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  1. #1
    jeff
    Guest
    I run a business and need to be able to access my company's web admin server
    when customers call. Unfortunately sometimes they call at times when I'm not
    anywhere near a computer, so I would like to be able to access my web server
    on a PDA. I need a full blown web browser that can handle SSL connections,
    not some cheesy WAP browser.

    I live out in the boonies in Michigan's Thumb area. The only towers
    available here that I am aware of are Thumb Cellular (CDMA), Dobson Cellular
    One (GSM), and Nextel (IDEN). Also, there is Cingular's Mobitex data service
    out here, but they don't have voice cellular service in the area and refuse
    to sign me up. (I could use a fake billing address I suppose.)

    I use Verizon Wireless for my voice calls, which works great because Thumb
    Cellular is a free "extended network" area on America's Choice. (Where as if
    I signed up through Thumb Cellular locally I'd be roaming on Verizon and
    wouldn't get any freebies like nights and weekends or anything when I go
    anywhere). I don't think that Thumb Cellular has any sort of data service
    offering beyond just SMS text messaging, and since it's an extended area I
    imagine you can't use Verizon Express Network here either. I don't know if
    Dobson Cellular One does anything, but I don't really care either because
    their service is crap.

    I commonly go away on weekends and things, so I am interested in trying out
    this "Express Network Minutes of Use" thing that some of the Verizon people
    keep talking about. I mean, if it just uses my minutes and I have free
    weekend minutes when I'm down in the Verizon area on weekends, I might as
    well use it. Right?

    Can I get online with a PDA out in the Thumb area with my Verizon phone
    service while roaming as extended network on Thumb Cellular? I mean, I know
    you can't use the "express network" here, but can I get online with say a
    modem call to my ISP or something? If so, I could just use that for now
    until my usage gets to a point where I'd need to get it on a seperate plan.

    Eventually I would like to be able to talk on the phone at the same time as
    surfing the net (so that I can access the customer's account info on my PDA
    while I'm talking to them on the phone). That would mean a whole seperate
    rate plan wouldn't it? Obviously in that case, I'd like to get something
    that would allow me to use it both in the Thumb area as well as outside the
    Thumb, so I don't think Verizon would be a good choice for that... Unless
    they offer a good deal on roaming data service, if such a thing is even
    available.

    Otherwise, I guess I'll have to get either Cingular's Mobitex service which
    is a total rip on the prices -- don't they charge by the killobyte? Or, I
    could get Nextel's packetstream thing but that sounds rather expensive. Is
    there any other options?

    What PDA can I use with these things? Is there a device that would work with
    both Verizon and with Nextel? I'm thinking... Nextel has one of those PCMCIA
    card jobies to use with their service. Until I get to using it enough to
    require it's own rate plan, I could maybe plug the PDA into my Verizon phone
    for now? Would that work?

    If I get stuck paying per the minute or per killobyte, on either Cingular
    Mobitex or Nextel PacketStream, could I still use the free weekends on
    Verizon Express Network Minutes of Use on the same PDA?

    Thanks,
    Jeff





    See More: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular




  2. #2
    Elmo P. Shagnasty
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    In article <[email protected]>,
    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I run a business and need to be able to access my company's web admin server
    > when customers call. Unfortunately sometimes they call at times when I'm not
    > anywhere near a computer...
    >
    > I live out in the boonies in Michigan's Thumb area....
    >
    > I commonly go away on weekends and things...



    1) Move.

    2) Get into a new business.

    3) Stay home.


    Those are the only choices I can come up with, sorry....




  3. #3
    Peter Pan
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]
    > Can I get online with a PDA out in the Thumb area with my Verizon
    > phone service while roaming as extended network on Thumb Cellular? I
    > mean, I know you can't use the "express network" here, but can I get
    > online with say a modem call to my ISP or something? If so, I could
    > just use that for now until my usage gets to a point where I'd need
    > to get it on a seperate plan.
    >


    Sort of an old PDA (they have lots of newer ones now), but I used the
    Audiovox Thera on Verizon and Quick 2 Net when I was in Saginaw, it was
    slow, but I was able to log on to secures sites (https stuff, like my banks
    and brokers). I use Earthlink as my ISP and can connect via dialup/cellphone
    (both low speed and high speed)/802.11/ethernet/cable/dsl/etc.


    >
    > I commonly go away on weekends and things, so I am interested in
    > trying out this "Express Network Minutes of Use" thing that some of
    > the Verizon people keep talking about. I mean, if it just uses my
    > minutes and I have free weekend minutes when I'm down in the Verizon
    > area on weekends, I might as well use it. Right?
    >


    When I go to other areas that are native verizon (not extended) I change the
    ESN online and use my Kyocera 2235 (an older phone but 1X compatible, and I
    have all the accessories for it)/Mobile Office/EN-MOU (Now NA-MOU) with my
    laptop. Works great, and with the free N&W, I can surf/email/etc to my
    hearts content (is up to 10 times faster than the old qwk2net).

    When you asked about talking and data at the same time, my partner (we are
    both consultants, travel and use cellphones extensively), has a share option
    on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be online at the same time. (he
    uses an aircard in his laptop as a second line, but it only works in native
    verizon areas, not extended)








  4. #4
    jeff
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular


    "Peter Pan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    > When I go to other areas that are native verizon (not extended) I change

    the
    > ESN online and use my Kyocera 2235 (an older phone but 1X compatible, and

    I
    > have all the accessories for it)/Mobile Office/EN-MOU (Now NA-MOU) with my
    > laptop. Works great, and with the free N&W, I can surf/email/etc to my
    > hearts content (is up to 10 times faster than the old qwk2net).
    >
    > When you asked about talking and data at the same time, my partner (we are
    > both consultants, travel and use cellphones extensively), has a share

    option
    > on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be online at the same time. (he
    > uses an aircard in his laptop as a second line, but it only works in

    native
    > verizon areas, not extended)
    >


    Well, thanks for your advice. I looked at Cingular's Mobitext prices and I
    can't see myself paying them by the kilobyte when they don't even cover all
    of the areas I go. I might as well just do dial-up modem calls over my
    existing cell phone and use the plan minutes if I'm going to go the
    pay-per-use route.

    Eventually as I have to do this more and more often, I think I might have to
    go with the Nextel packetstream unlimited plan, even though it's a bit
    expensive. At least then I could use a completely seperate device so that I
    can be on the phone simultaneously, and their coverage is adequate for the
    areas I would use it most often.

    I notice that NexTel has a PCMCIA card for their PacketStream service. Are
    there any PDAs out there that can use their card, as well as an external
    data cable through verizon? I'd like to get the PDA and start using it with
    my existing Verizon minutes as a dial-up call, but eventually switch over to
    the Nextel card at some point down the road if nothing else becomes
    available.

    -Jeff





  5. #5
    Peter Pan
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]
    > "Peter Pan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >>
    >> When I go to other areas that are native verizon (not extended) I
    >> change the ESN online and use my Kyocera 2235 (an older phone but 1X
    >> compatible, and I have all the accessories for it)/Mobile
    >> Office/EN-MOU (Now NA-MOU) with my laptop. Works great, and with the
    >> free N&W, I can surf/email/etc to my hearts content (is up to 10
    >> times faster than the old qwk2net).
    >>
    >> When you asked about talking and data at the same time, my partner
    >> (we are both consultants, travel and use cellphones extensively),
    >> has a share option on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be
    >> online at the same time. (he uses an aircard in his laptop as a
    >> second line, but it only works in native verizon areas, not extended)
    >>

    >
    > Well, thanks for your advice. I looked at Cingular's Mobitext prices
    > and I can't see myself paying them by the kilobyte when they don't
    > even cover all of the areas I go. I might as well just do dial-up
    > modem calls over my existing cell phone and use the plan minutes if
    > I'm going to go the pay-per-use route.
    >
    > Eventually as I have to do this more and more often, I think I might
    > have to go with the Nextel packetstream unlimited plan, even though
    > it's a bit expensive. At least then I could use a completely seperate
    > device so that I can be on the phone simultaneously, and their
    > coverage is adequate for the areas I would use it most often.
    >
    > I notice that NexTel has a PCMCIA card for their PacketStream
    > service. Are there any PDAs out there that can use their card, as
    > well as an external data cable through verizon? I'd like to get the
    > PDA and start using it with my existing Verizon minutes as a dial-up
    > call, but eventually switch over to the Nextel card at some point
    > down the road if nothing else becomes available.
    >
    > -Jeff


    Not sure what you mean on this. The PDA's that I have seen used on verizon,
    either have a built-in phone, and/or use a cable to tie it to a laptop, or
    an SDIO card. Fraid I've never seen a PDA that can use a PCMCIA card. Most
    of the things I've played with on Verizon, are PDA's that use things like
    USB data cradles, or SDIO cards etc. (SDIO cards are really cool at places
    that have a wireless network!) Do they make an SD card that works with
    packetstream?

    I should be clear that both my partner and I are consultants, we travel
    around, and absolutely must have something that works in the most places.
    Verizon has worked in every place we have been, Nextel less than 40%. We
    went with Verizon. Not to say there is anything wrong with Nextel, if it
    works for you great, just didn't for us so we discounted it as a
    possibility. My understanding is that Nextel is IDEN and Verizon CDMA (and
    Cingular GSM), all incompatible protocols. Sorry I

    One thing of note, you may find that different phones require different
    cables./drivers/sometime software. Depending on what you have/need to buy,
    you may find it rather expensive to experiment (luckily we get to put the
    costs on our expense account





  6. #6
    Roger Binns
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    > has a share option
    > on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be online at the same time. (he
    > uses an aircard in his laptop as a second line,


    I have it on good authority that things changed as of April 15th. When
    you get a data card, you have to get a data plan. You can't just add
    it to an existing AC plan. The system in the stores enforces this, so
    even a friendly manager can't do anything for you.

    The data plans are $80 for unlimited. If that is fine by you then you
    are all set. If you want to spend less, because of occassional usage,
    then $35 gets you 150 data minutes (chargeable at all times - no night
    or weekends free).

    [This is for Northern California. Other regions may vary]

    Roger





  7. #7
    jeff
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular


    "Roger Binns" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > > has a share option
    > > on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be online at the same time. (he
    > > uses an aircard in his laptop as a second line,

    >
    > I have it on good authority that things changed as of April 15th. When
    > you get a data card, you have to get a data plan. You can't just add
    > it to an existing AC plan. The system in the stores enforces this, so
    > even a friendly manager can't do anything for you.
    >
    > The data plans are $80 for unlimited. If that is fine by you then you
    > are all set. If you want to spend less, because of occassional usage,
    > then $35 gets you 150 data minutes (chargeable at all times - no night
    > or weekends free).
    >
    > [This is for Northern California. Other regions may vary]
    >
    > Roger
    >


    I assume that only works in Verizon's native coverage areas. What if I try
    to make a data call from an extended network area? Is it possible? How much
    would it cost?

    Thanks,
    Jeff





  8. #8
    Peter Pan
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]
    > "Roger Binns" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >>> has a share option
    >>> on his 2 lines/2 phones. He can talk and be online at the same
    >>> time. (he uses an aircard in his laptop as a second line,

    >>
    >> I have it on good authority that things changed as of April 15th.
    >> When you get a data card, you have to get a data plan. You can't
    >> just add it to an existing AC plan. The system in the stores
    >> enforces this, so even a friendly manager can't do anything for you.
    >>
    >> The data plans are $80 for unlimited. If that is fine by you then
    >> you are all set. If you want to spend less, because of occasional
    >> usage, then $35 gets you 150 data minutes (chargeable at all times -
    >> no night or weekends free).
    >>
    >> [This is for Northern California. Other regions may vary]
    >>
    >> Roger
    >>

    >
    > I assume that only works in Verizon's native coverage areas. What if
    > I try to make a data call from an extended network area? Is it
    > possible? How much would it cost?
    >
    > Thanks,
    > Jeff


    If you are talking aircard in extended network areas, no it sometimes
    (usually when you want it to) doesn't work. Hard to tell if it will or
    won't. For instance, I was in South Carolina on Alltel and it worked, but
    when in Saginaw Michigan, it didn't. You may want to look on verizons
    website at a national access map, it is much smaller area than Americas
    choice, but should give you some idea of area that it may work in.





  9. #9
    jeff
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular


    "Peter Pan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    > If you are talking aircard in extended network areas, no it sometimes
    > (usually when you want it to) doesn't work. Hard to tell if it will or
    > won't. For instance, I was in South Carolina on Alltel and it worked, but
    > when in Saginaw Michigan, it didn't. You may want to look on verizons
    > website at a national access map, it is much smaller area than Americas
    > choice, but should give you some idea of area that it may work in.
    >


    I don't understand. Saginaw, Michigan is and always has been a native
    Verizon coverage area from the days of Airtouch. It's certainly not extended
    network. Do you mean there are areas that Verizon owns the towers themselves
    but does not provide data service? I had thought the difference between
    America's Choice and National Access was that National Access was just
    Verizon's native towers, while America's Choice included their roaming
    partners.

    -Jeff





  10. #10
    Peter Pan
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]
    > "Peter Pan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >>
    >> If you are talking aircard in extended network areas, no it sometimes
    >> (usually when you want it to) doesn't work. Hard to tell if it will
    >> or won't. For instance, I was in South Carolina on Alltel and it
    >> worked, but when in Saginaw Michigan, it didn't. You may want to
    >> look on verizons website at a national access map, it is much
    >> smaller area than Americas choice, but should give you some idea of
    >> area that it may work in.
    >>

    >
    > I don't understand. Saginaw, Michigan is and always has been a native
    > Verizon coverage area from the days of Airtouch. It's certainly not
    > extended network. Do you mean there are areas that Verizon owns the
    > towers themselves but does not provide data service? I had thought
    > the difference between America's Choice and National Access was that
    > National Access was just Verizon's native towers, while America's
    > Choice included their roaming partners.
    >
    > -Jeff


    Yes, at the time I was in Saginaw, I was on Thumb Cellular, not verizon,
    which at that time (a few years back) was extended network. I have no idea
    if it is data capable now, just know it wasn't in 1999. The SC was about a
    year ago (lake Murray area, near Columbia SC). Bottom line for me is that
    you never actually know until you try it if it shows as extended. With some
    PRL's, Alltell shows as extended, but with some it doesn't.





  11. #11
    CAT
    Guest

    Re: PDA on both Verizon and Nextel or Cingular

    Jeff,

    If you are interested in aquiring mobitex service, may I suggest you contact
    Joe Foley at Cingular Interactive. His number is 732 602 5541. I'm sure he
    can assist you with any questions, and most probably, will be able to hook you up.

    CAT


    "jeff" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > I run a business and need to be able to access my company's web admin server
    > when customers call. Unfortunately sometimes they call at times when I'm not
    > anywhere near a computer, so I would like to be able to access my web server
    > on a PDA. I need a full blown web browser that can handle SSL connections,
    > not some cheesy WAP browser.
    >
    > I live out in the boonies in Michigan's Thumb area. The only towers
    > available here that I am aware of are Thumb Cellular (CDMA), Dobson Cellular
    > One (GSM), and Nextel (IDEN). Also, there is Cingular's Mobitex data service
    > out here, but they don't have voice cellular service in the area and refuse
    > to sign me up. (I could use a fake billing address I suppose.)
    >
    > I use Verizon Wireless for my voice calls, which works great because Thumb
    > Cellular is a free "extended network" area on America's Choice. (Where as if
    > I signed up through Thumb Cellular locally I'd be roaming on Verizon and
    > wouldn't get any freebies like nights and weekends or anything when I go
    > anywhere). I don't think that Thumb Cellular has any sort of data service
    > offering beyond just SMS text messaging, and since it's an extended area I
    > imagine you can't use Verizon Express Network here either. I don't know if
    > Dobson Cellular One does anything, but I don't really care either because
    > their service is crap.
    >
    > I commonly go away on weekends and things, so I am interested in trying out
    > this "Express Network Minutes of Use" thing that some of the Verizon people
    > keep talking about. I mean, if it just uses my minutes and I have free
    > weekend minutes when I'm down in the Verizon area on weekends, I might as
    > well use it. Right?
    >
    > Can I get online with a PDA out in the Thumb area with my Verizon phone
    > service while roaming as extended network on Thumb Cellular? I mean, I know
    > you can't use the "express network" here, but can I get online with say a
    > modem call to my ISP or something? If so, I could just use that for now
    > until my usage gets to a point where I'd need to get it on a seperate plan.
    >
    > Eventually I would like to be able to talk on the phone at the same time as
    > surfing the net (so that I can access the customer's account info on my PDA
    > while I'm talking to them on the phone). That would mean a whole seperate
    > rate plan wouldn't it? Obviously in that case, I'd like to get something
    > that would allow me to use it both in the Thumb area as well as outside the
    > Thumb, so I don't think Verizon would be a good choice for that... Unless
    > they offer a good deal on roaming data service, if such a thing is even
    > available.
    >
    > Otherwise, I guess I'll have to get either Cingular's Mobitex service which
    > is a total rip on the prices -- don't they charge by the killobyte? Or, I
    > could get Nextel's packetstream thing but that sounds rather expensive. Is
    > there any other options?
    >
    > What PDA can I use with these things? Is there a device that would work with
    > both Verizon and with Nextel? I'm thinking... Nextel has one of those PCMCIA
    > card jobies to use with their service. Until I get to using it enough to
    > require it's own rate plan, I could maybe plug the PDA into my Verizon phone
    > for now? Would that work?
    >
    > If I get stuck paying per the minute or per killobyte, on either Cingular
    > Mobitex or Nextel PacketStream, could I still use the free weekends on
    > Verizon Express Network Minutes of Use on the same PDA?
    >
    > Thanks,
    > Jeff




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