"Personal Hot Spot" For My Kindle Fire?

[SteeleJoe]

Please keep in mind (if you should be so kind as to give me some advice):

1) I know very little about technical issues.

2) I have very little need for anything in a phone beyond calling and the occasional text. As features on a phone, a camera, Internet, or even an MP3 player are all great but truly unnecessary luxuries for me.

3) I have little or no room for unnecessary luxuries in my budget.

So, here's the deal: I'm loving my Amazon Kindle Fire. It's obviously no Ipad or Galaxy but it meets my needs very well and fell within a price range that made it well worth having. Given the thousands of books, the hundreds of songs, and the dozens of games, and many movies/TV shows I have for it, even when I don't have Wi-Fi access I am still very happy with it. But IF there is a way for me to have Wi-Fi on the go without investing a huge amount...that would be even better.

I occasionally use my co-worker's Iphone to give me a "Personal Hot Spot" and I wonder what is the cheapest possible phone I can get that could do the same thing?

Sincere thanks in advance for sharing whatever expertise you may have.

Edited April 10, 2012 by SteeleJoe

[SteeleJoe]

Or what about a MiFi device? Can anyone shed any light on those (ie the feasibility of using one for my purposes)?

[lomatopo]

Do you have a computer? If so, please describe.

Do you have internet access? If so, please describe.

Do you have a phone, capable of receiving SMSes? If so, please describe. Please include details re: your current service provider.

What do you mean, exactly, by "WiFi on the go"?

Where do you spend most of your time, i.e. your location in Thailand?

What is your budget for WiFi access?

Approximately how many Mega-Bytes of material do you see yourself downloading each month?

There are WiFi service providers like True and 3BB.

Edited April 11, 2012 by lomatopo

[bobl]

A MiFi could work for you, but if you're using it "on the go" note that you'll only get a few hours out of it on battery.

Also if your budget is limited you may not like the monthly fees (roughly 400 baht /1Gb up to 1800 baht /10Gb for a chip with a 3G data bundle on it).

But anyway - if you're looking for a "pocket hotspot" to walk around with, keeping the battery life and cost above in mind - then yes.

I haven't looked at many "cheap" Android phones but it's possible there's one that can do the same job, that costs less than the MiFi (4,000-ish?). Hopefully someone else can pitch in their experience with a cheap 'n cheerful Android phone

[SteeleJoe]

Thanks people.

Lomatopo: I suspect you're the sort of knowldegable person who will quickly (and understandably) lose patience with me and my ignorance. But for what very little it's worth:

I have a PC. I know virtually nothing about it. It was built by a computer engineer friend (whom I'm not able to contact or I'd not be writing these posts) and all I know is that when he built it for his wife 2 years ago (who decided to use an Air Book instead) and he described as being "very good" and up to his standards which are rather high I know.

I have a "Hi - Speed" internet account with True. Not sure what else to describe.

The phone that I carry (as opposed to the much nicer one that my wife has) is old and very cheap Samsung E1150. It's at or near the very bottom of the range if I'm not mistaken. It certainly does send and receive texts. That's about all it does (and all I need, other than incoming and outgoing calls).

What I mean by "WiFi on the go" is getting WiFi access in more places than my home! Two of the locations where I work have no wi-fi access. In one of those I am able to use my colleagues "personal hot spot" when he's in the office at the same time as I am. I'd like to have easier and more frequent access.

I spend most of my time in Thonburi (or just over the line into Samut Prakarn).

My budget? I don't know what is a reasonable expectation but certainly I wouldn't want to spend more than a couple thousand a month I don't think (if that even) -- I just don't need the internet that badly except when I'm at home or the head office.

I do my downloading at home. On my Kindle I merely wish to surf the net, check and send the occasional email, do a bit of Youtubing etc.

Bobl: Thanks. Hadn't thought of battery life. A few hours a day actually might suffice. The cost is something to consider (as I am rather stingy with myself when it comes to what are for me unnecessary luxuries -- I prefer to spend my money on my kids with whom I'm a relatively big spender) but not necessarily a deal-breaker.

[bobl]

You only have to worry about battery life if you're on the move, on the go as it were...

But it sounds like you just want to be able to have access in a few key places so while it defeats the "portability" somewhat, you could carry the power supply with you.

You mentioned your budget "couple thousand a month" - the good news is that with the usage you describe above you wouldn't need anywhere near that. I'd start with a 1 month/1Gb package @ about 399 baht and see how you get on. If that fits your habits, dump a couple thousand baht on the chip and it'll auto-renew itself for months...

Do put a password on the wifi access, or your 1gb will be gone in a matter of hours if you sit around with an open wifi hotspot in your pocket.

[QED]

I just set up a package for my gf for when I am working away and she goes to visit the family. There is a 1Mb limit on 3G, but Edge is unlimited, so if you burn all your 3G you default to Edge (they don't have 3G where here family live so it is effectively just an unlimited Edge package), for 399 p/m through DTAC.

[muratremix]

You can find mifi devices starting from 2.2k baht. That would be most chep solution in your case.

[SteeleJoe]

Thanks very much indeed folks.

You only have to worry about battery life if you're on the move, on the go as it were...

But it sounds like you just want to be able to have access in a few key places so while it defeats the "portability" somewhat, you could carry the power supply with you.

You mentioned your budget "couple thousand a month" - the good news is that with the usage you describe above you wouldn't need anywhere near that. I'd start with a 1 month/1Gb package @ about 399 baht and see how you get on. If that fits your habits, dump a couple thousand baht on the chip and it'll auto-renew itself for months...

Do put a password on the wifi access, or your 1gb will be gone in a matter of hours if you sit around with an open wifi hotspot in your pocket.

That's spot on as far as my needs and intents. I mean the occasional usage while out and about or travelling in Thailand would be nice but really it's mostly about going online at a couple of workplaces that don't have any wifi access.

Thanks muchly