GPS Modems

Life Technology
1

Anybody know anything about these modems that you can use anywhere in the world. How about cost?

2

The term modem and GPS don’t go together - do you mean GPRS modem (for wireless data connection of your laptop) or GPS receiver (read your position)?

3

I’m going to assume you mean GPRS. I use GPRS almost daily to get online with my notebook anywhere I can get cell phone reception. What do you need?

  1. A phone that supports GPRS.
  2. A way to connect your phone to your notebook.
  3. A GPRS account with a cell phone company.

Here is how I do it in a nutshell:

  1. I use a Sony Ericsson T610 cell phone. It acts as a GPRS modem.
  2. The T610 I use connects to my notebook via Bluetooth. Thus, my phone and my notebook are both Bluetooth enabled. My phone can be a couple of meters away and still connect to my notebook.
  3. I have an account with HiNet. I pay NT$600 a month for a certain ammount of MB data transfer. I forget exactly how many MB per month I get for my plan. It’s not exactly exactly the best deal in town, but I use it to get on and offline when I need things throughout the day. But know this: When using the phone for GPRS, I’m not charged by airtime like with a voice call, I’m only charged based on my data transfer which is based on my plan. The speed is not great. My computer says 9600bps, although it has to be somewhat faster than that. It is great for downloading mail, using instant messaging and even surfing some Web pages in dire need. My feeling is that I haven’t quite configured something correctly and I’m not getting the best speeds. I’ve been too lazy to call HiNet again to get it worked out.

NOTE: They don’t have any English literature on the subject. It took a few calls to HiNet’s support department to get my phone configured correctly to talk with their network. It requires some ability to speak to a technical support perosn over the phone in Chinese. They will walk you through the steps of what to do with your particular GPRS phone. Don’t think yo can just walk into any HiNet branch and ask someone either. What a mistake that was. They don’t know anything. They just process application forms.

To sign up, go to any HiNet office (or other cell phone provider that offers GPRS) and extend the service to your SIM card/account. They should show you a Chinese brochure that has all the plans available. The chart should make sense to non-English speakers.