[Ti] Wireless Internet Access

[Jim Soriano]

Mark O'Brien wrote:

> Starbucks/T-Mobile are in the process of rolling this out, but last  
> time I
> checked there were still many areas of the country that haven't been
> implemented yet.
> --  
> Mark O'Brien
> AIM: rmarkob

True, T-Mobile's 802.11 is not everywhere, but as of today they have  
2,024 sites up and running in the US.  A map can be found at  
<http://locations.hotspot.t-mobile.com>.  Over 1,000 Starbucks in major  
metro areas with Wi-Fi access today include:

Atlanta
Austin, San Antonio
Boston
Chicago
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Denver
Hartford, Stamford, Danbury
Houston
New York Metro, Newark Area
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Portland
Rochester/Buffalo
Sacramento
San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle, Tacoma
Southern California
Virginia/Washington DC/Maryland

There are of course other 802.11 service providers and aggregators such  
as Wayport and Boingo with a nationwide presence, and municipal (free)  
hotspots in cities all across the U.S -- often located near colleges  
and universities.

And, the latest estimate is over 1000 hotspots up in Europe  
<http://www.allnetdevices.com/wireless/news/2003/02/07/ 
hotspots_hot.html>.

Point is -- before one makes a significant investment in a CDMA or GPRS  
PC card for wireless Internet access, see if you can use your built-in  
AirPort instead.  In your particular locality it may be easier (and the  
resulting network speeds faster) than you think.  More info on the 3G  
vs. 802.11 debate is at <http://www.thinkmobile.com/Article/00/02/13/>.

Regards,

Jim

(Yes, I own a few hundred shares of Starbucks stock, but none in  
T-Mobile.  And I use both 802.11b and GPRS (Bluetooth to Ericsson T39  
phone) wireless Internet access methods with my TiPB.  And 802.11b is  
waaaaaay better :-) )