New incar wi-fi setup

[rdale]

I just found out today.....the MSRP of the unit will NOT be 399, but it will be 595

So buy your own 3G card + router for ~$200 and a $59 monthly service, or buy this at $595 with $39 monthly service.

That's quite a lot of months before the breakeven point is reached, and by that time you got a new Aircard for free every two years.

 

[Jay McCoy]

If Verizon is the only signal it uses then it will be mostly useless in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle except along major roads. Ther coverage out here is one of the worst of all companies.

A Sprint card would be a much better option. I wont even bother with this overpriced unit.

 

[David Wolfson]

I'm typing this on a homebuilt Pentium 4 box running Linux at my fixer-upper house. It's connected via an ethernet cable to my LinkSys Wireless-G router for mobile broadband. In the router is my Verizon (Audiovox 5750) EVDO Rev. A aircard. The router is also broadcasting as a wireless hotspot from which nearby wireless cards could connect to the internet. Because Phoenix has a strong signal, it's not currently connected to the auxiliary amp and antenna in my car. I can pull the aircard and use it in a computer PCMCIA slot.

Last May on the road service (with no amp) was somewhat spotty in the expected areas such as nw OK, the Commanche Grasslands of se CO, etc., but far more available than the Verizon service maps predicted. In particular I and another crew were able to make motel reservations in the middle of nowhere near Lipscomb in the ne TX Panhandle, and I maintained service from there along US60 and I-40.

The purported value of the Autonet device was to allow seamless data connection across multiple carriers' systems. If as now seems to be the case you're tied to one carrier, then it loses a lot of its advantages. The good news is that all the major carriers are working to increase their data coverage through tower upgrades and mergers.

 

[Dave Carroll]

Autonet

This whole Autonet thing seems more strange by the minute. The single carrier deal doesn't make sense UNLESS something has changed since last year: during our annual May chase last year, Kevin Myatt and I used a typical cell phone tethering system using Verizon service. Good coverage in the northern plains, and spottier the further south toward OK/TX...with big gaps in northwest OK and the TX Panhandles. (by the way, we had bombproof coverage using Verizon and an old Ositech King of Clubs card in Kansas...running analog the entire time!).

One month later in June, Kevin tested the Autonet unit across OK, TX, NM, CO, KS...and aside from the Commanche Nat'l Grasslands, found coverage to be excellent, with very few gaps at all. We had nowhere near that kind of coverage with Verizon one month earlier!

Did they have an agreement w/ another carrier that has since vanished(the information last year indicated multiple carriers, which is what makes it attractive)???

Now I am beginning to wonder whether to set up my computer with the router, or go back to my good 'ol cell phone system! Hmmm...

 

[J Kinkaid]

So the only advantage this thing has now is unlimited internet usage on Verizion now and $20 less per month usage charge ?


This company needs to hire some people that actually know how to market and take them to the next level or they will be out of buisness very soon

Brett can you give us some speed test in some of the bigger citys you are in from speed test.net

 

[Brett Adair]

If you are interested in getting with a dealer, I have been instructed to have you email James Weinmann @ [email protected] . I don't know what the deal is....but I was told to give you all this email address.

I just did a test from Gatlinburg on and got 489/97 on the Atlanta server.

This on Owensboro..

 

[John Erwin]

The purported value of the Autonet device was to allow seamless data connection across multiple carriers' systems. If as now seems to be the case you're tied to one carrier, then it loses a lot of its advantages. The good news is that all the major carriers are working to increase their data coverage through tower upgrades and mergers.

Agreed; initially this device/service looked like a godsend to get away from the typical cellular issues experienced out there..however recent revelations seem to be rapidly eroding that.

Personally, I would be more interested in the Millenicom service now since it doesn't appear to require a contract and you get the same tower sharing that a regular Sprint user gets.

 

[beaudodson]

Autonets website used to say something along the lines that they used multiple carriers and that is how you received "seamless" data. The site no longer says that.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Sprint backed out of the deal with autonet so they only have verzion for now

 

[beaudodson]

Sprint backed out of the deal with autonet so they only have verzion for now

If that is true then what does Autonet have left for them? The selling point, for me at least, was the dual carriers. I guess there might be some "ease of use" with this. Not sure anymore. blah Sounded promising. That is wild that something like this got going and then to have Sprint back out? Company made a lot of promises...now the price has doubled and they have one carrier.

 

[Gordon Spencer]

Probably did not return Sprint's phone calls . I sure can't get them to return one and either can the CEO of CYFRE. Sorry these folks are weak in my eyes.

Sprint backed out of the deal with autonet so they only have verzion for now

 

[Derek Weston]

If that is true then what does Autonet have left for them? The selling point, for me at least, was the dual carriers. I guess there might be some "ease of use" with this. Not sure anymore. blah Sounded promising. That is wild that something like this got going and then to have Sprint back out? Company made a lot of promises...now the price has doubled and they have one carrier.

I don't see it either. I started moving away from the idea a while back after figuring out that they really couldn't be much better than what sprint has to offer. And on top of that, you'd have to buy their hardware, which is an expensive startup fee.

I'm guessing this is directed for the not very tech savvy individual who is wooed by the idea of having easily accessible internet in their vehicle. More demanding users -- like this group on ST -- will probably not be satisfied.

 

[Dave Carroll]

Autonet

Performance and coverage certainly was very impressive last year when we tested it...I was pretty much in connectivity heaven and was definitely thinking this was a new turn for me for on-road access. Now, there seems to be little advantage over a typical Verizon card. Too bad.

 

[beaudodson]

It sounded like early on they actually did have more than one carrier. Perhaps that is why nobody on this thread reports poor coverage. Everyone had rave reviews for the coverage. It sounded great. So...it sounds like at one time they may very well have had some type of dual deal. Now they have become a one carrier air-card that has a cost of $600.00. (basically).

Perhaps down the road they will work it out.

 

[Johnathan Brouwer]

As I have said in the past...I have not had good feelings for these guys from the beginning....I would have loved to work with it, but you can only promise vaporware so long...

Personally, I'm getting a system from Gordon...fixing the signal problem correctly will solve most of my issues. And, I will say I know of no better solution for in-car repeaters and antenna's than Maximum signal's. After the antenna issue, I will go for some sort of pcmia device and a data card and I'm good to go.

BTW, thanks again Gordon for donation of a door prise at ChaserCon, appreciate your support! AND no I did not win it

I have found a number of devices that run pcmia cards. When I make a decision and get it all together I will post some pics of the set-up!