[IceAIM]

Right now I'm accessing the Internet wirelessly through my laptop which is connected via USB cable to my phone.

I have a 100 meg dataplan on it which takes care of all my surfing needs, but soon I will need to access a remote Hong Kong based server via remote desktop.

Now remote desktop works great with my laptop connected to my mobile for wireless Internet access, but it eats megabytes like popcorn so it would use it my 100 meg plan pretty quickly.

So here I am looking for a unlimited wireless plan that lets me use a mobile phone network like 3 or Smartone via a PC card that is inserted into my notebook.

Well 3 offers an unlimited plan for 488 per month with a FREE PC card with contract BUT it says it's for local unlimited usage only. It defines local unlimited usage as content accessed from ipc.three.com.hk and VPN Connect Service.

What the hell is VPN Connect Service and would my Hong Kong hosted server qualify? We don't use VPN, but rather just remote desktop....however it's Hong Kong hosted rather than hosted overseas.

I heard that Smartone has a real unlimited plan for like $522 a month or something like that and even lets you use services like Skype. Do you guys think the 3 plan is complete trash and I should just go with the Smartone service? Is Smartone's coverage just as good as 3's as far as 3G networks go?

Can I use Smartone outside of Hong Kong? If so how much does it cost? Can it be unlocked? From what I heard you pay full price for the Smartone PC card unlike the 3 card, and it's locked which sounds like real BS. If you complain enough do you think they would unlock it?

Also if anyone has more information on the 3 plan and how it compares with the Smartone PC card, then let me know. I don't know too much about the 3 plan yet, maybe it's a lot better now and more similar to the Smartone plan.

[shri]

Be careful about the Smartone Plan. While it says that it is unlimited, its AUP prohibits many applications, including SKYPE.

I'd call their customer service or walk into their shop and clarify it with them.

I tested the card for a few weeks and was very impressed with it. Except for the initial cost which is around $2K.

[shri]

Yes, you can use it outside of HK, it downgrades from HSDPA to 3G / EDGE / GPRS ...

The roaming is a flat per MB charge ($2 if I remember).

And no the card cannot be unlocked (the biggest issue I have with it ... )

[IceAIM]

Originally Posted by shri

Be careful about the Smartone Plan. While it says that it is unlimited, its AUP prohibits many applications, including SKYPE.

I'd call their customer service or walk into their shop and clarify it with them.

I tested the card for a few weeks and was very impressed with it. Except for the initial cost which is around $2K.

Yeah you can use Skype and other stuff if you pay 80 dollars more per month. I already mentioned this.

Anyone have any information on 3's rival 3G PC Card?

How is the coverage of Smartone anyway? Is it as good as 3's?

[csinc]

I have the Smartone card and am using the prepaid version of their service (because I don't use it enought to pay for unlimited). It seemes very fast and I have had no issues with coverage. I was even able to still use the Smartone network at the ferry dock in Shekou in Shenzhen.

The roaming is a bit expensive at .12 per k. But you can roam to almost any country including Japan. When I roam on it I usually just browse with graphics and javascript off which saves a lot of money. The actual amount of real data downloaded from a website is usually not much.

[IceAIM]

Does Smatone really stick to their AUP as far as not allowing streaming music and stuff? I'm paying an extra 88 dollars a month to use skype.

Will smartone really shut me off if I stream a 56Kbps Internet radio stream? Seems kinda insane.

What's the point of broadband when all you can really use it for is Internet, email, and Skype........all of these things can be done on something that isn't a wireless 1.8Mbps connection.

Also I switched my voice service to Smartone as well. When I was with 3, I had unlimited calling with 1966. Smartone doesn't have such a plan. Is there any good 3rd party IDD provider that offers an unlimited calling plan to the USA and other countries like China?

[IceAIM]

Also what is this WLAN signal I have with my Smartone card? Is that HSDPA or is it something totally different?

I tried connecting with WLAN, but I'm unable to from my area. But the 3G connection works perfect.

Is WLAN the only way I can get the full download speeds?

Is this WLAN thing the same thing as wi-fi or something different?

[IceAIM]

Another thing I noticed is unless I am in the Smartone store, I can never get 5 bars with my Smartone PC Card. It's always 4 bars at best. This is the case even in major urban areas where I have full signal on my Razor phone.

What is the deal? Is this pretty normal with everyone else?

I am just worried my antenna is damanged or something.

I had a situation with my old LG 3G phone where it had a bad antenna and it yielded a much lower signal strength over my wife's LG 3G phone which was the same exact model. Once they repaired it it worked fine.

That LG phone was such a piece of junk because it always kept breaking.

Anyway do you guys think everything is okay with my PC Card? Even with 1 bar it flies and works great, so it's not like there's a problem with my Internet browsing. I'm just worried that some little thing is broken and I'm not getting full signal when I should be.

[csinc]

I usually seem to get 3 bars. I would not worry about it. I have been able to get good speed from Shekou in Shenzhen even with just 1 bar or even no bars.