using smartphone as mobile hotspot

this E36 M3 is like berkeleying magnets to me. if i've got an unlimited data plan, and my phone is capable of mobile hotspot usage, do i need to have internets at home?

Read the fine lines of "unlimited"

+1 Grt

They'll shrink your bandwidth. Your going to go blind looking that stuff up anyway, you don't need the internets at home.

N Sperlo wrote: +1 Grt They'll shrink your bandwidth. Your going to go blind looking that stuff up anyway, you don't need the internets at home.

i'm just gonna do it until i need a stronger prescription...

I know with Verizon if you activate your hotspot, its something like an additional $30 a month. This is what they told me when I asked about it at a Verizon Store. I have no idea if they just "know" when you activate the hotspot on the phone from the comfort ofyour own home (or if its possible?) but I have to assume they do.

A way around this is using the PDAnet app and PC software to share your phones data connection via the USB cable. Assuming you have an android phone.

I have used it to use the laptop at home occasionally, and even used it to download some DLC from Xbox Live once (albeit very slowly). By sharing the phones data access with the laptop, then subsequently sharing the connection via the network cable with the Xbox. Tricky. I have read that with an excellent cell signal, you can even play xbox live well, and the online gameplay uses surprisingly little data transfer, or at least a lot less then you would think.

http://www.junefabrics.com/android/

I use it on my iPhone occasionally, and it works well. But I don't pay for it or use it that often, so do your homework as mentioned above.

Well I don't know where the GRMS PM box is, so PM not read.

Didn't know I could do it that cheap through Virgin. Will check on that.

What about ditching my DSL and surfing the web through the cell phone plan? My DSL is probably the worlds slowest DSL. If the cell phone can actually stream Youtube videos, that would be an improvement. If I sorta understand it right, I can connect my computer to the cell phone via a USB cable, and somehow surf?

PM's on GRM go directly to the email address that you have listed in your profile. If you are not getting the message either look in your spam folder or edit your profile to represent your current email address.

As far as Virgin, yes, look into it but by looking into it also check the coverage maps. This is the type of offer that is fantastic for some and not a good choice for others. It all boils down to where you need the phone to work and if you are will to give up remote areas in exchange for savings. For 10's of millions of customers Virgin is a fantastic choice. Of course 100's of millions choose something else - I understand.

The offer that I posted to you in a PM was a worry free trial of a months service. If you buy a Virgin handset at a national retailer like Best Buy or Target it comes with a 30 day satisfaction return policy. What you can not return is the fee for the months service, but...
If you buy the handset, I will pay for (credit) the first month's fee. That way, if you return it before the 30 days, you are out zero dollars.

See this old discussion:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/anybody-tried-virgin-mobile/28410/page1/
At that time, the cheapest paln was $25 per month (which was an ultra-amazing deal) and those customers who started then continue to pay just $25. The price for new customers has come up $10 to $35 for the low plan, up $5 for the middle plan, but down $5 for the high plan. These are still the best deals out there for Android service with unlimited data.

As for the Virgin Handsets, here is an unbiased comparo that I agree with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhXc-hHHp44&feature=related
If you want big and fastest (and are willing to pay for it - - $299) then The Triumph is the choice. The Optimus is the great value. The Intercept is old news. As for what is coming...there will not be another big screen Virgin phone for another 6 months so the Triumph is the only big screen for what is a long time in the electronics business. There will be a new standard screen model coming by Nov (pre christmas) that will have a little better camera w/ flash than the Optimus and a slightly faster processor. This new one will also cost more than the Optimus.
Starting this Sunday, Radio Shack will have the Optimus on sale from $149 down to $129. My advice would be to take that ad into Best Buy for a price match. Overall, I think Best Buy is easier to deal with and especially return if that is what you want to do.

If you use PDAnet by JuneFabrics as noted above you can use a cable connected to a Virgin phone for laptop service. It works but as noted by the other poster, the service is a bit slow.

You can easily move your current phone number over to Virgin (known as porting) and if you do return it within the 30 days you can easily port your number over to what ever other company you choose to go with.

failboat wrote: I know with Verizon if you activate your hotspot, its something like an additional $30 a month. This is what they told me when I asked about it at a Verizon Store. I have no idea if they just "know" when you activate the hotspot on the phone from the comfort ofyour own home (or if its possible?) but I have to assume they do. A way around this is using the PDAnet app and PC software to share your phones data connection via the USB cable. Assuming you have an android phone. I have used it to use the laptop at home occasionally, and even used it to download some DLC from Xbox Live once (albeit very slowly). By sharing the phones data access with the laptop, then subsequently sharing the connection via the network cable with the Xbox. Tricky. I have read that with an excellent cell signal, you can even play xbox live well, and the online gameplay uses surprisingly little data transfer, or at least a lot less then you would think. http://www.junefabrics.com/android/ When I got my Palm Pre from Verizon the mobile hotspot was free, Unlimited data *at that time) was unlimited FOR THE HANDSET. The mobile hotspot is limited to 5GB per month which is a lot more than you think, It's not as fast as cable internet and you won't be downloading torrents but you can get by if you supplement it with free service from the library, restaurants, friend's houses, neighbors that don't secure their networks........So, if you're going to use Pandora 23 hours/day then use the phone but for email and stuff it's good enough.

Grtechguy wrote: Read the fine lines of "unlimited"

this... and also depends on what you consider OK for interwebz speed...

that being said... if you've got an android you can usually get around the companies charge for using it as a hotspot if you do a little digging even without rooting... I need to for mine just to have the capabilities avl when I need...

Root it and run whatever software you want that comes with Wifi Tethering enabled. Completely fuh-ree.

For cruising a few forums, its not bad. I wouldnt want to run a lot of torrents through a cell phone though.