In Car Use?

**DownhillNexus** · 01-07-2013, 07:59 PM

Hey guy's,

I just purchased a Nexus 7 & Nexus 10. Wondering if it's possible to use these tablets in the car for long trips? I attend car shows all over the East Coast and up-to-date traffic/weather / other apps such as Torque would be great for my co-pilot.

I am a Verizon user but DON'T have a smartphone...yet. I'm asking all you Tech guru's; if I purchase an Android Razr M Smartphone with the basic Verizon Data plan am I able to use my Android phone as a hotspot for my Tablets to run off of while in the car traveling on the highway? If so, how exactly does that work? I don't plan on using my phone for more than phone calls/texting. For my roadtrips the plan is to keep the cell phone in my door pocket and mount my tablet to my windshield/dashboard.

So... for all of those with smartphones/tablets that use them OUTSIDE of buildings/houses with Wi-Fi. Is this possible? Or will this only work with an AT&T data plan?

Thank you for any information on this topic! I tried searching but didn't find any information that answered my questions.

**jdfrye** · 01-07-2013, 08:15 PM

Just got back from a 700 mile round trip and while I was driving my sister used this nexus 10 that when I turned on my hot spot on my galaxy S3 connected no problem! Sometimes we would get slow or no connection but it worked flawlessly! Used about 700mb during the trip. Went from Southern California to Phoenix and back

**DownhillNexus** · 01-07-2013, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by jdfrye1966

Just got back from a 700 mile round trip and while I was driving my sister used this nexus 10 that when I turned on my hot spot on my galaxy S3 connected no problem! Sometimes we would get slow or no connection but it worked flawlessly! Used about 700mb during the trip. Went from Southern California to Phoenix and back

That is what I want to do. So I need to purchase a Android Smartphone that has "hotspot" capability built in? Is that an added charge per month on a Verizon plan? How long did your cell phone battery last with that "hotspot" feature turned on so your Tablet could run off your phone's internet connection?

Were you charged for the 700mb on top of your Verizon data plan? I assume the 700mb used was off your cell phone data plan since the tablet was just feeding off the hotspot of the Galaxy cell phone?

**Thomas Day** · 01-07-2013, 08:43 PM

I have a 6gb data plan with Vz for about $50 a month that's reimbursed by my firm. My wife and I frequently take long road trips using my HTC thunderbolt or her iPhone as a hotspot. Its a good idea to bring along a car charger for the phone for long trips.

**Evilnut** · 01-08-2013, 07:51 AM

You will need a Hotspot capable smartphone with a data plan at least. I have a Droid4. I use an app called FoxFi on it so I don't have to pay extra for the hotspot feature on Verizon. I use my N10 in my truck with a RAM windshield mount. Others can connect their laptops, tablets or iPods to my phones hotspot when we are traveling too.

**Dale M** · 01-08-2013, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by DownhillNexus

That is what I want to do. So I need to purchase a Android Smartphone that has "hotspot" capability built in? Is that an added charge per month on a Verizon plan? How long did your cell phone battery last with that "hotspot" feature turned on so your Tablet could run off your phone's internet connection?

Were you charged for the 700mb on top of your Verizon data plan? I assume the 700mb used was off your cell phone data plan since the tablet was just feeding off the hotspot of the Galaxy cell phone?

I have a RazrM, the hotspot capability comes bundled with the phone and is easy to set up. There is no extra charge for using the hotspot function. The data used while in hotspot mode is counted against the data plan that the phone is on. The tablet does not have to have it's own plan to connect via hotspot. At least this is how my plan is set up.

I have used the tablet while on the road, and it works well. When the phone is in a 4g area, the connection seems at least as fast as WiFi, when in 3g, the connection seems slower, but not agonizingly so.

I have not used the phone as hotspot for extended periods while on the road, but am sure that it uses extra battery. The RazrM has pretty good battery life,so it is not an issue for me. I have a car charger so if needed could plug the phone (and tablet) in if needed.

**jdfrye** · 01-08-2013, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by DownhillNexus

That is what I want to do. So I need to purchase a Android Smartphone that has "hotspot" capability built in? Is that an added charge per month on a Verizon plan? How long did your cell phone battery last with that "hotspot" feature turned on so your Tablet could run off your phone's internet connection?

Were you charged for the 700mb on top of your Verizon data plan? I assume the 700mb used was off your cell phone data plan since the tablet was just feeding off the hotspot of the Galaxy cell phone?

--Yeah you would need a android smartphone with the hot spot feature. Most all android smartphones have the hot spot built in.
--The newest Verizon plans have the hot spot included in the plan, so there is no extra charge to teather your tablet.
--I had my phone in a car mount that holds the phone so I can see navigation while it's plugged into the car charger. I also had the hot spot enabled while watching the navigation map. So the battery didn't drain
--I have a older plan with unlimited data so I have foxfi which is the same as the Verizon hot spot feature that's built into the phone. I use this as others with older plans so we can use the hot spot feature without paying the extra $30 a month.
--And if I did have a newer plan... Yes the 700mb would come off my bucket of data. 1024mb of data is equal to 1GB