Using VZW BB service on a Dell Inspiron B120

I have a customer who purchased a Dell Inspiron B120 laptop. She has
a relative who works for VZW and she wants to get VZW BB service. Her
relative purchased a card but said she couldn't find a place to put
the card in the laptop. She had already sent it back by the time I
met with her, so I was not able to play around with it myself.

Has anyone used this model with VZW BB? If so, what card did you use
and where does it go? The Dell support site for this model only
mentions the standard phone jack, the 10/100 ethernet port, and
"Express Card Connectors". I suspect these ECCs are what she needs to
use, but I cannot find any reference tying these connectors to VZW BB
aircards.

If they got the V620 card from VZW, it needs a PCMCIA slot Looking at
the images of the computer in question, it appears there is one of
these slots on the left side of the computer, near the front. Myabe
I'm mistaken though, and that slot is what Dell calls an "Express Card
Slot".

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 00:15:23 -0500, The Ghost of General Lee
<ghost@general.lee> wrote:

>I have a customer who purchased a Dell Inspiron B120 laptop. She has
>a relative who works for VZW and she wants to get VZW BB service. Her
>relative purchased a card but said she couldn't find a place to put
>the card in the laptop. She had already sent it back by the time I
>met with her, so I was not able to play around with it myself.
>
>Has anyone used this model with VZW BB? If so, what card did you use
>and where does it go? The Dell support site for this model only
>mentions the standard phone jack, the 10/100 ethernet port, and
>"Express Card Connectors". I suspect these ECCs are what she needs to
>use, but I cannot find any reference tying these connectors to VZW BB
>aircards.

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 15:44:40 GMT, Mike Levy <blue2kzr2@gmail.com>
wrote:

>If they got the V620 card from VZW, it needs a PCMCIA slot Looking at
>the images of the computer in question, it appears there is one of
>these slots on the left side of the computer, near the front. Myabe
>I'm mistaken though, and that slot is what Dell calls an "Express Card
>Slot".

That side slot is the Express Card Slot. There is a mini PCI slot in
the bottom, but a cursory search at VZW's site tells me this laptop
won't be running VZW BB service.

The Ghost of General Lee wrote:
> On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 15:44:40 GMT, Mike Levy <blue2kzr2@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> If they got the V620 card from VZW, it needs a PCMCIA slot Looking at
>> the images of the computer in question, it appears there is one of
>> these slots on the left side of the computer, near the front. Myabe
>> I'm mistaken though, and that slot is what Dell calls an "Express Card
>> Slot".
>
> That side slot is the Express Card Slot. There is a mini PCI slot in
> the bottom, but a cursory search at VZW's site tells me this laptop
> won't be running VZW BB service.

Well, there IS one other way to do it, and legally, IF this model of
Inspiron has USB ports. This option is to get a Blackberry phone and
use to tether to the laptop.

Granted, a Blackberry device is probably going to be overkill, but,
Blackberries are sanctioned by Verizon Wireless for data tethering.
Assuming the OP gets a Blackberry handset and signs up for a Core Choice
Plan (Voice package + unlimited Blackberry data), and then adds the
laptop tethering feature, the total price of the package will be equal
to the cost of a regular voice plan plus a BroadbandAccess package.

Here's how it works out:

Core choice Voice plans (same cost for voice as the America's Choice plans)

+ $40 unlimited Blackberry internet service
+ $15 unlimited laptop tethering option
----------------------------------------------
= Whatever the voice plan costs + $55

Well actually I take back my earlier statement. If the OP doesn't mind
upgrading to a Blackberry, they actually stand to save $5 off the
$60/month Broadband Access cost, and get the same speed, only through
their handset instead of a PCMCIA card. And if they're amenable, they
might not even need to use their laptop AS much, so long as they don't
mind checking e-mail via the BB device.

Of course the drawback is that the only current EVDO-enabled
Blackberries are the 7250 (with a firmware update) and the 7130e. Both
of which are VERY ugly looking phones.


--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 16:47:00 -0500, Isaiah Beard
<sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com> wrote:

>The Ghost of General Lee wrote:
>> On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 15:44:40 GMT, Mike Levy <blue2kzr2@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> If they got the V620 card from VZW, it needs a PCMCIA slot Looking at
>>> the images of the computer in question, it appears there is one of
>>> these slots on the left side of the computer, near the front. Myabe
>>> I'm mistaken though, and that slot is what Dell calls an "Express Card
>>> Slot".
>>
>> That side slot is the Express Card Slot. There is a mini PCI slot in
>> the bottom, but a cursory search at VZW's site tells me this laptop
>> won't be running VZW BB service.
>
>Well, there IS one other way to do it, and legally, IF this model of
>Inspiron has USB ports. This option is to get a Blackberry phone and
>use to tether to the laptop.
>
>Granted, a Blackberry device is probably going to be overkill, but,
>Blackberries are sanctioned by Verizon Wireless for data tethering.
>Assuming the OP gets a Blackberry handset and signs up for a Core Choice
>Plan (Voice package + unlimited Blackberry data), and then adds the
>laptop tethering feature, the total price of the package will be equal
>to the cost of a regular voice plan plus a BroadbandAccess package.
>
>Here's how it works out:
>
>Core choice Voice plans (same cost for voice as the America's Choice plans)
>
>+ $40 unlimited Blackberry internet service
>+ $15 unlimited laptop tethering option
>----------------------------------------------
>= Whatever the voice plan costs + $55
>
>Well actually I take back my earlier statement. If the OP doesn't mind
>upgrading to a Blackberry, they actually stand to save $5 off the
>$60/month Broadband Access cost, and get the same speed, only through
>their handset instead of a PCMCIA card. And if they're amenable, they
>might not even need to use their laptop AS much, so long as they don't
>mind checking e-mail via the BB device.
>
>Of course the drawback is that the only current EVDO-enabled
>Blackberries are the 7250 (with a firmware update) and the 7130e. Both
>of which are VERY ugly looking phones.

Thanks. She does have USB ports. I'll let her know, although I
suspect she won't go for that option. She has voice service through
another provider and is able to get VZW BB service through her
relative for ~$40/mo. For the cost of the phone (which after rebates,
cost about the same as the laptop), and $55/month plus a voice plan,
she would be better off getting business cable internet access at her
shop.