Question for you computer/internet gurus

Since I live kind of in the sticks, I currently have on other option ofr internet than dial-up. That is, until Friday when I heard Clark Howard talk about EVDO, which is wireless data from cellphone companies. Anyone out there have this? if so, a couple questions:

1. Do you like it?
2. How reliable/fast is it?
3. is it a PITA to use your cellphone as a tether to your computer? (it's cheaper to do it that way)
4. are you able to use more than one computer on the net at a time?

Thanks in advance. Right now, I'm thinking of jumping on this, but I wanted to see what you folks thought first. I am SOOOO sick of dial-up.

Don't know about EVDO. I have hughsnet's satellite DSL. It's been fairly good, but the dish does have trouble with heavy rain & snow buildup.

Yeah I looked into Hughesnet, too. It's like $600 just for equipment and then $75/month for service.

Bernie Brewer said:

1. Do you like it?

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I do not have it but i occasionaly use a slower cousin of it. I would not recommend it as your main internet connection. However, it may be worth looking into if it is your only option.

2. How reliable/fast is it?

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Speeds will depend greatly on how strong an EVDO signal you have in your area. If you are in an area that does not offer cable or dsl then it sounds as if you are in a remote area. Don't get your hopes up. It likely will not be available in your area and if it is the signal may be weak.

As far as how fast, it is fast enough to be considered true broadband. You will notice a significant speed difference over dial up.

3. is it a PITA to use your cellphone as a tether to your computer? (it's cheaper to do it that way)

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It is a bit of a pain yeah but nothing major. Similar to dial up where you would need to enter a username and password to get online each time. You will need to purchase a data cable for your cell phone to connect it to the computer unless both your computer and phone support bluetooth.

4. are you able to use more than one computer on the net at a time?

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Unfortunately, no. Think of this as just a very fast dial up connection. One computer on at a time and the phone is tied up while online with the exception being now its a cell phone instead of a land line.


Again as mentioned earlier, I have not used EVDO specifically but it is essentially the same thing so what i said should apply.

Thanks Rick. I will look into it further with the cellphone co. I'm not too worried about the signal, since I only live a mile or so as the crow flies to the nearest interstate. Yet no cable or DSL, go figure. When you factor in the money I'm paying already for dial-up and the extra land-line, the money invested won't be much different, if not cheaper. It's certainly worth further research. Thanks again.

Bernie. I got a lot of experience with it. I manage the computers for about 150 field sales guys across the US and all of them have the Verizon wireless cards and love them. You get a theoretical 1mb dowload speed but probably is more in the range of 500-750k average. Upload speed is slower but I think in the range of 250-300k. If you know someone who has a Verizon phone and if it says Ev or similar at your house it'll work for you as well. Or you could leverage the 14 day trial period and see if it works for you. They have also gotten away from the PC Card style and have moved to USB so if you have a desktop it'll work for you as well. Fire away with more questions.

PS - I got one guy in the Green Bay area, but don't know if he would have much to share with you for your locale (south I know) since he's usually traveling about the US. Could always go to their coverage map and see what you see.

Well I pulled the trigger on this one. So far so good- a couple times the connection froze up on me but other than that it's got dial-up beat by far. The only drawback is that there is no email service- I have to set something up with yahoo or hotmail for email. But I'm actually able to watch film clips now and maybe download a song or two! Woo-Hoo!

Bernie Brewer said:

The only drawback is that there is no email service- I have to set something up with yahoo or hotmail for email. But I'm actually able to watch film clips now and maybe download a song or two! Woo-Hoo!

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I have yet to use my ISP e-mail for any of the services I have used. MSN isnt bad but right now I prefer gmail because I get much less spam on it. Bernie, If ya want a Gmail invite let me know and I'll send ya one ASAP

Hmm, that's a thought- we'll talk about it tomorrow @ the game. Go Crew!

Pumbaa said:

I have yet to use my ISP e-mail for any of the services I have used. MSN isnt bad but right now I prefer gmail because I get much less spam on it. Bernie, If ya want a Gmail invite let me know and I'll send ya one ASAP

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You actually don't need an intive anymore for Gmail. It has now been opened to the public...........But I will 2nd the Gmail. I use it and have no issues.

Rick91981 said:

You actually don't need an intive anymore for Gmail. It has now been opened to the public...........But I will 2nd the Gmail. I use it and have no issues.

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Yeah, a lot of great features with G-mail. I love it.