is Wifi Needed

[Val4321]

Hi, I am about to buy a laptop so that I can access my home computer including my internet connection and e-mails whilst away. However it seems to be that I can only access it through a wifi connection. I don't want to have to find a place where I have to sit and connect!...Iwant to be able to do it from my caravan, which has NOT got a phone line, is this possible?...I would be very grateful for any help....Thanks in dvance Val

[DaScribbler]

Yes, it is possible. Provided your Caravan is within a wireless hotspot, which sometimes aren't all that easy to find. Unless there's always a Starbucks nearby.

[percentages]

>I want to be able to do it from my caravan

Cell or Sat phone connection is the way to go. Finding a WiFI connection (paid for, or otherwise), is a pain when roaming the world.

Sat phones rock, and will get even better in time, that is where the future is, :) but they are still a tad pricey right now. If you're in the US then a cell connection is very affordable, $3.00 per hour!

[Val4321]

Thanks for your replies, I will look int them. But I thought that "hot spots" were in laces like mcDonalds etc. and that you had to actually go into their premises to use this facility?...Can you enlighten me. Meanwhile I have just found out that Southern Electic is running a trial in Winchester to get Broadband through the national grid, its double the speed at 1000 thingies per min. but unfortunately they are not saying yet when its to go nation wide. All you have to do is plug your computer into an electrical socket and it only costs £29.99 per month.

[mattock]

hi Val, by the looks of it you're from the UK which unfortunately is a bit pants for wi-fi technology. Most places you will have to pay for connecting to wi-fi and being a fairly new technology over here means it’s pricy to connect! Here is a link to a website which shows the available hotspots (world wide) and also shows who the ISP is:
[hotspot-locations.com...]
...one problem being that you can’t use one tariff and use any hotspot! Hotspots tend to be in the cities, so unless you plan on camping in suburbia you're up $"!^ creek with no paddle! There are a couple of other options however. You can use your mobile phone as a modem and attach it to your laptop. Your mobile phone has to be at least WAP enabled, but preferably GPRS enabled as it’s faster. WAP is normally priced by the length of time you are connected to the net, and GPRS goes on amount of data (eg mb's) you have downloaded. As for connecting your phone to your laptop you can do this either by using bluetooth (assuming your phone has bluetooth and you buy a bluetooth card for your laptop) or a simple cable. One other option i nearly forgot....you can get a card which slots into the side of your laptop and acts as a mobile modem....nokia do one: nokia D211
I've also found a link which shows you how easy it is to connect using these types of devices: [orange.co.uk...]

Hope this helps

Graham M