If you need access to the Internet wherever you roam, you'll need a data plan from your carrier. With a data plan, you can browse the Internet and check your personal and corporate e-mail accounts on a variety of devices, including laptops, PDAs, and smartphones. At this point, data services run on the aforementioned EV-DO, EDGE, and UMTS networks, depending on the carrier and coverage area. Even at their best, transfer speeds aren't all that impressive, so if speed is your biggest concern you might want to cool your heels until the 4G networks launch.If you're going to use a laptop as your mobile Internet device, consider purchasing a dedicated PC card that functions as a wireless modem. If you need more flexibility, or if you need data access on your PDA, you can purchase a phone that is capable of receiving EV-DO or EDGE/UMTS data. You can then transmit the data, via USB or Bluetooth, to your laptop or PDA--a process known as "tethering." Meanwhile, smartphones are designed to integrate voice and data service reception, as well as communication functions like e-mail and web browsing, within a single device.
Carriers often bundle a data plan, which is charged on top of a voice plan, with their smartphone offerings. However, data services for laptop PC cards can be purchased without a voice plan, while data plans for data-capable phones that you plan to tether can be purchased as an add-on service to your voice plan. Once again, unlimited data plans that are billed at a flat monthly fee are a better choice than pay-as-you-go plans that charge you based on the amount of data you transfer.
Pricing varies depending on the carrier. T-Mobile's smartphone plans start at $29.99 per month (plus the cost of the voice service), while Verizon charges $79.99 for a bundled PDA/smartphone plan (voice and data). AT&T's plans, meanwhile, vary widely depending on the services you want. The company's SmartPhone Connect Unlimited plan costs $19.99 per month; its SmartPhone Max plan--which offers unlimited data usage and 1,500 messages--costs $34.99 (plus the cost of the voice service).
Data-only plans for wireless PC cards also vary in cost. AT&T's Data Connect plan costs just $29.99 per month but restricts users to 10 MB of data. An unlimited version, by contrast, costs $79.99. Other prices range from $49.99 (T-Mobile unlimited) to $59.99 (Verizon and Sprint unlimited). For a few more dollars, users also can add corporate e-mail accounts to most of the plans.
