3G MicroCell

[Snickolaz]

I don't know about the rest of you, but my house isn't in 3G, so I've been reading up on AT&T's 3G MicroCell. But then I think to myself I have WiFi at home already so do I really need something like that.

So does anybody here have one or tried it out? It's $150 and they announced yesterday that they were going to sell them everywhere now, but if I was going to get one I would want to just get a used one off eBay or something. But there are no used ones out there I can find. What do you guys think?

Here's a link to what it is, if you have never seen it before. There are mixed reviews all over the internet about it too. A lot of good ones, but some bad ones too.

AT&T 3G MicroCell

[pricej636]

Originally Posted by Snickolaz

I don't know about the rest of you, but my house isn't in 3G, so I've been reading up on AT&T's 3G MicroCell. But then I think to myself I have WiFi at home already so do I really need something like that.

So does anybody here have one or tried it out? It's $150 and they announced yesterday that they were going to sell them everywhere now, but if I was going to get one I would want to just get a used one off eBay or something. But there are no used ones out there I can find. What do you guys think?

Here's a link to what it is, if you have never seen it before. There are mixed reviews all over the internet about it too. A lot of good ones, but some bad ones too.

AT&T 3G MicroCell

If you have wifi at your house I would look into Skype or something similar. AT&T wants to deduct the data that you are using on your own wifi AND the voice minutes you are using off your calling plan. Friggin BS if you ask me, all because they wont invest in their infrastructure.

[Snickolaz]

Originally Posted by pricej636

If you have wifi at your house I would look into Skype or something similar. AT&T wants to deduct the data that you are using on your own wifi AND the voice minutes you are using off your calling plan. Friggin BS if you ask me, all because they wont invest in their infrastructure.

I do have WiFi, and I'm not worried about my minutes or data usage, I have tons of rollover minutes and I'm on the unlimited data. But my wife has a basic phone with no WiFi, and the edge network is slow when she want to look at her facebook on her phone. Plus she has unlimited data too. I just figured if I could find one for cheap, why not. Because it's not going to hurt anything.

[fone]

For that price, I would get a low end netbook.

Cell coverage is the wireless provider's responsibility, not mine.

Does the picocell allow data access via 3g?

[t325]

Originally Posted by pricej636

If you have wifi at your house I would look into Skype or something similar. AT&T wants to deduct the data that you are using on your own wifi AND the voice minutes you are using off your calling plan. Friggin BS if you ask me, all because they wont invest in their infrastructure.

In my case, I get full bars of 3G outside my apartment, and one or two bars inside, sometimes falling back to EDGE. The only explanation I can think of is that the building is built like a giant faraday cage. So I can't fault AT&T for that, so I bought a Microcell.

Originally Posted by fone

Does the picocell allow data access via 3g?

Yes.

[modem.over]

So, i pay for a nexus one....
Pay for my internet.
Pay for the specail adapter so i can get in house 3g.

Than i pay extra when u use more than they feel i should ?

Forget that.
I have unlimited internet, but there is a limit, promise.

[Snickolaz]

So did you get any sort of deals when you got your MicroCel? I just recently moved and the basement is a little spotty, but I have AT&T DSL and I read there's a discount if you do...

[Snickolaz]

Here I am looking into these bad boys and kind of wanting one, then AT&T decided to give somebody 1 for free.

AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers? -- Engadget

I've been an AT&T customer for a while now, plus I just signed up for their DSL recently, any reps out there that want to hook me up?

[drownhardy]

As for the device itself, the 3G MicroCell is bulky, plastic, and ugly. It’s shaped like an upside-down Y, colored with a gray spine and AT&T’s trademark white-and-orange piping. Compared to Apple’s Airport Extreme, it’s large, measuring 8.5 inches tall, 1.25 inches thick, and about 6.25 inches wide. Besides its status-light activity, you know the 3G MicroCell is operational because the iPhone carrier ID switches from “AT&T” to “AT&T M-Cell” whenever it’s in range. The signal-strength indicator on my phone immediately jumps from one or two to four to five bars. If you start a call on your MicroCell and leave your house, the device will switch you to a tower once you’re out of range, so you’ll get seamless coverage when you’re mobile--sort of. Unfortunately, calls that initiate on a tower won’t transfer to the MicroCell when you get home.