Get wireless in a German hospital

annr

annr

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Nov 15, 2006
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I have a family member who is going out of his mind in a German hospital. The hospital does not have wireless. He learned today that he will be there at least another week and I think that his mental health may crack if he can not get something to occupy his time. He has been there 3 weeks already. (He does not read or understand German.)

He can get email on his iPad and he has a iPhone.

This or any other coping 'gadgets' welcome.
 
Too late for coping. He should have gotten German language tapes to study. (Sorry! :D)
 
If somebody can buy him a prepaid phonenumber, he can put the simcard in his Iphone and get online via the 3G network. Sure itll cost him abit, but i cant imagine the data-price being that expensive.

If he likes gaming, then a Sony PSP is a real timekiller :thumbup
 
Magazines would be my suggestion. Germany has a ton of excellent magazines some available in English such as Maxim, FHM, etc.
Best wishes for a speedy and same recovery.
 
PropThePolecat said:
If somebody can buy him a prepaid phonenumber, he can put the simcard in his Iphone and get online via the 3G network. Sure itll cost him abit, but i cant imagine the data-price being that expensive.

If he likes gaming, then a Sony PSP is a real timekiller :thumbup
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll raise the idea. I am ignorant. I know that his is a first generation iPhone so I don't know how the technology works...
 
RevDevil said:
Magazines would be my suggestion. Germany has a ton of excellent magazines some available in English such as Maxim, FHM, etc.
Best wishes for a speedy and same recovery.
Click to expand...

I will mention these options. I am told that the only English periodicals are at a train station 10 minutes away. Despite phone calls and promises he can't seem to get anyone to bring things to him each day. We are happy to pay someone something.

This is the University HospitalKlinic in Marburg and I'm surprised that it is so difficult to get things. No laundry. No patient amenities. No reading material. It really stinks for a person who cannot help himself.

I tried ordering books on amazon.de. They are coming from the US and available by Christmas---hope there will be no need by then.

Thanks for the good wishes.
 
It actually is not that easy.... you cannot mix and match SIM cards in an iphone. Only his SIM card will work. For international roaming the price per megabyte is $20.00 in some countries and $5.00 in others. I remember not knowing this when I went to Europe some years back and used an iphone as a GPS. Little did I know it was sucking massive amounts of data to run. Ended up finding out that it had used roughly 20 MB at $20.00. Do the math. Well, got it worked out and bought a lot of MB thinking that they would last the rest of the trip. ended up running out. Total phone bill for the month was around a grand. sigh.
 
PDE said:
It actually is not that easy.... you cannot mix and match SIM cards in an iphone. Only his SIM card will work. For international roaming the price per megabyte is $20.00 in some countries and $5.00 in others. I remember not knowing this when I went to Europe some years back and used an iphone as a GPS. Little did I know it was sucking massive amounts of data to run. Ended up finding out that it had used roughly 20 MB at $20.00. Do the math. Well, got it worked out and bought a lot of MB thinking that they would last the rest of the trip. ended up running out. Total phone bill for the month was around a grand. sigh.
Click to expand...

This conforms with what he told me. My sister-in-law gave me a "'why don't you just' get him a 'wireless key'?" When I asked her to explain how this would work, how I would set it up and how he would get the 'key', I got conflicting information about the 'wireless key', the service and the purchase.
 
Buy him one of the "surf sticks" usb-cellular modems from O2 or T-Mobile (or whatever they are calling themselves now) or any number of places including Aldi. Last time I was there is was about €40 a month and didn't need a contract. He will need someone to go buy it for him, but then he will get internet.


I love Germany and they are ahead in so many ways, but for many reasons their hospitals are not very good.
 
PDE said:
It actually is not that easy.... you cannot mix and match SIM cards in an iphone. Only his SIM card will work.
Click to expand...

If his phone is locked to one certain carrier, then he wont be able to. Phones in Europe are sold locked to one carrier for 6 months. After that they can be unlocked and are compatible with any simcard from any carrier. Being a first-gen IPhone the chances are that its unlocked. Im assuming the Iphone is german, as im not familiar with how the US does it.

PDE said:
For international roaming the price per megabyte is $20.00 in some countries and $5.00 in others. I remember not knowing this when I went to Europe some years back and used an iphone as a GPS. Little did I know it was sucking massive amounts of data to run. Ended up finding out that it had used roughly 20 MB at $20.00. Do the math. Well, got it worked out and bought a lot of MB thinking that they would last the rest of the trip. ended up running out. Total phone bill for the month was around a grand. sigh.
Click to expand...

I think i didnt make myself clear. I meant that someone in Germany get him a prepaid card, not that someone send him a US one. Roaming prices are ridiciously expensive, but a local preapid card is reasonably priced.

spyder10 said:
Buy him one of the "surf sticks" usb-cellular modems from O2 or T-Mobile (or whatever they are calling themselves now) or any number of places including Aldi. Last time I was there is was about €40 a month and didn't need a contract. He will need someone to go buy it for him, but then he will get internet.
Click to expand...

Even better...If you can get a hold of one without a contract, its excellent. I dont know if the Ipad has a USB plug though.
 
PropThePolecat and others,
This is a US iPhone and it is locked into AT&T as the carrier. The iPad does not have a USB port. (I guess my sister-in-law did not know what she was talking about?)

So it sounds like the option is purchasing a laptop and a 'surfstick' thingy...this gets tricky....not knowing how long he will be there and if he will need technical assistance or not.

After hearing these replies I decided to send a care package from the US with a good book. This is expensive but should get there in time and be user-accessible.:)
 
RevDevil said:
Magazines would be my suggestion. Germany has a ton of excellent magazines some available in English such as Maxim, FHM, etc.
Click to expand...

If the german FHM is anything like the Russian edition, you won't need to worry about the language issue ;). The.... ahhhh... vollyball scores -- yeah, that's the word I was looking for... if you know what I mean? -- are actually easier to read in Russian... and maybe German too. The .... ah.... "coverage" isn't as extensive as it is in the American edition, but the scores are higher.... if you follow my drift. Nudge nudge.... wink wink.... say no more.... say nohhhhhhhh more!
 
Gollnick,
Which nurse does one ask to pick up a copy on her way to work?;)
 
This is where a good ol paperback novel (or a Kindle) excels. Before I had a smartphone, I didn't go into a potentially boring place without a good novel. Now I have the Kindle app on my iphone so it's the same principle. I recommend Michael Connelly novels. Harlan Coben also. Now that he's had this experience, he'll probably get some novels downloaded to that Ipad. Like, the very minute he gets back into his non-roaming area. Tell him to get well soon! :)
 
I would think that the staff or students at Phillips University could be of some help there in Marburg.
 
Gollnick said:
If the german FHM is anything like the Russian edition, you won't need to worry about the language issue ;). The.... ahhhh... vollyball scores -- yeah, that's the word I was looking for... if you know what I mean? -- are actually easier to read in Russian... and maybe German too. The .... ah.... "coverage" isn't as extensive as it is in the American edition, but the scores are higher.... if you follow my drift. Nudge nudge.... wink wink.... say no more.... say nohhhhhhhh more!
Click to expand...

I was thinking along the lines of "wireless". A friend from Australia that came to visit me in 2002 brought with her a couple dozen magazines and periodicals from Brisbane/Queensland. My first exposure to the non U.S. magazines. Included in the assortment was FHM, Maxim, Mens Health & Fitness, Nuts magazine (similar to Maxim), and several local newspapers. Anytime there is illness or injury the easiest way to pass the time is by distraction. ;)
 
See if you can get him a device like the Verizon mifi. It provides a wifi hotspot for all his devices(iPhone and iPad) I use it for my iPad as I didn't want the 3G version. It works great and is pretty fast for a 3G connection. I think T-Mobile has a similar device.
 
tedwca said:
See if you can get him a device like the Verizon mifi. It provides a wifi hotspot for all his devices(iPhone and iPad) I use it for my iPad as I didn't want the 3G version. It works great and is pretty fast for a 3G connection. I think T-Mobile has a similar device.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ted,
This looks like the thing I hoped to find. There appear to be two varieties: one for CDMA 1xEVDO RevA Networks and the other for HSPA Networks (N. America/Europe versions).

Do you know, mind explaining, the difference between the two varieties of network? A very general idea is fine. Do you recommend one over the other?

Depending upon what each is, it looks like he could use both the N. America and Europe versions. It appears he would also need more than one service plan in Europe to get wireless where the operators do not cross Country lines. Not difficult to rationalize for the business traveler.
 
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annr said:
Thanks Ted,
This looks like the thing I hoped to find. There appear to be two varieties: one for CDMA 1xEVDO RevA Networks and the other for HSPA Networks (N. America/Europe).

Do you know, mind explaining, the difference between the two varieties of network? A very general idea is fine. Do you recommend one over the other?

Depending upon what each is, it looks like he could use both the N. America and Europe versions. It appears he would also need more than one service plan in Europe to get wireless where the operators do not cross Country lines. Not difficult to rationalize for the business traveler.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm not familiar with European networks and which standard would give you the most coverage.
 
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