Short Term aircard service

[Dan Cook]

One person had a Cingular aircard on our trip. I was interested in purchasing service for one but found out that Cingular requires a 2 year contract.

Are there any companies that will let you run one for a limited time and not long term?

Thanks.

 

[Chris Wilburn]

One person had a Cingular aircard on our trip. I was interested in purchasing service for one but found out that Cingular requires a 2 year contract.

Are there any companies that will let you run one for a limited time and not long term?

Thanks.
[/b]

Dan,

I used Cingular this year and had the unlimited which was $90 a month after taxes. I signed a two year contract, but can downgrade to the lowest package whenever I want which would be about $25 a month. I know this may not be what you are looking for, but I am really pleased with my service and will likely move down to the $20 a month package as I really cant justify the unlimited if I am not chasing. When chase season gets here next year I will go back to the unlimited. Not sure if it is true or not, but I heard that if you buy the air card on your own you dont have to do the 2 year contract. If you go this route you can get cards on ebay for around $130.......be sure to get the Sony Ericson GC83 as it has a very nice external antenna that greatly improves signal strength. There may be other cards that are possible to have the external antenna adapter so you may check that. Be sure to get an unlocked GC83 card if you get one on ebay.

 

[Dan Cook]

Not sure if it is true or not, but I heard that if you buy the air card on your own you dont have to do the 2 year contract.
[/b]

Hopefully that's the case.

 

[cedwards]

I purchased a Verizon aircard. I did sign a 2 year agreement, but in doing so I reduced my monthly charge from about $70 (I think) to $59 per month. so you can get away with a shorter than 2 year contract.

 

[Paul Stofer]

I use t-mobile and ran a speed test and got 58k which isn't too bad I guess. I pay $30.00 a month for unlimited usage.

 

[Matt Schuch]

I recently got a T-Mobile card a few weeks ago. so far no complaints other than its slower than what im used to, and for some reason i am having problems uploading and downloading music and pictures from the internet. morpheus wont connect thru the t-mobile card, yet it does thru my other Wi-Fi card. :blink: The card it self cost me $150 and the service is an added $30 a month. i think its a 1 year contract, but im not really sure.

 

[Stuart Robinson]

You can not sign up for any of these packages without a US credit card or a US address - I know as I have tried to do this so many time with out success :angry:

Edit ~ But I see that you live in the US so this will not apply to you.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I got a Sprint Phone which had the high speed wireless access, not the card. I was able to get a Vision Package added to my phone service for $40/month and can drop it like any other part of my plan. The key is to get the phones that have the high speed internet access enabled instead of buying a card. The speeds are the same as the cards, cheaper to add on to phone plan, and can cancel anytime.

 

[John Erwin]

This reply might be of limited value given that I'm in Canada, but we haven't seen a definitive reply to the original question so I'll give it a shot.

Contracts are normally provided for 2 main reasons. Firstly, to get you a subzidized price on the phone/device. Secondly, to lock in a particular price plan or group of features. Obviously it's a benefit for them since they have you for a set period of time.

It's debatable about which way to go but I've always been of the impression that it's better to pay full price for the phone/device and not get a contract; or at least take a short term contract that's not going to tie you up forever. This technology is changing so fast that's it's nice to be able to have options as they become available.

It would appear from the major carrier's websites that if you pay full price for an aircard then you can simply pay month to month for your service and cancel when you want; no contract required. Probably best to ask in person though to be sure.

 

[Rick Wilson]

One person had a Cingular aircard on our trip. I was interested in purchasing service for one but found out that Cingular requires a 2 year contract.

Are there any companies that will let you run one for a limited time and not long term?

Thanks.
[/b]

EVDO rentals available here:

http://www.evdoinfo.com/EVDO/Info/EVDO_Rental_20051030602/

Not affiliated with them but I did get a 2 year Verizon service contract with them. BTW, a trip from Dallas, TX to Eureka Springs AR over the 4th of July weekend got complete coverage. Showed "Extended Network" through OK and AR but service never faltered.

 

[Dan Cook]

EVDO rentals available here:

http://www.evdoinfo.com/EVDO/Info/EVDO_Rental_20051030602/

Not affiliated with them but I did get a 2 year Verizon service contract with them. BTW, a trip from Dallas, TX to Eureka Springs AR over the 4th of July weekend got complete coverage. Showed "Extended Network" through OK and AR but service never faltered.
[/b]

Holy crap that's just what I need.

 

[Robert Dewey]

You can get a Cingular GoPhone and tether it to your laptop... Cheapest GoPhone plan combined with unlimited MediaNet is $49.99/mo. You might also be able to hook up the Pay as you Go with unlimited MediaNet (so it would only cost you like $25/mo), but the coverage area is limited.

The GoPhone plans have no contract, no credit checks, etc..

 

[Tony Phillips]

i've seen some Go-Phones at wal-mart that have the connection to attach the phone to your USB port on your laptop, would something like this work? or would it be better to get the card and get the plan for it