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buzzbishop
on - last edited on by
ElizabethS
If you work outside your office just as much as you work inside your office, you're doing 'workshifting.' Just as we timeshift television shows with our pvr, we can shift our place of work with mobile access to the web wherever we find ourselves. Cafes, airports and hotels are popular workshifting hubs, but with the launch of 3G enabled netbooks, the power to timeshift becomes limited only by your cell coverage.
Rogers has teamed up with HP to launch a subsidized netbook, the HP Mini 110. You get a break on the price of the computer provided you pony up for at least a 2 year data plan on the Rogers network. It's a twist on the mobile internet sticks they sell, instead of a USB dongle, they'll drop the SIM card right inside the computer giving you access anywhere you can get a few bars.
The HP Mini 110 is a worthy netbook. Unlike other models which had me squinting and scrunching to get things done, with a keyboard that's 92% the size of a traditional notebook, this model wont have you fumbling around (too much).
Syncables is a great little software add on for the system. It takes for granted that the netbook is not your primary PC of choice and will let you sync up files across your home network before you head on the road. It's the perfect road book, it has a monitor out for running your presentations, it's loaded up with USB ports so you can drag along an external mouse (the trackpad is not very good) and it's light enough to toss over your shoulder and haul from airport to airport without worry.
For students, this is a handy notetaking tool since it's tight enough to squeeze on a lecture desk, but the keyboard is big enough to actually get some work done.
I have no problems with the HP Mini 110, as a netbook it's perfectly fine - it's the subsidized plans that have me flinching a bit.
The cheapest plan, $25 for 500MB of data (plus sys acc fee and taxes) will have you spending nearly $35 for the privelege of downloading a couple tv shows over iTunes, tossing some photos up to Flickr or spending a night on YouTube. If this is your primary point of access to the web, you'll need to do some workshifting to find open and free WiFi points to make up the data gaps so you're not paying costly overages each month.
There is a temptation with the ability to access the web over 3G to treat it like a WiFi blanket over the city. But this tap is metered, and each time you turn it on you have to be careful to only drink what you need, and not over indulge. Rogers says the plans start at a low limit because they only want to charge people what they're using and not have them pay for wasted data plans they never achieve. (This was the same reasoning given for the original meagre iPhone data plans before enough pressure built to have them move to the current $30 for 6GB plans)
The HP Mini 110 is a great second or third computer. If you're a traveler and you need the insurance of always being able to access the web without paying ridiculous single day charges at hotels or airports, then the subsidized rate is a great insurance plan to give you access when you need it, wherever you are. You just can't rely on the 3G as your primary access point to the web or you'll be blowing through your data plans very very quickly.
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