Internet Via Mobile Phone Help

[belgium]

this may sound silly, but i'm abroad a lot and like to acces internet via my mobile phone, can anyone tell me what i need to do this, and wich cell phone is suitable to do this??
does anyone has any experience with this, what does it mean in terms of speed?
is it possible to use ichat audio with it??

 

[Jarbo]

Go to Smith Micro. They have a system for almost all cell phones. I got mine from them an it works great on my g3 powerbook. Works on a USB cable that hooks up to my phone.

 

[jupitercore]

While I'm not on a Mac, I'm doing exactly what you're asking about right now.

I have an Alcatel OneTouch 715 mobile, and GPRS data access through Vodafone Hungary, connected via IrDA to my laptop. I also have a Siemens S55 mobile with similar access through PannonGSM, and it connects via Bluetooth (I'm waiting for the Vodafone contract to die - thus the 2 phones).

Access speeds are comparible to a 56kbps land-line connection (maybe a little faster). Once thing to watch out for is that GPRS data streams are compressed on the provider's end. You also have to worry about data usage, as there is no such thing as "unlimited" - my Vodafone HU account is 200MB/month and my PannonGSM account is 300MB/month. Granted, my experience only deals with Hungarian providers, so it could be different outside of the country. I highly doubt you'll be using iChat Audio over GPRS, but I'm not yet familiar with how much it compresses data streams (hopefully I'll know soon enough : )

I know in the US, Verizon Wireless (55% owned by Vodafone UK) is testing a high-speed connectivitiy that will offer 300kbps-500kbps in supported areas using something that is like GPRS over 802.11. The test cities are Wasington, DC and San Diego. It's possible that Vodafone will introduce something like that in Europe.

It's worth having the ability to be connected where-ever when WiFi isn't an option (as it isn't pretty much ANYWHERE in this country except Györ). If the phone supports GPRS, it'll work. Pretty much any GSM phone that has been released in the last 1-2 years, but double check. Both of my phones work well, and Sony-Ericsson T68i (the one Steve Jobs showed during the keynote introducing Jaguar), T61x series, and Pxxx series phones have been known to work exceptionally well. You can connect most phones via USB, IrDA (if you dont have IrDA, you can get IrDA-to-USB usually cheaper than a phone's USB data cable), or Bluetooth. Personally, I prefer Bluetooth.

For providers, the 2 largest in Europe (as I assume that's what you mean "overseas") are T-Mobile and Vodafone. T-Mobile owns the most networks (over 60% of Europe AFAIK); Vodafone has the most customers. Both are quite good.

 

[Phiber]

How about EDGE providers? it isn't quite what Verizon is offering, but it will work fairly well. Sprint also has a quasi-high speed offering. No unlimited though. ***?

:headphone

Also, let me ammend this with a question: How well does that Bluetooth pairing work? It doesn't actually use the phone to dial, does it?

 

[NightCrawler]

here is what i know

you need either a 3G phone or a Cell phone with a built in modem, (some phones need it activated) thats it..

 

[Meyvn]

yeah, I have something like that, too. Really cool thing to have when you're away and you're not in a WiFi hotspot or don't want to pay 20-50 bucks extra to T-Mobile or companies like taht just to use your laptop at Barnes & Noble, Starbucks and McDonald's. I haven't tested it yet even though it's set up for that. It uses up my cell phone minutes rather than having an account of its own, which is handy for those of us that don't want to use the internet a TON.

 

[Phiber]

heh, I would Definatly need an account. I use it heavily; in fact, the only time I get on a wired connection is at work. I am looking at Verizon and their high speed

 

[firsteggprez]

i have a motorola v710 from verizon and use it for when im in the car all the time... it rules... it uses ur minutes and on the weakends and after 8 at night its unlimited. I love having bluetooth on my cell phone!