Cell phone for laptop internet connection

Ever used your cell phone to get an internet connection for your laptop? A few weeks ago my son wanted me to take him and his buddy to the tennis court. I had a ton of work to do but didn't want to say no.

I knew I could get an internet connection through my cell phone. I had done it before when I had a Windows phone. It's not a bundled option with my Palm Treo 755P (yes, it's Palm OS and I love it). It took me a few minutes to find PdaNet (http://www.junefabrics.com/palmnet/). The download, install and setup was quick and simple. It took me 12 seconds to fire it up and get an internet connection. Yup! I clocked it with a stopwatch.... it really is 12 seconds.

I am on Sprint's high speed EVDO network and was getting download speeds that consistently felt like it was just a bit slower than the DSL in my house. Spent the next 90 minutes catching up on work, outside, enjoying the early evening, while my son and his buddy chased tennis balls around the court. Of course, being outside, the glare on my screen was just about impossible - but that's another story for another day.

PdaNet likes:
- Easy to install
- Very quick to fire up an internet connection
- $34; worth every penny

PdaNet dislikes:
- Can't talk and be online at the same time. Shuts down the internet connection to make a call. Gives an alert on an incoming call so you can answer or let it roll to vmail.

Notes:
- I had tested PdaNet on a Treo 650P that didn't use the high speed network. It still worked very well. The connection speed was bearable for simple browsing, webmail, etc., but no good for video clips or anything with hi-res, flash etc.