Express/pc Cards Vs Highend Mobile Phone

[bill1960]

Regarding internet connectivity, how do high-end phones like the Nokia N75 or N95 compare with PC/express cards such as the Sierra 875 or Novatel XU870

Is there a noticable difference in speed ?

Just wondering because I need a new phone and laptop so do I just buy a cheap phone and get a PC/express card or is it viable to just get a decent 3G phone.

[dave_boo]

Do you plan on leaving your computer hooked up and downloading 24x7? If so, that may put a crimp in your phone usage if you only get a new phone instead of an ExpressCard. Also you don't have to worry about remembering a cable to hook your phone up with, unless you like dealing with Bluetooth and the drain on your phone's battery.

If you decide to go with a new phone, you're not going to have to get two sim cards, two accounts (if post-paid), or worry about topping off (if pre-paid). I haven't used the newer phones for internet connectivity, but have been using a Nokia N70 since my new laptop doesn't have PCMCIA anymore and my Sierra Wireless 775 is thus obsoletalated. It seems to be fairly stable, in both GPRS and EDGE mode.

Granted that is only 2.5+ G model, and I can't authoritively talk about real 3G models, but I'd imagine the experience would be the same.

[Gary A]

I recently bought a Nokia E51 and I am very happy with it. It is ready for 3G whenever they offer it. Actually, I find very little difference in battery life between Bluetooth and the USB cable. I normally use Bluetooth with my laptop because of not bothering with the cable. Using either the USB cable or Bluetooth, the phone automatically interrupts the packet service when I get a phone call. It starts back up automatically when the phone call ends. I use the USB cable with the desktop because the Bluetooth dongle is as much of a pain as the cable. The E51 has great battery life and using Bluetooth will outlast the laptop battery several times. I can easily run the phone on the AC charger using the cable or Bluetooth.

I just did a speed test;

Last Result:

Download Speed: 201 kbps (25.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 44 kbps (5.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

I doubt that any of the air cards will be faster.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Gary A

[bill1960]

Do you plan on leaving your computer hooked up and downloading 24x7? If so, that may put a crimp in your phone usage if you only get a new phone instead of an ExpressCard. Also you don't have to worry about remembering a cable to hook your phone up with, unless you like dealing with Bluetooth and the drain on your phone's battery.

If you decide to go with a new phone, you're not going to have to get two sim cards, two accounts (if post-paid), or worry about topping off (if pre-paid). I haven't used the newer phones for internet connectivity, but have been using a Nokia N70 since my new laptop doesn't have PCMCIA anymore and my Sierra Wireless 775 is thus obsoletalated. It seems to be fairly stable, in both GPRS and EDGE mode.

Granted that is only 2.5+ G model, and I can't authoritively talk about real 3G models, but I'd imagine the experience would be the same.

Good point about the crimping phone usage, I never thought of that.

Atm I use a desktop with Ipstar but want to go portable whilst travelling, hence the idea of getting a laptop and pc/express card or 3G phone.

Excuse the ignorance, but can any mobile phones receive calls simultaneously with maintaining an internet connection for a laptop.

[dave_boo]

Do you plan on leaving your computer hooked up and downloading 24x7? If so, that may put a crimp in your phone usage if you only get a new phone instead of an ExpressCard. Also you don't have to worry about remembering a cable to hook your phone up with, unless you like dealing with Bluetooth and the drain on your phone's battery.

If you decide to go with a new phone, you're not going to have to get two sim cards, two accounts (if post-paid), or worry about topping off (if pre-paid). I haven't used the newer phones for internet connectivity, but have been using a Nokia N70 since my new laptop doesn't have PCMCIA anymore and my Sierra Wireless 775 is thus obsoletalated. It seems to be fairly stable, in both GPRS and EDGE mode.

Granted that is only 2.5+ G model, and I can't authoritively talk about real 3G models, but I'd imagine the experience would be the same.

Good point about the crimping phone usage, I never thought of that.

Atm I use a desktop with Ipstar but want to go portable whilst travelling, hence the idea of getting a laptop and pc/express card or 3G phone.

Excuse the ignorance, but can any mobile phones receive calls simultaneously with maintaining an internet connection for a laptop.

See Gary's post. I can also confirm that it will pause an internet connection and resum after the phone call (and that's with a Nokia N70 running on Linux).