Fellow Beavers - We found this system at the Beaver International Rally.  Gary Swaim (Custom Coach Connection, 619) 300-3114) had a seminar about staying connected on the road and shared Autonet with us.  Several of us purchased one and I find it a very good substitute to our Verizon data card.  We do not have a "dog in this hunt," but wanted to pass it along for your information as something working for us.  Hugs  Chuck and Donna

Autonet Mobile Inc. http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=1733414&_blg=1,1707871

With all due respect Chuck, you can get the same thing directly from Verizon and others with zero upfront costs.  It is made by Novatel and Verizon calls it a "MiFi".  It is a small box the size of a stack of 6 credit cards in a stack.  It runs about 4 hours on battery or contiuously when plugged it.  You push a single button switch and up pops a secure wifi hotspot that is all yours.  5 devices can be logged on at a time.  The password is printed on the back.  

That's good information too!  Thank you for supplying an additional source for our members.  We have already purchased ours, have it set-up and are satisfied with the performance and the $29 cost per month for our needs.  Hugs  Chuck and Donna

Quoted from Chuck DuFault

That's good information too!  Thank you for supplying an additional source for our members.  We have already purchased ours, have it set-up and are satisfied with the performance and the $29 cost per month for our needs.  Hugs  Chuck and Donna

Chuck and Donna surprised me with the monthly cost.  I have been paying $59 a month at Verizon for a few years.  I had to do some research!  

I googled Autonet and it lead to a list of places you can buy one, including Amazon who sells the box for $400.  It is a 10 by 10 by 3 inch rugged looking box.  Amazon customers give it very good reviews.  

Verizon's version is smaller and fits in a shirt pocket.  It also gets good reviews.  

The goal for both products is to create your own private, multi user WiFi hotspot that goes with you in your vehicle and works for multiple computers.  There appears to be a few differences:

1.  Size.  One is the size of a large book the other is a little smaller than a deck of cards.
2.  The suggestion at Autonet is that it is hard wired to a 12 volt source in your vehicle.  The Verizon MiFi plugs in to 110.  You can leave it that way indefinitely.   When charged it will run for about four hours on it's battery or can be plugged in to 12 volt with an accessory cord.
3.  Both have $29 and $59 plans.  $29 gets you a gigabyte a month and $59 gets you five gigabytes.  Autonet says that when you approach your monthly limit "your connection speed will decrease until the new month starts. The throttling is progressive. The more you exceed your limit the slower your connection."  Verizon starts charging more money.
4.  Initial price for the Autonet appears to be about $400.  The list price for the Verizon is $270, but drops to $50 with a two year contract.
5.  The Autonet allows 10 users to share the hotspot and Verizon only allows 5.
6.  Coverage looks to be about the same because they use the same "3G" antenna systems.   It appears that Autonet buys bulk time from Verizon or others and resells it.
7.  Verizon allows you to suspend your account while you are not using it.  If you are on a contract, it extends your 2 year commitment by the amount of time you are in suspension.  Autonet says "You cannot suspend or cancel your contract without penalties."

I wish I could get the internet for $29 in the motorhome!  But between my wife and I we average about 4 gigabytes a month.  We use the internet for news, weather, shopping, some entertainment and email.  For example, I just downloaded an "audiobook" from our public library.  The $29 plan would only work for us if we strictly limited ourselves to e-mail.  

Thanks Chuck and Donna for providing a source I didn't know about.  I like the rugged part!

Amazon Link with Picture:
http://www.amazon.com/Autonet-.....ACP27W/ref=de_a_smtd

Verizon Link with Picture:
http://www.verizonwireless.com.....ch&rf=google.com

We have been using MiFi for 9 months.  After I showed it to Lamar Keck and compared the speed to his Verizon Air card, Lamar was at the Verizon store within an hour to trade in his Air Card for a MiFi.  It is compact, portable, and the router has about 100 foot range.  We even use it at home and can now discontinue our slower DSL.  I had been looking for equipment to do this for several years and Verizon finally produced it in one small package.  So far it has worked every where we have been.  

Larry

Larry, how fast is that Verizon device?   And, are you able to do all your on-line business with 5 gig a month?

Hope all is well, see you in Newport this summer?

Jerry

We have a DSL line and a Verizon data connection and the Verzion is by far the fastest of the two.  We get speeds from 600kbs to over 2500kbs depending on how good a Version area you are in.  Our DSL line runs at a steady 600kbs.  As for the 5 gigs of data, Diana and I have to be careful or we will exceed that limit.  You need to keep in mind that we are running 4 computers, and  doing the BT and club web site, so we use more than the average user would.  If you want to do email, surf the web and do not down load a lot of movies 5 gigs will be plenty.

Been using the Verizon MIFI for a year now with 2 computers and average around 2.5g per month. Has worked everywhere we have traveled from east coast to the west coast. For those wanting more info pull up NOVATEL 2200 MIFI and it should answer all questions. Be sure to shop for deals before purchasing.

P.S.Retired  Veterans, don't be afraid to ask for the MILITARY discount.

Sorry to be so late in answering, but we finally found a place where MyFi did not work.  In fact, only AT&T worked in 3 Rivers, Calif.  Nothing Verizon worked.  I just checked the speed here in Bakersfield.  Download was 1.21 Mbps and upload 0.73 Mbps. The download speed varies depending on many factors, but has been up to 2.5 Mbps.  We get about .600 Mbps on DSL.  Running 2 computers and an iPod, we use 3.5 to 4 Gig a month.  We have never come close to 5 Gigs.  If we updated the Garmin we could use 2 Gigs just for that.  
A Verizon rep told me that as soon as their 4G is activated, all MyFi units would be updated free.  They expected it this Spring.  Well here we are in Spring.

Larry

We have been using a Verizon air card as our only internet connection for several years.  We move it between the coach and the condo as needed.  Our first two aircards were installed in "Broadband Routers" that created wifi hotspots.  The MiFi is our third and best device.  We use two laptops and have done all our "business" without any difficulty, except that we don't watch movies.  

It is easy to check you usage.  You can either log on to Verizon where it will post yesterday's reading or you can log on to the MiFi itself where there is a resettable usage meter.

Regarding 4G I found this in a press release from a Verizon equipment supplier:  "Verizon Wireless says that it is on track to deliver the nation’s first 4G LTE network to customers in 25 to 30 markets, covering about 100 million people by the end of 2010 with full nationwide coverage by 2013. Trials in Boston and Seattle have indicated the network is capable of peak download speeds of 40 to 50 Mbits/s, peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 Mbits/s, and average data rates of 5 to 12 Mbits/s on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbits/s uplink in real-world environments. "

I have not found anything about Verizon's planned usage caps or prices for their LTE products.

They indicate autonet costs $29.00 per month, what is the cost of the Verizon?
Verizon told me it was $59.00 in addition to my verizon cell phone.

Are there any restriction on use of the Autonet?

Thanks

Quoted from 580

They indicate autonet costs $29.00 per month, what is the cost of the Verizon?
Verizon told me it was $59.00 in addition to my verizon cell phone.

Are there any restriction on use of the Autonet?

Thanks

When I checked a couple of weeks ago, the costs were the same.  Both have a 1 gig per month plan at $29 and a 5 gig plan for $59.  So, both have a "restriction" to the amount of use per month.  If you only do email (without attachments) 1 gig is plenty.  My wife and I use about 4 gigs a month with two laptops.  We don't watch Netflix movies, do YouTube or other video.  

Autonet's website says that as you approach your monthly limit your service gradually slows down to a crawl.  Verizon continues your service and charges extra that will show up on your bill.

Another difference seems to be in the contract terms.  If you buy the MiFi from Verizon outright for about $260 it appears you can "suspend" and "reactivate" day by day.  If you buy on contract you have a two year commitment that you can suspend but it extends the contract for time equal to the suspension.  The Autonet website says you can't "suspend" service for the duration of the contract which I think is a year.

For those of you that own a data phone, you can "tether" (connect a cable from your phone to your USB port on your laptop) your laptop to your phone and get the same G3 speeds as your Verizon wireless adaptor without the additional charge. Verizon charges $10 a month for tethering but there is a way around that. If you own a Blackberry, Palm, Droid, HTC Pro or i-Phone this works great. I have used this with my Palm for years and now my Blackberry. My friend is a technical rep. for IBM and uses it with his HTC Touch Pro 2 and says its faster than his wireless card.
Here is a link for more information: http://www.junefabrics.com/blackberry/index.php
Keep in mind that you will not be able to use your phone while you are connected to the internet but if you can call people a little later and save $50 a month it might be worthwhile...

I use 'tether' to connect my Blackberry (Verizon)to my computer when we are on the road and our Datastorm internet dish is stowed.

http://tether.com/

They also have it for Android phones http://tether.com/select/products

Glenda  

AT & T has the MiFI also.

One important distintion between Verizon and AT&T or  T-Moble is that concurrent voice and data work on GSM/UMTS platforms (AT&T and T-mobile) unlike CDMA providers like Verizon and Sprint.
For the lowest prices you may want to look at some of the prepaid  and tier three providers like Metro PCS, TracFone, etc. Prices tend to be lower. another alternative is using a data only SIM in a smart phone

I also use the Mifi but purchased mine at Radio Shack for about $149 in September and activated it in the store through Virgin Mobile for unlimited internet access ($40/month)...and I can turn it off if I don't need it and then back on when I do.  Virgin uses the Sprint network to access the internet and if Sprint isn't in the area it then uses Verizon. I have had 2 other campers use mine at the same time without a noticeable drop in speed, and I now use it in my stick house too. My landline service through Verizon used to cost more per month and have slower service!  

This is actually a pretty good deal. The current advertised rate on the Virgin Mobile Web site is $50 per month. However, if you purchase the top up thru Walmart.com the charge is $39.98. With this service there are some things you should be aware of:
Virgin Mobile US was acquired by Sprint in 2009, and is one way for Sprint to be a major player in the prepaid service segment without cannibalizing their own more profitable post-paid lines of business. The way Broadband2Go data service works is that data sessions are metered, and once you reach 2.5 GB of usage during a 30 day period your service will be throttled back from typical down-link speeds of between 600 kbps and 1,400 kbps, to 256 kbps or less until either the end of the 30 day period or you top up your account (pay for a new 30 day period). To put this in perspective, at an optimal thru put rate of 1,400 kbps, you can download HD movies for about 4 hours, before the service will be throttled for the remainder of the month. The average movie (90 minutes) file size is about 700 MB for standard definition,  1.5 GB - 2.25 GB for HD or 13 GB - 40 GB for BluRay .  Our coach has two TV's and two BluRay players that are wifi compatible for downloading movies. Not to make too much of this, it is worth noting that most of us are not the type of users where this will normally be a problem, as long as we are not downloading movies. When in a park or campground with wifi service it may be best to turn off the mifi device.
The other problem which exists for most RVers with most of the wireless carriers data plans, is how or even whether  data roaming is handled. Virgin Mobile is no exception, in fact, they have ignored all questions on the subject for the last 18 months. So if you head out east on I-90, you may lose data coverage when you leave Spokane until you reach Eastern South Dakota where coverage resumes.

For any "hackers" that don't mind playing around with the technology, here is what I've found to work for me.

I have a AT&T unlimited data plan on my iphone 3Gs.  I "unlocked" and "jailbroke" the phone so I could add non-apple applications.  Cydia, is a source for these non-apple approved applications and they have an app called MyWi, which works great to allow PC's and other IP devices to connect to the internet through the AT&T data network.

I turn off wireless on my notebooks and use bluetooth to connect to the MyWi iphone.  Anywhere I have AT&T service, I have internet at no additional fee.  I think the MyWi app was $39.00 one time fee.  You can also use wireless or USB to connect to the iphone for higher speeds than BT, and I do that when I'm downloading large video, etc.

Check with Verizon for more info but I dropped my MIFI 5G plan to their 3G plan last fall and it goes for around $35. Veterans, ask for your discount.

We just got an I-pad 3G so far so good. You can get data plans starting at $15 per month from ATT or a Verison plan neither plan has a commitment so you can start and stop it. It also uses WiFi if available. Pad was under $700 for a 16 gig. Just wish Apple and Adobe Flash would get along.

Richard/Babs...

Another reason I decided to Jailbreak my iPhone: You can run FRASH, the non-apple approved FLASH support.  Apple and Adobe need to get over it and learn to play together.

Quoted from Jim Casazza

Richard/Babs...

Another reason I decided to Jailbreak my iPhone: You can run FRASH, the non-apple approved FLASH support.  Apple and Adobe need to get over it and learn to play together.

Does anyone know if you can run FRASH on the I Pad and how to jailbreak it?

Note: Jailbreaking an Apple Product can void any warranty.