Technology ????

[C Pony Go]

Okay, don't laugh, but we purchased our first laptop on Saturday, however, I refuse to hook up my internet connection to AOL because it is sooooooooooo slow. We live so far out in the "boonies" that cable or DSL is not an option. We could go with the satellite thru Directv, or, something called an "air card". That is my ?, does anyone have any experience with these cards that connection directly to your laptap and wherever you have cell service, you have internet. Best Buy tells me they are slow....Verizon tells me they are fast.

[Sabre]

I have a both a brother and a nephew, who have wireless cellular cards for their laptops. I can't quote you any specific speeds, but they both report that they work well and my brother says that his is equal to or better than a DSL connection. I suspect that your connection speed with a wireless cellular card will be affected by your reception strength in your area, the quality of the company who puts out the card, and the program or speed that you chose to pay for.

Hope that helps just a little.

[mustangdaveg]

AT&T offers one as well...was going to get one since I am an AT&T customer...it ended up being a NO SALE...they wanted either $300 up front or to sign me up for a NEW Cellular program...with a 2-3yr commitment.

[RoushMach1]

I use a Verizon Wireless wireless connection at home exclusively. Speeds are fine but like mentioned above, it depends on the strength of signal a normal cell phone gets in the area.

[IKandy]

I have used one of the AT&T aircards and had both good and bad experiences. I agree with others on here, it depends on your cell reception. My best experiences have been with strong cell reception, my worst experiences when my cell reception was so low that I could barely make a call. At that point, 56k Modem dial up is faster!!

The G3 network from AT&T is supposed to be much faster, but I have no idea how far the coverage area goes, and also if they sell a G3 aircard?

Sorry, not sure if this information helps you or not Shirley. I guess my best recommendation would be to make some kind of deal to try the set up for a few days, and be able to get your money back (easily!) if it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Hope that helps,
Kandy

[ericwp]

Make sure you have proper coverage for the aircard in your area.
Verizon should be EVDO coverage, ATT should have 3g coverage and not sure about T-Mobile, we don't use T-Mobile cards at work.

It is called mobile broadband and the speeds should equal DSL or be greater.
Not all carriers have the "high speed" coverage for the aircards in all areas. Some default to lower speeds such as 1X for Verizon and Either Edge or GPRS for ATT. Double check with whomever you are going to go with. Go to the websites for the respective carriers and do a search for coverage and types of coverage by zip codes. Ask your neighbors or people from your area also, best way to do research to see what is best for you.

From my experiance installing, buying, fixing, deploying these cards, verizon has the best coverage across the the good ole USA.

Also there might be a limit as to how much data you can use per month, depending on the plan you purchase..the average is 5GBs a month.

[ericwp]

One more thing...Verizon has either a 14 or 30 day return policy, if you are unhappy with the reception, service, etc.
Not sure about ATT though.

[ericwp]

REad this it might help

Verizon Wireless Launches High-Speed Wireless Broadband Network Throughout the Susquehanna... | Reuters

Verizon Wireless Expands EVDO Throughout the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania : EVDOinfo.com

[STU]

I have a Sierra card in my business lap top through Centennial. Slower than cable but faster than dial-up. The short antenna that came with the card did not work to well. I purchased an 11 dbi external antenna from this company. Works great.

11dBi External Antenna- Sierra Wireless 880 881 AirCard - eBay (item 360033042161 end time Oct-09-08 19:21:40 PDT)

[JAY STAGE3]

My opinion,Sprint sucks the maximum speed ive ever seen is 518kbs dwnl and 91 kbs upld in a good reception area sometimes its horrile depending on the time of day.