WIFI access in your camper

[paulm]

Came across this site http://www.autonetmobile.com/service/

Apparently they have a router that connects to their 3G network and resend it as WIFI . Plans include 1GB for $29 and 5GB for $59. Not a deal compared to home but a steal for cellular. I currently get unlimited from Telus on my PDA, but am not supposed to connect my laptop up. Typical I use 40 megs per month for some email and web browsing.

[julievojo]

We currently pay $62 per month for unlimited service through Verizon.

[Davydd]

My plan is to use my Apple iPhone which is costing me $30 extra per month for unlimited data and use my laptop for WiFi in campgrounds wherever it is available. Most of my data access right now is through many of the custom "Apps" and not through the Safari browser on the iPhone. The iPhone was a want and not a need. Now that I have it I get what I need from it and have no desire to pay more.

I mentioned in another thread about the proliferating free WiFi but in one instance I stopped at an Iowa rest stop that had free WiFi. I could not pick it up from the B so hand carried my laptop inside and had to walk around to find a strong enough signal. That was one instance that convinced me a hand held iPhone would be easier to use. All I wanted to do was look up an address and phone number of a restaurant.

On the road I think I am better off not having convenient WiFi or TV for that matter. Better to enjoy the road than continue wasteful addictive home habits.

[Mike]

Wasteful and addictive and nice to have if it's raining, methinks.
I'm thinking there's no way for a Canadian to get frugal
wifi and TV and phone in the USA, so I'm just going to
forget about it. It's just not worth the effort to pursue.
I'm just going to enjoy the beauty and wonders of nature.

[daytripper]

A USB dongle could be ideal in your situation, the idea works in a similar way to mobile phone signal, which is pretty much most places. Its a bit of a pain though when it doesnt work. My understanding of WIFI is that you need to be a hot spot to connect? would that mean you would have to take some kind of router with you?? Generally 3g connection isnt to bad, obviously if you wanting to download music or play online games probably not the best idea!

[Mike]

If you mean an internet "stick" they cost a fortune. As do the roaming charges
for a Canuck in the USA.
I lied about giving up on the wifi/phone/tv quest. I actually bought
a Dell netbook yesterday and I'm updating this thread with it.
Fairly easy to set up and connect to our home wireless system.
It is going to be our new primary travel pc - it has built in b/g wifi.
Here's some more info if anyone's interested....
http://gizmodo.com/5038298/leaked-dell- ... lease-date
http://www.dell.com/content/products/pr ... lthp&s=dhs

"Do you need to bring your own router?"
No, if you can find a free wifi hotspot, the netbook can scan and find available
wifi routers in your vicinity, like at a rest stop or gas station or truck stop. You then
select the one you want to use from the list and click connect. However, regarding
3G access, some of these netbooks allow the use of a SIM card from a wireless (smart?)phone
to be plugged in and used as an internet service provider accessor. According to the sales guy.

This little beauty cost $300+tax, is loaded with XP SP3 Home, has a 1.6GHz cpu
and 1 GB of RAM. It also has an 8GB solid state HDD which can be expanded
by adding an SD ram mem card which it is set up for (slot is on the side).
It has one of those touchpad mice with left/right buttons in front of the space bar,
but we like real mice, and added one for $5.
It has 3 X 2.0 USB ports, a VGA ouput port and an ethernet input/ouput port.
It's got stereo spkrs, although they're about as good as any inexpensive laptop,
but they work. I've been adding and downloading now, since I brought it home
and I'm nearly done (I hope!!!). I got about 3.5 hours on the battery this morning.
The keyboard is about 75% of a laptop (a little cramped), the screen is 1024X600 resolution
but it's only 9" diagonal. However the picture is very sharp and clear.
The whole thing weighs about a KG and is about the same size as those portable DVD players
people use in their cars, for the kids, while driving. It doesn't have any built in DVD drive, but apparently
you could watch movies from flash drives or memory sticks. The sales guy said a 2 hour
movie might take up 2 GB on a memory stick or flash drive, although I haven't verified that. (anyone?)
The Dell Inspiron 9 netbooks are on sale at Best Buy (in Ontario anyway) until close today.
So, that's probably how we'll deal with communications on the road.
As you can probably tell, we're very impressed with it so far.