Looking for Prepaid Broadband Compatible With Mini Netbook

by Kim Schuman
(Bethany, IL, USA)

I just purchased a NEW 7" Mini Netbook Notebook / Laptop with WiFi, 2GB HD. The operating system is Windows CE 5.0. Are there any prepaid wireless cards able to be used on them?


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Jun 02, 2010
 Prepaid Mobile Internet Card for Mini Netbook
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

Definitely a great topic! Unfortunately, to my knowledge, all mobile broadband devices support Windows, most support Mac, and very few support Linux, however, none support Windows CE. I've never heard of anyone trying it, so maybe you can go to a store (ex. BestBuy has Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go) and see if they will give it a go. That said, given what I know about Windows CE, it's VERY unlikely that the Windows drivers would work on it. But you never know as I certainly don't know everything about everything ;-).


Windows CE is, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) going to be extinct before long, so it's highly unlikely that any prepaid broadband provider would seek to support it. That's not to say that there may be some developer guru out there who may have the talent and desire to put something together. Though if you're looking for something out of the box, a simple plug and play, you're not going to be satisfied I'm afraid.


I could see Android and even Google Chrome operating systems being supported at some point in the near future as those operating systems begin to show up on Netbooks and iPad-like eBook Reader devices.


Your best bet to use prepaid broadband with your current system is to use a MiFi device, however, your options are currently limited to Verizon. I've heard that Virgin and Cricket may be coming to the market with such a device (hopefully this year). A MiFi is basically a mobile hotspot that enables you to connect to it using any WiFi capable device (like your Netbook). You can connect up to 5 devices at a time. There are also third-party WiFi routers that allow you to connect USB modems to them that give you the same result, however, they tend to be a little more expensive, and support only specific modems, which is kind of a pain. If you want more info about these devices please let me know.


I'm sorry there's currently no ideal solution for you. If MiFi becomes available on Virgin and Cricket as expected, that's probably going to be your best bet!

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