On the Road Internet Option

I've been busy the last couple weeks, fighting snow storms, rumor mills at work, and trying to get on the internet while on the road. (Never know when you'll need Mapquest to get to or from a good hunting or fishing spot)

So I've been working on tethering the cellphone to the laptop to use, and it works.

So here's what I did. I started with a Nokia 6301 phone from T-mobile USA, the Blackberry USB linking cable, and an Acer Aspire One Netbook (smaller than a laptop but it still does the job)

First make sure your phone is Internet 3G ready. You'll know because all the info on it will say 3G Internet or E-mail and IM capable. At same time get USB cable to connect phone to laptop or computer.

Second is to see if the manufacturer site has the software to connect the cellphone to your computer. You may have to download this. If no software is available, return cable to store. If you have the software, run program and follow directions.

Third thing is to test to see if the phone and laptop work together. Try downloading pictures or text messages from your phone to the laptop or computer.

Last things to do are enable the phone to access the internet on the 3G network, and set up the software to connect to the 3G network, and add the proper internet package onto your bill.

The internet will be slow, like dial up speeds as far as getting and receiving data and showing web pages, but you can send and receive e-mails, update blogs, send photos, and other things. While out in the campsite, while on the road, or at a friends place where tying into their phone lines wouldn't be appreciated. As long as you have a signal, you can get info in and out.

The drawbacks to this are several things. First is the battery charge on the cell phone will go down drastically, as you are sending and receiving information through the phone on a continuous basis as long as you are "online" with the phone. Second is that some companies charge unlimited time for a set rate, some charge per text or kb of info sent or received. They also set certain speeds, you may find that your login and download speed are slower than dial up networking. Third is the info can be captured and hacked into by professional hackers, so don't use it to buy Grandma's Cookies with your credit card. Last thing is the battery life of the laptop in the field. You may not have 110VAC power available, but you can get a 12V to 110V power inverter to plug the laptop into to charge the battery up from your vehicle.

So that's my portable internet solution for my trips.