Verizon Wireless Broadband

This is an area of debate that greatly holds my attention. I just bought my laptop after taking a couple months off from driving for personal reasons. I'm about to head back out on the highway next week and will be bringing a laptop with me for the first time in my short lil 3 year career. Which is truly worth the most for your buck...a cellular internet card or the t/s WiFi? I have a Cingular phone and was considering getting one of their cards. :smt100

 

Depends on what you're going to be doing.

The T/S WiFi can be faster yes, but no security, and a lot of them charge by the usage last I heard. So an unlimited plan on a cell card can be the better alternative if you're going to be using it a lot.

*Edit* If your laptop has built in WiFi, when you're at a T/S that has wireless for free (they do exist), you can use theirs for speed. Then use the cell card when you don't have access to the wireless.

 

They charge by the month...............The cellular plans are getting better since this thread was started.

 

i WOULD NOT get a cingular card. Do a quick google search and you'll see they have no coverage, and retarded slow speeds. Verizion seems ok but i've heard bad things about them too, plus thier cell phones left a bad taste in my mouth. I have had sprint's Air Card for awhile now... 60 bucks a month unlimited use, and if your near a metro area, as fast as cable internet. (except loading streaming videos and such)


its what i'm using right now in fact.


and about the GPS usage- isent your mirror on the right side too? it only takes a tenth of a second to glance at it. its not like your staring at it, studying it like an atlas. Glare? thats what the dimmer controls are for. Amplified speaker on a dedicated gps? That really makes no sence at all.

I love my GPS and laptop, for a fraction of the cost of a dedicated GPS unit. I would (litterally) be lost without it...

 

I think that all off the cellular cards essentially work where ever their associated cell phones work. According to the info I've obtained from the local Cingular store, I can expected near DSL/Cable speeds in metro areas and just faster than dial up in more rural areas.

Also, I used to have Sprint as my cellular provider and had numerous bad experiences with them for the past three years. I still have my Sprint phone, but it was replaced with Cingular for my everyday uses. Only reason I kept the Sprint phone was because of friends of mine who also use Sprint. The point of all this being, I don't want to give Sprint anymore of my hard earned money, and if the coverage on broadband cards is relatively the same, then why bother giving money to a company I'm not fond of.

 

thats exactly why i went with sprint. I have never had a sprint phone though. I currently have nextel. I've had it over a year, and so far i love it. Although I think all cellular companies are growing so fast that they are pretty much keeping up with eachother as the years pass and we just get a little unsatisfied with our company when another company makes a sudden advancement. just a thought.

i've just heard terrible things about cingular and nothing but good things about sprint. By all means, get the cingular if thats what you want. I'd be interested to hear if all of the bad things were legit or just typical brand bashing.

 

I've had the Verizon wireless card since July. I have yet to not have a signal anywhere I've used it. The speed is definitely faster than dial-up, but a tad slower than my broadband cable modem at home.

It's good enough that I'd love to get rid of my cable internet at the house. I use that connection for my PS2, a desktop, and my wireless network. It would be nice if one of these companies would provide a home and away set-up to reduce the cost. I pay 50 a month for the house, and 60 a month for unlimited with Verizon. Good thing I don't subscribe to AOL or any of those pay services.

Amazing what we pay for to be a part of the information superhighway...

 

I have had Cingular phone service for over 2 years. I have never had a problem and have had better coverage with them than friends have with Sprint. I do not plan to leave Cingular as my cell carrier but am not sure which one to get for a wireless ISP. I do have Sprint (Embarq) DSL service.

 

I used the Verizon Wireless card to actually create this website in the first place...it is WELL worth $59/month, for sure! It was very fast and I had service almost ANYWHERE I went...I could pull ANYWHERE and turn my laptop on and get onto the net, it was awesome. Wi-Fi sucks and you HAVE to be within so many feet of a building, etc...Verizon Wireless cards can be used on the side of the freeway, in the middle of nowhere!

 

Hi I am sitting SB on 81 in a rest area have had Sprint cell card for about 1 year and the coverage is great...I use it all the time and haven't had a problem with it..I talked to a sells rep once who sold both and he said the coverage actually was better with sprint.. I have been with sprint for the past 6 years they have had some ruff periods at first cutting you off and the such but they have always made it up to me you just have to watch them..billing is only as good as tech but the service on the card is great...thats my 2 cents