How do you access the internet abroad?

[Greg Masters]

Assuming that you don't want to sit in McDonalds or pay top-dollar for a puka mobile dongle service, what's the smartest way of accessing the internet whilst in the land of Johnny Foreigner?

I have an idea, but I thought that I would phone-a-friend first.



Greg

 

[Fanum]

Blackberry.

Anywhere you can get 3G or GPRS reception (which includes most of Europe and even Morocco) you can get online.
Plus most new units are wifi as well so you can get online when you go for a Mc Shit

PS with BB messenger and a sensible contract you effectively get free texts as well....Rosie and I use it when I'm in Morocco and it saves 2-300£ a trip

 

[Loiq]

depends what you need to do, if it look or work.

any wifi device is easy and there's normally enough wifi about to get a connection even sitting in the cafe next door to Mc Dongols or StarBuckets.

for work off my laptop I also use a Vodafone stick it's £10 a month and works pretty much any place I've been.

We have a RBgun in our production box is Broadband via Satilite which is good but expensive. It also needs alot of sky to get a signal so all in all more for work

or just wander into an internet cafe and pay for a coke and 1 hour of their connection have all your stuff on a memory stick and it's easy as.

 

[John Armstrong]

I've got a HTC Touch HD and it has a wi-fi ability. So when I was in YHZ getting board on Saturday evening, I could check into their free wi-fi and surf away

But looking at the various notebooks you can now get, for £250 you'll get one with 1gb RAM, 120 Gb hard drive 10" screen, wi-fi etc etc and you could then access hotels etc free broadband that bit easier.

 

[Invicta Moto]

Assuming that you don't want to sit in McDonalds or pay top-dollar for a puka mobile dongle service, what's the smartest way of accessing the internet whilst in the land of Johnny Foreigner?

I have an idea, but I thought that I would phone-a-friend first.



Greg

I tend to take a laptop, I have a Compaq TC4400 from work that is small and fits in the topbox. I also try and book a hotel with free wifi.... Campanile in France have been pretty useful or go to Ronald's burger house.

I am now looking at blackberry as someone has suggested....

 

[John Armstrong]

Saw one of these in Jessops / Dixons:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188539

 

[Roberto]

I have a blackberry, but don't find it great for web surfing.

I take a laptop too and use the wi-fi services en route as other folks here have described. I have a Samsung NC10 netbook, around £300 and it travels everywhere on the bike with me. A great little machine- excellent battery life, also run MapSource on it as a bonus.

 

[Greg Masters]

the situation has come to a head as my mobike was swiped at the weekend. I've gone for a Blackberry Storm.

However, I still fancy a USB dongle for my laptop when abroad. I'll try a pay-as-you-go SIM with an unlocked dongle when I'm on my hols.

Greg

 

[Micky]

I have a blackberry, but don't find it great for web surfing.

I take a laptop too and use the wi-fi services en route as other folks here have described. I have a Samsung NC10 netbook, around £300 and it travels everywhere on the bike with me. A great little machine- excellent battery life, also run MapSource on it as a bonus.

Hi there Rob ... I've just ordered a Samsung NC10

If it turns out to be crap, as big as you are, you won't get to pick the window

 

[davegs]

Wi fi

When in Panama city we hung the antenna lead fro the lap top by the hotel
window and it picked up frwee from the office block across the road (quite a long way away) all fine till 5.30 when thet all packed up. Internet cafes are cheap but often find most of the letters have rubbed of the keys!.
Dave ( two fingered typist) GS.

 

[er-minio]

In Portugal the post offices have free wifi.

Anyway 3g/Edge coverage for email on the phone.
When travelling by bike the laptop stays home.

 

[Gonzo]

Blackberry is good, specially if you find a Wifi spot.

Beware, thought - roaming data charges are high when you're surfing abroad. I got stuffed recently on a 2 day trip to jersey - forgot to turn the data and web option off.

 

[mikepg]

Loads of free Wifi all over pace as mentioned above. The only drawback I can think about is that it will mostly be not encrypted - so be careful not to do anything sensitive..otherwise go pay for a dongle and all the gubbins associated with it.

 

[ovenpaa]

Loads of free Wifi all over pace as mentioned above. The only drawback I can think about is that it will mostly be not encrypted - so be careful not to do anything sensitive..otherwise go pay for a dongle and all the gubbins associated with it.

I am with you on this, the majority of Europe cities and towns have free wireless access and in some countries some lay-bys on main roads have access as well, alternatively you can usually find access in most populated areas without trying very hard. The issue at all such places is security.

 

[John Armstrong]

Internet cafes are cheap but often find most of the letters have rubbed of the keys!.

And for some reason most countries have thier own version of the querty keyboard

 

[Taff]

... I still fancy a USB dongle for my laptop when abroad. I'll try a pay-as-you-go SIM with an unlocked dongle when I'm on my hols.

I was toying with the idea of getting a dongle a few weeks ago, but the lass at the shop advised me not to use it abroad, as the cost was prohibitive. She reckoned it would work, but at such a price that you would wish it hadn't.

When in Panama city we hung the antenna lead fro the lap top by the hotel window and it picked up frwee from the office block across the road (quite a long way away) all fine till 5.30 when thet all packed up.

Mmmm. This got me thinking. But being a computer numpty, can you get a separate stronger Wifi aerial (like you can buy a stronger aerial for the GPS) and just plug it into a laptop?

 

[Wreford Miles]

Roaming mobile data costs $$$$$$$$

Look for free wifi hotspots in hotels, bars and the homes of friendly people and use any device laptop that has wifi - Do not use your own mobile or dongle abroad for data unless you have first checked what you will be paying

 

[ianf]

I've got the FON wifi hotspot turned on in my BT HomeHub, which turns it into a BT OpenZone hotspot.

In return you can use any other FON member hotspot for free. I've had mixed success with it in major European cities so far, typically there isn't one close enough to the hotel to use reliably, but http://maps.fon.com lets you find one within a couple of hundred meters usually.