Computers & Tablets

[southbendman]

I drive the full United States in a truck and I want to buy a laptop that I can conect to the internet and surf with great speed and watch movies in the evening while parked at a truck stop. Most truck stops have WI-FI but at times I need to connect through my phone. I do not want to spend over $350 please help u can send answers to me @southbendman@gmail.com easier to ck my email Thank You to all.....

[NoNoBadDog]

Your best bet would be a lptop with either 3G or 4G built in.  There are some very important considerations:

1.  You will have to have a separate data plan with whatever carrier you decide to go with.

2.  Your carrier will have a severe cap on the amount of data you can download per month: typically 2 to 5 GB depending on carrier.  After you exceed that limit, your connection may be throttled to a much lower download speed, or you may be charged a hefty fee per MB after your cap.  Again, this depends on which carrier you chose.  

3.  Having this capability built in will have a pretty significant effect on battery life.

4.  You may not get coverage across the nation.  Verizon has the most complete coverage, AT&T has huge areas where coverage is either weak or non-existent. 

I would suggest that you continue doing what you are doing...using the wi-fi provided by the truck stops.  While this is less secure, it is far more economical and easier. 

[xl]

To clarify, what carrier and what phone are you using for mobile purposes?

In general, I would just upgrade your data plan to a larger capacity if you travel frequently.

Just came back from a road trip in Washington with a Tmobile. Got myself one of those mobile hotspots with a prepaid plan.  Works great on the laptop, tablet and/or Blackberry.

[NoNoBadDog]

I have a mobile hotspot with my local cable internet provider, because it is unlimited data...can't be found on any of the major carriers...they all have data caps on their so-called "unlimited" plans. 

Which brings to mind the question:  how can they call a data plan "unlimited" if there is a cap on the amount of data you can use????

[southbendman]

I guess I was not clear but I do thank everyone for there input. I am not looking for a data plan I do not care about a day plan I can use truck stop WI-FI.  I am looking for a recommendation on a computer that is fast for the internet and good at playing movies $350 or under please help. Thank You

[NoNoBadDog]

The computer has nothing to do with your "internet speed", that is determined by the ISP, and the number of people using the same wi-fi.  As long as the laptop has 802.11n built in, you will get the maximum speed for any given wi-fi hot spot. 

As for playing movies, you won;t find anything in your proce range that has an HD screen, and many in that proce range will not have an HDMI output.  It should play vidoes from the internet/netflix/hard drive okay, as long as the wi-fi you are connected to is fast enough and has enough bandwidth to stream videos.