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Android w/ tether vs mobile broadband?

S

SampsonNation

Well-Known Member
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum!


I recently cancelled my CLEAR USB Mobile Broadband because I was paying $55 a month. My phone is not a smart phone and I roughly spend $20 a month for it alone. If you total that up, it was about $75 monthly!

Needless to say, I'm looking for other options.


I decided to get the HTC Evo Design from Boostmobile. I haven't received it yet, but it should be here in a few days. My only reason for getting it is it has the ability to tether for an extra $10 a month with unlimited data. This sounds great, as I want to tether my laptop when I DJ mobile occasionally and tether to my computer when I'm at work.

I estimate I really only need it for Pandora for roughly 5 hours a day, 5 days a week.


My question to you guys is, as far as cost and value goes...Is the HTC good a good option for my situation? I'm basically trying to achieve mobile internet for my laptop while on the go. I also like the cost because Boostmobile lowers your plan after 6 payments, etc.


If I went with a dedicated broadband, I'd be spending $35 on that alone and still $20 for my phone that I still have... That's $55 a month when Boosmobile offers it as low as 45 with tether after a certain amount of payments.


What do you guys think?
 
I'm still a little unclear on your requirements.

WRT DJ'ing - why do you need to be tethered for that? Why don't you just have the songs you want to play loaded on the laptop? I have 10,000 tracks, mostly as 250-320 kbps MP3's and they take up less than 80G You probably don't need anywhere near that many for a DJ gig.

Also, for both the laptop and the phone, why can't you just you local WiFi for things like Pandora?
 
My mistake for being unclear. I was in a hurry and had to go back to work when I was typing the post :P.

I'm looking for a way to get mobile internet in my car (work related) for my laptop & iPad by using a cell phone (tethering) if it would provide me with the cheapest option that's reliable. I use the highest amount of data while I'm traveling in my car and this is why I'm choosing this option over wifi.

I mainly want to use Pandora, eMail, IM, and internet browsers. The basics mostly.

I've never used a phone to tether. I was wondering given my situation, what would suit me best. A cell phone, or a dedicated broadband hotspot device?
 
It really depends on weather or not you want a smartphone. You have an iPad so your "mobile device" is covered.

If you do a lot of traveling around the country, I would have to recommend Verizon because they have the largest coverage.

As far as the phone vs hotspot device, I've used both, and for the most part there is no real difference. The hotspot device may get slightly longer reception distance, but almost unnoticeable. The primary difference I think would be using one carrier for phone and a separate carrier for data. If you want to use the same carrier I would just get a smartphone and UAE mobile hotspot feature. The hotspot feature toggles on with a tap of a widget.

And as a side note, having a basic phone plus mobile hotspot is one extra device you have to charge.
 
The UAE Hotspot feature is what the HTC Evo Design has? That's the phone I bought from BM.

I don't mind having two devices if somehow the cost and value (IE: bigger data limit) is worth and justifiable.

I was just tired of spending $75 between a phone AND hot spot. I didn't realize BM will cut your plan down to $45 including the tether option after a certain amount of payments.

That really made me consider this option!
 
I'd say get a MyFi device. For some reason with the iOS6 update, my classmates' iPads (about 4 of them) has trouble seeing hotspots from my Samsung devices even if they connected perfectly fine before.
 
My only concern with dedicated hotspots are, they have a data limit cap and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hit 3GB per month. Even if it's just a tad over. Pandora uses a lot :(.

By the way, I'm traveling locally. I don't go that far, mostly I stay in my state.
 
I think it depends on the contract with your provider. We have a local provider here (I'm in South East Asia) with whom I can get a SIM which is useable for phone or dongle use giving me unlimited data for a month for $20. I've already used up more than 20GB this month. From what I hear, there are similar services there (but are expensive)?
 
I am from the USA. I googled and looked for a while on plans that offered "everything" that was cheaper including data. BoostMobile was the winner because they lower your cost per month down to $45. I couldn't find a better carrier.
 
This looks reliable. Your carrier hasn't caught onto to you using it?

If I could avoid the $10 fee from BM. It would bring my cell phone bill down to about $35 after having 18 payments to them with their unlimited plan. That's a good deal.
 
SampsonNation said:
This looks reliable. Your carrier hasn't caught onto to you using it?
Click to expand...

My carrier claims to offer unlimited data, although I have seen evidence to the contrary with extreme users. I use around 7G per month, which is about ten percent of the extremists. I don
 
If you don't mind me asking, how much do you spend a month? Do you also get unlimited minutes?

By the way, would there be any reason I couldn't purchase this app with using BoostMobiles version of the phone? I thought sometimes a carrier or a software update could block these types of tethering apps.

Thanks!!
 
If you don't mind me asking, how much do you spend a month? Do you also get unlimited minutes?
Click to expand...

At seventy-something a month, Sprint ain’t cheap. But their 3G is rock-hard reliable and unlimited (up to a point). If and when on their upcoming 4G.

would there be any reason I couldn't purchase this app with using BoostMobiles version of the phone?
Click to expand...

I have no idea, but as I recall, they’re not unlimited data and borrow 3G air from Sprint.

I thought sometimes a carrier or a software update could block these types of tethering apps.
Click to expand...

Other reasons I’m still with Sprint - I know it works, they don’t seem to care and I would rather spend a bit extra than take chances like that.
 
Oh wow, okay.

I looked it up and apparently it's $79 a month. I personally can't justify that since my CLEAR device was $55 a month for 5gb and unlimited 4G, but I never even got close to 5gb.
 
I have that debate in my head every time I pay the bill -- there must be something cheaper and equally reliable -- but I always decide to wait until next month, pay the bill, and continue on my path in the dark.
 
I just got got my phone and holy crap, the network is CRAP. I get 900 to 1MB of download speed on the BoostMobile network. I think that's exactly what I was getting on my old CLEAR device (would make sense because they both use Sprint). :/
 
For my country, we have this multisim feature for an addition $8usd, then i'll use this multisim card on my used mobile broadband dongle leveraging on the mobile plan i have on my phone which is unlimited data and 14.4mbps network speed. Perhaps you can check around to see which operator have this multisim card feature?
 
Good luck with the tethering via Boost Mobile....their internet on their phones is incredibly slow and spotty I can't imagine that it would be any better via tether.
 
I don't use my speakers for Pandora. I use a cable from the computer to my input on my radio in my car.

I wish I knew BM was so crappy. I never would have bought it.


Can I take the phone and use it on another carrier?
 
SampsonNation said:
I just got got my phone and holy crap, the network is CRAP. I get 900 to 1MB of download speed on the BoostMobile network. I think that's exactly what I was getting on my old CLEAR device (would make sense because they both use Sprint). :/
Click to expand...

900 kb/s to 1 Mb/s is actually reasonably quick for 3G EVDO. On Verizon its about 500 kb/s here. Sometimes worse (I stick to LTE whenever possibly FYI). Technically, 2 Mb/s is actually the theoretical limit of EVDO but I'm sure they do some throttling and theoretical data rates are extremely hard to achieve realistically, especially over wireless.

Its slow in the modern sense, but its not necessarily Boost Mobile. That's just the way EVDO is. Its pretty old 3G technology now (I think its going on 8-10 years old and has been relatively unchanged).

And no you can't really move the phone to a different network since its CDMA. The only networks it work on theoretically is Sprint and Verizon. And you probably need to flash the phone in that case. And you probably wouldn't get any better data speeds (like I said, I'm getting worse, and I'm an actual Verizon customer).

If you aren't happy with it, it seems your only option is returning the phone if possible, and getting an unlocked GSM phone (the Galaxy Nexus might be a good choice since its relatively high end and is only $299 - which is really cheap for an unlocked phone with that kind of hardware) and get a prepaid SIM with data. Modern GSM phone's have far superior 3G technologies, especially if whatever carrier you go with supports HSPA+ (think of it as wireless cable internet) and your in an area that supports it.

That would be my last piece of advice. If you do decide to switch to GSM, check data coverage for that carrier in your area. While GSM does have the possibility of getting better data rates, service can be really spotty in remote areas and you might go back to EDGE (which is worse than EVDO).
 
I'm not sure if it was LTE or 3G, but AT&T's device was giving me way over 3.5MBPS.

Idk what to do ... Should I keep the Design? I eventually want to tether to my laptop (Mac), so I can get email and possibly download a song I may not have when I'm DJing when Wifi is not available.
 
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