Nowadays, getting connected onto the Internet is a simple affair. Get a device with Wi-Fi connectivity, search for the nearest wireless connection, and voila, you’re good to go to surf the web. Most devices that are churning from the production line are capable of Wi-Fi connections, and for countries that have a strong island-wide Wi-Fi infrastructure, getting onto the web is of no consequence. But what if you are hampered by a wireless connection that’s so weak, that it drops you off the connection constantly, or worse, you can’t even get connected at all? You can fall back on your Nokia device’s inherent cellular data connection, which more often than not, would have gone the 3.5G (HSDPA) route that gives you speeds akin to a broadband connection. In the next few minutes, we’ll show you two simple ways to get started.

The old school method, as what we would call it, is to use the Nokia PC Suite and utilize its One Touch Access feature to turn your Nokia device into a modem. You have a choice of either connecting your Nokia device to the PC via a wired USB connection, or go for the wireless route and switch on your device’s Bluetooth connection, thus creating a wireless modem over the Bluetooth connection. Firstly, let’s switch on Nokia PC Suite, and select the One Touch Access function, as highlighted below.

Before we connect the dots, let’s do some tweaking on the connection settings first. Click on the Settings tab (the spanner icon) and select the appropriate connection, depending on the connection that you’ve established between the device and the PC. Next, you’ll be prompted to select the cellular network as used by your device.

Once that’s done, click on the Connect icon and in a few short moments, you’ll have your very own Nokia device as a modem.

As mentioned, the Symbian S60 platform comes with a myriad of 3rd party applications designed to enhance your user experience. And in comes JoikuSpot, which uses the cellular data connectivity found in most devices, and utilizing it as if it were a Wi-Fi hotspot. Think of your device as a router that allows other devices to connect to it and get hooked onto the Internet. And thus, let’s move on and download this free S60 application from its portal, right here.

Next, it’s time to install the application. Perchance you are using the Nokia N95 8GB like we are, or better yet, the Nokia N96 with it 16GB internal storage capacity, you might want to consider transferring the JoikuSpot S60 file into your device’s internal memory. Connect your device to the PC, choose Mass Storage, and transfer the S60 file into the internal storage, for example, in a new folder within the device called Programs.

With that done and in place, go to Settings > File Manager and select the Internal Memory Tab and click on Programs > JoikuSpot Light.sis to start installing JoikuSpot onto your device.

Select your JoikuSpot Light application from the Applications tab and you’ll be prompted to click Yes to create a Shared Internet Connection. The idea is to utilize your cellular network, such as your device’s GPRS or HSDPA data connectivity, to create a wireless access point to allow other devices to link up and get connected onto the Internet.

Using another Nokia device, switch on your WLAN scanning and you’ll notice that an access point called JoikuSpot is now available for your connection purposes. Simply choose that as your wireless access point, and you’ll have a working data connection.

There are a few downsides to this S60 application though. JoikuSpot Light supports HTTP and HTTPS protocols, but if you’re thinking of utilizing it to download your emails via the IMAP protocol, you’ll have to upgrade JoikuSpot Light to JoikuSpot Premium. More importantly, when you’ve successfully created a wireless hotspot with your device using JoikuSpot Light, the connection is essentially unsecured. Without an option to create an encrypted network, this means that anyone can tap into your HSDPA network with the JoikuSpot hotspot connection, so extra care has to be taken to keep your connection secure.