[graystrickland]

I'm paying Cingular $79/month for unlimited data access on a laptop card. Sadly, I only use the card occaisionally. The problem is that, when I need it, I may use it for hours, then not use it for weeks. I also have an unlimited Blackberry data plan $49/month on my 8700.

Q. -- Can I get rid of the laptop account and just use my Blackberry as a data modem with data throughput and reliability as good as I get with the laptop card?

[jdjleo]

well first u need to rework your data plan, brother!

Unlimited data should only be costing you 59.99 a month. Thats what its going for in PacBell market anyway. Call care and find out. Simple as switching features to take advantage of better pricing. we do this for customers all the time.

Better yet go to a Corporate Store and talk to a sales rep. They will be ECSTATIC to delete your old feature and make the commission off of switching you to a better one! Always go to the sales team when you can, they have a very good incentive to help you: $$$$

Second: No tethering your BB is not going to yield as good results as a data card. specially if its one of the new 3G Sierras and your service is in a UMTS/3G area. Your data speeds will be phenomenal!

[graystrickland]

Originally Posted by jdjleo

...tethering your BB is not going to yield as good results as a data card. specially if its one of the new 3G Sierras and your service is in a UMTS/3G area. Your data speeds will be phenomenal!

Is there a list somewhere of the 15 or so markets that have UMTS/3G service now?

People in the tv/radio business rank "media markets" by size. I'd bet that there is great coincidence between the markets getting UMTS/3G service and "media market" size. Just guess. Since I live in what is about the 50th media market, I doubt that we have UMTS/3G service now or will anytime soon.

The card that I have I bought about a year ago (from Cingular). It's definitely not a Sierra 3G card. Whatever it is, it's not for sale on Cingular's website anymore.

Given that I'm probably not in a UMTS/3G served market, would it be worthwhile to replace my laptop card?

[graystrickland]

Originally Posted by jdjleo

well first u need to rework your data plan, brother!

Unlimited data should only be costing you 59.99 a month. Thats what its going for in PacBell market anyway.

FYI... Cingular's "laptop connect" plans are:

5MB $19.99 + $0.0080/KB
10MB $29.99 + $0.0060/KB
20MB $39.99 + $0.0040/KB
50MB $49.99 + $0.0020/KB
Unlimited $79.99

[mgerbasio]

I'm in a similar situation, with erratic data usage every month from none to a week or more. I had the Verizon EVDO card but didn't renew my contract wasn't worth $80/mo for my usage. Verizon has a deal where you can pay $15/day rather than the monthly fee but they won't do it for the data cards, only laptops with built-in EVDO modems. I was just trying a Cingular Option GT Max card but I'm sending it back because of poor customer service. That's another story.

If you aren't in a 3G area, you can get a tethering plan for the BB that will let you use it as a modem for an additional $30/mo.

If you get the EVDO capable BB from Verizon, they charge only $15/mo for tethering and you'll get EVDO (400k-700k) speed. I think that's a really good deal considering the network coverage of EVDO (160? cities or more). If that doesn't work, I'd check the Verizon site and see if you're in an EVDO coverage area and get that if you can, it is the same price ($60/mo) as Cingular but the speed is 400k-700k with EDGE being about 80k-120k. Cingular hasn't released a rollout schedule that I've seen but you can try www.howardforums.com there are some threads about the new 3g rollout.

Regards-Michael G.

[graystrickland]

Originally Posted by mgerbasio

...you can get a tethering plan for the BB that will let you use it as a modem for an additional $30/mo.

I've read that elsewhere, but can't find where it is offered on the Cingular website. Since you must input your zip code to get a price on anything off that site, I wonder if tethering is not available everywhere.

[bigdaadio]

Originally Posted by jdjleo

well first u need to rework your data plan, brother!

Unlimited data should only be costing you 59.99 a month. Thats what its going for in PacBell market anyway. Call care and find out. Simple as switching features to take advantage of better pricing. we do this for customers all the time.

Better yet go to a Corporate Store and talk to a sales rep. They will be ECSTATIC to delete your old feature and make the commission off of switching you to a better one! Always go to the sales team when you can, they have a very good incentive to help you: $$$$

Second: No tethering your BB is not going to yield as good results as a data card. specially if its one of the new 3G Sierras and your service is in a UMTS/3G area. Your data speeds will be phenomenal!

I have a friend who just got through a trial period using a sierra card on 3g (houston) on Cingular, ended up getting an EVDO from verizon. wasnt happy at all with the speeds.
The BB should get abt the same speeds as the modem card, on edge.
YMMV

[HowieSee]

Originally Posted by mgerbasio

I'm in a similar situation, with erratic data usage every month from none to a week or more. I had the Verizon EVDO card but didn't renew my contract wasn't worth $80/mo for my usage. Verizon has a deal where you can pay $15/day rather than the monthly fee but they won't do it for the data cards, only laptops with built-in EVDO modems. I was just trying a Cingular Option GT Max card but I'm sending it back because of poor customer service. That's another story.

If you aren't in a 3G area, you can get a tethering plan for the BB that will let you use it as a modem for an additional $30/mo.

If you get the EVDO capable BB from Verizon, they charge only $15/mo for tethering and you'll get EVDO (400k-700k) speed. I think that's a really good deal considering the network coverage of EVDO (160? cities or more). If that doesn't work, I'd check the Verizon site and see if you're in an EVDO coverage area and get that if you can, it is the same price ($60/mo) as Cingular but the speed is 400k-700k with EDGE being about 80k-120k. Cingular hasn't released a rollout schedule that I've seen but you can try www.howardforums.com there are some threads about the new 3g rollout.

Regards-Michael G.

Actually - if you are on verizon, depending on the phone model, you can "hack" your way to free tethering. I mean, I pay freakin' 45 bucks for data on a phone (xv6700) an occasional tether here or there won't hurt. But then again, if you are on it like crazy and download like a madman on your phone, I would just pay the extra 15 bucks.

[bigdaadio]

Originally Posted by graystrickland

I'm paying Cingular $79/month for unlimited data access on a laptop card. Sadly, I only use the card occaisionally. The problem is that, when I need it, I may use it for hours, then not use it for weeks. I also have an unlimited Blackberry data plan $49/month on my 8700.
Snip>>> [/B]

Without opening a large can of worms...If you have TMO in your are and the coverage is decent, you may condider giving their 29.99 all the edge data u can digest. Economically the best, but depends on how service is in your area. In Miami its sweet.
Your milage may vary

[applerokr]

how do you like T-Mo's edge service? is it really good?

[ld-runner]

graystrickland, i also have an 8700c and i got rid of my cingular laptop card shortly after i bought the 8700c. Here is what i found out / experienced;

first off, the speeds where exactly the same. I had a sony wireless card.
second, you can't just plug in the BB and browse the net via your laptop at EDGE speeds. What you have to do is call Cingular and HOPE that you get someone that understand the term tether. YOu need the unlimited BB plan + the tether. the ability to tether the BB to the laptop cost $30. SO, if you BB unlimited is 49, your total bill would be 79 for the ability to get rid of your laptop connect plan.
the only real trouble i had was getting a cingular rep on the phone that would help me. the first person i called said it was impossilble. the second one i called said it was not available. the third one said i was wrong and i said i wanted to talk to her manager. finally, someone actually called me from cingular and apologized and set up my account properly.

[bavader]

I had similar experie nce with then

[dozment]

Originally Posted by graystrickland

I'm paying Cingular $79/month for unlimited data access on a laptop card. Sadly, I only use the card occaisionally. The problem is that, when I need it, I may use it for hours, then not use it for weeks. I also have an unlimited Blackberry data plan $49/month on my 8700.

I realize your question is about the quality and reliability of connecting via Blackberry modem, so I apologize in advance if I'm hijacking this. In the past I have found myself keeping services turned on in case I ever need them. I have considered one a Cingular laptop account because I occasionally need to connect.

After junk fees you are paying somewhere around $1,000 per year for the modem card. How many KB will that buy at the pay-per-use rate? Not sure what the rate actually is, but it if it 1 cent per KB you could get 100MB of data for the price that you are paying for the laptop connect plan. ...and, if you're truly an occasional user you may not need that much.

...just a thought.