3G and Wi-Fi

How much does a Verizon cost?

BTW, Kindle has free 3G.

 

I play Eve Online and while in Training I havent been able to but that should change when I upgrade to my own truck.

based on personal exp, I would say that if you are playing casual, and have nothing but just killin time, truck stop wi-fi's are..... okay. you do have to pay for them... but if you pay for a whole year, its only like $150.

I will be getting US Cellulars Mi-Fi (mobile wi fi) which also has the 5g monthly limit. I will play Eve, check emails, facebook, etc using that... then probably leech a hotels wi-fi to download TV and Movies (CastTv.com, netflixs, etc)

MMO's take up (surprisingly) little bandwidth.... you need a fast connection no doubt... but you arent uploading or downloading massive info.... most is just code for the client PC to apply. the 5g limit SHOULD be plenty.... if it isnt I will post when I know...

 

The problem I've found with TruckStop WiFi, is that once you get to a certain time (just about right after dinnertime), you can see a VERY noticeable decline in performance. I've seen speeds drop from 54Kbps to 2Kbps. This makes trying to load even the simplest of pages, aggravating at best. Definitely better to go with a Wireless Broadband provider if you can swing it, no sharing resources there.
The other issue that I have with TruckStop Wifi, is that even though they are serviced by the same company, you can only use your subscription within the partner sites. For example, you buy a month service at Pilot, you can use it at any Pilot or Flying J BUT NOT Loves/TA/Petro. If you buy at TA or Petro, it's good at either of those, but not Loves/Pilot/Flying J... Pretty shady considering the same company is providing the service to all of them.
As was stated, 'some' of the restaurants within the TruckStop networks will have free WiFi, so check before you purchase (if you are buying as you go, vs monthly subscriptions).
With the Wireless Broadband, 'most' of the providers will offer some 'unlimited' plan, but this does not allow you to stay connected 24/7. Check your fine print and be sure. You can usually watch some video on them without getting into the 'over usage' issue, although depending on signal strength you may experience poor quality, such as hiccuping starts and stops throughout the playback.

 

those are a couple of the compromises out here. im finally hooking up my ps3 in here when im back home, but really you just need to get in the single player game mindset. and fill that thing to the brim with movies, you might be suprised how fast you can go through everything...all it takes is one slacking shipper/reciever and your through a whole season of some show haha.

i have been all sorts of places, i go through wyoming a lot and even out there in the middle of nowhere i can get 4 bars on verizon. coverage is not even an issue. only place where the speed was bordering on annoyingly slow was last weekend out in the boonies in NC with 2 bars, but it still worked.

 

not that I like it... but its not shaddy... AT+T provides the service to pilot... pilot pays AT+T for it... if pilot paid for it, but all the TA or Petro subs were able to get into their feed... if would defeat the purpose of having Wi-Fi...(for them to make money)

we pay pilot for the access.... but they ARE paying AT+T for the package...

my only problem with McDonalds wi fi is that it times you out every 2 hours....lol

 

For playing Eve or WOW or even (shudders) EQ2, you can do the 3g with out too many issues, just make sure you do your big patches via wifi or land line connection of some kind.

 

good point....

Love my Eve (until Star Wars The Old Republic comes out)...

 

I had great luck with a Sprint Novatel U720. Worked great with Linux, and Windows XP. - And if you ever did move to Linux (Ubuntu or Mint) it'll be seen by the OS and work flawlessly for you.

As far as Verizon goes, wouldn't recommend them. They're really spotty with the high speed service coverage, from what I understand.

 

I switched over to Virgin Mobile quite some time ago. $40 a month, unlimited data, and NO CONTRACT.

Virgin uses the Sprint 3G national network, so download speeds are comparable and more than adequate (1mbs+) in urban areas with REV-A. quite a bit slower in rural areas though.

Here's a recent speed test: