Bluetooth or 802.11b? Faster, more stable, etc?

[rezilient]

I just bought a sandisk SD wi-fi card for my ipaq h1940.
I tried it at with 802.11b access points at my school and was dissapointed with the stability and speed of the connection.
I was about 20-30 feet away from the access point and was only getting 30-40% quality/strength.
Not only that but it drained my battery from 80% to 20% in only 45 minutes.
Do you think I would have better luck with bluetooth access?
If I dial into my ISPs dial-up connection using a bluetooth cell phone and would there be any charges (other than my ISPs dial up charges)?
Which is faster, wi-fi or bluetooth for internet access?
Thanks.

[Brad Isaac]

Well, there are several things to take into consideration.
1. I do not know why your battery would drain that quickly. you can probably expect 2.5 hours of usage from your Pocket PC and wifi card. Perhaps your battery wasn't at 100% ?
2. I recommend wifi for speed and stability. However at your school, you may simply get less range due to other radio interference. If it's in the cafeteria. Cell phones and other devices can interfere causing a decrease in range. I've had that happen when my bluetooth phone is nearby when I am almost out of range.
3. Using bluetooth to connect to the net is expensive. I pay $7 for a MB of GPRS access. I could buy 4 MB for $12 or unlimited for $99 So I use it to just check emails if I am out and about.
HTH,
Brad

[rn]

Hi Rez,
Do you mind if I ask, how much did your WiFi card cost? Was it SD (secure digital)? That is going to be my next present to myself after the holidays. I have a new HP iPAQ 1945. I am going to compare the built-in Bluetooth to WiFi.
RN

[bkbroil]

RN,
I found the Sandisk Wifi card listed on Bizrate for approx $97.
IMHO -- Wifi is better because you are already paying for the access rather than dialing up...