Help, please: I'm looking to buy a laptop with wireless capability that can be used both in the US and overseas. Do I have to subscribe to some type of service while in other countries, or is there one service that will work everywhere? Which laptops should I consider (looking for light-weight yet not outrageously expensive)? Thanks!
most laptops now come with 802.11 wireless networking (WiFi). my understanding is that this networking is supported worldwide. the thing is that it's very short range stuff. some companies run wireless receivers (access points) and some don't. some coffee shops do. most don't. some folks charge for access. some don't. there's no universal setup, unfortunately, in your home town - never mind globally. various airports et. al. have "hot spots" - but usually you have to fork over buckages at each airport. for the US, the easier thing to do is to get a cell phone that can be used as a modem. i have a kyocera 7135 with verizon. i carry a USB cable that connects to my phone. as long as i have verizon signal i'm golden. globally i assume this is a much more annoying problem. RJ45 ethernet cables are damn standard though - carry one with you. sometimes you can find jacks at odd places in public places and jack in. i'm a huge sony vaio fan. i'm on my fourth sony notebook now (since 1997?) and i'm getting ready to buy a sony pcg-x505. in 1995 i messed up a disc in my neck by carrying a monstrous toshiba laptop around sanfran for a month in my briefcase hanging on my shoulder. now i just buy the lightest stuff around - laptops are cheap compared to your back . doody.
Get the Palm Treo 600. It is perfect if you want light weight. Internet, Cell phone, PDA, Organizer, digital camera, and email all in one.
Wayne, Most new laptops come with WiFi and as they all "conform" to a standard (802.11a or b) they will work anywhere in the world. Now the thing I have lost is the URL that lists all the hotels in the world that supply WiFi connectivity but I'm sure someone here has it. You'll be surprised how many hotels have this installed and the number of countries. I don't think it is too cheap (not here in Australia anyway) but if you need to get on-line with decent bandwidth this is the only way to go. There are hotspots available at coffee shops and some McDs as well I hear. I have been using WiFi since the inception and even if you have an old laptop that will take a $50 WiFi card you would be happy with it, so long as you were happy with the performance of the original laptop. I am told (never used one myself) that the MAC laptops are brilliant for WiFi
Thanks for the responses. Let me make sure I understand what you're saying, though. If I take my WiFi-ready laptop to a foreign country, I should be able to have wireless Web access as long as I'm in a "hot spot," right? That could be a hotel that's set up for it or possibly an airport or other facility (in which I might have to pay a fee to have access to the area)? So, out roaming about town in a foreign land, I'm SOL when it comes to being wireless. Correct?
Correct. 802.11 b/g is a world wide convention. It will work in all hotels, airports, Starbucks, borders, etc. as long as there is a hotspot. You might need to pay for the service. T-mobile for example has the wireless hotspot contracts for most us airports, starbucks and wendys.
Try these links if you know where you are going to be http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/ http://intel.jiwire.com/ http://www.hotspot-locations.com/ Intel is the best site.
If you still are considering changing laptop, stay away from Compaq/HP. I've had one, and it breaks down every 6 months or so. Very poor quality. Toshiba, on the other hand is very nice. Very reliable. IBM is recomended too, as well as Dell's service, although I've heard it was going downhill lately.
Apple I-Book, OS X 10.3.4 Inexpensive, fast, wireless enabled, lightweight, etc. etc. and best of all its a Mac. PS post this in a Euro area for most uptodate wireless access info?
I bought the Fujitsu Lifebook for $1650. Though I have never taken it overseas yet, it's awesome in the states. Extremely light, full WiFi. I also bought an Earthlink wireless card (which I am on right now at a friends house) and it works great! Sweet technology!
