Has anyone thought about removing their data plan and instead getting a wireless hotspot? I'm kicking around the idea of doing this.

LTE data is much faster than the N900/N9's HSPA/3G and I could then share the connection with my wifi-only HP Touchpad and/or laptop. The Touchpad doesn't support ad-hoc wifi so tethering to phone isn't a viable option.

Downsides:
- Extra little brick to carry around
- Extra device to keep charged
- Slightly more expensive
- Wifi always on = less battery life (offset by keeping phone in 2G only for voice?)

Thoughts? Opinions?

The TouchPad supports Ad-hoc, previously via terminal setup only but for some time now also supported by a GUI: here. I use it myself with the N900.

Yeah, I've had it working through the terminal method, but not having security isn't going to work because I primarily tether while riding the train, along with about 20+ other laptop/smartphone users.

If wep encryption is an option, you might want to look at qtmobilehotspot on the N900.

HP Touchpad doesn't support WEP or any other security in ad-hoc mode. Really a horrible limitation.

But don't lose focus here--I'm not considering this JUST to use the Touchpad. That's certainly a good thing and worth consideration, but LTE is faster for the laptop and faster for the N900 too. Question is, are the drawbacks worth the extra speed?

Just looking for opinions.

LTE available outside downtown / rural areas too?

I have a pocket WiFi router that sucks off a modified Mintyboost using a 5v rechargable battery.

Dropped my expensive data addon plan to my voice + text plan, bought an unlimited data-only plan for $20 a month.

I'm working on integrating my wearable network (pocket WiFi, N900 and Tab 8.9) to my home network. When it's done, I'm going to have a personal cloud, and can just leave my SIM card with a 3G dongle at home connected to Asterisk to make my phone calls for me, controlled remotely from the N900.

This is fast becoming a smart idea, as half-decent mobile broadband packages become available, and as we come out of contract on our N900s.

My thoughts:

Extra brick to carry around - yup, unavoidable, but not a problem for me as I already carry a 7000mAh USB charging brick most of the time anyway. Also, a damned useful brick as it'll connect both Linux and Windows laptops and netbooks without much configuration.

Extra device to keep charged - the aforesaid 7000mAH brick has 2 ports for a reason. I'll soon replace it with a 12000mAH brick that should rescue an N900 and the MiFi multiple times before it even threatens to run out.

Slightly more expensive - perhaps. In my case, I have the option of taking a 1GB MiFi service and still saving about £4 per month, or 10% of current contract cost. If it's slightly more expensive, it'll be because I've gone for the 15GB version, which will have enough multiple uses to more than justify it.

Battery life - don't forget that you can reduce the wifi transmit power right down to 2mW using iwconfig, and it probably wouldn't be hard to do this from dbus-scripts based on the SSID you were connected to. i.e. 2mW for MiFi, 10mW for home WiFi and 100mW for anything else.

So, for me, the disadvantages are minor. The potential advantages include:

Higher real-world speed

Potential for mobile SIP / skype use? Dunno, but people are saying streaming works and getting 5-6Mbit, so possibly...

Multiple device support - I actually have a spare N900 with a prepay SIM in it that's pretty useless without paying for mobile Internet. With external MiFi I could use it as a live spare.

Multiple networks - this is key. I'll keep the N900 on my current provider with 250Mb of mobile Internet still and buy the MiFi from another network that's invested in HSPA+, that way I keep all the current functionality and add the faster connection only when it works, without being screwed when it doesn't. I then gain the option to put the spare device, prepaid, on a third network, so I have a backup for calls as well.

Backup for home internet - my cable recently had a fit of outages and whilst the N900 mostly saved the day, I'll bet I've done some damage to my 1GB of bandwidth. A MiFi setup with 15GB of transfer and real-world speeds of ~5Mbit is no longer just a replacement for mobile internet, it's a solid backup for home broadband as well.

Extra 32GB USB key, based on microSD - the latest Huawei MiFi device not only takes a 32GB microSD, it makes it available on the microUSB port as mass storage. Could be used for a backup of the phone or just to relieve strain on the internal storage.

My conclusion is that to add this to my current contract would be desirable but indulgent, but, to reduce the cost of the contract in order to retain mobile internet from two providers, usable with multiple devices, would be more than worthwhile. It also raises the question of throwing a cheap EEEpc into the mix, or similar netbook to handle all the USB devices and/or to offer both Windoze and Linux on the go...