Urgent Question: temporary Wireless PC Card
 

I have a need for a wireless (cellular) PC Card for a laptop (Windows 7 running on an i7 with an Express Card slot if that makes a difference). The facility I will be at on and off for the next two weeks cannot allow me onto their network and while I am there, I need to be able to work (which involves a lot of emailing).

Does anyone know if there are "pay-as-you-go" plans for these cards (and cheap cards), much like you can get with the burner phones?

Virgin Mobile makes one, depending on your definition of cheap. Radio Shacks (at least the ones near me) carry them.

Can you enable tethering on your cell phone?

Funny: though I usually avoid Radio Shack, I was going to stop by one over the weekend to see what they had.

I thought you couldn't with the iPhone, but apparently you can for $20/month additional. I am going to see if I just do it for one month and then take it back off. Thanks for making me look!

We turn it on for our iPhones on a case by case, month by month basis. They should be able to do that for you.

Do you typically link the phone and the laptop by cable or by Bluetooth?

Ya know, I can't remember how we do the iPhones other than not being connected via Bluetooth. I know our Androids act as a wireless hot spot and they just sit by the computer, no cable or bluetooth required.

What are they offering as options?

Finally got around to lookin into this today. Since I have an unlimited data plan, if I were to add tethering for one month, I would lose the unlimited, so that is not an option. AT&T's cheapest card (USB) is $100 and they do have pay as you go plans. However, I went to Radio Shack and they have a T-Mobile USB device for $50 and a $30 pay as you go plan for up to 1GB. so this is probably the route I will go.

This may just be semantics but did you ask for tethering or mobile hot spot?

On my Sensation (Android), and the Evo there is a mobile hotspot option and a tethering option. I just tried to connect to my mobile hot spot today, without service and it works. I didn't leave it because I don't want to get nailed with some random monthly fee.

I asked for tethering. I will look into mobile hot spot later, though I don't know if the iPhone allows it without jailbreaking