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Old 10-02-2010, 10:16 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Michael Galazin View Post
This is a pretty interesting thread. I agree that Sprint coverage could be the catch. This past June I took a 10 day trip into southern Utah. Most of the time my AT&T phone could not pick up a signal. Sometimes there was a signal available (Verizon I think) but I could not access it; but mostly there was nothing. Utah is full of empty spaces cellwise.

Oddly, I had WiFi hookup almost every night! And I kicked myself for not bringing the MagicJack for phone calls via internet. One night I camped in Red Canyon, west of Bryce (loved Red Canyon BTW, beautiful place), and in that remote no-hookups CG I picked up a fellow camper's signal! Used it for a quick email session and let the family know I was still alive.

But all the comments in this thread are useful, because everyone's situation is different and it's good to know all the options for all the varying situations.

I guess the boondock sites in the middle of nowhere, with no one else nearby, are still unlikely to have any kind of signal... unless we have satellite hookup, right?

You really don't need Magic Jack to make phone calls. Skype will do very nicely. For domestic calls to a phone from Skype for $0.023 per minute.
Computer to computer free.

Such a deal.
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Old 12-29-2010, 12:14 PM   #22
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Virgin Mobile WiFi Road Test

Lynne and I bought one of Virgin Mobile's MiFi Mobile Hotspots recently because we wanted a way to get online when we were out and about with our trailer without committing ourselves to an expensive contract wireless service.

The Virgin MiFi has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

On its plus side, Virgin Mobile's data service can be bought in 10-day, 100 MegaByte chunks (enough for some really lightweight Web surfing and email) or by the month with unlimited data for $10 and $40, respectively. You buy your week or month's worth of service, and you're done. No mess, no fuss, no automatic billing.

Though I had to call their Tech Support line, Activation was pretty straight forward, with good instructions. The one glitch I ran into was the MiFi unit had to be unplugged from its wall charger and running on its own batteries before it could complete the last step of the registration process.

The batteries, by the way, last up to five hours, so it's easy to take the MiFi and your laptop to a picnic table or coffee shop.

Speed-wise, the MiFi wasn't bad. We got download speeds of 670Kbps and upload speeds of 500Kbps, faster than most trailer-park connections, fast enough for comfortable web surfing, YouTube videos, and email. At $40/month, the MiFi might even be an ideal home Internet solutions that you just pick up and take on the road with you.

Thinking of kids, other adults, and multiple WiFi devices,the MiFi will support up to five devices at a time, so you can have your laptop, your partner's laptop, a WiFi Kindle or Nook reader, wireless printer, and Web Cam all connected and working at the same time. More than enough for most of us, but add a couple kids into the mix and those five connections may go fast at times.

On the down side, the $10, 10 day, 100Meg data plan did not last out the day. Virgin suggested 100 meg was enough to last out 5 hours of Web Surfing or 30 minutes of video, but it ran out in less than two hours while Lynne did some work-related things online. At least Virgin Mobile didn't cut us off mid-way through one of her meetings; we cruised right past the 100 meg limit to 130 Meg, and Virgin deducted the overage from our second $10 plan for the day.

The bottom line is the $10 card is probably only useful for short trips and light Web and email usage.

Another downside is coverage. If you're close to a well-traveled freeway or population center, you should have no problem. Most of Oregon's beach communities -- Oregon Gathering's Bandon and the park we use included -- also have coverage. But take the road less traveled, as we often do, and you'll find yourself out of luck, coverage-wise.

And, lastly, if you're a speed demon, the MiFi might not be your golden ticket. 600 Mbps is pretty speedy for a mobile Internet connection, but it's slow compared to most in-the-home broadband Internet connections. Most interactive, multi-player online games require faster connections, as does streaming full-definition movies to your TV.

These limitations aside, I am fairly pleased with the MiFi. No, it doesn't do everything, but it does do a lot. If your Internet needs aren't too great, it might even be a good way to meet your Internet needs at home and on the road.
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Old 12-29-2010, 02:14 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman View Post
You really don't need Magic Jack to make phone calls. Skype will do very nicely. For domestic calls to a phone from Skype for $0.023 per minute.
Computer to computer free.

Such a deal.
One could just as readily say you don't need Skype because Magic Jack will do nicely. The latter is $20 for a year of unlimited long distance calling. Either one is good. But if one uses Skype for an hour per week, after a year he will have spent $71 on the service.
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Old 12-29-2010, 04:04 PM   #24
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If you are a heavy data user here in the US, Millenicom is offering 20GB per month for $60.00 (they just upgraded their limits from 10G. You need to purchase a Novatel U760 USB 3G moden through them for $99.99, pay a set up fee of $49.99 & $15.00 shipping. No Contract or additional taxes. A number of RVers have been pleased with their service - the 20GB plan is probably reselling Verizon service, however because of a non-disclosure agreement, they won't tell you that.

You can stop & restart their service:
"The 20-gigabyte account can be placed on “vacation” for up to 3 calendar months during any 12-month period. It is necessary to inform Millenicom before the calendar month or months in order to take advantage of this service. Reactivating the device in the midst of any month requires payment for the entire month. The account can be closed at any time, however the final month of service is not prorated. The account can be reactivated at any time in the future with only a $19.99 reactivation fee."
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Old 12-30-2010, 08:49 AM   #25
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Will be going north next summer Dryden and beyond wish to go online but not sure best way considered a to go stick from bell or rogers. Coverage in the north can be a problem.
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