Now that the majority of us use the internet in one way or another it’s little wonder that mobile computing has become the next big thing, with people expecting to take their web connectivity with them wherever they go.

Thanks to mobile broadband this is now possible for most areas of the country, although the technology is still evolving and so services aren’t always as great as you might hope for. Nevertheless, generally speaking, mobile internet is a great way to stay online while you’re away from home or the office.

The big question is; which method gives you the best options when it comes to exploiting this mobile computing potential? There are now a variety of options open to you, although they revolve around two core areas – one method is accessing the mobile internet using a smartphone while the other is to tap into mobile broadband with free laptop
deals.

Which one is best?

When it comes to getting online via mobile means then you’re spoilt for choice at present, and things look set to get even better with the increasing amount of tablet computers that are being released, such as the Apple iPad. However, at the moment the humble laptop or netbook computer is a tried and tested device for hooking up
to mobile broadband services.

A laptop or netbook connected to the web using any one of may packages that are available, either pay-as-you-go mobile broadband or contract based, will certainly give you much more flexibility when it comes to getting things done. You’ll be able to benefit from a larger screen area for starters, although a bigger keyboard helps too. In short, a laptop affords that little bit more room to breathe than smaller devices like the smartphone.

Traditionally, the price you’d pay for this would be the added weight of a mobile internet enabled laptop, but netbooks are often a lot lighter and the aforementioned tablet devices are even less likely to give you back strain if you’re carting them around for any amount of time. The other thing to watch out for with laptop contracts if you’re doing any kind of travelling is battery life though, because without access to an available power point you may run into problems.

So is the smartphone better?

Smartphones do many, if not all of the tasks that can be done on a conventional computer or laptop, only everything is scaled down. Again though, one of the big issues with these tiny little computing powerhouses is that they are also prone to relatively short battery life. A daily recharge is very common.

You’ll also have to get used to a much smaller screen area, so a tablet device like the Apple iPad or Dell Streak could be an ideal compromise between a full-blown laptop and a smartphone. Keyboards will also be more diminutive, and while some have proper keys to press not everyone gets on with the virtual QWERTY keyboards found on a lot of touchscreen smartphones.

Nevertheless, a smartphone will often be able to rival the computing power of many laptop contracts or netbooks these days, and operating systems such as the Android platform allows you to do all manner of things such as social networking quickly and efficiently while you’re on the move.

The best of both worlds

Any device that is going to be used to connect to the mobile internet, be it a laptop, tablet or smartphone will be transferring data to and from the web. This is where pricing, deals and offers on different packages can become useful to spend time comparing. If you’re a heavyweight internet user who expects to be uploading and downloading lots of digital content, such as music and movies, the be prepared to do your homework on data allowances.

Many mobile devices and their associated contracts or pay-as-you-go options aren’t always geared up to large amounts of data usage, and key areas such as download limits are always flagged up in terms and conditions by mobile providers. A decent package will allow you to stay online and fair usage policies should permit
reasonable usage.

But it’s still a good idea to look at any mobile device as a supplement to a traditiona ADSL or cable broadband connection rather then its replacement. At least for the time being that is.

About the author: Rob Clymo writes on behalf of www.broadbandgenie.co.uk, the independent comparison website for broadband, mobile broadband and smartphones.