Wireless Carriers?

Get a Verizon Fasinate or Droid and you can root the smartphone and get a wireless tether all for free and use the phones unlimited data as the hotspot. Plenty of youtubes on how to do it with links for the apps and program for rooting the phone and drivers needed. Get a music player app and it's also like a ipod plus you can stream radio stations through it. No need for an aircard unless your laptop doesn't have wifi.

 

Verizon does not have an unlimited data plan for any of there phones. So if you do a lot of net time, you will exceed the 5mg limit quickly. Air cards still have options for unlimited. Read the contract, and don't get hit with a $500 phone bill.

 

Here's some links on how to Root your android smartphone and install a wireless and wired tether. It makes the phone into a router as far as I can tell. I'm not very computer savvy.
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O31JwXHLIk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVuV65E5YtQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my7avMurZG0
http://forum.androidcentral.com/fascinate-roms-hacks/33899-how-root.html

 

I'm not a trucker, but I definitely like Sprint for various reasons. They do have the best plans and their network is awesome from my experience. However, there is a difference in what people experience.

If you live in a big metropolis like I do, and spend 99.9% of your time there, almost any company will have good coverage. It's obviously different for someone covering the whole country in a truck like all of you.

The best thing is to know what you want to use it for and find the company that has the best plan, and coverage, that meets your needs. Personally, I won't use GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile). I prefer CDMA (Sprint, Verizon).

Sure GSM phones are easy to turn on by slapping in a SIM Card, but that also makes it easier for someone to use it after they steal it. With CDMA, you have to activate through the company using one of the codes under the battery.

There are "haters" on all sides. Some people hate Apple, and their IPhone, no matter what company you use it with. I love Apple, but I'm not going to leave Sprint just to use an IPhone.

That's just my two cents.

 

I have been very happy with my Verizon blackberry and mobile wifi (3G). The only places where my service is dumpy is going through TX on I-10, OK on I-40, and WY on I-80. In the outlying areas there it's hard to get any signal.