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Best non-iPhone cellphone for tethering

Macnoviz

Macnoviz

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 10, 2006
1,059
0
Roeselare, Belgium
Hi,

first of all, let me explain that in Belgium, the iPhone costs 525 euros, or 731 dollars. The law prohibiting the selling of locked, subisdised phones has recently been overruled by the EU, but apparently not that many companies got the memo.

So, I'm looking for a cellphone with at least EDGE or some other form of 3G speed to tether with my macbook. And if possible not as expensive as an iPhone.

Actually, since I don't need anything besides the tethering and basic call/sms functions, it can be a real basic cellphone.

Does any one have any good suggestions?

P.S. I got tethering to work with my Sony-Ericsson K320i cellphone, but the process was quite complicated and I actually forgot how I did it (it was that hard). Problem is that at GPRS speed, this is hardly workable on a laptop.
 
i have the nokia e71.
tethering works very well via bluetooth connected to my mpb
(german o2 hspa, umts and gprs)

havent yet tried with usb cable, but should work just as fine.

very nice phone, very slim, very solid, and very good battery life for such a powerful object!

about 300 euros or less for a new, unbranded one without any contract.
 
icanboogie said:
i have the nokia e71.
tethering works very well via bluetooth connected to my mpb
(german o2 hspa, umts and gprs)

havent yet tried with usb cable, but should work just as fine.

very nice phone, very slim, very solid, and very good battery life for such a powerful object!

about 300 euros or less for a new, unbranded one without any contract.
Click to expand...

yeah, it looks good and costs about 319 euros here, but I was actually looking for something in the sub 100 euros range, like the k320i. Tethering worked on that one, and there are plenty of 3G cellphones in that range, so there might be one that has both easy tethering and 3G there.
 
about the iPhone 3GS in Belgium

Macnoviz said:
Hi,

first of all, let me explain that in Belgium, the iPhone costs 525 euros, or 731 dollars. The law prohibiting the selling of locked, subisdised phones has recently been overruled by the EU, but apparently not that many companies got the memo.
Click to expand...


I am moving to Belgium in August but cannot find anything about the iPhone 3GS. Do you have any information where it would be the best to buy it and if it will be simlock free? And if you got the price it would also be great! ;-)

Regarding service providers which one would you recommend in Belgium!?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Helldiver
 
I am using e71 and it works like a charm. it does automatically conect to open networks, as long as they are not locked.
 
Im using e71 as well. Tethering via USB is great. The speed is even faster than my $20 verizon internet plan at home.
 
If OP is looking for a cheaper option, I think E63 is a bit cheaper and offers the same tethering function.
 
Helldiver said:
I am moving to Belgium in August but cannot find anything about the iPhone 3GS. Do you have any information where it would be the best to buy it and if it will be simlock free? And if you got the price it would also be great! ;-)

Regarding service providers which one would you recommend in Belgium!?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Helldiver
Click to expand...

the iPhone 3Gs will be sold by mobistar, starting june 26, although they have not yet given pricing information. Like I said, the 3G costs 525 euros, but nobody knows wether or not they will subsidise the 3Gs or not, but a simlock seems doubtful in all circumstances..

As for service providers, there are three of them, and there is not really a clear winner. Personally I'm with BASE (Orange), because they had the best tarifs for me, of course these have already changed.
 
Before I got my iPhone, I had a SE K800i with a T Mobile web and walk SIM in it. It was very easy to tether to it - Just connect to Bluetooth PAN on the Bluetooth menu. I'd managed to connect older SE phones to my PowerBook before, but like you found it not very easy to get working. K800 very easy though.
 
I'm tethered my 6230i with EDGE coverage using Bluetooth to my PBG4. Perfect - I'm wirelessly wired to the world!
 
If you want sub € 100 3G tethering, you practically have to look for used phones. Most 3G phones make tethering very easy nowadays through Bluethoth PAN (your computer connects to BT like if it's a LAN). The older phones like your K320i tethered through Bluetooth dial-up (which emulated old style modems), which is a lot more hassle to setup.

I have good tethering experiences with Sony-Ericsson 3G phones. 3G-UMTS (384kbps) should be reasonably cheap now, 3G-HSDPA (1.8 - 7.2Mbps) is usually a bit more expensive, but you can get 2nd hand ones (such as the W890i, W910i) under € 100. For a new cheap HSDPA phone, you can try a G502, which is a very nice phone for the price. I got one for € 110 new and contract free in the Netherlands and have been using it to great satisfaction for half a year now.

An old Samsung i600 also works pretty well in my experience. Supposedly most Nokias and Samsungs are pretty easy to tether, but I only have direct experience with the handsets I mentioned above).
 
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