Mobile as Modem…

Because I have the sickness, I just happened to find myself in Best Buy Mobile yesterday while wandering in the city…

Best Buy Mobile is actually a very cool store that seems to sell every phone and device from their partner carriers. The store I was in did not have Amp’d, Helio or TMO, but Cingular, Verizon, Sprint and Virgin were very well represented. The nice thing about a store like this is that they are carrier agnostic and actually want you to get the right phone and plan for your situation… which brings me to mine.

I’ve been considering a second plan just for data to do some higher speed bluetooth tethering than Cingular currently supports (EDGE) where I live and also since there really are no 3G Nokia’s yet… The N75 will definitely solve my problem when it finally arrives, but who knows when it will really be here so on to explore…

Turns out Sprint will sell you a plan that includes NO Voice and allows the phone to be used as modem which is exactly what I am looking for. The only problem then is what’s it’s worth – do I want to buy a $200 phone (Samsung A900) and pay ~$50/month for unlimited data or continue to wait it out for the N75 and just add another line to our family plan for 10 bucks + data. I actually just checked the BestBuy Mobile site and see the phone is available for $29.99 with an instant web-only price – but you can’t buy a plan without voice…

Why can’t someone just make a 3G modem roughly the same size as my GPS so I can just drop it in my bag and use it for my tablet and notebook…

I still need to check into Amp’d and Helio as well … Anyone doing anything like this?

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12 Replies to “Mobile as Modem…”

  1. The solution is easy. Pick up an aircard on ebay somewhere, for best results, get a 3G one (there’s several). You then have 2 options:

    1. Take the SIM card out of your current Cingular phone and put it in the card when you want to tether. Obviously you won’t be able to get any phone calls.

    2. Add a line to your existing Cingular account and toss the unlimited MEdiaNet package on it. Now you have a SIM for your aircard, just make sure you change the access point to use wap@cingulargprs.com and not isp@cingulargprs.com.

    Either that or you could make me an offer on my N75……:)

  2. If you are looking to sell the N75, we should talk.

    An Aircard would be a great option, but won’t help when it’s in my laptop on my desk and I am using the N800 Tablet somewhere else. As far as I know you have to have those connected to your laptop in order to power them up. Also, my laptop now only has ExpressCard, so I am in a whole new class of devices which are just coming to market.

  3. Hi Jonathan,

    I’m also looking for the same solution. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do. I’m trying to save money by using Gizmo Project + Grand Central to receive calls on my n800 but of course this only works when I have access to WiFi. I’m currently with Cingular but I was considering switching to TMO to save money with the myFaves plan once my contract expires.

  4. Lol, of course it’s not for sale – yet.

    If that’s the case, I would suggest getting a cheap EDGE-capable phone like the 6230 or something. Anything with bluetooth and EDGE should be fine for what you need. And definitely doing the add-a-line would be the absolute cheapest route.

  5. Vimcat – I’ll keep you posted if I find anything…

    Ricky – I already have (as you saw on flickr) quite a few EDGE capable devices… It’s time for 3G.

  6. Hmmm. perhaps pick up a cheap bluetooth 3G device from Cingular? I think the LG CU400 can be had for free-ish, and that’s got both. I think that’s going to be your best bet, honestly.

  7. Thanks – looks like 50 bucks with a 2 yr. They just don’t have the 3G network where I live… it’s a tad south and all over NYC. The CDMA guys have us covered… argh.

  8. How about getting a Sprint employee’s email address and then signing up with Sprint’s (Springt Employee Referral Plan) SERO plan (http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/sprint/epc/epclanding.asp) where you can get 500 minutes and unlimited EVDO data for US$30 per month? I think with taxes and stuff it works out to about US$40/month, but it is EVDO 3G data. You could get the Sprint A900m for $30 or a Treo and then tether it via Bluetooth to whatever you want. I have been thinking about doing this myself as I wait for T-Mobile to get their 3G act together.

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