Wireless Laptop?

[DeAnna]

I'm looking to buy a laptop basically so we can surf the net wireless when travelling. What should I be looking for?

I saw one that said "Cisco 1200 AP and Cisco 350 wireless card" - is thal all I will need?

Ryan, Mike or JW - any of you techno guys know?

Thanks.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

The laptop shouldn't matter as much as the card I would think.

I guess some laptops have the wireless capabilities built in into them. That's pretty cool actually.

I doubt it matters much what kind of card you get, just make sure it's obviously wireless. I'd be more inclined to make sure I got a Dell, and then find out about wireless cards for that.

Mike

 

[jw7]

Ryan is the wireless guru, but I'll throw out an opinion.

I had a laptop before with a wireless card, but my new one has Centrino (Intel wireless integrated) built in and I like it much better. No PCMCIA card and the laptop is designed and configured with wireless in mind.

If you are looking for an online deal - I would recommend this page: http://www.gotapex.com/deals.php they have coupons for dells almost daily.

You'll love it - many hotels these days offer free high-speed wireless internet - it is great for travelling.

 

[Chaz]

I would recommend the centrino laptop as well.

They have the wireless card built in and use less power than a add in card. This means longer battery life when using the wirless network.

Now the AP you mentioned is an access point and would connect to an existing (wired) network to provide the wirless access.

Keep in mind when you are on the road you will have to find a free or pay for service public access point.
If you want to access the internet from anyplace your cell phone works a service like Verizon mobile office works good. It is a different card and technology than the Centrino and wireless network things discussed above.

It can be confusing but if you get wireless capability in a laptop you still have to connect to an access point someplace to get on the internet. I think most starbucks have access points setup as do many hotels. Most are fee for access setups like ipass, boingo, or t-mobile services.

Let me know if any of this is unclear.

 

[Ryanwb]

Yep, go with the built in WIFI card and if you can afford it, Centrino.

At work they gave me a spanking new Pentium 4 laptop, then like 4 days later my co worker got his and it was a Centrino....his battery lasts like a hour longer than mine under the same conditions.

 

[DeAnna]

Ummm, yeah, now I’m a little confused. Maybe what I should be looking for is the Verizon mobile works?

At a hotel that offers free access, I can just use their port if the laptop has the Centrino.

If, for example, we are at someone’s house who does not have a computer can we just plug the laptop into their phone line? In that case we wouldn’t need “wireless” would we? Maybe just some sort of mobile access numbers from the IP provider.

 

[Ryanwb]

No, you can only use a wireless card if someone has a wireless access point.

If you bust out at a hotel or something you can just use a standard Eithernet port and an RJ-45 cable.

 

[Ryanwb]

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-internet.htm

 

[DeAnna]

Ahhh, gotcha.

Thanks guys!

 

[Ryanwb]

Originally posted by DeAnna
If, for example, we are at someone’s house who does not have a computer can we just plug the laptop into their phone line? In that case we wouldn’t need “wireless” would we? Maybe just some sort of mobile access numbers from the IP provider.

Yes!

Centrino is just a brand name like Pentium. It offers you two possible connections, well three...to the internet.

1)If someone has a wireless access point you can use the WIFI card and connect to the internet

2)If someone has a hardline connection, like hotels, offices, homes...you can connect with the Eithernet port

3)Then you can use the old modem connection if you have the software installed of a service provider.

 

[Chaz]

Originally posted by DeAnna
Ummm, yeah, now I’m a little confused. Maybe what I should be looking for is the Verizon mobile works?

At a hotel that offers free access, I can just use their port if the laptop has the Centrino.

If, for example, we are at someone’s house who does not have a computer can we just plug the laptop into their phone line? In that case we wouldn’t need “wireless” would we? Maybe just some sort of mobile access numbers from the IP provider.

Most laptops have a modem built in so you could use someone's phone line and a dialup service. If you want wireless (like a cell phone) with out having to locate a public access point the Verizon option is a good but not really inexpensive.

Think of the Verizon thing as a standard phone line dialup but using the cell phone network instead of a standard wired phone jack.

 

[DeAnna]

time to revive this thread...

since I think I found a laptop I like:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6787233655&category=31558&rd=1

What do you guys think? Price seems to good to be true...supposedly new and retails at almost $2,700.

Any opinons? Thanks!

 

[Ryanwb]

I'm not a big fan of VAIO... Sony makes a nice product but you can get a whole lot more for way under 2600.00

You could get an HP laptop with cinema display, 1 gig of RAM, WIFI 802.11G, etc.... for around $1600.00

Plus usually these sorts of deals don't come with a warranty

 

[DeAnna]

Ryan, you mean an HP like this one? I'm primarily interested in being able to watch a movie on an airplane and have WiFi so this one looks like it fits the bill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6787028648&category=31550&rd=1

But by tomorrow the price will prolly be up to $650 or so. What do ya think of this one?

Thanks!

 

[Brian]

Ryan, you mean an HP like this one? I'm primarily interested in being able to watch a movie on an airplane and have WiFi so this one looks like it fits the bill.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6787028648&category=31550&rd=1

But by tomorrow the price will prolly be up to $650 or so. What do ya think of this one?

Thanks!

There you are!

That's similar to the HP that I have, it's been very reliable for the most part. I like it.


I'd sell you mine but it would take me 6 months to erase all the porn!

 

[DeAnna]

Well, I ended up with a Dell Inspiron 700m notebook. Got it from Dell's outlet (refurbished).

Can't wait to get it!!