John writes:
A question for tech guy: Cell phones have a good internet connection, why can’t a laptop use that connection?
John, I hope you don’t mind if the tech gal answers you. The answer is, a laptop can use the same provider as your cell phone as long as that company offers data plans and many people use a 3G or 4G connection for their laptop. The catch is that mobile data plans through your cell provider can be much more expensive that through a traditional ISP. You will also see limits on the amount of data, usually around 5GB per month, in contrast my Internet service with my cable company allows me 100 GB a month with the lowest-priced tier. If you don’t use a lot of data during the month, the restrictions may not be an issue for you.
Now if you’d like to occasionally use your cell connection for your laptop, many smart phones can be turned into a mobile WiFi hotspot, but that normally comes with an additional monthly cost. You can also purchase a mobile hotspot, small devices that allow you to connect multiple devices. These can be used either with a plan or by purchasing pre-paid minutes.
My suggestion would be to check with your cell phone service provider and see what type of service they have available and what it will cost you.
~ Cynthia
I wish you would cover this subject in more detail. I bought TWO tablets from you and cannot connect either to the internet. I have trouble even finding service from IPO even though I am 5 miles from large city in WI. Phones want combined services (phone + data plan) just data plan requires buying a small device (what’s it called?) plus $50/month fee. Cable doesn’t come out this far and landline phone co. won’t accept more customers for it’s services. What’s a person to do?
I use “PDAnet to use my smart phone as an internet connection on my desktop and my wife’s laptop. When I get to 90% of my Verizon usage and start using PDAnet and use the available data download from my/her cell phone