Cingular's LaptopConnect Card a Bust in Berlin
Thu Oct 5, 2006 9:59AM EDT
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Okay, so I raved and raved and raved about wireless cards in a post a couple of weeks ago. I stand by my general enthusiasm for these add-ons-of-convenience, because I travel a lot and have constant, daily deadlines. And I'm just sick and tired of inputting my credit card number every time I want to check my email in public places such as airports (something I had to do last Friday at Berlin, Germany's Tegel airport, in full-view of potential identity-thieves, most likely). Thank goodness for free Wi-Fi, when and where it's available.
I brought the Cingular Option GlobeTrotter GT MAX LaptopConnect card with me to Berlin, where I am now, to see if its international capability was all it was hyped to be. I'm disappointed to report that I've been having major problems with the card and service. I've tried the card out on two different computers in the apartment where I'm staying and am having connection and speed problems. I can get on with one or two bars every time and have slightly-faster-than-dial-up speed (even though it tells me I'm connected to 3G), but so far I get kicked off the system every ten minutes or so. To get back on, I have to close out of Cingular's LaptopConnect software, take the card out, reopen the software, then put the card back in for another ten minutes of service. Not cool considering the service costs $140 per month for unlimited international service.
But the hassle that has led me to this excellent cafe, St. Oberholz (on the Rosenthaler Platz), which I will continue to recommend to anyone passing through Berlin (free Wi-Fi, cool laptop-equipped crowd, excellent pastries). So I guess some good things come out of bad Cingular laptop cards, but I still wish I could check my email in the morning without having to restart the service over and over.
For some reason, I get hit-or-miss results with Cingular's software on different computers and in different locations, even in the U.S. And even when it works, the software takes forever to load. But it could just be my quirky laptops, which get a lot of random evaluation software installed and uninstalled.
Because I really believe in this technology, I'll keep trying, and let you know if I get better results in the future. For U.S. uses, I would still recommend the smooth-running Verizon or Sprint cards over the Cingular cards.
Anyone have any positive or negative experiences with Cingular cards in particular?
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2 Posted by mlb278 on Thu Oct 5, 2006 6:16PM EDT Report Abuse
I have a cingular card (novatel u730), and typically get download speeds of 500kb/s in areas of 3G coverage. I am very satisfied with this. It's not as fast as my cable modem, but I can still view virtually any webpage as well as stream videos with no problems. My disappointment is with the amount of coverage they currently have. Many major metropolitan areas have no 3G service as of yet (i.e. Los Angeles). I also seem to have service problems in areas of 3G coverage, but inside buildings (such as Chicago O'hare Intl). There are also occasionally problems while moving (car, train, etc.). I Don't know if this problem is with all providers or just cingular. It also should be noted that the unlimited international plan for $140 per month is not truly unlimited. It is unlimited in the US, and 100MB per month in international locations. With heavy surfing the 100 MB can be used up in about an hour on a 3G network.
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3 Posted by howierain on Thu Oct 5, 2006 9:19PM EDT Report Abuse
verizon card is good to me however also speed slow problems
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4 Posted by standandclap on Thu Oct 5, 2006 10:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I have the same card you spoke above, option gt max. I check my speed regularly and get from 785 to 1100 speed. The laptop is a 2.8ghz celeron with 1gig memory. I have never had to uninstall and reinstall as you stated. Good product as I previously had verizon and subsequently returned with many connection problems. Looking forward to new areas opening up since my work will take me across the nation very soon. I download music now and regularly see download numbers of 80-100 which usually turns out to be less than 45 seconds per song. Your problems may be from all the software being installed and uninstalled. I use a product that keeps my computer running perfectly called registry first aid. Highly recommend this software to keep your computer running perfectly. Hope this helps. Registry First Aid is from Rose City Software, and no I don't work for any company listed above. Just want to pass on things I wish were passed on to me instead of all the trial and error.
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5 Posted by donalddon5 on Fri Oct 6, 2006 3:31AM EDT Report Abuse
I work off shore in the gulf of mexico oil field and can definitely say that cingular works in remote places like Fouchon, La(ever heard of it), and up too 8 miles in the gulf of mexico; Vernon, Fl,actually about 14 miles out of the one horse town, and many other places where verizon just did not work. I can say nothing but good things about the service, considering the alternative which is no internet(imagine that horror).
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1 Posted by jcowen_44256 on Thu Oct 5, 2006 4:59PM EDT Report Abuse
I have a verizon card and to call it a broadband connection is stretching it to say the least. I have not had connection problems however-just slow