Permanent connectivity
Feb 09
The one thing I have been pondering about for quite some time now is whether or not I am going to get myself one of these "inernet everywhere" modems for my Netbook. "Internet Everywhere" is a umts/3G product offered by our cellphone carrier mobistar, allowing you to hook up your laptop to the cellphone grid and have high speed Internet access anywhere. Now these things have been along for quite some time, but where , up until now, quite unaffordable for the average Joe.
The cool thing about it is of course that you are connected EVERYWHERE. No matter where you are you have the ability to hook up your laptop / Netbook to the net and get connected. Cool idea ! Ok , you have to boot up your computer to do it (hardly as convenient as the push-email connectivity i get from my blackberry) but the abundance of content I can access with the laptop/Netbook through a somewhat "standard" broadband connection, outweighs the possibilities of my ultra-portable blackberry by far. I see my blackberry as a communication device, where I see my Netbook as a productivity device. A way to create and consume content and, with this UMTS connection, hook on to the "media rich web". Downside ? The price. OK they are running a promotion right now that lets you get the modem for about 90 euro’s instead of 180. In order to do
this you’ll have to sign up for a one year subscription. Either you pay 5 euro’s a month and 1 euro per day that you have connected to the net (with a maximum traffic rate of 1 gigabyte a months) OR you pay 30 euro’s a month and get 4 gigabytes (no extra charges). Both of these formula"s seem wrong somehow. Formula A gives you the ability to
"occasionally" connect (for short bursts) but is too pricy when you do it everyday. Formula 2 is too pricey when you only use it occasionally.
Personally I don’t really know what to choose. Formula B is too expensive for me. But when I take formula A and just quickly connect over lunch everyday to pump up my blogpost .. i’ll end up with the same amount. There is pondering to be done over this one.
You can find out more about the product HERE
