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Old 12-04-2010, 11:18   #1
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Wireless Internet - New Option

A little info I just found and thought it maybe of help to others.


First off all the wireless providers have a limit of use 5gig and cost around $70 a month.


I ordered the Verizon service and was not happy with it at all so I returned it ASAP.

Doing research for a better/cheaper service I found that I could change my T mobile service to unlimited any time minutes now, I am not talking about the internet service they offer it is the voice phone service for $59.99. With my cell phone I have a data cable to link the phone to a PC for transfering picture and such. Well I found out that you can also use it as a modem and have dailup service at the same speeds as the wireless cost. Myself I use AOL that cost $9.99 a month. so I now have unlimited wireless service through my cell phone at a total cost of $69.98 a month.

Also if you have a phone that dose not have the date link you can Bluetooth the phone to the PC the same way and the USB Bluetooth adapter cost $4.00 on Ebay.

You could even add a phone to your plan for $10 just for use on the PC.


hope this helps


Dutch
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Old 12-04-2010, 11:33   #2
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You do want to be careful about this. Some of the carriers will charge you for data usage against a tethered device. The results can get quite expensive (yeah, there were some issues I had). Some leave the data part unblocked but if you get on the radar (excessive usage) suddenly you don't have service anymore. You do want to understand your wireless contract before doing such a thing or you could end up unhappy.

Also some of the carriers take more time to bill for such things, you might see your voice billing from last month this month, but the data could be billed next month (yeah, had issues with that).
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Old 12-04-2010, 11:43   #3
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Thank you for the heads up. I do not plan to use it much just just when i am on the move and not able to get a wifi to check weather so at most maybe 10 minutes at a time.


Dutch
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Old 12-04-2010, 11:44   #4
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No sweat... don't want to see you end up with $8K in wireless bills in two months... (yeah, I had some issues with that).
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Old 12-04-2010, 12:42   #5
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I used my T-Mobile like this for a trip down the ICW a couple of years ago and, after a difficult start, it worked reasonably well with a Siemens phone. I also did the same for 3 months this winter in Florida. A couple of comments. It worked...kind of. It was v...e...r...y.....s...l...o....w....... It kept dropping the connection. It appeard the signal was weak where I was since regular calls were often broken up, but that didn't account for the slow connection. I went to T-Mobile and was told that to use their data package I really needed a Smart Phone. My Motorola Razr is what they called a "phone first" device and it didn't work very well as a modem. They also said I would have the same problem with any low end phone but the Razr was worse than most.

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Old 12-04-2010, 16:24   #6
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funny how my sprint is UNLIMITED for 70 dollars/month--no hidden charges lol....my linux with my sprint dial up broadband is not so lslow and it works anywhere there are cell towers---right now my cell fone has 1-2 bars for service and this is working just fine., go figger.....so--as much as i hate to say that sprint has a decent service, i have to----this is excelklent--works in usvi!!!! and pruerto rico!!!!! and guam!!!!
an dwithout hidden charges verizon has always been good at charging for!!!!
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Old 12-04-2010, 16:33   #7
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wireless

sprint works all the way down the coast and down into bvi's $45 a month wireless
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Old 12-04-2010, 18:20   #8
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Living aboard, I have been happy with my Verizon service so far. I have been told that I will have coverage as far as Catalina and the Channel Islands but have yet to verify that (Next month...hooray!). For a luddite like me it is plenty fast enough and so far I haven't had a problem staying in bounds on the 5 gig program. I watch usage VERY closely. The alternative for going on line down here with the marina provided service was $12.00 more per month with unlimited but, of course, it's only good in the marina and not while I'm on the water.
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Old 13-04-2010, 07:31   #9
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I personally have NOT had any trouble with verizon. I bought the DROID about 4 months ago or just after they started appearing on the scene. Two months ago my kid (an electronic whiz finally at 30 yrs old!) and I 'rooted' our phones. When everyone else was still running 2.0 on their droid we had hacked ours to run an equivelent of 2.1b which was way out in Nexus territory. If you don't understand a single thing I've said so far don't worry... I didnt either until my kid started showing me all the cool hacked programs available when we did the forced updates to our phones. They are currently overclocked and let me tell you, that made a world of difference in the performance. Theyoperate around 550 Mhz stock and we've overclocked them to 1.1Ghz. That's about double. They do get hot ocassionally, but have temp control software built in and it slows down the processor if things get too hot for it, thus saving it from a melt down. I have a specific program that wireless tethers my laptop (in fact I can tether wirelessly up to 5 laptops at the same time) to provide internet where ever I get a phone signal. Not bad either. It's actually faster than the DSL wireless signal we have at work!
I have the 5GB limit thing but honestly never exceed about 800mb of data transfer per month. I figured it'd be a lot more but so far it's fine. Yes it's expensive but when you want internet plus a phone, plus all the stuff the DROID does anyway... who cares what it costs right? I spend less than 150$ USD a month for everything but I have 2 phones on my account with one having the full on data package.
This phone is the I-Phone on steroids and I'm totally happy with its' performance and service. Something I don't say lightly with the experiences I've had with all the other carriers, (AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.)
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Old 13-04-2010, 08:44   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Butler View Post
Living aboard, I have been happy with my Verizon service so far. I have been told that I will have coverage as far as Catalina and the Channel Islands but have yet to verify that (Next month...hooray!). For a luddite like me it is plenty fast enough and so far I haven't had a problem staying in bounds on the 5 gig program. I watch usage VERY closely. The alternative for going on line down here with the marina provided service was $12.00 more per month with unlimited but, of course, it's only good in the marina and not while I'm on the water.
Butler: Sorry to say that you may not get coverage at Catalina as we can't get coverage at Santa Cruz Island with my AT&T cell or Lisa's Verizon cell or Verizon wifi "stick". We were out there last week and it's frustrating not getting wx on our laptops.
If there are any ideas for wifi coverage to the Channel Islands I'd sure like to know.
John
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Old 13-04-2010, 09:13   #11
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Twin Harbours on Catalina has wifi,probably need a booster to get it onboard though.
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Old 13-04-2010, 13:34   #12
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I ordered the Verizon service and was not happy with it at all so I returned it ASAP.
Really, I've heard good things about Verizon, may not be the fastest or cheapest, but they have reliable and broad network coverage.
What exactly was your problem?
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Old 14-04-2010, 00:01   #13
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Thanks for the heads-up John. Will be able to play with the service myself in May. Won't be expecting much. I will be working from the boat while cruising around and will have until June to figure out how to manage web connection. May have to make sure to calendar coastal port visits regularly with much less "island time" than I'd like.
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Old 24-07-2010, 12:27   #14
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Hey Dutch,

Maybe you know this, but you don't need AOL. You can just use your browser, internet explorer or firefox when you're tethered to your cell phone. Then for email, just sign up for a free gmail account.
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Old 24-07-2010, 12:43   #15
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Squeaks: good info about S. Cruz Isl..I've been wondering if I'd have service there. Which side were you anchored? Prisoners? Little Scorpion? ??

Butler: Spent a few days at the Isthmus, two weeks ago & My Sprint Cell & Verizon Wireless were better than they are in LA Harbor, where I'm berthed. Catalina is apparently well-covered.
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