GSM Technology

Write-up by Leonid Sinichkin

Most modern mobile phones can connect to the World wide web. But not numerous know that mobile phone can be used as a modem for a laptop or a desktop PC. With this fantastic chance one can do full-fledged Web browsing wherever one goes – not on the tiny phone’s display but on the laptop. One ought to just have an unlimited data plan (or enough inclusive megabytes) to steer clear of receiving high phone bills.

Let us initial describe the process for Windows Mobile phones. If your laptop runs MS Windows, then no extra software is needed. In that case both operating systems have already all that is essential to establish a connection, one just needs to adjust some settings. Then we will touch upon other mobile platforms.

1st of all, you will need to connect your phone to laptop if you haven’t already completed that. Connection can be made utilizing either the USB cable that came with your phone or Bluetooth. We are not going to speak about cable connection here because in that case the procedure is a lot more tricky. Besides, you will also require to install phone-specific drivers, so those who prefer to use this way of connection need to consult their phone manufacturer.

For Bluetooth connection, not only the modem function setup is extremely easy, it is also a lot more convenient as any wireless connection. (But much better do not keep the phone in your pocket since you will be subjected to strong radiation as long as you surf the Web. Personally, I prefer to use a headset even for short calls, and surfing the Web may possibly take hours, so the effect on your health can be significantly stronger).

So, initial thing you want to do is to pair your phone with the pc (if your laptop does not have a built-in Bluetooth feature, you can get a Bluetooth dongle). Bluetooth should be activated on you mobile device and it must be discoverable to other devices. Then on your laptop right-click the Bluetooth icon and choose “Add New Connection”, then just follow the prompts. On your phone you will see a popup saying that your laptop wants to connect. Permit the connection. Your laptop will display a passkey, which you should note down to enter on the phone when prompted. Then follow further Wizard prompts on the laptop. The only field you will require to modify is the phone number in the “Produce Dialup Connection” screen. For GSM mobile networks, this number must be *99#. For CDMA networks, this number may possibly be distinct, you can understand it from your carrier. Do not modify any other field.

Now your phone has been paired with the laptop and a dialup connection has been set up. Now you just require to add some data to the modem configuration. Go to Commence -> Settings -> Control panel -> Modems. On the Modems tab, choose the modem associated with your phone, and press Properties. On the Advanced tab, you need to enter string in “Extra initialization commands”. This initialization string will require to be entered as:+CGDCONT =1,”IP”,”apn.address” – you should substitute apn.address with the name of the GPRS APN (Access Point Name) of your mobile carrier. You can find the Access Point Name in the Internet connection settings (under Settings -> Connections) in your phone or you can discover it from your carrier.

That’s all, now you can use your phone as a modem. The dial-up connection you have just created can be reached by clicking on the WiFi icon in the job tray. 1 can also locate that connection under Bluetooth devices. Then right-click on the phone icon and you will see Dial-Up Networking.

Let us now turn to other mobile platforms. For Blackberry the process is very similar but you need to very first install Blackberry Desktop Software on your laptop and connect the phone to laptop by USB cable at least once, so that all the essential drivers will be installed automatically. Notice, even so, that not all Blackberry models have a modem feature. You can consult your local Blackberry service or your carrier to learn if your device can be utilized as a modem.

For Google Android devices and iPhone this procedure will not work. This has been done because of the pressure from the mobile carriers, who do not want their customers to use the phone’s World wide web connection for their computers so that they can extract more funds from the customers. As a answer 1 can use a program known as pdaNET, which is really simple to use and works on numerous platforms, which includes Google Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Palm OS and Blackberry.

About the Author

Leonid Sinichkin is a programmer and a system automation expert and an advanced PDA user. For much more guidance on smartphones and PDAs, visit the internet site on Skype Mobile ( Skype Mobile in Russian for Russian visitors).