since then.

[size13]

I use a gprs datacard from vodaphone, but I've never tried VPN with it.

You might find the 3G won't work in the Norfolk Broads and I'll use GPRS.
I sometimes have a crap GPRS signal, even when the phone signal is OK.

[zumbruk]

Given my experience of boating on the Broads, I'd cancel the holiday and go somewhere nice, if I were you. It was like taking a holiday on the central reservation of the M1 - noisy, dirty, smelly and you get woken up at 5 AM by the early birds and kept up until 2 AM by the drunks. We took the boat back after 3 days and went home.

[juice]

Ah, it's a complete antithesis of here, that's why I love it. Not interested in a beach holiday - have enough of that here !

Been 5 times now, and try and go once every two years if I can. We never moor at pubs and only stay overnight in Norwich..

Tend to go south (Beccles/Oulton) as it's much quieter.

[zumbruk]

juice said:

Ah, it's a complete antithesis of here, that's why I love it. Not interested in a beach holiday - have enough of that here ! Been 5 times now, and try and go once every two years if I can. We never moor at pubs and only stay overnight in Norwich.. Tend to go south (Beccles/Oulton) as it's much quieter.

You live in Bermuda and holiday on the Norfolk Broads?

Mind you, I agree about the complete antithesis - I work in Canary Wharf and go on holiday here;

www.morroch-bay.com

[juice]

Wow - That looks absolutely stunning

[puggit]

Used to live in a house with no landline or broadband - took up Orange's offer of unlimited offpeak calls a while back for 50p per day...

It was slow, but good enough for email...

[bigdods]

GEt a vodafone data card - slap it in the PCMCIA slot and away you go. they support 3G and fall back to GPRS if theres no 3G. On the odd occasion I forget mine I bluetooth to the mobile and dial up via GPRS - works but its horribly slow

[chris.mapey]

I'd pick up a 3G/gprs card off ebay.

I have an Orange one. cost me £20.

The pay as you go SIM was a quid. Registered to me, top up with a £10, and they added £40 worth of data allowance for me!

I don't use it that much, if you are struggling to get sorted, I'm a 45m drive from Beccles / Oulton Broad, so drop me an email - it may be available to borrow during your holiday!!

Chris