I travel with a Dell laptop and a Motorola StarTac cell phone. It is a Tri- mode phone, 1 yr old.It switches automatically from Analog to Digital, & I can switch from A mode to B mode, service with Verizon, & using Office Mobile kit. Most of the time it stays in the automatic A mode.
I can only access e-mail when the signal is digital & data capable, which does exclude some remote areas in AZ, MT etc.Metropolitan and interstates are mostly digital now, and the it is constantly getting better. The hassel and $$$ of a satelitte dish for the pc do not yet seem reasonable to me unless you are in business where the speed is required.
But I have found this to be sucessful for accessing e-mail, sending & receiving small attachments(pictures), and limited web browsing etc. while we traveled all over the US in the past year.
For $60 you can purchase the Verizon Office Mobile Kit and the technical service is pretty good most of the time. It is easy to install and the investment is not large.
Posted on Nov 4, 2002, 7:52 PM from IP address 152.163.189.130