Powerbook connectivity for 3 weeks

[Allen30]

I will be in Cape Town for three weeks in October. I'm looking for an Internet solution for my Apple Powerbook. Ideally, this would consist of a PC card for rent or purchase and a pay-as-you-go data plan. I'd like something straightforward and easy. Does anyone have good experiences to share regarding this situation?

 

[LandyMan]

Allen, do you have a 3G phone?

Is so, hook it up via Bluetooth to your Powerbook, load Ad-hoc airtime on your phone contract (via vodacom4me.co.za).

I use my 6680 on a daily basis with my MacBook Pro like that

EDIT: Does the Powerbook have PCMCIA slot? You can rent PCMCIA data cards from quite a few places

 

[vodacom3g]

Good advise from Landyman (is the 6680 now stable?), you can also consider the new Huawei E220 USB HSDPA modem as a permanent addition to your MAC.

 

[Swoosh]

My 6680 still works like a wonder! But I mainly use my HSDPA card..

 

[vodacom3g]

My 6680 still works like a wonder! But I mainly use my HSDPA card..

So does mine, rock-solid (compared to any i-mate) but Landyman probably drove his Landy over his as he seems to battle with it....

Years ago I had a Siemens S10, drove over it a few times with a Prado (don't ask) and it was fine, not even cracked.

 

[Allen30]

Thanks for the quick responses. I do not have a 3G phone. The phone service I have is T-Mobile (U.S.) which is prohibitably expensive for data use in South Africa.

The Powerbook does have a PCMCIA slot. I'm open to renting a data card or buying the Huawei E220 USB HSDPA modem. If I'm understanding the answers so far, I need a phone contract in South Africa to add the ad-hoc minutes to. How can one do this for three weeks (without entering into a contract)?

Thanks again for your kind, speedy responses.

 

[LandyMan]

Good advise from Landyman (is the 6680 now stable?)

Nah, not really. I just resorted to not using my Bluetooth headset , so the Bluetooth stack seems relatively stable. Was going to upgrade to a N80 now, but VC screwed up a bit there

 

[ajax]

Thanks for the quick responses. I do not have a 3G phone. The phone service I have is T-Mobile (U.S.) which is prohibitably expensive for data use in South Africa.

The Powerbook does have a PCMCIA slot. I'm open to renting a data card or buying the Huawei E220 USB HSDPA modem. If I'm understanding the answers so far, I need a phone contract in South Africa to add the ad-hoc minutes to. How can one do this for three weeks (without entering into a contract)?

Thanks again for your kind, speedy responses.

You can rent a data card from Cellucity. E.g. R800 for a month and it includes 500 MB. I have rented simcards from them before. They have shops at Cape Town airport, so you can pick-up there. Just book it beforehand. See www.cellucity.co.za and www.rentafone.net

 

[LandyMan]

Dammit ajax, beat me to it Was looking for the name!

I used rentafone when I was testing 3G at client sites. Worked out quite well for us