| Author | Message | ||
| Terry Springer (Tspringer)
Member Username: Tspringer Post Number: 578 Registered: 4-2002 |
Well, I got it and installed it. I did not have to tie it to any specific phone number, they gave me a new number that it references apparently. Thus its $80 per month for unlimited use and there is no worry about a $.20 per minute charge if your on the phone at the same time. The card cost me $179.00 at the local sprint store. Im getting connection speeds ranging from 80kbps to 110kbps. Not as fast as Rob, but lots faster than dialup and its easier. It also has static IP. So, its working well for me! I can now hang out by the lake or the subdivision pool and work instead of being cooped up in the office. I will also not be ducking those mid week track day events any longer! | ||
| Dan 360 (Dan360)
New member Username: Dan360 Post Number: 46 Registered: 2-2003 |
Just wandered into off-topic for the first time, and after laughing my ass off over the major flaming on the non-PC threads here I find a nice techie thread. I'm sitting on my living room floor with broadband access on my laptop via my wireless card to my wireless router upstairs in my office. The fact that I can open the thread with the tropic suntan girls is a testament to how cool this is. It means I can waste a good couple of hours on line without inturrupting work. | ||
| Terry Springer (Tspringer)
Member Username: Tspringer Post Number: 561 Registered: 4-2002 |
Im finding basically nothing about this on Sprints website. There is info about the PCS Vision program, but no mention at all about a wireless internet card for laptop. It also mentions nothing about access speeds and using the service for a real internet connection at all. It does talk a ton about sending photos from certain cell phones and getting IM on your cell phone, but it seems to be focused only on direct cell phone usage.... not with a laptop. So, Im confused. I did try calling Sprint. Ooooops. Calling Sprint is never a good idea. After being transferred to 3 different people and spending over 30 minutes total on hold and STILL not finding anyone who knew what I was talking about, I gave up. How do I find out more about this? | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 730 Registered: 11-2002 |
Ben, There's different 802.11's though. Just in case anyone is reading this to go shopping for wireless internet at home. 802.11a is very fast but has a "line of sight" limitation. That means it can't go through walls. Meaning that you can be wireless, but only in the room the doohickey is in. 802.11b is slower but allows you to roam to your liking because it will go through walls to get to the modem. 802.11c is the new one that is the best of both worlds. Goes through walls like Superman's pimp daddy vision and is also fast. Wait a bit and get the latter. Cheers | ||
| Ben Lobenstein 90 TR (Benjet)
Intermediate Member Username: Benjet Post Number: 1154 Registered: 1-2001 |
With Nextel even conntecting thru the fone (cable) you still can make and recieve calls (no matter - other than being teathered to your laptop). WAP (as I was referring to it) is just a cell fone with a browser in it. You can surf at the same speeds just have to deal with the small screen and lack of real input devices without adding parts. I check e-mail, news, sports and markets often this way. Works for what it does, more for informaiton retreival than "surfing". The clouds are essentially what they have at Starbuck's - but free. There are several parks and areas square blocks in size that have these - mostly in the downtown or around the tech campuses, also I discovered that many hotels are starting this as well, 802.11 anywhere on their grounds...gotta love it. -Ben | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 5125 Registered: 12-2000 |
Yes, Sprint has always concentrated on the high end market. I don't think they've been very price competitive on anything. The marketing name of Sprint's 3G stuff is Sprint Vision, although they push the cell phone cameras and games vs. the lap top wireless connections. I'm always looking for Sprint commercials and don't see very many. | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 688 Registered: 11-2002 |
Sprint PCS was the first to nationwide market with 3G technology which allows you to get the blazing speeds Rob's talking about (a confirmation on your comment, Rob). Other carriers rushed their projects to launch in local markets to claim to be the first company with 3G. The way Sprint PCS's technology works there is a lot more information that can flow through their "lines". That's why they keep stressing excellent sound quality etc. Even though their advertising is crap, their focus has been more towards the business consumer, not the masses; which is why we haven't seen too many ads on their cool features. Verizon and Cingular have similar stuff, but it isn't as reliable and fast. Their core market is the average consumer using the phones for personal use. Cheers | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 381 Registered: 10-2002 |
Nextel is far from nationwide. They do have coverage all over the United States but not nearly the coverage of Sprint. Mainly along your interstates and major highways. I'm not to big in the technical department so if I may ask what 3G means. I know anytime you have a signal through Nextel you can use your modem also. The main thing I'm sure some have heard about Nextel is the Nationwide walkie talkie they have coming out starting this month. I have a Nextel I95 through work I use but also have a Sprint cell phone I use for my personal calls and stuff. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 5118 Registered: 12-2000 |
The billing is $80 for unlimited use a month for the wireless card which is a separate device and has a unique number. Don't get confused that it's a bulky device with wires. There are no wires and it only sticks out of my PC about one inch. I'm actually just keeping it there all the time now. I also have a PCS phone plan which is separate. So that is about $40-45 a month. Only relation between the two is that if I use both at the same time, for some reason they charge you 20 cents a minute. I don't understand it, but that's what they explained. Matt, when did Nextel come to market with full nationwide 3G wireless data connection? Sprint's was released about this time last year and I understood they were the first to market nationwide. There were other companies that had local 3G enabled networks and of course the wireless modem (10-25k speeds) has been around for several years. | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 380 Registered: 10-2002 |
I work for Nextel and have also used one of the wireless cards we carry. I have to admit though that those speeds Sprint is pulling off is alot faster. Nextel is cheaper but that speed sounds worth the money. I don't understand the billing when using both phone and card either but I'm sure Rob can agree that when it comes to cellular companies there are all kinds of weird technicalities on billing and service. Sounds like you got a pretty cool new toy  | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1155 Registered: 11-2001 |
you should take a look at verizon's offerings now as well. IMO, the dedicated PC Card solution is a bit expensive, and will eventually go away. you can buy a cellphone (which you carry with you all the time anyway) and a simple USB or serial cable. the verizon 1X service is doing 40K to 60K sustained and up to 144K burst. everybody is planning on faster speeds down the road. in addition, everybody says you'll be able to know if someone's calling while you're on the data circuit - or even you'll be able to have vox conversations while you're online simultaneously. i believe verizon has just changed their 1X pricing policy to include a $45 all-you-can-eat per month plan, which is what i've been waiting for. eventually this will be a fairly inexpensive all-you-can-eat option on all the phones. i used to use my old motorola phone on sprintpcs as a modem - it was great. a total lifesaver. never had occassion to use my kyocera 6035 on verizon, but i will have occassion to use my kyocera 7135 on verizon as a modem. my two pennies. it's a great technology however you set it up. i'm very enamored of the smart phones (palm os and win ce) that allow you to do all sorts of web stuff right on the phone - no clumsy pc hookups, etc. i posted yesterday from the boston ferrari show site via the phone. enjoy! doody. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 5113 Registered: 12-2000 |
WAP's are awesome, but limited locations. Aren't those the type of things they have at Starbucks? They did a local study in DFW on WAP's by driving around in a van with software to identify and try to break in to each one. They had almost a 80% success rate. I've heard the Sprint wireless is only starting at 150k and it will slowly work up to speeds 400K+. I'm amazed at 150k, but 400k! Someone on my "Live Update Challenge..." thread talked about they just liked to hook up through their phone. My question is if you can still browse and make a call at the same time. The Sprint you can because they are two separate devices with two separate id numbers. However, they do charge 20 cents a minute when you're using both. I think to be totally mobile you need to be able to use the phone and lap top at the same time. | ||
| Ben Lobenstein 90 TR (Benjet)
Intermediate Member Username: Benjet Post Number: 1152 Registered: 1-2001 |
I just started on the similar program on Nextel (it's cheaper - and I'm already a Nextel customer) - except that you barely get 56k - usually in the neighborhood of 19.2k, my DSL at home is 1.5Mbps downstream consistantly (and I'm looking at getting faster). As the kit and service (for the nextel wireless net) didn't cost me anything - I think I'll pass on paying for the service until it catches up to some real speeds. In a number of places we have 802.11b clouds (free) in SF, where you can just roam around and surf at full speed, this is what everyone should have! I still have WAP on my fone (hey it's free!) -Ben | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 663 Registered: 11-2002 |
Yeah, this is great stuff. My wife works for Sprint PCS. I'm going to probably get this sometime soon. Last thing my wife needs, she'll have to surgically remove the laptop from my hands! It'll be cool for the Bay Area FChat meetings though, that's for sure! Live reporting! Cheers | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 4388 Registered: 8-2002 |
FerrariChat on the go...?!?!?!?! AWESOME...! | ||
| William Huber (Solipsist)
Member Username: Solipsist Post Number: 997 Registered: 9-2001 |
"I can use this while I'm fishing, at the race track, or traveling." Geez, Rob. Your a bigger geek than I thought. j/k  | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 5086 Registered: 12-2000 |
I just got it, so I'll explain my experience over time. | ||
| Vik (Speed_demon_666)
New member Username: Speed_demon_666 Post Number: 26 Registered: 12-2002 |
Hey Rob...thanks for the info....I have a Samsung A500 phone and I get really good dowload rates averaging 70 Kbps......Do u get average throughputs of 150k?...My monthly bill comes to abt 75 bucks including unlimited data....Oh yeah What sucks though is the dialer software (which by the way is no longer available) and a friggin Samsung cable that looses connection if you breathe on it.... | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 5082 Registered: 12-2000 |
Ok, yes, I do work for Sprint, but not PCS. I work with their business customer systems. Anyway, Sprint does have some issues with customer service (Claire the automated •••••!), but this wireless connection is just awesome. I installed it this week. 1) $80 a month for unlimited 24-7 access. 2) Doesn't use your phone, it's just a little PCI card that sticks in your laptop. Only sticks out about one inch. $150. 3) Tested the speed this morning. It was getting 150k download! My DSL isn't that fast sometimes. Basically, what you have is the ability to connect to the internet (browser, email, IM, company server) at 150k speeds wherever you can get a PCS signal. No wires what-so-ever. I took my laptop to the back yard and was browsing FerrariChat.com. No power wire, no phone wire, and no mouse as I was using the keyboard pointer. I think this is the coolest. I can use this while I'm fishing, at the race track, or traveling. I hope to really test it out Saturday as I have the first test session with the FerrariChat.com Race car. I'll be at the track starting at about 9am CST and I will post updates and pics all day long wireless from the track. Sorry, I'm just so excited about this and think it's the coolest. It was easy as... 1) Went to the www.sprintpcs.com website and called. 2) Gave them my PCS phone number and confirmed my account (must have regular PCS account I think - I pay $35 a month for my PCS phone plan). 3) Ordered the connection card. 4) Connection card arrived 2 days later with software CD. Installed the software in about a minute, called the activation number, and about two hours later my account was provisioned and after downloading the latest software update I was good to go. $150 for the card and $80 a month for unlimited access. Only additional costs that can get you are if you use the card and phone at same time. There's a 20 cents per minute charge on that. I don't know why, as they treat both as separate connections, but anyway. Let me know if any questions. |