4 ms·

Ahh, I see. That's more-or-less the same situation we have here, except that I like talking to the cute girl behind the counter at the coffee shop :).

by notJim 16y ago

Udo 16y ago
In Europe, they're not necessarily cute or even girls. Also, most places don't even have WiFi (at least here in Germany). The only way to be sure is to go to an American franchise such as Starbucks or McDonald's, and only very select cities have a Starbucks. McD's of course is everywhere but those are not exactly places anyone would want to read their emails in. 3G coverage is not ideal (it falls back to basic GPRS or 2G in many locations) but it's enough for getting emails. I wish phone manufacturers or Apple would offer a PAN solution, a personal network that every device in a person's vicinity could use for net access. Ideally, this would be a mini WiFi or Bluetooth router inside the cell phone that's always on. Of course, such a setup is doable with a lot of hassle with some very specific combination of devices, but it would be really great if it simply worked without painful hacks. Portable 3G routers are a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, they are clunky standalone devices with a very limited battery life...
- mtklein 16y ago
  For something that simply works without any painful hacks, Android 2.2+ has a built-in WiFi hotspot feature. Turn it on and you've got a personal WiFi network that goes out to the world over your mobile's data connection. I've used it for about a year with no problems at all. If you're using the WiFi hotspot for a long time and you find you're running out of battery, you can just plug it in to your laptop to charge over USB.
  - trezor 16y ago
    Heck. Windows Mobile 5 had that (via bloototh or USB). It's still nice for your laptop to have dedicated connectivity and relying on external devices.

4 ms·

Ahh, I see. That's more-or-less the same situation we have here, except that I like talking to the cute girl behind the counter at the coffee shop :).

by notJim 16y ago

Ahh, I see. That's more-or-less the same situation we have here, except that I like talking to the cute girl behind the counter at the coffee shop :).

Udo 16y ago
In Europe, they're not necessarily cute or even girls. Also, most places don't even have WiFi (at least here in Germany). The only way to be sure is to go to an American franchise such as Starbucks or McDonald's, and only very select cities have a Starbucks. McD's of course is everywhere but those are not exactly places anyone would want to read their emails in. 3G coverage is not ideal (it falls back to basic GPRS or 2G in many locations) but it's enough for getting emails. I wish phone manufacturers or Apple would offer a PAN solution, a personal network that every device in a person's vicinity could use for net access. Ideally, this would be a mini WiFi or Bluetooth router inside the cell phone that's always on. Of course, such a setup is doable with a lot of hassle with some very specific combination of devices, but it would be really great if it simply worked without painful hacks. Portable 3G routers are a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, they are clunky standalone devices with a very limited battery life...
- mtklein 16y ago
  For something that simply works without any painful hacks, Android 2.2+ has a built-in WiFi hotspot feature. Turn it on and you've got a personal WiFi network that goes out to the world over your mobile's data connection. I've used it for about a year with no problems at all. If you're using the WiFi hotspot for a long time and you find you're running out of battery, you can just plug it in to your laptop to charge over USB.
  - trezor 16y ago
    Heck. Windows Mobile 5 had that (via bloototh or USB). It's still nice for your laptop to have dedicated connectivity and relying on external devices.