Well, the Simply Everything plan is $69.99/mo for unlimited phone, txt, and web (versus just phone for the same price with Verizon and AT&T).  And, from what I've heard, all the other major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) are going to tiered data plans so they can charge extra for overages.  So far, Sprint has no plans of doing that other than the $10/mo premium on smart phones.  Enabling the 4G phones as a MiFi hotspot actually more than offsets the cost of paying for an aircard every month but, if you recently got a phone and are not eligible for an upgrade, I totally understand not wanting to do that.  I, myself, was going to upgrade my aircard to the Overdrive device until I noticed my phone plan was eligible for an upgrade, too, and realized it would actually cost me less to get a 4G phone (MiFi enabled) and essentially drop my aircard plan.


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Herrmann
Sent: Jan 18, 2011 8:25 AM
To: "kclug@kclug.org"
Subject: Re: 4G Cards

That's true.  And that is certainly something I considered.  If I was starting from scratch, I would probably go that route.  It's a more expensive route, but there is that convenience of one device.  Since I already have an Android phone, Samsung Moment, on my personal account, I decided that just having the WAP point was what my "business" needed.  So, I started a new account paid for by my business, and that will keep them separate for tax purposes.  I can foresee that someday my business will demand it's own phone, which it will pay for and provide to it's president.

It's more than $20, I think.  I think there is $10 for 4G, then $20 for WiFi enabling.  Something like that.

On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 7:48 AM, Jonathan Hale <maclaoch@earthlink.net> wrote:
Or you could do what I'm thinking about doing now.  Get one of the new 4G phones (Epic, EVO, or Shift) and, for $20/month extra, have it enabled as a MiFi hotspot.  That way you'd have one less device to have to carry around.



-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Herrmann
Sent: Jan 17, 2011 11:52 PM
To: "kclug@kclug.org"
Subject: Re: 4G Cards

Did I mention that it needs to be portable?  I have a cable modem at my house.  I've seen 10MB download speeds from that.  Not looking to replace that.  I need to be mobile.  Columbus, OH, Panera bread, any restaurant or coffee shop, etc.  I want to be able to be wired in to do billable work from any city in the US, any place I want to hang out and people watch that particular day.  The beach is probably not practical at this point in Kansas, but that's the general idea.  4G makes the completely mobile office totally possible.  I'm getting on that band wagon.  I now have two customers that will pay me very good money to work on their projects, from a distance.  Yeah baby!  Wire me up, or rather, unwire me up!

I have, or rather my business has, put in an order for the Overdrive.  For what it will cost, if it saves me an hour or two over the course of each month futzing around with connections, it will totally pay for itself.  The device looks pretty cool.  4G to WiFi up to 150 feet away for up to five devices, and it's battery powered, like a cell phone, so it can just sit there on the table, connected to nothing, and give your whole house 3-6 GBS download speed.  That is just too f-ing cool.  Of course, like a cell phone, it has to be charged, or be plugged into the wall or USB.  I need to get me some of that extra battery power for USB powered devices that I've seen for sale.

I will do some personal testing over the next few weeks and report back to the group on how well it works.  Wish me luck!

Peace,
Jim

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 9:43 PM, Geoffrion, Ron P [IT] <Ron.Geoffrion@sprint.com> wrote:
The Sprint 4G modem by Motorola has no drivers to worry about. Hooked up to your wireless router provides whole house coverage.

I switched last month and get 3-4mbps download consistently in KC.

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

----- Reply message -----
From: "Jim Herrmann" <kclug@itdepends.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 17, 2011 4:32 pm
Subject: 4G Cards
To: "kclug@kclug.org" <kclug@kclug.org>

OK, I may have answered my own question, but I would still like to hear other's opinions.

The Overdrive Hot Spot gives me a 4G connection, and allows up to 5 WiFi connections to it.  That allows any OS to use it.  Sound good?  Yes, I know

Let me know what you think.

Jim

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Jim Herrmann <kclug@itdepends.com> wrote:
What Spring 4G cards work with Linux?  I am making the bold assumption that there must be someone on here that knows this off the top of their head.  :-)

It appears that 3G is well supported, albeit with some USB tweaks.  But I'm not hopeful from what I've found for drivers getting 4G speeds being supported on Linux.

Help me choose.

Thanks,
Jim



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