As if the week couldn’t get even more enjoyable.
I’ve been frustrated trying to find free wireless hotspots during my travels. Frequently I find myself parked outside my son’s school waiting for him to finish up something, and would like to get online and do, you know, those things I do online. Mail… and stuff.
Glancing at my Treo the other day, I did the “Hey, wait a sec. I have broadband access on that. I should just be able to use it as my modem and connect up. Piece o cake!” realization.
Hah. Fool that I was.
Apparently the Treo 650 does not function as a broadband modem in ‘tethered mode’ (ala, via a USB cable). The Treo 700w and 700p do, but, ya know, I don’t have either of those. I could probably have used the Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking) function in the phone, which was put there explicitly for this sort of operation, but Verizon, in it’s infinite… well, Verizon made a decision to deliberately disable that function (no one really knows why they’ve done this. One would assume it would drive -up- usage of the phone and broadband services, which would benefit… Verizon. )
I could also get one of Verizon’s PCMCIA broadband access cards, but that would require me to renew my contract for two years, fork over the $50 for the card (though this card is now outdated, I should get a newer one for $100), AND up my data plan to the ‘unlimited’ plan, which would increase my bill by $50 a month.
At the end of which, I’d still be stuck with a phone that is rapidly aging, and will most likely need to be replaced in the next 12 months.
Interestingly enough, Verizon is continuing this policy even with the 700-series, by disabling the DUN functions, so you’ll buy another 3g subscription. Can you feel the love?
I have little reason to think I’ll stick with Verizon for my phone and mobile data usage come mid-June.
About Dave Shevett
A wandering geek. Toys, shiny things, pursuits and distractions.
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You really gonna get a v1 iPoone?
Assuming I have a job by then with enough disposable income to afford the initial investment, I’m planning on jumping ship as well, and picking up an iPhone.
You really gonna get a v1 iPoone?
Apple actually has a history that shows once they throw their weight behind a release of a product, they actually continue to support it. Given the long rollout period, and the amount of press the whole project is getting, I’m going to take the risk.
I am, however, going to look very carefully at how Cingular is going to handle upgrade and replacement processes. If the v1 iPhone is unstable and having problems, I’m sure Apple will patch to the best of their ability, but if 6 months down the road, the v1.1 iPhone comes out, how will Cingular handle a unit replacement?
I’m not going in with blinders, but right now I’m so disgusted with Verizon that I’m willing to give a lot of rope to Cingular. Will they hang themselves with it? We’ll see!