5 posts tagged “3g”

UK mobile operator 3 are looking at spreading the HSDPA (3.5G) love all around your home with a special wireless router.  I like this idea, I like this idea a lot.  Right now I'm on 3's mobile broadband in an abode that doesn't have ADSL or cable.  Only the laptop I'm typing this on can use the connection and that is a bit of a pain.  I've tried setting up an ad-hoc network using the Windows' Vista networking wizard and despite connecting, there's no connection (ie the other devices see this laptop but can't use its connection).

A company called DOVADO advertise a mobile broadband router here and it even supports the E169G that 3mobilebuzz supplied me with.  That's kinda handy as the E169G can't be used on my Eee PC without a lot of hoops to be jumped through (more than this blogger thinks he can manage!)

See also: UK Gadgeteer and Electricpig

I've speeded up my Eee PC (a fairly easy task thanks to the expert wisdom found on the EeeUser forum) and have since been hooked on Google Earth.  My little laptop struggled with 3D buildings before - but now it copes pretty well.  It struggles a bit with Manhattan but that's to be expected.

Last night I even managed to do a bit of flying over Spain using Google's "easter egg" and my Nokia's 3G connection.  The amazing thing wasn't that it worked, but that it worked well - which is more than could be said for my flying skills.

This is something that seemed a pretty obvious pairing - an ultraportable laptop and an attractive 3G data plan (and HSDPA modem) bundled together.  SFR appears to be the first operator off the blocks to offer such a deal.

Click on one of these for more detail: EeeUser.com and Reg Hardware

Of course in the UK the likes of Carphone Warehouse are throwing in "free" laptops with some mobile broadband packages but these are full size laptops, bulky and awkward to carry.  What's really needed is for the likes of Three to get onboard and offer Eee's for free or in special bundles.  The first network could land an exclusive deal and could make themselves really stand out from the other four (yeah, I don't count Virgin Mobile as a network!)

If the posts on the biggest forum devoted to the Eee are anything to go by it would appear that there's huge demand for 3G connection and the network that crops up most often is... Three.

BTW, I'd love to try out that little HSDPA 'pebble' and really check out mobile internet at proper broadband speeds (my Nokia N73 really doesn't cut it!)

There's been a fair bit of coverage about Celio's REDFLY device/concept in the last 24 hours, almost all of it negative.

I like the idea and I like the look of the device (if it is in fact more than just a concept).  I carry around my smartphone everywhere and what it's capable of is amazing.  But now it has a big brother, in the shape of the ASUS Eee PC and now it also gets carried around (whenever practical) as well.  The two devices compliment each other and the Eee wouldn't even be half as practical if I didn't have my mobile to hook it up to the internet.

Sometimes all I need or want is my phone, but sometimes (like when I've got a lot to type, a lot to read or want to see the internet just as I can on a desktop) what I need is a laptop, a tiny laptop.

I don't seem to be alone judging by the amount of Eee users around the web who have theirs hooked up to their 3G phones (FWIW there are loads in the UK and most seem to be on Three)

What do others think?  Comments please.

Practically all laptops these days have wireless LAN (aka WiFi) built-in as standard.  It makes sense as an ever increasingly amount of households have WiFi at home and hotspots are popping as quickly as new Starbucks (which is, incidentally, where you'll see a lot of laptops using WiFi...)

WiFi is good when you're stationary but isn't so great when you're not.  When out and about it can be a pain trying to find a hotspot you can use and then of course, there's often the rigmarole of connecting to  a hotspot if you're fortunate enough to find one.  That's where 3G comes to the rescue...

On the M1 motorway yesterday I was able to stay connected to the internet at 384kbps (in reality, actually a bit more like 350kbps) for over an hour without losing connection.  I was able to use my laptop as if I were at home or in a hotspot.  You just can't do this with WiFi.

I was using an Nokia N73 tethered to an Eee PC and using 3's 3G network.  Faster speeds are probably possible with an HSDPA handset/modem - although I'm not sure of the coverage on that part of that motorway.  With data plans getting cheaper and coverage increasing all the time, 3G/3.5G seems to make more sense than WiFi when out of the house.