Internet dongle to mobile wifi?

Any

Hello,

I am not very technical type so I am hoping someone here will know.
We got my dad some time ago 3 mobile internet dongle and also and old computer for him to be able to go on and play on the internet. His PC is about to die and we are considering our options what next.
Given that he does nothing on the PC at all apart from viewing movies, emails and internet, wouldn't it be better if we got him just a tablet? He has no idea about computers really, so some documents, spreadsheets etc is completely lost on him.

If we do get a tablet, it would probably be better to get him mobile wifi? I can see on 3 website that they have something called MiFi, could I get hold of a box (he has another 12 months of contract remaining) and put the SIM from his dongle in it? Will it work or is it different SIM or something?

Thank you for reading

MarkLS12

Get a 3G tablet.
Then you can just put your sim card into the tablet, no need for dongles or MiFi.

Any

Haven't thought of that for some reason... Thanks.
Any recommendation? Something with reasonable screen size please?

Any

Bare in mind he uses it for just reading papers etc, nothing expensive (something that comes up cheaper then buying new simple laptop or something)
Thank you

TakeThis

Get him a laptop(or at least a Netbook), don't be a cheapskate.

How about this Aspire D257 for £133.98?

If it isn't in new condition, return it for a full refund.

New, Dual booting with Windows 7 and Android for £175. 6 cell battery, Bluetooth...

Caveats: Confirm that the second model has a six cell battery. But the worst is that you have to take the thing about to update the RAM.

Personally, I would wait for another model. But an illustration of what is possible.

Any

TakeThis wrote: »

Get him a laptop(or at least a Netbook), don't be a cheapskate.

How about this Aspire D257 for £133.98?

If it isn't in new condition, return it for a full refund.

New, Dual booting with Windows 7 and Android for £175. 6 cell battery, Bluetooth...

Caveats: Confirm that the second model has a six cell battery. But the worst is that you have to take the thing about to update the RAM.

Personally, I would wait for another model. But an illustration of what is possible.

Thank you.
But my father shops at Poundland and B&M, I cannot see him spending near £200 on reading newspapers if he can avoid it (as this is all he virtually does on it). That is the whole purpose of this thread. English is not his first language so he reads papers in his language on the net. I am sure if I suggested that this thing has a Bluetooth he would tell me that only people drinking too much Vimto get blue teeth.
I just need something that he virtually puts on, I put tabs on it for his papers that he presses and his paper loads.

Perhaps when he is retired he will allocate a bit more time and energy understanding technology and it will be worth it getting him something he can actually do something with, but at the moment that is just wasting money. Currently he is a technophobe and with little spare time and interest on top.

And reloading RAM - now I can at least use computers for everyday necessary tasks, but that goes straight over my head. Also I am not near (5 hrs drive) so I cannot pop in and sort him out when something goes wrong.

I will have a look at the Aspire though.

TakeThis

Any wrote: »

Thank you.
But my father shops at Poundland and B&M, I cannot see him spending near £200 on reading newspapers if he can avoid it (as this is all he virtually does on it). That is the whole purpose of this thread. English is not his first language so he reads papers in his language on the net. I am sure if I suggested that this thing has a Bluetooth he would tell me that only people drinking too much Vimto get blue teeth.
I just need something that he virtually puts on, I put tabs on it for his papers that he presses and his paper loads.

Perhaps when he is retired he will allocate a bit more time and energy understanding technology and it will be worth it getting him something he can actually do something with, but at the moment that is just wasting money. Currently he is a technophobe and with little spare time and interest on top.

And reloading RAM - now I can at least use computers for everyday necessary tasks, but that goes straight over my head. Also I am not near (5 hrs drive) so I cannot pop in and sort him out when something goes wrong.

I will have a look at the Aspire though.

No need to spend £200. Perhaps wait for an MSI U135 with Windows 7 to come up at the same price as the first ACER.

There is also TeamViewer. This allows you to to work on his laptop from wherever you may be. Download text, sound or video files of interest for him etc.

You can also initiate a voice or video chat, from his side. All he needs to know how to do is to switch the thing on and to double click on the TeamViewer icon.

A problem with Tablets is that you will have to look for a modem that can install on Android or pay for a MiFi unit and use the Tablet via it's WiFi connection. The MiFi will cost you £65 at the least.

So how much were you going to spend on the tablet? Add the £65 to that and you can easily afford the £130 to £150 or so for an Argos Outlet Netbook.

How about this ASUS EEE PC X101H? This one I recommend, as upgrading the RAM if and when is as easy as pie... One screw.




About your dad, believe me, my mum said the same thing. Just reading the news...

Now she's on the online words games, Internet banking, business correspondence, greeting card design, YouTube(to catch up on yesteryear's programming and music), research...

Any

Thank you...
The TeamViewer is cool, but for a price. And I am not even sure I would be able to do much more then put new antivirus on it!:-)

My dad has the comp for the last 3 years and no change yet.. He doesn't really have that much time or interest at the moment. I think once he is retired it will change, however that is still few year off.

I was going to buy the MiFi on Ebay for less then that, and then spend around £100ish on the tablet. New tablet, rather then reconditioned netbook. I thought it would be easier for him to operate as I could give him on it all the apps etc he might need and it is easy to pick up and put on (judging from my friend's Ipad, you just put it on, screen somes up in seconds and you can walk around with it with no extra weight, cables etc. once you are on Wifi).

TakeThis

Any wrote: »

Thank you...
The TeamViewer is cool, but for a price. And I am not even sure I would be able to do much more then put new antivirus on it!:-)

My dad has the comp for the last 3 years and no change yet.. He doesn't really have that much time or interest at the moment. I think once he is retired it will change, however that is still few year off.

I was going to buy the MiFi on Ebay for less then that, and then spend around £100ish on the tablet. New tablet, rather then reconditioned netbook. I thought it would be easier for him to operate as I could give him on it all the apps etc he might need and it is easy to pick up and put on (judging from my friend's Ipad, you just put it on, screen somes up in seconds and you can walk around with it with no extra weight, cables etc. once you are on Wifi).

What are you talking...? :)TeamViewer is free for consumer(personal) use. They only charge for corporate licences.

You be able to do everything that you do on your machine. Watching a movie file? You can drag it over to his machine.

How much for the MiFi? Which model?

Do you think your dad cares about whether the screen comes on in seconds?
The Netbook will be shiny and new. It weighs a kilogram, I think that he can walk around with it too....but I rarely see people walking around whilst reading the newspaper.

The Netbook doesn't need cables, other than when charging...just like the Tablet.
Tablet? Of which are you thinking? Can you get a 10" screen for £100? Are you considering a 7" screen??

You appear to have your mind made up, so good luck.

Any

Sorry, I looked at the website and prices and it seemed to charge for personal use too. Don't know what I was looking that.
Sorry I don't know what you are talking about (smiley or not), I was just explaining to you my thinking behind the idea. I just don't like the idea of reconditioned stuff much. And I think you know very well what I meant by walking around, being able to move to different rooms, read in bed etc not read while walking.
And yes I know for sure father cares screen comes up in seconds. He comes home from work at 11pm and just want to check football scores etc.
Thank you for your answers, but you seem to be not happy with me for not immediately agreeing with you.
I will look at all the options with father when I go to see him next weekend.
Thank you

Im_just_careful

Answering the original question, the cheapest way I know of of converting an existing USB dongle to WiFi is the TP-Link TL-MR3220 (look on Amazon). If your dongle is supported it will do the job. The PC can be plugged in via a network cable as well.

Having said that, the MiFi might be easier to set up but will cost more and doesn't have the network connection for a PC.

If you hang on for a few weeks the WiFi only Google Nexus 7 tablet should be in Currys for £200 and that would connect to a MiFi or the TP link and, I guess, be hard to break !

There are various cheap WiFi only Android tablets on Amazon as well, don't expect the same experience as the Nexus 7 will give but there are options at well under £100 which might be worth a try.