Laptops are one of the many items of technology that have benefited from a massive decrease in price in the last ten years. Previously getting a laptop was a major financial commitment that was usually only reserved for business people and companies, but now picking up a fully functional laptop for under £500 is a reality, and you can pick up a system capable of browsing the net for even less.

But while many computer users have gone out and purchased a laptop as a compliment to their home computer, it becomes apparent very quickly that without a way to connect online, the usefulness of any portable computer is diminished! How many times have you gone to check your emails or read your Facebook account only to realise that actually you're on your laptop and therefore not connected to the internet.

At home you can connect a laptop via Wi-Fi and have freedom to browse how you like at a good speed, but the whole point a laptop is that you can take it anywhere, so it's not unreasonable to want to take the internet with you as well. This is something that's possible with mobile broadband and mobile broadband dongles for laptops, a relatively new technology that allows you to connect wherever you go.

The technology behind it is pretty simple. Working very similar to phone signal, mobile broadband is picked up from phone masts and distributed to a very large area, currently covering a significant portion of the UK. That signal is picked up using the dongle itself; a small device that plugs into the USB port on your laptop and can be purchased from most phone stores.

You can pick up dongles for laptops in much the same way you can get a mobile phone. You can either opt for the pay as you go option, where you only pay for a day or a weeks access at once but have to pay an initial charge for the dongle itself, or you can get a contract and pay monthly for the service which nearly always provides the dongle itself free of charge.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Generally a contract is the cheaper way to access the net through mobile broadband, but it's only really cheaper if you spend a good deal of time using it in the first place to justify the cost. That's why it's a great option for people who travel a lot or have long commutes to work on a regular basis. For people that go away for short periods of time irregularly, using a pay as you go scheme makes much more sense.

Whatever you do, it's important that before buying anything you check out the providers website and investigate the kind of signal you are likely to receive. If the signal is poor in an area you are going to be travelling to often, that provider may not be the best choice. There's several providers currently in the UK though, and they have different signal strengths in different areas, so shop around before giving up!