There is another way….
I have a contract with Three UK (3) and for £5 a month I get internet on my phone which is a Nokia.
Install Nokia’s PC suite and you’ll see one of the options available is to connect to the internet via your mobile.
My current mobile is a Nokia N73 (about 2 years old now – shocking!) which I got when they first came out. It’s the old fashioned kind of 3G connection so max speed is about 460KBPS. Still not too bad though!
If you got yourself an HSDPA phone then the connection speed will go up to about 2MBPS or perhaps more. I know the N95 and N96 will have this but I think too a smaller cheaper phone does also.
The great thing is that as the NC10 has bluetooth and Nokia PC suite accepts that as a connection between the phone and PC you don’t even have to take the phone out of your pocket so long as you pre set up the bluetooth connection and auto allow.
Quick summary:
1. Get Nokia Mobile phone on Contract (pref. Symbian OS & HSDPA)
2. Add on £5 internet access to contract
3. Install Nokia PC Suite onto Samsung NC10
4. Turn on Bluetooth on both Nokia & Samsung
5. Auto allow the Samsung to connect to the Nokia (pair the devices)
6. Simply leave your phone’s bluetooth always on. (If you’re worried about outsiders connecting then put bluetooth mode to hidden – providing you have already paired with the Samsung it will still see it).
7. In PC suite connect to the internet using the button, the setttings are simply: select the Nokia as the modem then “3G United Kingdom” as the final setting.
8. Enjoy internet without plugging anything into the Samsung or even taking your phone out of your pocket 🙂
I feel that this method is much better than having a dongle stuck out the side of the laptop as, after all, a dongle is just a phone with no screen or numberpad!
1st note; Originally I signed up for X series Silver with 3, I think they now have a seperate thing called simply “internet” referring to access on your phone.
2nd note; you can also then install Opera Mini on your phone so if you’re away from your laptop you can still browse full internet – for me it’s unrestricted.
3rd note; there’s a fair use pollicy which is at 1gb but it is also “unlimited”…. get your head around that one lol.
4th note; I don’t think you can do this with Sony Ericsson as far as I’m aware as you need the capabilities of Nokia PC Suite. but if you can please reply here!
5th note; Obviously this is only good in 3G areas of reception which I think is now pretty well everywhere in England, most of Scotland and Wales except the mountains!