Feature: Low-Cost Wireless Internet

For about $500 to $600, you could buy one of the following items this fall: a round-trip airline ticket from San Francisco to Paris; two bottles of 1992-vintage Dom Perignon champagne; or one of the latest, coolest, wireless Internet devices.

Since you're reading a newsletter on mobile computing at the moment and not Town & Country magazine, I'll bet the thought of a new wireless Internet gadget makes your heart skip. But in this lousy economy, a lot of people who could benefit from wireless e-mail can't afford to spend $600 to get it.

Chin up: I shopped around and discovered several wireless Internet devices under $150 and wireless service plans for $50 a month or less. But first, a few caveats: The Palm OS, BlackBerry, and other devices described below are neither the latest nor the coolest of their kind. And the lowest-rate monthly wireless services are often limited to a small amount of data sent and received.

Still, if you're on a budget and you regularly need at least some degree of wireless Internet access, read on.

Wireless Internet Mobile Phones

While many of the latest wireless phones cost $300 and up, you can find some free models (after rebates and with conditions) that let you send and receive e-mail and surf Web content as well as chat. A couple of examples:

As of early October, AT&T Wireless was offering Web-enabled phones, such as the Sony Ericsson T226, for free (after instant rebates) to new subscribers who sign up for voice plans of at least $20 per month. AT&T standard wireless service plans include voice minutes only; you must add a data plan. The least-expensive such plan requires no monthly fee, but each kilobyte of data costs 3 cents. For a closer look at AT&T Wireless's somewhat labyrinthine data plans, read "Shopping for Wireless E-Mail Service."

Also as of early October, Sprint PCS's lowest-cost, wireless Internet-compatible phones were the Samsung N400 and the Hitachi P300, each at $150. The phones run on Sprint PCS Vision, the company's high-speed 3G nationwide wireless data network. The least-expensive plan that includes wireless data is $50 per month, which includes unlimited data usage plus 300 anytime voice minutes and 1000 night and weekend voice minutes.

Based on these plans, it may make sense to consider AT&T Wireless if you need only occasional wireless Internet access and Sprint PCS if you plan on more ongoing, heavy usage.

Palms From the Past

The recently discontinued Palm I705 has a built-in wireless modem for connecting to the Palm.Net wireless Internet service. With the I705, you can send and receive e-mail and view Web content that's been specially formatted for Palm.Net. You must download a small application onto your Palm for each Web site you want to view on your Palm. In order to view Salon.com, for instance, you must first download and install the Salon.com application for the Palm.

Palm is no longer actively marketing Palm.Net, but the service is still available to new and existing users in 260 U.S. markets, according to a Palm spokesperson. Monthly service plans are $20 for 100KB of data, and $40 for 1MB of data. You must agree to a one-year service contract or pay up to $75 in early termination fees, however. For details, go to the Palm.Net Subscriber Services page.

Palm's discontinued VII and VIIx models also include built-in wireless modems, and new users of those models can still sign up for Palm.Net service, according to the Palm spokesperson. A Palm VIIx (which includes more RAM than the Palm VII) goes for about $55 to $100, according to a recent check at PCWorld.com's Product Finder.

But if you're going to buy a discontinued Palm, I suggest going with the I705. As the successor to the VII and VIIx, the I705 includes features the earlier models lack, such as an expansion card slot and an indicator that alerts you to incoming e-mail. You can pick up a Palm I705 for $83 to $150 online (check our Product Finder for the latest prices). Overall, going with a Palm I705 may make sense if you need a budget PDA and have fairly light wireless Internet requirements.

For more information on these and other discontinued Palm PDAs, go to PalmOne's Handheld Hall of Fame.

A Basic BlackBerry

Research In Motion's latest BlackBerry devices feature color screens and integrated cell phones--but often cost around $400. For $20 to $100, you can pick up one of the older, less glamorous black-and-white screen models, the BlackBerry RIM 850.

For example, a "like-new" 2MB BlackBerry RIM 850 recently went for $20.50 on EBay. To gauge what this or another device is selling for at the auction site, type the product's name into EBay's search field. Then click "Completed Items" (under Display on the left-hand side of the search results window). This option displays the final selling prices of the item you're searching.

Once you've got your BlackBerry in hand, you'll need to shop around for a service provider. One example is Motient, which offers wireless e-mail service (called ELink) for BlackBerries at $20 a month for up to 150KB of data and $50 for unlimited data. You pay a one-time $10 activation fee regardless of where you acquired the device, but no long-term contract is required. For Web browsing, you'll need at least a 4MB BlackBerry RIM 850, which costs up to $200. Also, Motient charges an additional $10 per month for this service.

Other Low-Cost Wireless Alternatives?

If you've found an inexpensive way to get wireless Internet access on a portable device, please send me an e-mail and share your secret with the rest of us.