WiFi Capable doesn't meant 'Internet Everywhere'
People purchase laptops for many reasons. For some, buying a laptop means that you can surf the internet around the house using your secured (or in some cases unsecured) WiFi router. Upstairs and downstairs, you can surf the web in bed and then drag it to the TV room to play World of Warcraft while watching your favorite soap opera.
For others, buying a laptop means the ability to move your laptop with you, no matter where you go. Home, school, or office, you want that internet experience no matter where you go, and you're not willing to settle for your mobile phone's internet.
For everyone, however, the sales process in place at most retailers doesn't address internet on the go, and many people leave with right laptop for gaming, word processing, or light internet browsing, but with the wrong solution for internet access.
In order for you have have internet on the go through WiFi, you have to have network access, which lapses anywhere from 30 - 100 feet from an access point. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen as often as people are led to believe, and the results are often disappointing, simply because there are too few free WiFi hotspots and too many users taking up bandwidth.
However, if you're pretty savvy with your at home internet, or with your cellular provider, there are some secured WiFi hotspots out there for the taking, if you know where to look for them, as well as some 'pay by the day' options you can explore.
Boingo ( www.boingo.com) offers worldwide browsing at over 100,000 locations. Cost is $9.95 (USD) per day, or if you have a wifi-enabled mobile device, then that's available for $7.95 a day. They even offer a software download to make logging on easier for you to do.
AT&T ( www.att.com) also offers several choices for WiFi connectivity, as low as $3.99 per session or $19.99 per month.
What if you don't want to pay by the day, or by the month?
QwestDSL customers get the added advantage of using AT&T hotspots when they take their internet out on the go, and AT&T broadband customers also get the same access, simply by using their account username and password.
Mobile Phone users can also benefit by using Boingo (mentioned above) and AT&T iPhone and BlackBerry customers also get access at AT&T Hotspots through their WiFi settings, so long as they carry the $30 or $45 a month data plan.
If you're not an AT&T customer or a Qwest DSL customer, then you'll have to drive around for a signal. Take heart, there are small devices out there that can detect WiFi signals so you don't have to pull over every five minutes to see if you've got signal.
Sound like too much work? It is. Free Wifi often comes at a price; slow connections are a norm even in places like hotels and airports. Sometimes its just easier to pay. For those of you who really need access to the web no matter where you are, mobile broadband is an option..an option that will be discussed in the next installment.
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