Wireless Internet for LaptopWireless internet for laptop -- Unless you have wireless internet there is no sense in having a portable computer. For this you need a wireless laptop card of some sort.
For mobile broadband, you need a mobile broadband provider and a mobile broadband card. Generally, cellular phone providers will also provide mobile internet service. You will need a card to receive this service and most cards that are in use will work with only one provider. If you buy a computer from a manufacturer's website, you generally will have the option to get a mobile broadband card built into the laptop computer. These are usually about $200. You might get a rebate of all or part of this when you sign up for the service. You are locked into the provider you choose when you have the card installed much as you are with a cell phone. You can also obtain the mobile broadband card from the provider when you sign up for the service. This will usually be provided free with the service contract the same as entry level cell phones are when you sign up for cell phone service. This card will be a plug in. You need to be certain that your laptop has the type of slot needed for the card. This can be a problem. These cards are usually what is called an express card. Usually a laptop will have only one express card slot. This might be in use for a sound card or an optical drive. You can also get usb cards from some providers. Usually you will have multiple usb ports on a laptop. Wireless Internet Most new laptops today come with a built in wireless internet for laptop. These are also available as plug ins. IEEE 802.11 is the general wireless standard. Right now, most networks are 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n. According to Linksys, a wireless router manufacturer, 802.11g is up to 5 times faster than 802.11b, and 802.11n is up to 12 times faster than 802.11g. Devices built to these different standards are backward compatible. That is a wireless g card will receive wireless b signals and wireless n will receive b and g. The speed will be that of the lower standard. Unless you live on a college campus or in a building with free internet, you will need an internet service provider to be sure of getting service. This will cost you about half the price of mobile broadband. If I was buying a laptop today, I would have a wireless n card installed. Mobile broadband speeds are theoretically slower than wireless g or n right now. Effectively they are not though. You are not sharing bandwidth to the same extent that you are from a regular ISP. What I've seen shows that you will pay 30% to 50% more for mobile broadband for your notebook computer when compared to celular phone service. There are pay for use plans, but they seem even more expensive. Several people I know have begun to get their internet service from cell phone providers that specialize in pay per month no contract cellar service. They have gotten mobile broadband service for about $30 a month, and say it works well. There is no phone service, but the price is about the same as cable internet access. You can expect to pay about $60 a month for unlimited internet access from one of the big providers. Can you afford it? Is it worth it to you? Your choice. I wouldn't go that way now, I'm not that big a wireless internet for laptop user. I can get a plug-in later on if I need it. return from wireless internet for laptop to laptop-computers-wiz homepage
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