AT&T Express Card

Arthur Greenwald wrote:
> Does anyone know if AT&T will offer a discounted 3G data plan to Express
> Card users already paying for an iPhone data plan?

Nope. I have an iPhone and an Sierra 875U from AT&T. When I got the
Sierra, I asked them if they would give me a break on the data plan.
The young sales guy laughed. I politely persisted that since the iPhone
and the 875U would be splitting my data needs, it hardly seemed logical
to have two full priced "unlimited" plans. He let me talk to his
manager, but the answer was still no.

This was back in September last year. Don't think their policy has
changed in the interim, but let us know if you have better luck.

Tn

I have both the iPhone and the new Option Expresscard. There is NO
price break. The Expresscard is simply treated as a second line, with
its own phone number (for billing purposes). The Expresscard is both
3G and, as a sort of phone, capable of phone-line connection. As a
rule, it works anywhere an iPhone works, and sometimes a bit better.
And BTW, this card has been available for a while, even before the
new, current marketing push for the card and the service.

Bob Perrey

>3G and, as a sort of phone, capable of phone-line connection. As a
>rule, it works anywhere an iPhone works, and sometimes a bit better.

Well it's supposed to be a lot better, because it's supposed to be much faster. Is it?

John

On Feb 19, 2008, at 6:08 PM, John Massengale wrote:

>> 3G and, as a sort of phone, capable of phone-line connection. As a
>> rule, it works anywhere an iPhone works, and sometimes a bit better.
>
> Well it's supposed to be a lot better, because it's supposed to be
> much faster. Is it?

A more apt comparison would actually be to 1) other wireless
connections (especially public hotspots), and 2) to "home"
connections. In my opinion and experience the ATT Expresscard
connection is faster than a T-Mobile connection via a built-in
wireless card (802.xx). At home the card has to find a connection
outside one's DSL or cable-wireless line, and so it is not quite as
fast as the domestic connection. As of the last versions of Mac OSX
10.4.x and in 10.5.x the Expresscard uses the Mac connection manager,
rather than the utility provided by the Option company to find either
a phone or a 3G connection. At airports where T-Mobile is one of the
most common hotspot providers having the ATT card is a boon as it
obviates the need to create a one-day T-Mobile pass. Now that ATT
service is becoming more ubiquitous (airports, Starbucks, MacDonalds,
etc.) the Expresscard will prove even more useful.

Bob Perrey

On 02/19/2008 18:08 PM, "John Massengale" <johnmassengale.com> wrote:

>> 3G and, as a sort of phone, capable of phone-line connection. As a
>> rule, it works anywhere an iPhone works, and sometimes a bit better.
>
> Well it's supposed to be a lot better, because it's supposed to be much
> faster. Is it?

Only if you have 3G service in your area, and a clean enough signal. RF has
even more variables than ethernet.

--
John C. Welch

At 10:51 AM -0800 2/19/08, Robert Perrey wrote:
>I have both the iPhone and the new Option Expresscard. There is NO
>price break. The Expresscard is simply treated as a second line, with
>its own phone number (for billing purposes). The Expresscard is both
>3G and, as a sort of phone, capable of phone-line connection. As a
>rule, it works anywhere an iPhone works, and sometimes a bit better.
>And BTW, this card has been available for a while, even before the
>new, current marketing push for the card and the service.

Hmm, a better question is it is possible to use the iPhone as a Data
Modem? I've done this with a a couple of my phones from Sprint and
it works, but it is SLOW. (19.2k was the speed I was getting I
believe.)

~Nick
http://www.inmff.net