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Smartphone as a hotspot?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Joe, Jun 21, 2012.

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  1. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Verizon has a new ad running and part of it is the ability of their network is to use your smartphone as a hotspot.

    Could somebody explain to this non-smartphone person what that means in English?

    Thx
     
  2. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Yes, not that I have any connection to the vendor, however. :)

    It's a new type of service. Certain mobile devices can be used to wirelessly "tether" nearby laptops (and even other-carrier wifi-enabled smart phones) to that device's data connection. Your phone effectively becomes your wifi hotspot.

    Bad news is that yes, traffic comes out of your data plan allowance. However, it's often times cheaper than the extortive daily wifi rates typical in the casino-hotels.
     
  3. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    So you are providing wifi to other people and devices but being billed for it? Why would anyone do that?:confused2: Out of the goodness of their heart?

    BTW, that was my original thought, but I thought that can't be right.
     
  4. MisterJJ

    MisterJJ Low-Roller

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    I'm new to the whole smartphone thing myself. But I think the point is that if you or someone with you has a laptop with them you can link to the Internet through the phone. But one of the big reasons for me to get a smartphone is to not carry a laptop.
     
  5. Lovegas95

    Lovegas95 Too much work...need more play.

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    You have the ability to use your phone to connect your laptop, etc. wirelessly to the internet. I have even used my phone to connect my blue Ray player and watch Netflix on my HDTV. It's not an open wifi hotspot unless you want it to be. The same security measures for wifi at home apply here. You can setup coded access to share with others, and can set the number of devices you will allow on your network. It works best where 4G is available because a phone call interrupts the internet otherwise.
     
  6. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Hopefully you will set up the security properly. I'm not sure if it's set by default, but we are supposed to get a demo of this shortly.
     
  7. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    LOL! Just so you know from what perspective my questions are coming from. I pay $7 a month to buy .18 minutes on my phone. My current balance is close to $300. It just rolls over each month. Virgin Mobile and the phone cost me $10.

    It sits in the car 24/7 for emergencies (had a car fire once with no phone) and I grudgingly carry it around in Vegas because we have many friends there and that's the only way to get a hold of us.

    It's a Samsung that does text, email, internet, camera and I've never used it to do anything but make a phone call.

    Not being critical, but I just shake my head when I see a couple out for lunch or dinner and they spend the majority of their time typing on their phones and not talking to each other. Oh well, different era.

    I asked the question strictly to be informed. Whether I use the technology or not, I like being aware of what's going on.

    Thanks all.:thumbsup:
     
  8. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    If you have a certain data plan, you can use an iphone or a smartphone as a personal hotspot so that you can connect your computer or wifi devices wirelessly on the go.

    In April when I stayed at the Cosmo, they did not offer free wi-fi in the suite (they supposedly used to but stopped last year - the cheapskates!) so instead of using my iphone as a hotspot I opted to use a device from Clear mobile that is the size of a drink coaster and paid for one month of service ($59) that would cover the time of my stay and had wi fi internet service in the room (and wherever I went) for the entire time i was in town (9 days).

    It was a lot cheaper than paying the $15 daily fee for in-room internet service that Cosmo charges - it would have been $120 in wifi fees if I had paid it each day and I would not have been able to access the wifi from wherever I was. I am not sure what the fees for each phone service provider are for hot spot connectivity, but it is worth looking into.

    Also, my Clear device had the ability to link up to 8 devices with a code so that only those you wanted to have access to your internet service could use it - it is not like you would be providing free internet service to the surrounding guest rooms. One thing I liked about the Clear device was that the $59 was a flat fee for unlimited data for the whole month.

    Many service providers have a limit to the data usage so if you are doing simple things like checking email, it may not be an issue but for things like downloading or streaming movies you might want to ask those questions about the plan you want to get before signing up with a phone provider - if there is a restriction on the data usage it could get expensive.
     
  9. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    I agree 100%. I do check email etc while I am lounging around the room, but for the most part I am a big believer in leaving the internet, facebook, cell phone conversations etc behind when I go on vacation. Life it too short not to actually live it.

    I will not stand for people accepting phone calls or texting at a dinner table - it is the height of rudeness. If the call is that urgent, take it outside. And forget about texting - if my company is not entertaining enough for you, then make plans with someone else.

    It seems like we have slid back down the mountain as a society when it comes to small social graces, like paying attention to the person we are having dinner with, or actually watching and enjoying a concert instead of having to go back on Facebook to find out what kind of time we had because we were too busy posting during the show.

    I like to enjoy my vacation in real time, not spend the whole time I am there giving a blow-by-blow account on the internet (I know people who "check in" at every single location, tweeting while they are watching a show and texting photos as they are dining at a restaurant - I could never enjoy myself that way).

    It is hard to believe that, until the late 90's most households did not have a computer or a cell phone. Now it is abnormal for someone not to have both - sometimes multiples of both. When I was a kid, I would go on vacations with my family and they were real vacations - we saw the sights, enjoyed the experience of living everything in the moment and told people about it (and showed the photos) when we got back. If there was an emergency, the people who really needed to know where we were had the phone number of the front desk of the hotel we were staying at.
     
  10. celticnoel79

    celticnoel79 Low-Roller

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    Dont know if this is a fairly new thing for you guys across the pond although im guessing its not as usually yous get the goodies before us! But here in the UK "tethering" has been available for a loooooong time. I use my mobile as a hot spot for my Ipad every day. I get 1gb of data a month on my contract so as long ai dont get silly its more than enough for me.
     
  11. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    It has been available in the US for a long time as well. Android phones have had the ability for 2+ years. Most major carriers started offering the service when the iPhone 4(not 4s) was released.


    Joe is not unique in the fact that he didn't know about what a hotspot is, and therefore that is why some networks are advertising it has a key feature as to why you should pick them.
     
  12. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Tethering is common here in the States, but usually requires a cable. It's also subject to various fees to enable the capability.
     
  13. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Aah, my wife says I am!:wink2:
     
  14. Steve3ZX

    Steve3ZX Low-Roller

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    I have tethering on my iPhone - actually, I don't think you can enable it without a password, as it is a required part of the setup process.
     
  15. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    i was tethering my phone over 8 years ago, so it's not new. these days it's just easier and faster. i was tethering on 1x speed that was slower than dial-up to work from my car while on the road. it was terrible, but it got the job done. these days you can tether with 4G and it's as fast as decent DSL.
     
  16. S'AllGoodMan

    S'AllGoodMan High-Roller

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    It's more than tethering now. Your phone is actually acting as a router and your security can be the same level as a home router. 4g has made it a big deal because it's so fast and you can have up to 10 items accessing it at the same time. Pretty nice, but pretty pricey.

    Beth
     
  17. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    it's free on some providers and on any provider if you have a rooted android.
     
  18. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    :nworthy:
    I guess there was a time when a couple would ask each other "how was your day, honey"? But with twitter, Facebook, email, and texting, when dinner time comes around, they already know!
     
  19. mikenhe

    mikenhe VIP Whale

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    I use my phone as a hotspot for when I can't get a wifi signal for my laptop (or a hotel wants me to pay for it!!!).

    I also used in in Vegas so that my friend from the uk could check all his emails etc on his iphone via my hotspot instead of paying his carrier a fortune.
     
  20. bigdogmom

    bigdogmom VIP Whale

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    Hah, I have the same plan, Joe!! I've hade Virgin Mobile for probably 12 years and love it; like you only use it rarely and I just don't get people who are so tied to their phones that they can't leave them alone for two seconds.

    My BF also has Virgin Mobile but he has a smartphone with the 300 minute plan. We have used his phone, with an Android app, to tether my netbook while in Vegas.
     
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