is it possible to dial up over a mobile phone? i have a g4 powerbook and a verizon motorola v60i phone.
Well, you wouldn't use the internal modem when making this type of connection. The phone itself acts as an external modem. I'm looking at Verizon's website and I don't see the v60i listed as compatible with Express Network. Maybe that phone's just not available in my area. You should talk to your local Verizon store to see what data options are available for your phone. (BTW, data will cost extra.)
Assuming your phone can handle Express Network, the next step is to connect the phone to the computer. There's a USB data cable for this phone but I've heard mixed results about getting it to work with a Mac. You might want to try it at a verizon store. Or buy one cheap on ebay to minimize your risk. (They're about $10 on ebay compared to $60 in the store.) As a last resort, you could get a USB->serial cable that works with your computer and buy the standard serial adapter for the phone. I call it a last resort because it's twice the cables to carry and costs more, not because I think it will degrade the performance.
FWIW, I've done this with a Nextel phone and it worked but it wasn't the greatest. I got 9600bps connects (which is what they promised). Verizon talks about "up to" a little over ten times that on their Express Network service but latency was a bigger issue with Nextel than the speed. My Nextel service had latency in the 700-1000ms range which made my 9600bps connection feel more like 2400. Anything that involved small amounts of data going back and forth was very tedious. Telnet, email, chatting, Verizon's system should be more responsive with the higher speed but it won't be like having dual channel ISDN in the park.
I have Nextel also, and would love to find out how to use my phone (Motorola i90c) with my iBook. I have the data cable already. Can you post more, please? Thanks in advance!
Using Nextel's data service requires activation. They assign a second number to your account which is only used for data calls. When I had Nextel service, it was an additional $10/month and used your pool of regular minutes. Unfortunately, you can't take incoming calls on that line so you don't really get full use of the second line. That was a pain when some idiot put my data number into his automatic dialer and called several times a day for over a week.
I just looked at Nextel's website and can't figure out what they call this service now. When I was shopping around in 2001, it was tough to find. Their poor description of the service didn't help, either. You might just want to go to a Nextel store and tell them what you need.
As for those specific Verizon instructions, they aren't going to work for Nextel any better than they will for Sprint or AT&T. Each system is unique aside from the basic ingredients of phone, service, and interface (between phone and comptuer).
Comments
Originally posted by johnjoe
is it possible to dial up over a mobile phone? i have a g4 powerbook and a verizon motorola v60i phone.
Well, you wouldn't use the internal modem when making this type of connection. The phone itself acts as an external modem. I'm looking at Verizon's website and I don't see the v60i listed as compatible with Express Network. Maybe that phone's just not available in my area. You should talk to your local Verizon store to see what data options are available for your phone. (BTW, data will cost extra.)
Assuming your phone can handle Express Network, the next step is to connect the phone to the computer. There's a USB data cable for this phone but I've heard mixed results about getting it to work with a Mac. You might want to try it at a verizon store. Or buy one cheap on ebay to minimize your risk. (They're about $10 on ebay compared to $60 in the store.) As a last resort, you could get a USB->serial cable that works with your computer and buy the standard serial adapter for the phone. I call it a last resort because it's twice the cables to carry and costs more, not because I think it will degrade the performance.
FWIW, I've done this with a Nextel phone and it worked but it wasn't the greatest. I got 9600bps connects (which is what they promised). Verizon talks about "up to" a little over ten times that on their Express Network service but latency was a bigger issue with Nextel than the speed. My Nextel service had latency in the 700-1000ms range which made my 9600bps connection feel more like 2400. Anything that involved small amounts of data going back and forth was very tedious. Telnet, email, chatting, Verizon's system should be more responsive with the higher speed but it won't be like having dual channel ISDN in the park.
Good luck!
This method will only connect you at 14.4, remember.
Originally posted by skybolt
Will try this when I get home! Thanks!! Article mentions Verizon, but you got it to work with Nextel?
Probably not. I would call them to find out how to use the internet with their service.
I just looked at Nextel's website and can't figure out what they call this service now. When I was shopping around in 2001, it was tough to find. Their poor description of the service didn't help, either. You might just want to go to a Nextel store and tell them what you need.
As for those specific Verizon instructions, they aren't going to work for Nextel any better than they will for Sprint or AT&T. Each system is unique aside from the basic ingredients of phone, service, and interface (between phone and comptuer).