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LTE for computers?
- Thread starter tl01
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If you're talking computers in general, the theme for PCs in 2018 is LTE notebooks.
https://newsroom.intel.com/news/2018-ces-always-connected-pc/
As to why? It wasn't until recently unlimited data plans were cheap enough for PC usage.
https://newsroom.intel.com/news/2018-ces-always-connected-pc/
As to why? It wasn't until recently unlimited data plans were cheap enough for PC usage.
I was considering the Lenovo X1 Thinkpad Carbon at one point, I think I recall it having LTE support.
This request comes up from time to time, so apparently there is some demand for it
How much I can't say
For me, when I am out of the office, WiFi is usually available, either public or secured with access given to me
Where it isn't, I have no problem using my phone as a hotspot, especially since I need it so infrequently
I wouldn't want to pay for another data plan when my phone sits in my pocket with tons of unused data
How much I can't say
For me, when I am out of the office, WiFi is usually available, either public or secured with access given to me
Where it isn't, I have no problem using my phone as a hotspot, especially since I need it so infrequently
I wouldn't want to pay for another data plan when my phone sits in my pocket with tons of unused data
My X1C had LTE in it. I have to admit that I only used it once or twice and it was not all that useful since most places I go have WiFi and / or I can just hotspot from my phone.
In hindsight, I do not think it was worth the extra $150 it tacked onto the price of the machine or the monthly access fee the carrier charged for it to be added to my data share plan..
Do you "one click" the home button, the side/top button or a volume button?
Swipe down, 3d touch wifi button, tun on hotspot. technically 2 clicks
Do you "one click" the home button, the side/top button or a volume button?
Android phone. Put shortcut to turning on hotspot on main screen. 1 touch. Face unlock so no click
.
Until carriers stop charging an extra $20 a month for each device for the same "bucket" of data usage, this is a no-go for my needs anyway. I'll happily pay for the data I use, but not extra money for the same device to use the same amount of overall data. Same goes for the LTE apple watch. Is just another way for Carriers to $crew people, IMO.
If mobile business needs - travelling salesperson, consultant, etc. and company paying for the data though, could see this being very popular.
If mobile business needs - travelling salesperson, consultant, etc. and company paying for the data though, could see this being very popular.
I am mobile almost all the time...if I am sitting in my office I’m not building my business. And I don’t like tapping into free Wifi bc I transmit health info and other people’s personal info. I would much rather use my own password protect hotspot. Besides that fact that not everywhere I go has WiFi. I deal with the older end of the senior population and not many of them have WiFi and if they do they aren’t going to locate the password for me.
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No 3D Touch on my phone. And half the time it the computer doesn’t seem the phone...and the hot spot has to be cycled. And then it has to wait again to connect. It’s just a pain to do over the over again during the day. If I need my computer at 5 stops a day it becomes tedious.Swipe down, 3d touch wifi button, tun on hotspot. technically 2 clicks
If you have concerns with the public WiFi use a VPN
And if the phone has problems with signals, it is likely the computer's LTE would as well
I get you may have a use case for it, but most of us don't
I just don't see it as a necessary addition to most computers... maybe a small group, but not most
And I wouldn't want to pay for additional hardware in a computer that I wouldn't activate and use on another data plan
Then Project Fi has the billing you'd like. One main line at $20/month, data charges at $10/GB (and ONLY what you use, if you use 100 MB, you get billed $1) and you can add a data-only SIM for free, pulling against the main account's data. Max billing for LTE data up to 15 GB in a month is $80 ($20 for the base plan plus 6 GB at $10 per). Data-only SIM cards will work in any T-Mobile compatible device while the main SIM is intended for use in Pixel/Nexus devices (though it COULD be used in an iPhone you lose the network switching).
Some people say the data is expensive. I'm not a data hog, I find it perfectly reasonable, I haven't had a bill over $30 in a year while most are right around $25...
Tedious?? You walk around with a LTE modem, why add another one? Hotspot shows up as a regular "wifi access point" on Macs...simply like picking another wifi networking. Does not get much easier than that.
Yessir. I tethered my work laptop to my phone just like this. Easy, and self-configurable, too, so that my laptop was the only one on my "network" (that I know of).
Personally, I don't want to suck down huge amounts of cellular data via my laptop. That's where I tend to watch streaming video the most often.
The funniest thing about this topic is, I'm considering going wifi-only for my next iPad. My phone does well enough already for a lot of things, and when I have a chance to sit down to use a tablet, there's almost always a wifi network I can use.
I am Wifi only on my iPads. Unless you need to have instant communication all the time Wifi is ubiquitous enough for my use. In our town they even have wifi in parks and throughout downtown.
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No 3D touch on mine, either.
Swipe up and long-press the wireless connections. You'll see Personal Hotspot appear in the lower right corner.
(I think you use the hotspot already, but just reminding you and anyone who reads the thread that 3D Touch isn't a requirement)
Swipe down, 3d touch wifi button, tun on hotspot. technically 2 clicks
I have "hotspot via USB" always turned on on my iPhone. As soon as I click in my iPhone into my lightning cable (the other end connected to my MacBook Air) my iPhone is my USB powered hotspot.
(that is, if my MacBook Air WIFI is turned off).
Using a hotspot is like eating spaghetti with a spoon. You can do it, but it's not the best choice.
1. Battery considerations. Why drain the battery on my iPhone (10 Whr) when my MacBook Pro has a 50 Whr battery? If I want to access the Internet, I don't want another layer of dependency.
2. Having a modem on the notebook allows for low-power connected standby. If I'm syncing data to the cloud, my notebook computer should have the same data, notifications, and emails the moment I open the lid. On the Windows side, the Always Connected PC platform already allows for this.
3. Signal strength. This will almost always be better on a notebook compared to a smartphone. The larger surface area on a notebook display allows for more complex MIMO antenna designs.
1. Battery considerations. Why drain the battery on my iPhone (10 Whr) when my MacBook Pro has a 50 Whr battery? If I want to access the Internet, I don't want another layer of dependency.
2. Having a modem on the notebook allows for low-power connected standby. If I'm syncing data to the cloud, my notebook computer should have the same data, notifications, and emails the moment I open the lid. On the Windows side, the Always Connected PC platform already allows for this.
3. Signal strength. This will almost always be better on a notebook compared to a smartphone. The larger surface area on a notebook display allows for more complex MIMO antenna designs.
I did that at work for ages, using either my own or my work iPhone. I did find that it had to be done in a certain order and timing to work half the time.
The biggest issue for me was running down my phone battery very quickly, especially where reception was poor.
Apple really needs to start focusing on battery life at this point, or at the very least use a standard cable like USB-C (which I was told was the standard and everything else is obsolete, but iPhones don't ship with them still).