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Watching intently you guys/gals with the mifi, after much deliberation a hub would work better for my needs than an aircard usb device. Seems the connection is solid as well. Curious to see how much data is used.

 

Virgin mobile has a MiFi device, which allows 5 devices to connect.

They also offer a pre-paid TRUE UNLIMITED data plan using Sprint's 3G network. So as everyone knows, Sprint's coverage for EVDO (3G) is rather good nationwide.

$149.99 for the device
$40.00/month service

So in the first year it would cost a total of $629.99 for as much data as you can use... $480 for every year after that, unless you buy a new device.

That's about $20/month cheaper than contract services offer, and those have 5GB/month limits with overage charges that can add up fast.

The only reason I didn't go this route is because, I still have the unlimited iPhone data package... Cheated to use it for tethering, but it costs me $30/mo for unlimited...

Until I get caught, lol.

 

if you have a smart phone. get the internet plan for it. then buy a tether program and you can use your phone as a modem for your laptop. I do it. I have net on my phone and on my laptop. when they say unlimited. Most will charge you if you past 2gb. I have the old att unlimited plan. I can go up to 5gb. as long you don't watch videos. you should be ok with 2gb.

 

I've been messing with my Verizon 3g service for a couple nights now. People at work kept telling me that they have unlimited data for $30 a month, but of course that's with their smartphones. The tether was suggested but I'm glad I got the embedded card in my laptop. The service is great, but I'll have to budget my time. A couple of online games are my main thing, and I'm glad they only use a couple of MB per hour. I'm messing with options on my browser to prevent pages from loading tons of images, and google earth is out of the question! lol... I won't miss youtube, and I imagine I'll be able to use the occasional wi-fi to do some video downloads. I have yet to test skype. I'm curious as to what kind of usage that eats up, but I have my cell phone anyhow. Video conferencing with my girlfriend? Hmmm... probably a lot of MB...

 

Klingon 'skyped' me the other night with the MiFi - 20.382 MB - was the 'usage' for the ~5 minutes on Skype as well as him checking FB and the Forums - hope that helps some

 

The problem is that AT&T will charge you $45/mo for 2gb tethering. It's still $5 cheaper to get the Virgin Mobile pre-paid unlimited. They also have a USB modem which only provides internet to the laptop, or computer, for around $80 if $149.99 seems too steep for the mifi router.

When you compare it (AT&T only) you're better off getting a dedicated device...

Phone data w/tethering:
2gb/MO = $45
$10/gb after (auto-billed the moment you receive an additional KB)

AT&T data device:
5gb/mo = $60.00
$0.05/MB after.

So, to get 5GB of data with a tethering plan, it would cost: $75, $15 more than if you had a dedicated device.

The tethering plan only becomes advantageous if you plan on using MORE than 5GB of data, because it's billed by the Gigabyte, not the MegaByte.

8GB via data device: $60 + $307 = $367 RIPOFF!! ($0.05*6,144MB)
8GB via tethering: $45 + $60 = $105 Still a ripoff, but less painful. ($10*6GB)

If 2GB is enough, get the tethering plan
If 5GB is enough, get a data device plan
If you need more... Get the virgin mobile pre-paid mifi with unlimited data.

I can promise you that other major carrier data plans compare pretty close to this, with the exception of Sprint 4G (which has laughable coverage right now.)

 

Thanks for the info. I figured skype would be a lot. At least my girlfriend and I have phones on the same plan, so we can talk anytime for free.

As I speak I'm sitting at the glass repair place having my windshield fixed. I'm loving this 3g! I'm definitely glad I got it. I think the 5gb plan will be sufficient. 2gb probably wouldn't be enough. I'm 2 days into my "month", and I've only used 15mb, and that's with 30 minutes of gaming, checking my e-mail. 10mb of that was me testing google earth last night. That ain't gonna work... lol.

 

Just make sure (especially in the beginning) you check your usage amounts - then you can get an idea just how much you're using. Have fun!!

 

I saw that yesterday as well. Probably will go with that when I am finished with school.

 

No, I have a smart phone with unlimited data plan. I can tether it witg my lap top fpr no extra charge. As far as att knows. I'm using my phone for being on tbe net. so, i have the net on my phone and my laptop for no extra charge. A lot of business people go this way