PUCHAILAW Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hi guys Hope I put this in the right section. Nothing to do with LB’s but more directed at making my stay in Thailand more enjoyable and less stressful. I am the proud new owner of a Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile …This model just became available on May 29th in Europe. Still not available in the States but I purchased mine on EBay. Here is my questions: While in BKK I always stay at the Nana Hotel – After 26 visits it has become my de facto “home away from home” …. Some people don’t like the place but I honestly feel it gives pretty good value for the money and you really can’t ask for a better location. One item that really pisses me off about the hotel is their antiquated Wi-Fi policy. The Hotel is wired for internet but you have to “buy time” at the front desk for what I think is a ridiculous amount – if memory serves me, about 300 baht per hour, possibly more. With my new very smart, “smart phone” it is my understanding that if I buy a data package I can use my phone as a modem and plug it into my laptop. That is the extent of my knowledge on the subject so any help would be appreciated – are all data packages created equal ?? how does one plug your phone into your laptop ?? how does your laptop recognize your phone as a modem ?? do I need to go to MBK and have one of the phone guys perform their magic or is it something I can do myself ? while I am showing my lack of knowledge of “all things technical” does anyone have any suggestions as to what provider I should go with ?? I have always used True (Orange) for my everyday calling – What about 1, 2 Call ?? - does one offer a better data package than the other ? is one carrier better than the other for calling back home to the States ??? once this is set up and working – what kind of speed can I expect - ??? will it be as least as fast as what the hotel offers for 300 baht per hour ?? sorry for all the questions Thanks for your help – much appreciated …. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farangbah Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Hi, I'm no expert, but I did just learn about this myself (I'm living in BKK) and am dealing with it a bit right now, so I'll tell you what little I've learned... Without hopefully starting a PC vs. Mac war (I'm on a Mac, and using an iPhone), it was actually pretty simple and cool. I also use True. Can't help you as far as getting a temporary data package, but my guess is, as long as you have one, any one that connects you to the net (presumably via 3G), it should work, regardless of what package. In the Settings on an iPhone, near the very top is a choice called "Personal Hotspot" (if someone hadn't pointed out to me what that was, I never would have known or probably checked it out). You click on that setting and literally toggle it from "off" to "on" -- and that's it! I connect my iPhone to my laptop with a USB, just like I'm downloading music or anything else to it. My laptop recognizes it as it's internet source automatically, and I did nothing else. And, compared to the wi-fi internet connections I've had at my apartments, hotels, etc., I can see no difference whatsoever in the speed. So, I literally connected my phone to my laptop and clicked one button and voila! Quite impressive. But, then again, you being on a PC, you may have to do a lot of back-end mumbo-jumbo to make it work (oops! There I go starting a brouhaha... )... Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUCHAILAW Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Farangbah Thank you for taking the time to answer my quesions - Actually, thank you for being the ONLY ONE that took the time to answer my questions - haha I thought this might be a situation that others have faced and it would get a little bit better response. Maybe this area of the forum doesn't see a lot of action - Anyway, thanks for the advice I will look for the "Personal Hotspot" or something with that implied meaning on my phone. Would not have thought to look for it without your tip ... While I must confess to being a PC guy (just started with one and kept buying them - too scared to switch to a MAC), I hope making the connection is as easy as you stated - thanks again for your good tips - Puchailaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxpharm Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 If your laptop has bluetooth, you can connect your phone via this method instead of using a cable. Not all data plans are created equal, and of course if you're not in LOS all the time, you probably would like to purchase a pay as you go plan, like most SIM cards are set up in LOS. You can check their data plans on line - True, AIS, all the major providers will have information about the plans on their home page. One thing you should know is that your data transfer speeds will be slow - nowhere near what you will get with a regular good wifi access, but faster than the ancient dial up connections from the past. Also if you do a lot of video, music, etc, your data allotment will be quickly used up, so take it easy on those things if you decide to use your mobile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiamSam Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I do the same as Farangbah. I have a MacBook Pro and connect to the internet using my iPhone tethered to my laptop via USB. It is extremely easy and very reliable. The speed is also very good (usually). Not lightning, but comparable to public wifi. Can't help you much with PCs however I would think it would be similar albeit probably more convoluted. Don't be scared of MACs. Once you make the switch it will take you about 2 weeks to get use to it and afterwards you love it. In fact MACs are like Ladyboys. Once you try them you're hooked and will wonder why it took you so long to discover them. AND you'll never go back to from whence you came. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUCHAILAW Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks guys - I have an old desk top pc which is now going on 7 years - pretty ancient ... Pretty soon I will be looking for a new desk top and maybe MAC is the way to go - I also have a Sony Viao laptop that I will be taking to BKK - good but heavy as hell .... I believe I heard or read that you can get an unlimited data plan from True for about 800 baht per month - that would be perfect for my needs - If some of you guys read my "Introduction" thread, I mentioned that I make my living trading stocks and options - Fidelity has a service that they call "Active Trader Pro" that gives me streaming quotes in real time (as well as other features of course) That is primarily what I need the data connection for. I hope using my new phone as a modem will be fast enough for my purposes - The market opens at 9:30AM here in the States, which is 10:30PM in Thailand. I really don't feel like schlepping (technical term) my laptop to a Starbucks at that time. Thought I could check the market from my room at the opening and go out for some boom boom and maybe do a little work after a night of fornication !!!! thank you all for your input - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiamSam Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Sounds like a good plan. Especially checking the markets at opening and then going off for a boom-boom. Makes absolute perfect sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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