asked on

Will spend 1 month in the US - What is the best prepaid 3G/UMTS/EDGE card for my laptop?

Dear all,
coming from Europe, I will soon spend 4 weeks in the US, especially in NY and Chicago, partly for business and partly for tourism, and am looking for a SIM card to put into the UMTS USB modem of my Thinkpad laptop, so that I can surf the internet while I'm travelling. Some of the hotels on my trip have complimentary Wifi, but in others it is quite expensive (10-15$/day). It should be easy to set up as a U.S. non-resident, and economical.

I will honor the answer with the most viable and economical solution.

Thanks for any comments.

Rob

Rich Weissler

I realize it isn't the question you asked, but have you already consider the ubiquitous nature of free Wifi in the US? While you may find a few hotels that are still charging, the number of restaurants, cafes, etc offering free Wifi is simply staggering. (Fast food restaurants like McDonalds, and grocery stores have even gotten into the act, offering free wifi internet access.) I would think the number of times you would have to resort to the expensive hotel access will be relatively limited.

The cell dataplans tend to be metered, and depending on usage, it's relatively easy to exceed your monthly data limits.

nickg5

Lenovo and Sprint Add 3G and 4G Mobile Broadband Connectivity to ThinkPad Laptops

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – March 24, 2010: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced support for Sprint 3G and 4G wireless connectivity in the U.S. across Lenovo’s line of ThinkPad laptops.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/28212

so, try Sprint or Lenovo.
I'm sure they can sell you the SIM card.

For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
1Accessing the Sprint 3G or 4G network requires a data plan from Sprint. Sprint offers 3G/4G data plans for consumers and businesses at $59.99 monthly (price plans exclude surcharges and taxes).

For more information see www.lenovo.com.

robofix

ASKER

further ideas anyone?