Virgin Mobile has service plans for those mobile wifi thingies--look on their website.

They aren't staying in our house, and they'd like something they can use in the guest apartment they are renting, which doesn't have wifi. They aren't spending time at our place during the weekdays, as we host our nanny share there.

Do you have wifi set up in your house? If so, you can just give them them WEP key and password (usually printed on a sticker on the base unit).

What about your computer, if it's just to check email what's the problem.

How often do they want to check? If it's only a few times during that week, they can scoot into a public library!

So my parents are visiting from overseas and would like some way to check email etc on the go. I told them I'd look into some sort of mobile modem to connect to the laptop, but are there any devices like this that you can buy, say a weeks worth of data plan for a decent price? Alternately, anywhere locally (in DC) where I can rent an ipad or similar device? Any other ideas?