Under the covers

When I started my on-line consulting business at the beginning of the year, one of my first purchases was a 3G data card.

Actually purchase isn't exactly the right term as it came "free" with my new Sony laptop but I signed up to the T-Mobile Web'n'Walk because it's good value and also provides hotspot access at pretty much all Starbucks not just in the UK but abroad too.

I have quite a bit of "down time" between meetings and travel on the train regularly so it's been a major benefit to be able to get on-line with my laptop wherever I am.

I'm also a bit of a smartphone fiend, I've been using a Treo for several years now and I wouldn't be without it for email, calendar and contacts on the move. It boots up instantly unlike a laptop and I can keep in constant contact which is essential for my business.

My problem is that I use as much data on my Treo as I do on my laptop (up to 50Mb per month) so when I took on the phone contract from my previous employers, I was faced with having to sign up for a second data package for my phone. This would have doubled my mobile costs from £30/month to more than £60.

So I hatched an ingenious plan. Instead of signing up for a new contract, I got my existing mobile number transferred to my 3G datacard SIM. Now I can use the SIM in my phone and have unlimited data and when I need to use the 3G card, I just swap it over and use the data allowance on my laptop.

Of course, there's the hassle of having to swap it over but hey, I'm a bootstrapper. Also, I obviously can't make or receive phone calls when I'm using the datacard. But that's a small price to pay for a pretty decent saving and I've got a free "pay as you go" SIM if I'm really desperate.

Anybody else got a solution like/better than this? I'm sure there must be other possibilities for saving data costs.