Small and cheapest device to connect to the internet

welnik

Well, I've had a chat with my local apple store and have an appointment with them at 10am tomorrow. Apparently they open the store an hour before just for appointments.

I really cant believe that all this has passed me by. I had no idea you could access the internet using free wifi hotspots using am iphone or ipod touch. This will be so useful in the UK as well as for my travelling.

Marty_J

Whatever you do, make sure you have a charger for the country you're going to. Using mobile internet and wifi really sucks up the juice. You can turn it off when you're not using the internet though to save power.

If you're going to be travelling a lot, you might also find the iPhone's GPS feature very useful.

welnik

Marty_J wrote: »

Whatever you do, make sure you have a charger for the country you're going to. Using mobile internet and wifi really sucks up the juice. You can turn it off when you're not using the internet though to save power.

If you're going to be travelling a lot, you might also find the iPhone's GPS feature very useful.

Could I not just use a travel plug? Ive charged mobiles this way across different places in europe. This is something I will ask tomorrow.

Also, is the GPS a standard thing on these iphones and does it cost to connect to it?

cheers

Marty_J

As far as I know you can just use a travel plug. Best to ask them tomorrow just to make sure.

And yes, the GPS is standard and free.

Bernie

...I use a Ipaq H6340 Pocket PC Phone. It is unlocked so will work with any non 3G sim.

These bits of kit are 2003 technology but still do the business for me. It has BT too so it sits in my windscreen guiding my car via TomTom or Memory Map (with Ordnance Survey mapping) connected to a BT GPS unit while also working as a phone at the same time via a BT earpiece.

I also use it daily at work with a folding BT keyboard to enter my tasks, appointments, blah, blah, blah. It has portable versions of the usual office things too.

...and it has wifi too so can be used for net stuff (though I too prefer a netbook for a better internet and keyboard experience). I usually use the Ipaq to confirm the availability of a hotspot and pull out the netbook if I'm going to do anything more than look at the news for a few minutes.

So, check about - there are other cheaper and non-Apple options available. It also plays a mean game of Scrabble too...

:beer:

S0litaire

I use my nokia n95 for everything, .(i'm using it to type this post!) it's quad band so it works on US networks and the gps is free (the iphone relys on google maps i think) with the nokia you can download all the US maps for free bedford you go...

john0612

i use my nokia n95 alot for browsing , also use my archos 5 which fits in my pocket

have an acer aspire one for out and about too if i have a bag

welnik

john0612 wrote: »

i also use my archos 5 which fits in my pocket

Wow. Now that's a good piece of kit. Bit out of my price range though. Amazing product. Just watched a 15 min video on its features.

hpuse

welnik wrote: »

Hopefully someone will know this. I want to be able to connect to the internet using free wifi connections but I need a device that is as small as possible and also not too expensive. Im going travelling and want to be able to online chat with my family whilst I am away. cheers

I see you are contemplating on iphone/itouch, but please do make sure that your current chat program is supported on the device before you buy.

From my personal experience, if you making a shift from PC use to handheld use, it will take a considerable amount of time to get accustomed to –so give it enough time before travel.

Marty_J

hpuse wrote: »

I see you are contemplating on iphone/itouch, but please do make sure that your current chat program is supported on the device before you buy.

There are lots of instant messenger applications for the iPhone/iPod Touch that support MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, AOL, Jabber, iChat, etc.