Re: bluetooth cell phone for internet access...

In article <yobk67dw5ez.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
BreadWithSpam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

In article <0003HW.C0B74DF504490140F0509530@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Randy Howard <randyhoward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I've heard people claim that you can use a cell phone with
bluetooth and a computer with same to get internet access
(probably slow, probably expensive) on the computer through that
connection. Is that true? If so, what do you have to do for it
to work?

This is something of a black art. Getting the Mac to talk to the phone
is easy (just start in the Bluetooth system preference panel and do what
makes sense), but setting up the phone to actually access the Internet
-- or even figuring out if your cellular provider lets you do this at
all -- is another matter.

I use T-Mobile and a Sony Ericcson T610 and bluetooth and the phone's
GPRS (and T-Mobile's $20/mo unlimited internet) almost daily.

It's slow. As slow as old fashioned dialup. Painfully slow.

But it works. It works reliably.

I go on line all the time on Verizon using my LG phone via USB. My
connection got a reading of 50K Bits/s using a testing site. I looked
at the new Razr phone but as far as I can tell the bluetooth is disabled
for anything but a headset. It would be nice to use bluetooth, the
cable is just one more thing to have to pack and it's a nuisance having
to balance the phone and the laptop on my legs.



minutes), and some have special data services. There may be arbitrary
restrictions, like port blocking, or your provider may prevent you from

I don't know if it's intentional on the part of t-mobile,
but I cannot use google or any *.google.com services over
the cell-phone. Times out talking to their servers almost every
time. So I search with a9.com and live without maps or gmail or
news.google. It's a little annoying, but far less annoying than
not having 'net access at all.

I haven't run into anything I couldn't access with Verizon. There have
been some sites I've accessed but couldn't get a streaming feed from but
that isn't surprising considering the speed.


If yo udo try this out - make *sure* that your provider
really gives you unlimited internet. Cingular tried to
screw me with data charges once. FWIW, I'll never do
business with Cingular again anyway. T-mobile has been
a pleasure to work with. I've never tried doing any of
this with Verizon or Sprint, though Verizon's supposedly
got great network coverage and high-speeds.

Yeah, my daughters just got new phones and the Internet plan they list
shows 1Mb per mo and $.01/Kb after that. I don't know if that is only
intended for a browser / mail on the phone but it's still small for
that. I've UPLOADED more than 1Mb at a shot, much less downloading.






I have used my cell phone all over the place including:

Driving up I5 in Northern California. The connection stayed up for a
long way so changing cell towers didn't seem to affect it.

Sitting trackside next to a logging road a few miles from Lake Almanor.
This is one of the more remote locations I've done it.

On a bus riding through Virginia.

On board the Coast Starlight except for a long stretch around the
California, Oregon border where there was no service.

Various spots out in the boonies trackside (Watching trains is a hobby).
I've created and uploaded web pages from some of these place.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
.

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