How many Xperias does it take to get online?

What an end to a very long week. Probably made so by the fact the weekend just passed was non-stop during a family BBQ to celebrate my birthday. I haven't rested in nearly two weeks and I'll be lucky to get any rest this weekend coming up.

However, the point of this blog post isn't to show you my family photos. It's to tell you about how Xperia saved the day in a modern world where internet dependency is etched within our nature.


Our party took place on a sunny day at my mum's static caravan. Both me and my older brother have long fleed the family home, however my adopted younger brother lives at home with my mum so the party consists of a young teenager, two twenty-somethings (myself included), a tech-savvy (to an extent) mum, two grandparents, and two family friends. Of those, mum, me and my two brothers are staying for the weekend. This is where things started to get slightly awkward.

Remember earlier on I mentioned my mum being tech-savvy? OK, that's almost true - this extends so far as having a wireless router. She has had wireless routers in other homes though for some strange reason fears that having one in her static caravan is somewhat different and 'wouldn't work'. So the four of us have come to rely on sharing a single ethernet cable everytime we visit the static home - something we've never all had to do at the same time.

All but one of us (my older brother) have an Xperia phone, and this is where the magic shines. My younger brother has a truly unlimited dataplan, one of those no data-caps, all you can eat tarrifs on '3' (I'm sure I've seen other networks outside the UK offering similar). This, paired with the wifi hotspot option on Xperia meant we were up and running in minutes. Unlimited internet across three Sony Xperia phones, one 'anonymous' phone, a Nintendo Wii and a laptop.

Using your phone as a wifi hotspot can be a great life saver, but it's also important to remember that whilst you may be running unlimited, there will still be restrictions, for example, don't expect to be watching catchup TV or playing MMO games. But for all intents and purposes involved in situations where the internet is restricted on the go, it's such a useful tool to have.

Portable hotspots on Xperia S (running ICS) can be located by sliding down the notification bar and clicking on the little spanner and screwdriver icon towards the top. Next, tap More, Tethering and Portable Hotspot, and then tap on Portable Wi-Fi hotspot. To ensure your data doesn't fall into the wrong hands, you should consider securing your hotspot by giving it a network key in the 'Configure Wi-Fi hotspot' options from the same screen, finally, please remember to consider your data allowances. If you're on a capped dataplan you should keep this utility to an absolute minimum, but that's never to say never, just be cautious on whether it's 'worth it'.

Oh and to answer my original question, how many Xperias does it take to get online? Just one, but the more the merrier at this party!