Use PCS for internect connection via laptop???

Wondering if possible to use PCS as telehone line connection to laptop
modem? Rather than pay for seperate expensive SPRINT internet
service, would like to use available PCS minutes so that my laptop
would dial out via the cell phone. Is this possible?

Thanks

---

› See More: Use PCS for internect connection via laptop???

"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Wondering if possible to use PCS as telehone line connection to laptop
> modem? Rather than pay for seperate expensive SPRINT internet
> service, would like to use available PCS minutes so that my laptop
> would dial out via the cell phone. Is this possible?
>
> Thanks

Yes and No. Depending on how old your phone is, if it's a 2G phone, you can
add Wireless web to your account, pay an additional monthly fee and use
minutes. You will only get 14k in speed though.

If you have a 3G phone, nope. That uses Vision, and you will need to have
the Vision option on your account. It doesn't use any minutes, but, in
saying that, SPCS does not support connecting the phone to a laptop. Vision
was not designed to replace your regular ISP service and if you connect
online for a long time or do large downloads, you will be charged extra, and
may have the Vision option removed from your account.

Some of us, while on the road, will connect via our laptop, but just to
handle email and limited surfing on the web.

Bob

Thanks Bob - big help. I searched SPRINT site and did not see
reference to 2G phones - how would I recognize and how would I connect
such a phone to laptop?

I'll also try stopping at SPRINT store to see if have phones and get
additional information on connecting.

Have vacation home - no need for land line but would like to have
internet/email access. Hoping PCS will do the trick.

Thanks again.


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:16:06 GMT, "Bob Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Wondering if possible to use PCS as telehone line connection to laptop
>> modem? Rather than pay for seperate expensive SPRINT internet
>> service, would like to use available PCS minutes so that my laptop
>> would dial out via the cell phone. Is this possible?
>>
>> Thanks
>
>Yes and No. Depending on how old your phone is, if it's a 2G phone, you can
>add Wireless web to your account, pay an additional monthly fee and use
>minutes. You will only get 14k in speed though.
>
>If you have a 3G phone, nope. That uses Vision, and you will need to have
>the Vision option on your account. It doesn't use any minutes, but, in
>saying that, SPCS does not support connecting the phone to a laptop. Vision
>was not designed to replace your regular ISP service and if you connect
>online for a long time or do large downloads, you will be charged extra, and
>may have the Vision option removed from your account.
>
>Some of us, while on the road, will connect via our laptop, but just to
>handle email and limited surfing on the web.
>
>Bob
>

"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks Bob - big help. I searched SPRINT site and did not see
> reference to 2G phones - how would I recognize and how would I connect
> such a phone to laptop?

SPCS probably doesn't have any 2G phones available. Most recent phone they
had was the Sanyo 4700.

>
> I'll also try stopping at SPRINT store to see if have phones and get
> additional information on connecting.

Unless they have an older reconditioned phone to swap out behind the counter
or in the back room, I don't think they will have any either.

Best best is to search eBay. Lots of 2G phones for sale. You can't go wrong
with the Sanyo 4700, if you can find one. You will also need to find a cable
the model you finally select to connect to the laptop. You will also need to
contact SPCS to get WW added to your account.
>
> Have vacation home - no need for land line but would like to have
> internet/email access. Hoping PCS will do the trick.

A couple of more things to ask. Do you currently have service through SPCS?
If so, have you checked to see whether you have coverage by your vacation
home? Which phone model do you currently have?

>
> Thanks again.

Anytime.

Bob

Your Samsung 8500 is a 2G phone that will work very well with
Wireless Web. I used one that way for several years. Check out:
http://navasgrp.home.att.net/tech/sch-8500/

You don't need any software, just a cable.
--

John Richards


"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Once again, I thank you for your help.
>
> Doing a bit of research and looks promissing. My wife and I use
> Samsung A460 and 8500 phones. Looking at the manuals, both discuss
> using phones to connect laptop to web. Just what I'm looking to do.
>
> Are the phones we have 2G compliant or do we still need something like
> the Sanyo 4700?
>
> I'll now need to research costs of adding Sprint web access and where
> to buy cable and any sofware we might need to work with our laptop.
>
> Both our permanent and new vacation homes do have Sprint coverage.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions on helping to move this along would be
> most appreciated.
>
> Hervé

"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Once again, I thank you for your help.
>
> Doing a bit of research and looks promissing. My wife and I use
> Samsung A460 and 8500 phones. Looking at the manuals, both discuss
> using phones to connect laptop to web. Just what I'm looking to do.

Ok ... What plan are you on now, how many minutes, do you have N & W, and do
you even possibly have WW as an option your account as well?

>
> Are the phones we have 2G compliant or do we still need something like
> the Sanyo 4700?

As John mentioned, the 8500 is a 2G phone, not sure whether the A460 is. So
to answer your question, no .. you won't need to get a 4700.
>
> I'll now need to research costs of adding Sprint web access and where
> to buy cable and any sofware we might need to work with our laptop.
>
The Wireless web option, if I recall correctly, is $10/mo. Might even be
$5/mo. The tough thing to find will be the cable, as the 8500 has been
discontinued for awhile. You can check with Radio Shack, eBay, or just do a
google search for the cable.

No need for any software, per the instruction John Navas has on his web page
(the link that John Richards provided)

> Both our permanent and new vacation homes do have Sprint coverage.

That's good to hear.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions on helping to move this along would be
> most appreciated.
>
Yes, as mentioned, WW is slow ... 14k speed, so if you are using most of
your plan minutes talking, then you might go over your bucket of minutes
accessing the web. If you have plenty of minutes left on your plan at the
end of the month, it shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck in finding a cable.

Bob

Thanks for information. Just visited local SPRINT store and want to
share what they had to say.

My Sansung A460 is a 3G talk but only 2G data. Said could connect but
would be slow and result in extra charges.

Suggested that I purchase a 3G phone like the Samsung A620/VGA1000.
While costs $260, I'm entitled to a $150 credit in June when I'll have
had present phone for 18 months. So, I could upgrade for about $110.

Then, I could buy data cable and software from Radio Shack or
elsewhere. Since my plan provides for unlimited Vision (2000 anytime
minutes/mo which I share with my wife's phone = $80/mo), said I'm
entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
service is faster than dial-up!!!

Sounds fantastic. Let me know if sounds right to you. Othersise, June
1st I'll swap phones with my wife, upgrade mine to the VGA1000 and
solve my problem.

What do you think???

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 12:10:50 GMT, "Bob Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Once again, I thank you for your help.
>>
>> Doing a bit of research and looks promissing. My wife and I use
>> Samsung A460 and 8500 phones. Looking at the manuals, both discuss
>> using phones to connect laptop to web. Just what I'm looking to do.
>
>Ok ... What plan are you on now, how many minutes, do you have N & W, and do
>you even possibly have WW as an option your account as well?
>
>>
>> Are the phones we have 2G compliant or do we still need something like
>> the Sanyo 4700?
>
>As John mentioned, the 8500 is a 2G phone, not sure whether the A460 is. So
>to answer your question, no .. you won't need to get a 4700.
>>
>> I'll now need to research costs of adding Sprint web access and where
>> to buy cable and any sofware we might need to work with our laptop.
>>
>The Wireless web option, if I recall correctly, is $10/mo. Might even be
>$5/mo. The tough thing to find will be the cable, as the 8500 has been
>discontinued for awhile. You can check with Radio Shack, eBay, or just do a
>google search for the cable.
>
>No need for any software, per the instruction John Navas has on his web page
>(the link that John Richards provided)
>
>> Both our permanent and new vacation homes do have Sprint coverage.
>
>That's good to hear.
>>
>> Any thoughts or suggestions on helping to move this along would be
>> most appreciated.
>>
>Yes, as mentioned, WW is slow ... 14k speed, so if you are using most of
>your plan minutes talking, then you might go over your bucket of minutes
>accessing the web. If you have plenty of minutes left on your plan at the
>end of the month, it shouldn't be a problem.
>
>Good luck in finding a cable.
>
>Bob
>

In article <[email protected]>,
Herve L. Guerette <[email protected]> wrote:

> I'm
> entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
> service is faster than dial-up!!!

On paper it may be, but Network overhead or whatever makes Vision
painfully slow.

"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for information. Just visited local SPRINT store and want to
> share what they had to say.
>
> My Sansung A460 is a 3G talk but only 2G data. Said could connect but
> would be slow and result in extra charges.

Don't know about the A460 (since it's a hybrid), but your Samsung 8500
will not incur extra charges except for the flat $5 per month for the WW option.

> Suggested that I purchase a 3G phone like the Samsung A620/VGA1000.
> While costs $260, I'm entitled to a $150 credit in June when I'll have
> had present phone for 18 months. So, I could upgrade for about $110.
> Then, I could buy data cable and software from Radio Shack or
> elsewhere.

The cable is $20 at Radio Shack, but can be found elsewhere for $9.
No software required, except for the free USB driver.

> Since my plan provides for unlimited Vision (2000 anytime
> minutes/mo which I share with my wife's phone = $80/mo), said I'm
> entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
> service is faster than dial-up!!!

Unlimited Vision is only for using it on the phone. Tethering it to
your laptop does not entitle you to unlimited web connections.
Some people have reported a 50 MB tethered download limit per month.

--

John Richards

"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for information. Just visited local SPRINT store and want to
> share what they had to say.
>
> My Sansung A460 is a 3G talk but only 2G data. Said could connect but
> would be slow and result in extra charges.

Well ... Yes & No. Yes, you would have an extra monthly charge by adding the
WW option to your account. It's either $5 or $10. Any usage on line, either
by just the phone or while tethered to the laptop, minutes would be used off
your plan. No extra charges ... In saying that, it is slow. As slow as a fax
machine.
>
> Suggested that I purchase a 3G phone like the Samsung A620/VGA1000.
> While costs $260, I'm entitled to a $150 credit in June when I'll have
> had present phone for 18 months. So, I could upgrade for about $110.

Yes, you could. By that time, a few more SPCS phone models will be
available, and will have the same $150 credit.

>
> Then, I could buy data cable and software from Radio Shack or
> elsewhere. Since my plan provides for unlimited Vision (2000 anytime
> minutes/mo which I share with my wife's phone = $80/mo), said I'm
> entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
> service is faster than dial-up!!!

As John said already, unlimited only applies on Vision, while accessing
Vision on your phone, not while it's tethered to the laptop. It is a quicker
speed than WW, and doesn't use minutes. As mentioned by yours truly and
others previously, in this thread and other threads, one can use the phone
tethered to the laptop, and do just casual usage. If you do a lot of
surfing, or do large downloads, SPCS will notice, give you one warning about
it, and then possibly cancelling the Vision option on your account, and
start charging you $0.01 per kb down or uploaded through the service.
>
> Sounds fantastic. Let me know if sounds right to you. Othersise, June
> 1st I'll swap phones with my wife, upgrade mine to the VGA1000 and
> solve my problem.
>
> What do you think???

Again, you might look at other models before you buy. The number one rated
line of phones in this newsgroup are by Sanyo. Nary a complaint on any of
their models.

Bob

Herve L. Guerette <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Then, I could buy data cable and software from Radio Shack or
> elsewhere. Since my plan provides for unlimited Vision (2000 anytime
> minutes/mo which I share with my wife's phone = $80/mo), said I'm
> entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
> service is faster than dial-up!!!
>
> Sounds fantastic. Let me know if sounds right to you. Othersise, June
> 1st I'll swap phones with my wife, upgrade mine to the VGA1000 and
> solve my problem.
>
> What do you think???
>

It's against the Terms of Service:

http://www.sprintpcs.com/common/popu...msPrivacy.html
(Under Terms and conditions of Service, scroll down to "Other Terms
Applicable to PCS Vision Usage")

> Unlimited PCS Vision plans/options are only available with phones or PCS
> smart phones where the device is not being used as a modem in connection with
> other equipment (e.g., computers, PDAs, etc.) through use of connection kits
> or other phone-to-computer/PDA accessories, or Bluetooth or other wireless
> technology. Sprint reserves the right to deny or to terminate service without
> notice for any misuse.

Bob Smith wrote:
> Some of us, while on the road, will connect via our laptop, but just to
> handle email and limited surfing on the web.

And some of use run a webcam mounted on the dash!

If you change one or both of your phones to a Vision phone, you
would likely want to add a Vision Pack to your plan. Which would make
your #80 plan a $95 plan. Otherwise you would be charged $.01 per KB.


Herve L. Guerette wrote:
> Thanks for information. Just visited local SPRINT store and want to
> share what they had to say.
>
> My Sansung A460 is a 3G talk but only 2G data. Said could connect but
> would be slow and result in extra charges.
>
> Suggested that I purchase a 3G phone like the Samsung A620/VGA1000.
> While costs $260, I'm entitled to a $150 credit in June when I'll have
> had present phone for 18 months. So, I could upgrade for about $110.
>
> Then, I could buy data cable and software from Radio Shack or
> elsewhere. Since my plan provides for unlimited Vision (2000 anytime
> minutes/mo which I share with my wife's phone = $80/mo), said I'm
> entitled to unlimited web connection at no additional costs. And,
> service is faster than dial-up!!!
>
> Sounds fantastic. Let me know if sounds right to you. Othersise, June
> 1st I'll swap phones with my wife, upgrade mine to the VGA1000 and
> solve my problem.
>
> What do you think???
>
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 12:10:50 GMT, "Bob Smith"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>"Herve L. Guerette" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>
>>>Once again, I thank you for your help.
>>>
>>>Doing a bit of research and looks promissing. My wife and I use
>>>Samsung A460 and 8500 phones. Looking at the manuals, both discuss
>>>using phones to connect laptop to web. Just what I'm looking to do.
>>
>>Ok ... What plan are you on now, how many minutes, do you have N & W, and do
>>you even possibly have WW as an option your account as well?
>>
>>
>>>Are the phones we have 2G compliant or do we still need something like
>>>the Sanyo 4700?
>>
>>As John mentioned, the 8500 is a 2G phone, not sure whether the A460 is. So
>>to answer your question, no .. you won't need to get a 4700.
>>
>>>I'll now need to research costs of adding Sprint web access and where
>>>to buy cable and any sofware we might need to work with our laptop.
>>>
>>
>>The Wireless web option, if I recall correctly, is $10/mo. Might even be
>>$5/mo. The tough thing to find will be the cable, as the 8500 has been
>>discontinued for awhile. You can check with Radio Shack, eBay, or just do a
>>google search for the cable.
>>
>>No need for any software, per the instruction John Navas has on his web page
>>(the link that John Richards provided)
>>
>>
>>>Both our permanent and new vacation homes do have Sprint coverage.
>>
>>That's good to hear.
>>
>>>Any thoughts or suggestions on helping to move this along would be
>>>most appreciated.
>>>
>>
>>Yes, as mentioned, WW is slow ... 14k speed, so if you are using most of
>>your plan minutes talking, then you might go over your bucket of minutes
>>accessing the web. If you have plenty of minutes left on your plan at the
>>end of the month, it shouldn't be a problem.
>>
>>Good luck in finding a cable.
>>
>>Bob
>>
>
>

Robert M. wrote:

> On paper it may be, but Network overhead or whatever makes Vision
> painfully slow.

As I said before, if the RL(whatecer you are using) is based on the
Sanyo 4900, then it WILL be slow. Its the browser. Visino on my Sanyo
8100 is great.

In article <[email protected]>,
JRW <no_addy@no_.com> wrote:

> Robert M. wrote:
>
> > On paper it may be, but Network overhead or whatever makes Vision
> > painfully slow.
>
> As I said before, if the RL(whatecer you are using) is based on the
> Sanyo 4900, then it WILL be slow. Its the browser. Visino on my Sanyo
> 8100 is great.

I dropped Vision long before my 2 month trial was up, it was S L O W
on the RL2500.