I need recommendations for "OTR-friendly" cell phone and laptop/notebook!

I just got my laptop through Radio Shack for $450. It's nothing fancy, or big, but it works for me. I went with RS because my friends own the store so I know if I ever have problems I just have to holler. As for internet.....I'm hoping for free WiFi for now. I have AT&T at home for local phone, internet, and cells, but will be dropping the land line the end of June. Can't do it right now because we would lose the internet for 5 days, but my son and I will both be out of the house the end of June for a few days.

 

Verizon, Moto Droid, Who needs a laptop?

 

The only catch is that he has been with Verizon for 9 years....a lot of his unlimited was "grandfathered" in, I think, because he has been with them for so long.

As a new customer, you don't get all of that unlimited stuff, anymore.

We signed on with Verizon very recently...two phones, and my air card (already had a laptop), tops out at around $179-$189 a month...5-gig air card, no roaming charges, so that's a plus.

All-in-all, a WAY better deal than what we had with Sprint....not to mention that Sprint was renting Verizon towers for service, and Verizon quit doing that, which is why we had such crappy Sprint service for the past 18 months or so with Sprint....

 

I will add one more to the verizon category, laptop again is personal preference, but you may want to look into a severe duty such as a toughbook as well...

But one thing I will recommend is purchasing a Ram laptop stand from Dieselboss, They have a deal with ram where they have designed a universal stand which they are the only ones who sell it for Ram.

The customer service is awesome and the prices are as good as you can get!

Here is the link to the stand, and while many will say they dont want to spend money on a stand.....
keep in mind the cost incurred when your laptop comes crashing to the floor...

http://www.dieselboss.com/stand4.htm

I highly recommend this stand and my computer is running at all times with streets and trips with Gps, as well as performing my logging duties with Drivers Daily Logs which I also highly recommend!

Good luck and be safe out there.

 

Verizon has two new "ruggedized" cell phones: The Rock and The Brigade. Both are excellent, the Brigade is a multi-media phone (not a smart phone), requires a $9.99 per month data plan (25 mb). I've had this phone for a month and simply love it. Verizon doesn't have much in the way of acc. for it, but there are a bunch available on ebay for it. My previous ruggedized phone I had for 4 yrs, I beat the hell out of that phone and it never quit working.

http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Casio-Rock.jpg
http://www.verizon-phones.org/wp-co.../Verizon-Casio-GzOne-Brigade-cell-phone-2.jpg

 

I have the Casio Rock G3. I love the phone, works well and it will stand up to abuse.
I use Verizion for phone and Sprint for internet. But the internet is because I have unlimited with them.
Check with milicom for internet. You can choose verizion or sprint and it is cheaper, also unlimited.

 

Hadn't really thought about it much but you may be right. One thing though, over the years, we've had a few different plans mostly looking for the cheapest route regarding minutes etc... If we go over minutes usually we call Verizon and they'll change the plan and make it retroactive to the previous month so it ends up being cheaper than if we just paid the overage.

The reason that we've been with them sooo long is that its been mostly a hassle free experience.

On another note I have the Rock G3 too, so far it's been a really good phone.


.................. Jim

 

The HTC Incredible is coming out for Verizon on April 29th.
This is a state-of-the art 3G smartphone running the Google Android operating system.
No need for a laptop, a cellphone, or even a camera...you can get all in one handheld unit with a smartphone.
With a nationwide data plan, you can surf the web, check your e-mail, take pictures, make/watch movies, GPS...the whole shebang.

Verizon has the best network by far...and the better 3G network.

 

I know this is a fairly old thread, but I was interested in finding a good solution for this. Has anyone considered just putting a mobile hotspot in the truck? Now you can run up to 5 devices via wifi right out to the internet through the hotspot. It's like having a wifi router in your house. It also makes it possible to use skype, vonage, etc. and you only have to pay for one network connection.

 

I have a Verizon 4G android phone and with the right data plan it will double as a wifi hotspot. Works great and 4G when I can get it is even faster than the cable at home. I am told Verizon is going 4G system wide within the next year or two and have been surprised how many places do have it already.

Down side is the cost, I have 900 anytime minutes, free VW to VW, free nights and weekends and 5 friends and family numbers that are unlimited, plus a 12GB data plan and it costs me about $180 a month. Plus is coverage is great and data speeds are good and if you're on 4G insanely fast. I lilke to watch Netflix a lot so works for me might not for everyone and they do have cheaper data plans.