Mobile Internet Assistance Please?

Hey everyone,

I have a quick question concerning mobile internet access. I have an online sales business and when I am on-site at a supplier and I'm shopping for products, it would be a huge advantage for me if I could access the internet from my cell-phone or PDA to do online Ebay searches.

I've had Tracfone prepaid for the past few years, but it's about time to upgrade... So I'm curious if anyone has any opinions on what the best solution here would be? Basically my only requirement is to be able to access Ebay and conduct searches within the Ebay website. I don't really care if it's a handheld only, of course being able to make phonecalls would be nice.

I've gotten out of touch with mobile technology in the past couple of years, so I could use some advice... What options do I have here?

-rdube02

Originally posted by rdube02
Basically my only requirement is to be able to access Ebay and conduct searches within the Ebay website.

No mobile would be complete without ATS Mobile access.

I don't have much to offer in the way of what's available or who has the best mobile package, I just wanted to draw your attention to SO's mobile offering for ATS users.

Originally posted by 12m8keall2c

I don't have much to offer in the way of what's available or who has the best mobile package, I just wanted to draw your attention to SO's mobile offering for ATS users.

Sweet...I didn't realize ATS had a moble offering. So I can conduct business AND spend too much time on the forums - while on the go... Nice...

Now I just need to know what technology is out there...

-rdube02

It all depends on where you are. Verizon offers broadband wireless and I am sure the others are soon to follow. The key is to shop around, ask questions.

Good luck

I can't really give straight forward advice, as I'm in South Africa, and the market differs a bit - my guess would be that you've got more options in the US (assuming)...

If I were you I'd put my money in a PDA such as HP's Pocket PC's... It's loaded with goodies such as GPS, Bluetooth, GPRS... And well, name any catchy tech-word, and it's got it.
The second part would be to find the best Service provider (prices/coverage/support/insert your requirements here) - you'll probably have to go from pre-paid to contract - stick their SIM-card into the PDA... and Ta-da...
Another option would be a wireless Internet Service Provider - but in most cases their coverage is not as good as mobile telephone networks' coverage. And then you loose the calling ability of the device... Unless you go for VOIP... But now we're getting to technical...

Hope that was of any help.

Originally posted by Gemwolf
I can't really give straight forward advice, as I'm in South Africa, and the market differs a bit - my guess would be that you've got more options in the US (assuming)...

Yes - I took your advice Gemwolf and went for the Cingular Smartphone - the pocketPC with GPRS. Very nice... It's a neat feeling to be able to pull over while I'm driving and look up a map quickly on Mapquest. And I guess there's a card you can buy that adds GPS capability to it. It costed a pretty penny, even with the 2 yr contract - but given the advantage it'll give me when I'm buying merchandise - it'll pay for itself.

Thanks - and for anyone reading this considering the need for wireless internet, the technology is out there and it's fairly fast too. I'm very happy with it. Thanks for the advice everyone!

-Ry

Originally posted by rdube02
Yes - I took your advice Gemwolf and went for the Cingular Smartphone - the pocketPC with GPRS. Very nice... And I guess there's a card you can buy that adds GPS capability to it.

Thanks - and for anyone reading this considering the need for wireless internet, the technology is out there and it's fairly fast too. I'm very happy with it. Thanks for the advice everyone!

-Ry

Glad I could be of assistance! If you want GPS capability (I take it it's not built in) then you buy a Bluetooth plug-in. You usually get the software with the GPS add-on. These are not too expensive, but down here it's the Maps you need to buy separately, that empty your pockets. And they're buggers. Whenever there's a new version of a map that you already have, you need to buy the new map, you can't just "upgrade" for free. Well, that's my experience with "them" anyway.
GPS is a pretty cool toy - but too expensive if you don't use it every day, IMO.

Okiedoky...

My part time job is a technical support agent for HP iPAQ pocket pc's.
We have many models... there are some with GPRS as they mentioned.

Right now, Cingular, Telus, and a few other mobile phone providers are selling the cellular internet phones we support... BUT... make sure you keep your proof of purchase, the phone companies tend to let the warranty run out before the unit gets sold, and the only way our techs can support you is if you have proof of the purchase date. (Which you fax in)

The only other ways to connect when away from your land line is to find a WiFi hotspot, and use that... starbucks have WiFi access in their shops now. Little tip.

The iPAQ series only support 802.11b series wireless connections... the g series WiFi is as of yet, completley incompatible, so alot of the networks you come across you cannot access... but starbucks still runs b series so you can connect there.

If theres anything you want to know about the iPAQ's I'd be happy to fill you in before you buy...

the current rival to iPAQ is BlackBerry...