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Internet in a motor. Possible? Feasible? Profane?


Des

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I'm vaguely aware of satellite internet access and modems containing a sim card using cellphone 3G and suchlike devilment. I've used a thing like a miniature TV aerial here and in Europe to bogey free wifi, but it's very hit and miss, never there when really needed, would like something more serious, is anyone using anything lah-de-dah and fancy? Should I just use a smartphone and get myself clued up about 3G, tethering, bluetooth and all that bollocks or is there a fancy box to fulfil my requirements with +12V, -12V terminals, an aerial and flashing lights that can be stuffed under a seat and wont charge £50 and take half an hour to download a jpeg of some bint with her norks out?

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I've got an EE Osprey Mini that I got free with something in the car, charges off a microusb so I've got a three way charger with one lead plugged in to it all the time.

 

I leave it in the car overnight, it switches off when nothing is connected for a bit so I just press the button in the morning and it connects both my phones automatically a few seconds later.

 

EE gave me 100GB a month for a tenner (offer lasts two months) so I'm streaming radio all the time in the car and still not really touching the data.

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A guys at works new 3 series has a 4g sim built into it with unlimited data . The audio system lets him put his Spotify account details on and he can go to this via screen on the dash and stream pretty much any song/album in the world in real time. Once it's downloaded it's cached on a disk in the car. It's pretty impressive

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3G ain't great on the move. 4g is quicker and seems to cope better with 70mph (officer).

Can't comment on the 4g at 70mph, but have had a contract Vodafone 4g phone for over a year now, hardly ever had a 4g signal apart from in city centres. Contract is up soon so I haz bought a cheapy EE payg Rook android phone to try out the network. Pretty impressed with it so far. Get 4g much more readily and in areas that Vodafone struggle to put out a decent 2g signal. Think I will be sacking Vodafone...

 

Edit. Who/what are EE btw? Why are they so much better in terms of delivering a decent signal?

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I really, really hate the unnecessary duplication of technology.

 

I have a cutting edge web-enabled device in my pocket, where it's infinitely portable and very easy to upgrade, why would I want one built into my car, stuck there forever, getting old and outmoded?

 

Ditto Sat-Nav really. I belly-laugh whenever I sit in an E39 with "Professional" Nav which, by today's standards, looks like pages from Ceefax.

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I get 4G almost everywhere I go - admittedly I don't commute to the Shetland Isles or owt, but motorway and A road networks seems fine. 3G is fast enough to stream music anyway, 4G just copes better with patchy signal on the move - when you get a burst of data it can download more, so your music keeps playing because it cached more in the 30s or so.

 

I really only use the MiFi because I have two phones in the car, and my work one is no data, calls only. With the MiFi I can use it for satnav and leave my phone streaming music, trying to do everything off one makes it go really slow and I miss junctions.

 

Also, I just lobbed it in my pocket, went shopping with the family and everyone can use the internet without having to keep logging into various free wifis

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I don`t understand a word of this......................

 

You must understand most of it because your on the internet actively contributing to a forum whilst sat in front of a computer/laptop/tablet or mobile phone.

 

Possibly Mr Twig is like myself - where Internet requires a dining table, cup of tea, laptop and a modem......

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Thanks for the info chaps, a quick look and I see EE simcards on Amazon with 6 gig of internet that has to be used within 90 days for about £13, or go to the EE site and it's £15 for 25 gig, I got to halfway through the order, all manner of intrusive questions for which I contrived answers, as you do, then it insisted on a direct debit so I'll look elsewhere. The modems seem to vary a lot in price, but I assume the cheapest, simplest wireless one will be adequate within the confines of a vehicle.

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Ze interwebs have been standard issue in a lot of Mercedes and BMW stuff (with nav) for a few years.

 

My brothers BMW 530d definitely had it as he would often Google stuff in the car.

 

Newish Å kodas and other VAG stuff have WiFi built in. Pair your phone with the car and if you've got a decent (android) phone it'll go into 'remote sim' mode where the car uses its own gubbins to make and receive calls, SMS etc.

 

Unfortunately, having no working SIM in your phone can be a bugger if you use Google navigation, so you pair your phone with the car WiFi and use that. It's still using your phone's data package, but the phone signal is rather seriously boosted by the car with its fancy aerials and stuff.

 

Sounds like a complicated, around the houses way of doing it but it works a treat and once your phone is paired with the car everything is done automagically. There's even a little 3g symbol appears on the dash for when the interweb connection is working.

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My car has factory Internet wifi hotspot thingy and colour screen. Which I can tether my phone too. My car screen is the size of my phone screen... Have I ever used it? Only to see if it worked!

 

I was just thinking, why would t'internet be needed in an car, am I missing something (good)?

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That's a bit vague, it kind of rules out having a satnav, using the radio, having a hearing aid or looking at the Speedo.

 

Internet useful for streaming music, because round shiny easily destroyed musical disks are so last milennium and the radio is full of twerps.

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