Internet on the go?

[Methuselah]

Suppose you have a laptop and want to be able to connect to the internet anywhere (in your car, for example).

What are your options?
Do you need an internet capable cell phone that you can couple to your laptop?
Is there some kind of satellite internet service that is available anywhere?

Thanks for any info.
I'm seriously out of touch with this technology.

[Странник]

Most internet companies offer a mobile internet dongle thing, which connects you via wireless technology to the net .But it's not cheap

[Methuselah]

Most internet companies offer a mobile internet dongle thing, which connects you via wireless technology to the net .But it's not cheap

Do you need a cell phone or as long as you have the dongle you can connect anywhere?

[m4tic]

I dont have internet so ive been using my sony phone

[Странник]

You use only the dongle. Some dongles have a sim card, which the company gives you

[earthpigg]

get a smart phone, get an unlimited bandwidth plan for it, connect it to your laptop and surf away. will be slow, and you may need to consult your cell phone service contract to find out if it's allowed.

[t0p]

get a smart phone, get an unlimited bandwidth plan for it, connect it to your laptop and surf away. will be slow, and you may need to consult your cell phone service contract to find out if it's allowed.

Doesn't need to be a smart phone. I've got a regular 3G phone, which I connect to my computer via usb cable, then I use it as a "modem" and surf the internet at will. Of course a cellular connection is nowhere as fast as a wired broadband link, but it does the job. Of course, I use an "unlimited" internet bundle to do this, otherwise it would be extremely expensive.

[Tipped OuT]

Don't they have something that plugs into your laptop so you can access the Internet almost anywhere?

[xuCGC002]

Don't they have something that plugs into your laptop so you can access the Internet almost anywhere?

That's known as a "3G" card. They usually are either USB or they slide into the little wireless card slot on your laptop (depending on what laptop you own). I've heard that most mobile providers (in the US, at least) provide these, of course with a fee and monthly rate.

[Tipped OuT]

That's known as a "3G" card. They usually are either USB or they slide into the little wireless card slot on your laptop (depending on what laptop you own). I've heard that most mobile providers (in the US, at least) provide these, of course with a fee and monthly rate.

Ah yes, that's what I was talking about. Thanks, forgot what it was called.

[Dark_Stang]

As stated earlier, a broadband card (3G card, air card, etc) is the way to go. The plans usually run $60/month here in the US and have 5GB/month caps. If you go over this cap you pretty much get raped with overage charges. The speed is comparable with a low end DSL connection as long as you have a good signal (1-1.5mbps down speed). However the latency is pretty high and this type of connection is not good for Gaming or VoIP.

So to sum it up: Broadband cards... Fantastic for traveling. A little pricey. Limited download capacities and speeds. High latency connection is bad for gaming and VoIP.

Edit: More info on pricing for the broadband cards...
Most broadband cards are free, or almost free, with a 2 year activation. Virgin mobile, and a few other companies, offer "pay as you go" cards that run $100+ up front then you only pay for the bandwidth you need.