The DATA Card and USB Modem discussion thread (Reliance/Airtel/Tata)

[irfanmon]

can any body tell me which is the best broad band connection available in mangalore in terms of reception?i am new to mangalore and i need a connection urgently

[kb100]

Originally Posted by irfanmon

can any body tell me which is the best broad band connection available in mangalore in terms of reception?i am new to mangalore and i need a connection urgently

My Dell XPS1330 has the provision of inserting a SIM - this slot is behind the battery - apparently another of those connectivity solutions.

Does anyone know more about this? I wonder if any of our networks are close to enabling any such facility/feature.

[gopz]

Originally Posted by kb100

My Dell XPS1330 has the provision of inserting a SIM - this slot is behind the battery - apparently another of those connectivity solutions.

Does anyone know more about this? I wonder if any of our networks are close to enabling any such facility/feature.

Yes, there is a slot for SIM card, but it requires a WWAN card to make it work. It is not available with Dell India but is available with Dell US. The WWAN cards are available on ebay.com but I am not really sure if it will work with the Indian CDMA internet providers. The Dell duds wont know anything about this, so no point calling them up

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by gopz

Yes, there is a slot for SIM card, but it requires a WWAN card to make it work. It is not available with Dell India but is available with Dell US. The WWAN cards are available on ebay.com but I am not really sure if it will work with the Indian CDMA internet providers. The Dell duds wont know anything about this, so no point calling them up

Correct. The SIM Card slot by itself is useless. The card you need is the one with the number 5500, which is universal (not carrier specific unlike the other T Mobile, Verizon, AT&T & Vodafone cards with different numbers).

If the cost of the card is higher than the cost of a basic 3G handset, its not worth it because you might as well buy another phone for use as a modem instead. At least you have a standby phone.

This 3G connectivity option from Dell is a con job.

[gopz]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

This 3G connectivity option from Dell is a con job.

Its not a con job. Have you ever seen Dell advertise this or even mention it while ordering? How can it be a con job?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by gopz

Its not a con job. Have you ever seen Dell advertise this or even mention it while ordering? How can it be a con job?

Dell sells my laptop (D420) as an HSDPA Notebook. It clearly advertises the fact on the Laptop's homepage with this sign denoting "HyperConnect"TM:



Dell Latitude D420 Computer - PC

I was disappointed, but I've bought the wireless module at an extra cost. Mind you, I've been a loyal Dell customer for over 8 years now.

[gopz]

Yeah, thats the Euro site you are looking at. Dell India doesnt advertise it.

Probably in Europe its a good deal. I am not sure though.

[lurker]

Is the PC Card same as PCMCIA card in Card Slot specifications ?

[whatcanthisbe]

So I need to get a Wireless Internet connection ( USB / PCMCIA)

I have a home Airtel broadband connection already(unlimited 256kbps)

I need an unlimited plan, Any suggestions, I've heard bad , really bad things bout reliance and their customer care, what about Airtel and Tata along with the price of the plan and the hardware ?

[FaeLLe]

My job involves a lot of travelling all around India and the laptop TCS gave me comes with a Tata Indicom PCMCIA CDMA data card.

I have found excellent data coverage all around India, from metros to rural villages. Though it might not be as good as reliance is supposed to be (from what I hear) the Tata indicom has an anteena that can be hidden in the device and doesnt stick out.

Go for it they have nice plans if you pay for three months at a time too.

Originally Posted by sk456

hey all,
Any one use the Reliance data card for wireless connectivity ? I would love to get soem feedbacks?

[given2fly]

I have mobile office connection for 200/- a month, and it works flawlessly through the country except Pune (don't what the issues are there). If you have an EDGE enabled phone, it should work great with you.

On the other hand, Vodafone has an EDGE enabled network in most of the places but they don't have any unlimited plans like Airtel Mobile Office. I haven't heard good things about Reliance mobile internet services either and would stay away from them (personal opinion). Not so sure about Tata either, but no comments on that one.

One last point, unless you are subscribing to WiMAX, you would not be getting a high speed connection (256 kbps+) connection from any mobile company. CDMA 1x SIM enabled dialup cards are 144 kbps while edge enabled phones push that to 384 kbps max (ultimate speed depends).

Originally Posted by whatcanthisbe

So I need to get a Wireless Internet connection ( USB / PCMCIA)

I have a home Airtel broadband connection already(unlimited 256kbps)

I need an unlimited plan, Any suggestions, I've heard bad , really bad things bout reliance and their customer care, what about Airtel and Tata along with the price of the plan and the hardware ?

[given2fly]

Does anyone have any idea how this card from Sony Ericsson will fare in India. Will it be supported by Network Providers like Airtel/Vodafone/BPL/etc.

Sony Ericsson PC300 3.6Mbps data card (unlocked) - @ 179$

Specifications

What you need to get started

32-bit CardBus type II PC Card slot
Sony Ericsson PC300 Mobile Broadband PC Card
SIM card
Wireless Manager or other application from CD or software download
Appropriate network subscriptions from your operator. Contact your network operator or service provider to make sure the options you require are available (UMTS/HSPDA, GPRS/EDGE and SMS).

Weight
42 g / 1.5 oz

Networks
EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/ 1900 MHz
HSDPA/UMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz

Environment: operating -10° to +55° C, storage -20° to +65° C
Power consumption: < 30mW (inserted), < 150mW (idle), < 2.2W (transfer)
Multichannel: 3 multiplexed channels (parallel communication paths to card)
SIM toolkit: Class 2 with Call Control
Compression: MNP5, V.42bis GSM & TCP/IP Header Compression
Error correction: End to End MNP2-4, LAPM (V.42), Network supported RLP

SIM Card: supports 1.8- and 3-Volt SIM cards
Power class: GMSK-Class 4 (850/900 MHz), Class 1 (1800/1900 MHz), 8 PSK-Class E2
Power consumption: < 30mW (inserted), < 150mW (idle), < 2.8W (transfer)

There are also some other wireless broadband products I could see in the following page.

Sony Ericsson - Products - Mobile Broadband

[phamilyman]

sarkar,

its 3G aka HSDPA etyadi. Meaning a few years away. Cross that bridge when you come to it

[SLK]

I have/had a reliance data card.. and IDEA GPRS... and Airtel Mobile office.

IDEA - was BAD
Reliance - Quite acceptable/ but expensive
Airtel - Most consistent so far.. though yet to take it out of town.

[Ram]

Having moved residence from Pune to Mumbai, my current service providers are now:

1. Vodafone for GSM mobile. This GSM SIM is in my Nokia N82.
2. Tata Indicom CDMA "Plug2Surf". This CDMA SIM is in my Sungil SXC-1080 USB modem for wireless surfing on the laptop
3. Tata Indicom Broadband for fast surfing on the home PC network.

Unfortunately Vodafone can't afford to offer an flat-rate unlimited GPRS data plan in Mumbai.
(Do the poor iPhone-3G customers pay through their noses by the kb/Mb, or are they just technodumb?)

I would like to acquire a GPS-enabled CDMA smart phone (Symbian S60 preferred to Microsoft Windows mobile), to use the Tata Indicom CDMA SIM for convenient handheld GPS, email, IM and browsing.

Any suggestions on which CDMA smart phone to go for?

Ram