Mobile Data
This week, I am canceling our digital satellite subscription. AT&T Home Entertainment is simply not capable of providing the features we pay for, and we almost never watch TV these days. Most of our favorite shows are available on iTunes, so it makes sense to just purchase them ala carte.
That frees up a slot in my budget to consider doing something I've wanted to do for a while, which is to address the matter of my mobile data needs. Unlike the rest of you people, I still use my Motorola RAZR and use it for making phone calls and not much else. I actually get my basic service through my family, since it's part of my dad's business plan and I never use my phone to the point that I threaten the plan. I don't really get any sms messages in that plan, and honestly, I hate txting, so buying a QWERTY feature phone isn't in the cards.
I do, however, want better mobile data access. My use pattern is what my mobile computing professor calls "nomadic." That is, I prefer to move to set locations and, once I'm at a given location, I want a pretty full-featured computing experience. I still have the "home / away-from-home" duality, since I don't care about having my video editing on the go, but I definitely prefer to have something close to a complete computer available at whichever destination I choose. This actually makes me a prime candidate for a netbook, and it's no surprise that I own one. In fact, I expect to probably get a smaller and more convenient one later this year.
In theory, wifi is supposed to be the technology that enables nomadic users. You just pack up your laptop/netbook, get it near a hotspot, and then use it. In practice, wifi is made of fail for a serious nomadic user. Case and point...this past weekend. I was in 3 airports, and of them, only 1 had useful wifi. My hotel at D*C did not have useful wifi, either. The idea of carrying around my netbook within these areas isn't supported by wifi use, let alone having wifi to the level I desire (i.e. sufficient for playing WoW). The reality of wifi is that it requires the participation of far too many individual parties to enable my life. In fact, I stopped having lunch at my regular place because their wifi failed almost one day every week.
What I feel I don't need, though, is a smartphone. They're a nice value added, yes, but the truth of the matter is that I rarely need to reach in my pocket and get information delivered to me. I don't like browsing on small screens, and most of the services I need are already delivered by the various computers I have available to me, or I get them through something more basic (usually involving paper).
That said, I've been looking over the plans offered. It seems that most networks offer some flavor of a 5GB/month plan for $70/month. It seems, however, that the iPhone plan on AT&T is only $60/month, would mean I get an iPhone, would give me more features for less money per month...but can the iPhone be used as a modem for my laptop or netbook? I don't know.
I'm not in a hurry to make any purchasing plans yet, but I'm just trying to get the numbers straight. iPhone users, what say you? Other people, what say you?
That frees up a slot in my budget to consider doing something I've wanted to do for a while, which is to address the matter of my mobile data needs. Unlike the rest of you people, I still use my Motorola RAZR and use it for making phone calls and not much else. I actually get my basic service through my family, since it's part of my dad's business plan and I never use my phone to the point that I threaten the plan. I don't really get any sms messages in that plan, and honestly, I hate txting, so buying a QWERTY feature phone isn't in the cards.
I do, however, want better mobile data access. My use pattern is what my mobile computing professor calls "nomadic." That is, I prefer to move to set locations and, once I'm at a given location, I want a pretty full-featured computing experience. I still have the "home / away-from-home" duality, since I don't care about having my video editing on the go, but I definitely prefer to have something close to a complete computer available at whichever destination I choose. This actually makes me a prime candidate for a netbook, and it's no surprise that I own one. In fact, I expect to probably get a smaller and more convenient one later this year.
In theory, wifi is supposed to be the technology that enables nomadic users. You just pack up your laptop/netbook, get it near a hotspot, and then use it. In practice, wifi is made of fail for a serious nomadic user. Case and point...this past weekend. I was in 3 airports, and of them, only 1 had useful wifi. My hotel at D*C did not have useful wifi, either. The idea of carrying around my netbook within these areas isn't supported by wifi use, let alone having wifi to the level I desire (i.e. sufficient for playing WoW). The reality of wifi is that it requires the participation of far too many individual parties to enable my life. In fact, I stopped having lunch at my regular place because their wifi failed almost one day every week.
What I feel I don't need, though, is a smartphone. They're a nice value added, yes, but the truth of the matter is that I rarely need to reach in my pocket and get information delivered to me. I don't like browsing on small screens, and most of the services I need are already delivered by the various computers I have available to me, or I get them through something more basic (usually involving paper).
That said, I've been looking over the plans offered. It seems that most networks offer some flavor of a 5GB/month plan for $70/month. It seems, however, that the iPhone plan on AT&T is only $60/month, would mean I get an iPhone, would give me more features for less money per month...but can the iPhone be used as a modem for my laptop or netbook? I don't know.
I'm not in a hurry to make any purchasing plans yet, but I'm just trying to get the numbers straight. iPhone users, what say you? Other people, what say you?