Decisions, decisions...

As you may know, I am moving in about a month, and the flat I shall temporarily be living in currently has neither a phone line nor broadband. (These things are connected, of course. Or rather, there is no connection at all…)

I am not sure how long I will be staying there, so I really don’t want to embrace a phone company or get into an annual broadband contract, and have been thinking through what I might do.

I have two ideas: getting mobile broadband, or getting an up-to-date mobile phone which will allow me to access the internet through its connection (using the phone as a modem, in essence).

I was in my mobile providers shop yesterday, talking through the options.

I fell in love with the Android G1 phone. I thought it was wonderful. I am not particularly enamoured by gadgets – I have had my current phone for about three years, well past its replace-by date. But if I have to use my mobile for all my calls, I’ll need to increase my contract, and I might as well get a new phone out of the bargain.

I really, really like the G1. It just felt right.

Unfortunately, the one thing it can’t do is be used as a modem to dial up the internet from my computer.

Lots of other phones can do that – the guy said they were LTCH enable or some other irritating acronym… But not the G1. It could do that, but it can’t – the manufacturers haven’t bothered.

Which is a real pity.

So I could get a different, probably equally as good (but not so desirable) phone... Or I could get a 3G mobile broadband modem and stick with my current, old, not internet friendly phone.

Or I could get a 3G mobile broadband modem and the G1…

I guess it is all down to how much I want to pay.

There is also another proviso: the flat I’m moving to is a basement. Which means it might not get a 3G signal at. In which case, I’m fucked!

Decisions, decisions...

As you may know, I am moving in about a month, and the flat I shall temporarily be living in currently has neither a phone line nor broadband. (These things are connected, of course. Or rather, there is no connection at all…)

I am not sure how long I will be staying there, so I really don’t want to embrace a phone company or get into an annual broadband contract, and have been thinking through what I might do.

I have two ideas: getting mobile broadband, or getting an up-to-date mobile phone which will allow me to access the internet through its connection (using the phone as a modem, in essence).

I was in my mobile providers shop yesterday, talking through the options.

I fell in love with the Android G1 phone. I thought it was wonderful. I am not particularly enamoured by gadgets – I have had my current phone for about three years, well past its replace-by date. But if I have to use my mobile for all my calls, I’ll need to increase my contract, and I might as well get a new phone out of the bargain.

I really, really like the G1. It just felt right.

Unfortunately, the one thing it can’t do is be used as a modem to dial up the internet from my computer.

Lots of other phones can do that – the guy said they were LTCH enable or some other irritating acronym… But not the G1. It could do that, but it can’t – the manufacturers haven’t bothered.

Which is a real pity.

So I could get a different, probably equally as good (but not so desirable) phone... Or I could get a 3G mobile broadband modem and stick with my current, old, not internet friendly phone.

Or I could get a 3G mobile broadband modem and the G1…

I guess it is all down to how much I want to pay.

There is also another proviso: the flat I’m moving to is a basement. Which means it might not get a 3G signal at. In which case, I’m fucked!