For any of you that are interested in broadband on the go... I have been using a Sierra Wireless 550 card with Sprint service in my laptop for two years now. It gave just slightly better throughput than 56K dial-up. However, I had no dead zones between Austin Texas and Knoxville Tennesseee. Sprint called me last week to offer a free upgrade to a Sierra Wireless 580 broadband card. I get speeds as fast as my Satellite home system in broadband areas. To see if your area is covered, go to coverage area and enter your zip code. This service reverts back to the same coverage I had with the old card at the slower speed of the old card when broadband is not available in the area you are in. The available cards are also shown on that page. New customers pay $50 for the card and unlimited service is $80/month.
I just bought a new phone and I was tempted to get one of those Super Phones that are phone/pda/email/vcast/etc. Like the Motorola Q or Treo 700p, the broadband connection with Verizon is 45$ a month. But I really don't travel that much so I couldn't justify it. Terry
Terry, Like you, when I re-upped for a new contract I looked at the "super phone" and opted not to get one. My son and several business associates have them for business reasons. It's appropriate for them, but the bad news is, they can't hide. Now that I've seen them in action, I'm even more certain that at this late stage of my life, I don't need one. By the way, I see that Verizon offers the same package that Tom describes above for mobile broadband. It's pretty cool if you are on the go. My daughter and son-in-law both were provided the package by their employers so they could file reports in a timely and convenient manner. If when I retire Judy and I decide to travel, I would sign up so I could be current on the Skybox and my fantasy teams.