USB 2G/3G Modems?

[windows]

Anyone know whether it is possible to get a PC/OSX USB modem which will take a 2G/3G SIM to get connectivity?

Would be ideal for taking the Vaio or Macbook on holiday, but not sure if such a beastie is available from anywhere?

[fowljr]

There are USB modems mate, I'm after the same thing, the issue seems to be getting one at a reasonable price without a SIM, as I've already got SIM's I can use...

[neilm]

Originally Posted by windows

Anyone know whether it is possible to get a PC/OSX USB modem which will take a 2G/3G SIM to get connectivity?

Would be ideal for taking the Vaio or Macbook on holiday, but not sure if such a beastie is available from anywhere?

Buying a SIM free USB 3G/GSM Stick is very expensive- around £80-£120 depending on the source.

If you know which SIM card you will be using, it may be worth buying a PAYG Mobile Broadband package- modems are a lot cheaper this way, except O2 who charge £100 !

The 3 PAYG details are Here . In general the T&C of standard phone SIMs precludes their use in PCs, so beware. I'm still using my standard 3 PAYG SIM with the £5 pm 1GB Data Add-on; it works OK, but doesn't 'roam' on Orange in the absence of a 3 signal, and also the download speeds are slower than a dedicated mobile broadband SIM. (and PAYG is slower than contract mobile BB!)

[trumpton]

Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to use a phone as a modem if its just occasional use?

[johnston411]

you can get a usb modem for around £40 from ebay these days the trick is to see if they can be unlocked for use with your network fo choice i think.

i'm using the 3 sim in my advent and it roams just fine neil. I bought it from a 3 shop with £10 mobile broadband and when that ran out i bought the £5 use in your phone data package and it works fine.

[windows]

The idea was originally to tether a WM phone to the Apple Macbook (cough),but this is no easy task......

1. Bluetooth - tried and worked beautifully while Bluetooth is there on the Macbook - seesm to be a known issue under Leopard but it is there then not, both with the inbuilt BT circuit and with an external dongle which makes it way too unreliabe.
2. There is a WMUSBModem application which should allow any WM device to be used as a USB Modem $49 trialware, but alas this fails to work giving communication errors on both the Macbook and also when tried under Vista
3. 3. WMWiFiRouter - so far I've loaded this onto two WM devices, on one it is intermittant, on one it works - so this may be the solution.

Any other suggestions?

[neilm]

Originally Posted by johnston411

i'm using the 3 sim in my advent and it roams just fine neil. I bought it from a 3 shop with £10 mobile broadband and when that ran out i bought the £5 use in your phone data package and it works fine.

I know- it's a bu**er isn't it A few folk have found the 3 PAYG SIMs will work with Orange, but many of us are finding they don't for some reason

I'm considering upping mine to the contract version, bearing in mind that 3 will be mast sharing with T-Mobile as well as Orange within a few months. Might give me a little more versatility for an extra £5 per month!

[fowljr]

Ive been using my three SIM in the Ameo, and it hasn't had a problem roaming either... I was hoping to use that SIM in a 3G USB modem with the Advent, although tethering the phone is another option!

[boz]

I found this card Daron, but you need to check it fits the Macbook, here

[trumpton]

Originally Posted by boz

I found this card Daron, but you need to check it fits the Macbook, here

I'd steer clear. Its not HSDPA capable, just UMTS so can't go higher than 384k speed. Not many laptops have a PCMCIA slot anymore either.