[emmjay]

Hello everyone,
This is my first post, so I am a bit nervous. The ISP that I am interested in buying a wireless internet connection from is offering a ZTE M668 USB modem stick for mobile networking. I understand that it is for my laptop, but I was wondering if I can use it in my desktop too. I do not have an internet connection setup on the desktop right now and as I am the only one in the house using the 2 computers (one at a time)... I do not have printers or stuff to share and I do not need to connect the two computers for any reason.

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You can use them on desktop or laptops.
They're just USB sticks at the end of the day with added functionality.

A lot of USB "gadgets" tend to be pen sticks at their most basic level. An MP3/MP4 Player is a pen drive with the ability to play music. Likewise a mobile internet dongle is a pen drive with a built-in transmitter and receiver. Even when the transmitter does pack up the drive should be usable to some degree.

Edited by Neil Jones, 27 October 2009 - 05:46 PM.

[Neil Jones]

You can use them on desktop or laptops.
They're just USB sticks at the end of the day with added functionality.

A lot of USB "gadgets" tend to be pen sticks at their most basic level. An MP3/MP4 Player is a pen drive with the ability to play music. Likewise a mobile internet dongle is a pen drive with a built-in transmitter and receiver. Even when the transmitter does pack up the drive should be usable to some degree.

Edited by Neil Jones, 27 October 2009 - 05:46 PM.

[emmjay]

Neil,
Thank you for your reponse and the added info. It is most appreciated.
I was very unsure about getting a USB connection for networking, having read quite a few posts on this site. There seemed to be a general recommendation to not use a USB connection for networking. Many of these posts are older, and I am not sure if the situation has changed in that respect.
The ISP in question is upgrading their infrastructure to GSM 4 so I assumed the dongle is the way of the future.

[dsenette]

the posts you're talking about are warning against using wireless dongles (for WIFI, 802.11 etc...) for connecting to wireless routers...some of these (especially off brands) have issues

the USB modems from your wireless (cellular) provider are different creatures....i've got quite a few of them here at work from verizon and they all work really well with no apparent issues to date (i can even hook my phone to my laptop and use it as if it were one of those dongles)

[emmjay]

Thank you Administrator,
You have cleared up a misconception on my part. Excellent information.