MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT - staying up-to-date

MOBILE COMPUTING ... combining your laptop with wireless internet access

You can now access the internet on your laptop everywhere you have mobile broadband coverage with a USB modem. Available on pay monthly, pay as you go, some plans even offer a free laptop.

3 NETWORK + SKYPEPHONE + MOBILE BROADBAND Mobile clients can now make free Skype Contacts Calls & Chats worldwide plus Mobile Phone Calls & access the Internet at broadband speeds when travelling.
May 2008: Following WinXP Service Pack 3 installation, plugging in the Dongle may create a pop-up message "A USB device has exceeded the hub power limits ..." Ignore this message and the Dongle works normally!
	Nov 2009: 3 releases first 3G Mobile Rechargable WiFi Router capable of sharing up to 2.8Mbps Mobile Broadband connection with 2 or more WiFi enabled devices.

MOBILE & WIRELESS ... Mobile Phones & Laptops are about making Technology & the Internet work for you!

Laptop computers are replacing bulky desktop machines allowing Telecottage clients to create documents, hold meetings away from the office, access email & browse the Internet wherever they want. Personal Data Assistants provide up-to-date Contact & Calendar information for mobile clients. Blackberry PDAs can also provide up-to-date email access using 'push technology'. Mobile Phones have gone from being an executive toy to a necessity used by three quarters of the population for voice, text & image communication. Modern mobile phones can provide broadband speed internet connectivity for users. Wireless Technology enables clients to access the Internet & Network over a shared broadband connection whether working from a traditional office, relaxing Home Office or away from base on business trips. Mobile working enables clients to spend travel time more productively ... more For mobile working possibilities and checklist ... click here

WiFi BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS ... internet access when away from home or office

Free internet access via WiFi is still a new concept in the UK where WiFi is seen as a 'money maker' rather than an add-on service to draw in new customers.

With WiFi installed as standard, laptop users are choosing establishments that offer free WiFi Broadband internet access. Those that do not offer complimentary WiFi internet access are seeing their prospective customers taking their laptops and business elsewhere!

With BT Openzone and BT FON Hotspots springing up everywhere, BT Broadband customers are offered free internet access via private WiFi networks from nearby homes & businesses.

All WiFi signals should be protected by a network keycode before allowing you to connect, but many still do not. Inadequately protected WiFi networks allow laptop users to access the internet for free, which is can lead to a conviction of dishonestly obtaining an electronic communications service plus confiscation of your laptop.

BT OPENZONE is an easy-to-use broadband internet access service for a Monthly Subscription or Pay-As-You-Use Charge.

Using WiFi wireless technology, you can access the internet - with no download limits - at any access point in cafés, camp sites, hotels & airports in the UK.

Many locations nclude free WiFi Broadband Internet Access within their standard charges - so check before you book & choose one that does!

		SKYPE ZONES is a little piece of software powered by Boingo that gives you access to Skype through thousands of Skype-friendly hot spots, while you’re on the move. Accessing Skype Zones and enjoying Skype from hotspots is not free, but it is very reasonably priced! Visit Skype via the icon link (see left) for more information.

MOBILE INTERNET ACCESS ... email & internet access when mobile

WiFi communication is just one option laptop users can choose when on the move. The new 3G broadband data services offered by mobile phone operators offers convenience over speed. When WiFi Hotspots work properly they can offer faster data transfer speeds, but you will have to go looking for a WiFi signal. Mobile phone 3G services offer a better coverage, but are not yet nationwide from all mobile phone masts. New technological advances are occurring all the time: a new wireless format promises to more than quadruple download speeds. The communications regulator, OFCOM, is consulting on allowing service providers to strengthen their signals to improve coverage.
Broadband enables users to access websites, email & make voice/ video calls for free whilst still using an ordinary telephone. When travelling, mobile phones are now standard for voice communications ... but what about Internet Access? There are a number of ways to connect your laptop to the Internet using your built-in WiFi, USB Adapter or slot in PCMCIA card.
Your WiFi Adapter or PCMCIA card uses power continuously, so switch it off or remove it when not in use to conserve your battery.
3 Mobile Broadband UK Coverage	Vodaphone + BT Mobile Broadbands UK Coverage	T-Mobile Mobile Broadband UK Coverage	O₂ Mobile Broadband UK Coverage	Orange Mobile Broadband UK Coverage

HSDPA - High Speed Downlink Packet Access Using high-capacity 3.5G technology, HSDPA is a software enhancement to an existing 3G W-CDMA network infrastructure & allows mobile clients access to the Internet at broadband speeds up to 3.6Mbps now being installed. Further improvements could offer up to 10Mbps broadband connection speeds over 3G.

When travelling, leave those larger email messages & attachments on your Internet Service Provider's Mail Server for when back on broadband. You can check your Mail Server's Inbox via your ISP's webmail if a large email is expected.

It takes just a few minutes to change the settings in your e-mail program -

3G - 3rd Generation 3G is the generic term used for the third generation of mobile communications systems created to deliver up to 384Kbps connections - using the W-CDMA air interface, such networks are labelled 3GSM. Seen as a simple solution, the Vodaphone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS Data Card purchased separately is about the size of a credit card. It slots into a spare PCMCIA Slot leaving the red end with indicator lights and aerial protruding.
At £1 /Mb of data sent/received, GPRS coverage is much improved but 3G is improving fast.

EDGE - Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution

Further enhancements to GSM networks are provided by EDGE technology tripling the data capacity of GPRS.

When you talk on a mobile phone, a continuous connection to a channel is reserved for you on the GSM network, which means nobody else can use that channel. With EDGE, you can still have a continuous connection, but you only use the channel when you're sending or receiving data. So although you might be connected to a channel all the time, one data channel can be shared by many people. So you are only billed for actual data transferred, not for the time connected.

EDGE is significantly faster than CSD (Circuit Switched Data) or GSM Data. However you may find transfers slower during peak hours in busy cell networks or when the signal is weak, because for safety reasons voice connections take precedence.

EDGE uses a slightly different technology than GPRS called 8PSK, or 8-Phase Shift Keying. Data is sent over GPRS and EDGE in pulses. With GPRS, a pulse can carry 1 bit of data, but with EDGE, one pulse carries 3 bits. So it's not that the data actually moves faster, it's that more can be moved at any given time.

Where an EDGE network is not available, connections will fall back on GPRS as default.

You only pay for how much data you transfer, not for how long you have been connected. You can have an active connection all the time if you like to synchronize periodically with a network or check for new email messages. If you need to make or answer a voice phone call, your EDGE connection is automatically disconnected for the duration of the call.

Armed with a laptop computer & a special antenna, it is possible to scan Bluetooth phone address books, remotely log keyboard keystrokes & record phone conversations from Bluetooth headsets. Scary, but you can keep your data & conversations confidential -

Bluetooth is a low-power, short-range wireless network that allows devices like phones, printers, keyboards & headphones to communicate with one another. While not inherently unsafe, it needs to be properly used to avoid risks.

There are three main vulnerabilities:

	BLUESTUMBLING: discovering other people's Bluetooth devices within range.
	BLUESNARFING: obtaining information from a 'bluestumbled' device.
	BLUEJACKING: sending spam to a Bluetooth device.

GPRS - General Packet Radio Service

A Data Card offers wireless internet access on your laptop for online working wherever you want, whenever you want. You get an always-on internet connection which lets you send and receive email, browse the web and download files at anytime. So now when you are waiting for meetings, stuck at the station or staying away on business you can still be getting work done. Make the most of your work time to allow you to get the greatest benefit out of your own time - stay connected anytime.

With a Data Card (or 3G/GPRS compatible mobile phone), you can do pretty much do everything you'd do at your desk.

GSM - Global System for Mobile communications: GSM is the wireless technology that underpins most of the world's mobile phone networks & has created a global mobile standard spanning 210 countries. 14Kbps Data connection speed is now well below 3G, but it was an improvement on Dial-Up!

DIAL-UP - using a mobile phone: Don't laugh because in areas of weak mobile phone signals, you can still usually use your mobile phone's voice channel to get a dial-up connection ... but at 9.6Kbps you might not want to stay connected for long!