cell phone for internet connection

[jennifer34]

i'm looking to drop my land line and use my cell phone for everything, including internet. i rarely use the web at home, so i don't care if it's not lightning fast, just as long as i can download the occasional photo.
i talked to a salesperson at compUSA and was told i needed: 1) an ISP that supported a cell phone connection (which i have), 2) a cable to connect my phone to my computer (which i can get easily) and 3) software- which is proving to be a problem.
my cell provider is verizon, but their software isn't mac compatible. of course. my phone is a motorola v120, if that matters.
anyone know of software i could use? or have any other tips?
any help is greatly appreciated---

[Horrortaxi]

I've used dialup through my cell phone and it's a desperation only move. Speeds were around 9600--reminded me of 1993 except that the 1993 internet was friendly to that slow a speed.

[MoparShaha]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54776

Look at my post, it's the second one. It'll tell you how to setup your Mac for Verizon's dial-up service. Then, look at iBookn's post about dialing #777. Follow his instructions for dialing and password. If you have any questions, let me know.

[ftaok]

Jennifer,

Try this LINK (http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/mobile_office/) . It has detailed instructions for setting up your Moto v120 with Verizon.

If you have the v120c (either Black or Pale Blue), you'll only be able to get 14.4 kbps speeds. If you have the newer v120e (Silver) you can achieve 144 kpbs speeds, but you might have to pay extra for the access.

Either way, it's easier to use Verizon's ISP (#777) rather than your own ISP. The connection time is faster with Verizon. The only thing you get with using your own ISP is that you'll be able to send e-mail.

Hope this helps.

[jennifer34]

great! thanks so much-

[slipper]

14.4k speeds? dang, i thought cell phones were a little faster than regular 56k speeds?

[ftaok]

Originally posted by slipper
14.4k speeds? dang, i thought cell phones were a little faster than regular 56k speeds? They can be, but you usually have to pay for access to their speedier network.

With Verizon, 14.4 is free.

[Error Type -43]

I have used my Samsung i500 as a modem and like someone else said, it was out of desparation. The speed was extremely slow. This was back when I had AOL dialup. The setup was surprisingly simple. The long modem list actually had an option for "SprintPCS" which is my provider. But yeah, it was slower than 33.6. Probably more like 14.4.

[slipper]

Originally posted by ftaok
They can be, but you usually have to pay for access to their speedier network.

With Verizon, 14.4 is free. ok thats right, the speedier service for tmobile cost i think $10/month. i would pay to NOT have 14.4k

[jennifer34]

has anyone who has tried this- using cell phone to connect to the internet- been using OS 9? or are you all on OS X?

[Horrortaxi]

X--both Jaguar and Panther

[virividox]

seems a litttle premature to ditch the hard line for the celphone route, but i hope you find something that works fo ru

[mainstreetmark]

I currently use solely a cellphone for my internet connection, and, I'm an internet-based company.

I use SprintPCS and a Merlin C201 card. The card required no drivers, plugs right in to my 17"PB, and gets a consistent >60k/sec (as reported by dslreports)

Heh - I asked Google about the merlin card, and my original post came up:

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/topic/51635-1.html

[idkew]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I use SprintPCS and a Merlin C201 card. The card required no drivers, plugs right in to my 17"PB, and gets a consistent >60k/sec (as reported by dslreports)


I would be reserved in taking that 60k/sec as a fact. Not to mention, 60k/sec really only equals 7.5K/sec. But, my point is that these little reporters are not that accurate. A better way would be to download something large, (iMovie update) from Apple and see what speeds you are getting.

FWITW- I get between 4 and 6K/s via bluetooth to my P800 on T-Mobile networks for free. Too damn slow for anything but an emergency.

[mainstreetmark]

I have easily gotten 7.5k/sec on large downloads from known sources, and recall even hitting 12k/sec. Not bad for sitting at a taco bell.