Mobile Phone+Laptop=Internet????

[BRL]

Hi All. I have just ordered a Bluetooth 'Dongle' for my laptop. I have a bluetooth mobile phone and was wondering how it all works to go online connecting through the bluetooth thingy and my phone? Is it easy,will it cost a fortune, can you hook up anywhere there is a signal, is it a slow/fast connection through the phone, do I have to have any settings on my phone beforehand etc etc....?
Any info appreciated ta!

[Tinstaafl]

Several layers of complexity there, BRL.

At the simplest level the mobile phone is seen as a modem by the PC. Not much different to the modem in the PC already except the the phone then does extra processing & handles the connection to the mobile phone service instead of a normal modem's connection via the phone line. You'll need driver software so that your PC can use the mobile's modem device

The connection will be at whatever data rate your mobile service supports. Standard GSM is slower than a normal V90 modem. (9.6 Kbps vs 56 Kbps for V90). Some mobile providers & phones support enhanced GSM data rates that bump the data rate up a bit to 14.4 Kbps. Others offer even higher speeds (for a cost) eg High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD) at up to 64 Kbps and General Packet Radio Service which is 'always on' & maxes out at as much as 170 Kbps. Even faster is 3G which is starting to appear but isn't very common yet. The US seems to be opting for 'EDGE' which is yet another enhanced data communication protocol.

The connection to the phone can be via cable - somewhat like a standard external modem - or via infrared or bluetooth. The driver software for the phone's modem function + the driver software for the bluetooth on the PC should allow the PC to see the phone as a modem device connected via bluetooth.

[BEagle]

The cost will also depend upon your phone service provider.

If you have a reasonable 'inclusive minutes' tarriff, sending and receiving plain text e-mails in the UK isn't too bad - but on a non-GPRS service at 9.6Kbps, accessing the Internet is painfully slow and can be expensive with the high graphic content of many home pages these days.

I use a plug-in Vodafone Mobile Connect GPRS card - but even that is pretty slow and NEVER reaches the advertised top rate of 57.6Kbps. Using it overseas is quite expensive, so I only use it as a last resort if I can't find a local WiFi hotspot.

3G? Very expensive at the moment and has poor coverage.

[davidtrogg]

if you email me i will be able to help you
i work for Orange and used to be in their data support
i also have some websites you could use

dave