Blackberry Bold as Modem

Blackberry Bold as Modem
Here's a quick guide to using your Blackberry Bold, tethered as a modem. It should work with the other newer Blackberrys as well.



This guide is written with screenshots from Windows XP with some domain changes. Look for the similar places on your operating system to change the settings.

Step 1: Connect your Blackberry to your computer. Make sure to turn on the Device Manager.

This is the driver that will tell your computer what to expect from your blackberry.

Step 2: Go to the Control Panel


Step 3: Doubleclick on phone and modem options


Step 4: Select "Standard Modem". This is your Blackberry


Step 5: Click on Properties. Enter the details as shown.

For Starhub replace "internet" with "shwapint".
For M1 replace "internet" with "mobilenet"
If you guessed this is the APN, your guess is the same as mine.

Step 6: Go to your connections. Doubleclick on the Dial-up connection that has been created. I renamed mine as "Singtel"


Step 7: Enter the following:
User name: 65_________ <-Your mobile number. For example, 6591234567
Password: user123
Dial: *99#

Now click on the "Dial" button

Your computer will dial up a connection through your Blackberry as a modem


When that screen disappears, you should be connected. I get a popup bubble announcement on the bottom right hand of my screen telling me my connected speed when this happens.
More>

Which Mobile Data Plan to Get

Which Mobile Data Plan to Get
Whichever telco you're subscribing to, an often asked question is to what data plan to get, is 3GB enough, do I really need 30GB, and the like.









Short Story


Long Story
Let's do some quick calculations. I'll use the general data guideline found by using this data calculation site:
https://ben.cheetham.me.uk/resources/net/data-usage-calculator

In General, 1 email is about 25kb. Sometimes, if you open the attachments, they could be more. But assuming just text emails, and exaggerating the data a bit, let's take email to be 100kb each. And lets say you're a super heavy email user, sending and receiving 50 such emails a day.

50 emails/day = 1500 emails/month = 150mb of data

>>A heavy user with lots of attachments will have to judge based on his attachments. But it's going to be hard to use more than say, 500mb of data a month.

Now lets talk about surfing. According to the calculator, we use about 10mb of data on average for an hour of surfing. For a person who only surfs using his mobile phone, let's estimate usage to be 2 hours a day.

2hrs/day = 60hrs/month = 600mb of data

>>Still with me?

Ok it's not unusual for a mobile user to watch videos on youtube or other streaming videos. Here's where data starts to get a little heavy. The calculator estimates an hour of video to be about 100mb. Maybe I catch an hour of my favourite shows everyday, that takes:

1hr/day = 30hr/month = 3GB of data

>>What a jump from just surfing + emails!

How about for people like me who tether their mobile phones to their laptops, using them as modems? My laptop is online 8 hours a day, surfing, sending emails, downloading various things, and maybe watching some youtube videos. But of course, I'm not furiously clicking through sites for 8 hours. I have to do work too, and go for my lunch break. Let's take it as 3 hours a day.

3hrs surfing/day = 90hrs/month = 9GB of data
50 emails/day = 1500 emails/month = 150mb of data
1hr youtube/day = 30hr/month = 3GB of data
Total: About 10GB++

>>The hybrid nature of laptop data usage can really cause big differences. You'll really have to estimate for yourself how much you use.

Oh, how about gamers, people who don't have to work/live on the internet, or people who just sit around watching videos all day? Gaming is about 100mb an hour, similar to streaming videos.

8hrs surfing/day = 240hrs/month = 2.4GB of data

or

8hrs gaming/day = 240hrs/month = 24GB of data

or

8hrs video/day = 240hrs/month = 24GB of data

Hey that works out to close 30GB a month. Singtel hits the nail right on the head. Maybe a little too close for comfort.


Starhub and M1 provide unlimited data, which might be more comforting, but if you have read this guide and know your usage, you can better pick the plan that suits you.

Starhub:


M1:


These plans are as of today (12th June 2009) and are subject to change, and subject to offers during special periods.

More>

Set up Mobile Phones for the Internet

Set up Mobile Phones for the Internet
If your phone hasn’t been set up by default, it’s pretty easy getting it ready for internet use in Singapore through GPRS/3G.





Short Story:
Find the network settings control on your phone. Use the following APN settings.

For Singtel -
APN: internet
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)

For Starhub -
APN: shwapint
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)

For M1 -
APN: mobilenet
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)

Long Story:
Your phone is like a little mobile computer. In order for a computer to send and receive information from the internet, it needs to connect to a provider which will assign it an address.

Usually on your home wired networks, this is done by the modem given to you when you sign up for the service. With your phone, you need to access the network via what is called APN, or Access Point Name. This tells your phone where to join the external network.

There are two types of APN used, the WAP APN and the web/internet APN. Entering the different APN will connect your phone through a different system. The WAP APN will normally filter non-WAP content by traffic, ports or volume. This depends on the service provider. The web/internet APN gives full content and may be charged at higher rates. It would be best to check with your telco if your plan charges extra for web/internet data.

In general, I have found it not to be the case. Our telcos seem to charge no different for web/internet or WAP access. However, if you are worried or have found this to be otherwise, the following are the WAP APN settings.

Singtel -
APN: e-ideas
Username: 65IDEAS
Password: IDEAS

Starhub -
APN: shwap
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)

M1 -
APN: miworld
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)
More>