[SamusFairchild]

So, internet access in the hall sucks. There's just no way around that.

We're looking into getting a prepaid 3 or 4G mobile hotspot, and there are oh-so-many carriers out there. I've only had experience with ATT in the hall at a trade show I was in around September, but we were in a different hall than the one they use for ACen, so I don't know if the experience is a good sample.

So, can you guys tell me anything about your smartphone/tablet/whatever interwebs device experience? How is reception at your table and what carrier did you have?

Thanks guys!

[Purplegodess]

Im fine with ATT and I've been in all the halls of the show. Im also fine with my clear spot

[obakasan]

I did okay with my NetZero hotspot last year, but who knows... We are in a different part of the convention center this year so things could be different.

[SamusFairchild]

obakasan, on 15 February 2013 - 12:58 PM, said:

I did okay with my NetZero hotspot last year, but who knows... We are in a different part of the convention center this year so things could be different.

I had no idea that NetZero was still a thing, much less that the branched out into wireless and whatnot.
I'll have to look into that. Thanks!

[myrla]

I had a 3G Verizon normal smartphone and I was never without coverage. Anywhere.

[Sapphy]

I'm with Verizon, and my cellphone had 4G coverage the entire time I was at my table last year. I'm counting on it being the same this year as I'm going to be accepting cards via my Square reader.

[JujuFox]

Sapphy, on 19 February 2013 - 09:53 AM, said:

I'm with Verizon, and my cellphone had 4G coverage the entire time I was at my table last year. I'm counting on it being the same this year as I'm going to be accepting cards via my Square reader.

Good to hear this! I'm with Verizon now, and I want to upgrade to the Sumsung Galaxy S3 so I can use the PayPal card reader to accept CCs. I have the HTC Thunderbolt right now and for some dumb reason it's not fully supported w/PayPal.

[SamusFairchild]

Sapphy, on 19 February 2013 - 09:53 AM, said:

I'm with Verizon, and my cellphone had 4G coverage the entire time I was at my table last year. I'm counting on it being the same this year as I'm going to be accepting cards via my Square reader. />

You may want to look into paypal. Their rates are a bit lower, depending on the size of transactions you're doing.

JujuFox, on 19 February 2013 - 04:00 PM, said:

Good to hear this! I'm with Verizon now, and I want to upgrade to the Sumsung Galaxy S3 so I can use the PayPal card reader to accept CCs. I have the HTC Thunderbolt right now and for some dumb reason it's not fully supported w/PayPal.

Oh, noted. We're looking to add a smartphone to our Verizon account so we can take CCs just for ACen, and it would suck to get one that doesn't work with the card reader.

[Sapphy]

SamusFairchild, on 19 February 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

You may want to look into paypal. Their rates are a bit lower, depending on the size of transactions you're doing.

Thanks for the heads up! I got my Square reader after ACen last year (with the intent of using it this year), an I think that might have been before Paypal started offering theirs. If the fee is lower I'm definitely using Paypal since I use them already with my Etsy store. It's much easier to keep everything in one place.

[JujuFox]

SamusFairchild, on 19 February 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

Oh, noted. We're looking to add a smartphone to our Verizon account so we can take CCs just for ACen, and it would suck to get one that doesn't work with the card reader.

You'll be fine if you choose to get an iPhone, but if you want an Android here is the list of accepted Android phones: https://www.paypal.c...patible-devices

My current phone meets those requirements in the bullet points, but it's not on the list so I can only use the App but not the card reader. That's why I'm going to upgrade to the Galaxy S3(it should go on sale when the S4 is released).

[SamusFairchild]

JujuFox, on 19 February 2013 - 04:47 PM, said:

You'll be fine if you choose to get an iPhone, but if you want an Android here is the list of accepted Android phones: https://www.paypal.c...patible-devices

My current phone meets those requirements in the bullet points, but it's not on the list so I can only use the App but not the card reader. That's why I'm going to upgrade to the Galaxy S3(it should go on sale when the S4 is released).

Ahhahahaha I am far too poor to have an iPhone XD

I had no idea they even had a list of phones posted. They guy at Verizon recommended the Droid Incredible, which I can find online for between $30 and $50, so good to know it's going to work

[Lord Warhammer]

in order 1. Verizon 2. ATT 3. Sprint 4. Clear 5. Virgin

of those, if you have a sprint phone, you can probably turn your phone into a hotspot and have unlimited data.
Virgin mobile if you need to go the hotspot route, has unlimited data and no contracts.

[SamusFairchild]

Lord Warhammer, on 21 February 2013 - 11:14 PM, said:

in order 1. Verizon 2. ATT 3. Sprint 4. Clear 5. Virgin

of those, if you have a sprint phone, you can probably turn your phone into a hotspot and have unlimited data.
Virgin mobile if you need to go the hotspot route, has unlimited data and no contracts.

Ah, excellent! Thank you so much