Wireless Modems?

I don?t want to use a palm-top gadget, PDA or my cell phone to go online. The salesman told me that he could sell me a cable to connect my laptop?s modem to my cell phone for $80. But, he said, the brand of phone I had, had a high disconnect rate. Which meant I would use a lot of connect time reacquiring my Internet connection. He said that another brand of cell phone would work better. Was he just trying to sell me a different phone or service? With current technology what is the best and easiest way to connect with your laptop, when you don?t have access to a phone line?