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Speaking of: has anyone added up the cost of ubiquitous connectivity per month for a road warrior type? That includes TMobile hot spots, blackberry, mail hosting, cell service, etc?
Chrispy crap.
Let it be known: another Verizon client coming soon.
If you only go to one or two conferences a year, there is almost no reason to spend $80/month on a Verizon card just for the one or two weeks you are out. C'mon, I agree, it'd be nice to have wireless at a con.
Perspectives and priorities can be peculiar!
Rich Ord
--
Publisher of WebProNews.com
My Verizon Card worked on the interstate highway EVERWHERE between SF and Seattle and between Seattle and Montana and between Montana and San Francisco.
If I can get a cell phone signal my Verizon wireless card works and works well.
Wifi is usually faster, though, but isn't even CLOSE to as ubiquitous, especially in small towns like those in Montana.
Verizon Wireless ABSOLUTELY ROCKS compared to Wifi. Not even close. And it doesn't cost me money in airports, hotels, or when I want to sit in Starbucks and do some email.
Obviously when I'm talking here I'm talking about the United States. When I'm overseas I rely way too much on Wifi.
Monthly EV-DO on old plan = $80
Monthly EV-DO on updated plan = $59
One time PDANet license fee from JuneFabrics = $34
New monthly EV-DO plan on phone only = $45
Verizon EV-DO with phone as a modem = priceless
http://junefabrics.com/pdanet/index.php
Ping me off list with any questions. :) I use the PDANet setup with my XV6700 and Samsung Q1 UMPC for my all-day, every day mobile office. Works flawlessly.
The other problem is when people are transmitting their own laptops as an ad-hoc network. It interferes with the access points and degrades the experience even further.
Just my two cents.
For my travels, WiFi is more consistently available, just not always on.
I am not one to pay $3500 for a conference either so I don't fall in that "upper-class-geek-bracket".
Would I love to have anywhere access to the internet with my laptop...sure. But what would be great is that EV-DO or technology that did the same thing was embedded into my laptop like wifi is so that I didn't have a card sticking out.
PX: I don't do a lot of backroad traveling. Generally I stick to the interstates. :-)
It didn't work where my cell phone didn't work. But, it often worked in places I couldn't get cell phone coverage at. For instance, here at home TMobile doesn't work at all, but it works great. Or, at my mom's house in Montana, Cingular doesn't work at all, but the Verizon card worked just fine.
The most infuriating thing is that Wifi is lots of places, like at the Ritz down the road. But they charge for access.
The rest of the event it's worked great, though, so I dunno what was up. Too many people taking your advice at once? :)
FYI, the $16/day wired connectivity in the rooms SUCKED last night, too. Bad WiFi at the $3500 conference (with AOL's name plastered all over as the provider) + bad wired at the $250/night hotel (plus $16/night for the connectivity) = bad news.
Personally I'd pay a little extra to have all North America coverage. Even if I could add it on for a week or something. I rely on the speed of my Berry to keep me up to date. Not to mention at a conference I'd gladly use my EVDO instead of conference WiFi to help others out.
Hey Telus ... Rogers ... listening? Canadians travel to the US A LOT, we'd like better plans!
I cancelled all my wifi accounts and decreased my DSL speed at my home because the Sprint service is so good. In fact, my Sprint evdo is often faster downstream than my SBC DSL at my house. Go figure.
Oh, and coverage is still spotty. In my hotel in the Research Triangle area of Raleigh/Durham NC, NEITHER Sprint nor Verizon are even able to give me reliable *voice* or 1xRTT, much less EVDO. Note that Research Triangle is not some backwoods area. IBM has one of its largest facilities here, and I drive by a GE Aircraft Engine facility every day. Serious tech here, but crappy EVDO coverage.
I also did some math, and unless you travel a lot, on your own dime, you're going to be hard - pressed to pay $60 or more a month for Wi-Fi. And honestly, I'd rather go to a Barnes and Noble, grab a book, grab some Hot Cocoa at the Starbucks therein and do my emailing there. Much more pleasant than in a hotel room or a car.
Oh, wait, they do.
1 - on yours and others loud praises I got a Verizon EVDO card a few months ago. I have been really happy with it so far, except when I travel to Seattle, specifically Redmond. Of all the places I go Redmond and Bellview seem to have almost no reception. Did you have any problems when you were on campus at MSFT?
2 - on your comment about conference organizers making sure to have plenty of access to power outlets, might I suggest an external battery from Batterygeek. I am in no way affiliated with them, but have been a happy customer of their's for 6 months. I use one of their portable power stations whenever I go to conferences. On a recent trip it powered my HP TC4400 for the flight from Cincinnati to Seattle and then straight into a 8 hour conference. If you want to be completely wire free this is the ticket.
I'll show you, Robert, when you're over in London at the end of the month.
Robert, I believe your point is mis-aimed at the wrong issue. It's not WiFi itself.
Actually, it's exectly this kind of negative vibes about WiFi I fear most. Getting a couple of people complaining about one crappy service is enaugh to herald all others as being same.