Our Take on Mobile Internet

After years of planning and anticipation, Jay and Ayo quit their Wall Street and consulting jobs to take a number of years off from corporate life. Eight months in, they’ve lived in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Israel. They are now exploring the United States by RV.

My wife and I live in a 24 foot Tioga motorhome. We’ve been traveling for nearly eight months now, and the most recent two and a half months have been in the RV.

Unlike some RVers, neither of us are software developers, engineers, or analysts. We don’t need connectivity for work. We do, however, love our technology and would never be caught without internet access on the road.

Enter our Palm Pre Plus, whose Mobile Hotspot application enables wireless tethering for up to five computers at once, all sharing the Pre’s lightning-fast 3G service. We use Verizon as our provider and couldn’t be happier. I can’t count how many times we’ve been the only ones in an area who have service. Those Verizon “Can you hear me now?” commercials are legit.

A while back, we blogged about our stay in Fossil Falls. There, in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert I clocked 3 Mb/s download speeds. It rocked. All in one day I was able to wake up, go for a hike, eat breakfast, jump online with broadband connectivity, and then sit out in a canyon reading a book, miles away from anyone. Not bad.

The Mobile Hotspot application couldn’t be simpler to use. Two quick taps and our wireless network is ready to go, complete with WPA2 encryption. The phone’s WiFi signal offers impressive range, but the best part is that Mobile Hotspot tethering is free. Yes, there’s a five gigabyte cap for tethered data usage, but unless you’re streaming movies or playing World of Warcraft, five gigs isn’t as little as you’d think.

One downside to the Mobile Hotspot app is that it’s a power hog, and it’ll drain your battery much faster than regular phone use. The flipside to this is the phone’s ability to charge off of your computer’s USB port. We tend to keep the phone plugged in to a computer while using Mobile Hotspot, which solves our problems. (Especially when combined with solar and a HyperMac.)

The other downside - though I believe that it’s the case for all tethered phones - is that phone service and data service cannot be used concurrently. If you receive a phone call while using Mobile Hotspot, your internet connection will be put on hold for the duration of the call.

Overall, I give the Pre’s Mobile Hotspot a solid 9 out of 10 for on-the-road connectivity, with the only real downside being its power drain. I haven’t commented on the Pre Plus hardware and operating system (which I like), but I’ll note that the Pre 2 is hitting the market shortly and will be bringing the phone up to speed with an OS update, 1 Ghz processor, and 5 megapixel camera.

If you would like to follow our adventure, visit our blog at ourtakeonfreedom.wordpress.com.