Cell Phones and Laptops Help

[Sunnytwo]

Well this might not be new but all information will be helpful and welcome.
Well my better half is now retiring and we soon be hitting the open road. We have purchased a new lap top and need info. on how to use it with our cell phones. We now have Cingular nation wide with enought minutes not to have to worry. If we connect our cell phone via a wire to the lap top and dial our local isp will we be able to connect or do we have to sign up for so special program through Cingular then pay them plus our ips provider?

[Sunnytwo]

Well this might not be new but all information will be helpful and welcome.
Well my better half is now retiring and we soon be hitting the open road. We have purchased a new lap top and need info. on how to use it with our cell phones. We now have Cingular nation wide with enought minutes not to have to worry. If we connect our cell phone via a wire to the lap top and dial our local isp will we be able to connect or do we have to sign up for so special program through Cingular then pay them plus our ips provider?

[tmitchell]

I have a Sprint cell phone that I use. I pay an extra $15 a month for their vision plan and this gives me unlimited use of the internet. The time I am using the cell phone as a modem does not count against my minutes. Sprint is the ISP.

[Gary RVRoamer]

It can be a fairly complex subject, Sunnytwo. Lot's of if's and but's.

Assuming yur phone is capable of doing digital data transmission (some are not and no "wire" is available and no software to make it work), you can call your ISP and it is a just like a voice call. Nothing else involved. But you are limited to in speed to about 14.4 kbps in digital mode. You can also make data calls in analig (AMPS) mode, but you need a celleular modem for that in addition to the "wire".

But the desirable way is to make a data connection through the cell company and use them as your ISP. That typically involves an extra charge but usually opens up the speed to something like telephone land line speeds, 50-60 KB (Kilobytes rather than kilobits).

Cingular's highest speed data transmissions are available only where their latest GPRS service is available. That' smostly in metro arteas right now, but it is expanding.

Verizon has more nationwide high speed data coverage than Cingular at the present time, but since you already have a Cingular phone & plan, you probably want to stick with them.

May I suggest that you check out the Yahoo Group called InternetByCellPhone, which can give you all the info - and help - you may need to learn what the options are and how to buy, set up and run internet connections via cell phone.

InternetByCellPhone

[ISLAPP]

Go to the Yahoo site that was just referenced and look for some recent discussions within the last couple of days be "Cappy" that has Cingular and what he does.
Mike

[plntmgr]

Is your laptop set up for a wireless connection?that is the apparent new way of internet access. It can usually be done from your rig. Don

[KathiE-H]

Hi. I use T Mobile INTERNET service at $30 a month unlimited usage. Not sure if it will work everywhere but it's good here in the desert of Brenda AZ. Hope that it will do the same at the Oregon coast this summer. Verizon cell service is very limited in many areas of Oregon. I have a toshiba A55-S326 laptop.

[samabago]

If you have this combination--it works great!
Verizon Service, Nationwide plan, LG Phone, Mobile Office software product, AOL as your ISP.

It connects at broadband speed, natiowide service and is easy to install. Good luck.