EVDO ExpressCards for MacBook Pros
When Bruce said he wasn't getting a MacBook Pro because they didn't support EVDO Cards, I had a hard time believing him. Last week, I saw a co-worker using an EVDO card and have completely changed my perspective. He was able to get 7.9 MB/s (from the Bandwidth Speed Test), while only getting T1 speeds from an ethernet connection. Needless to say, I was instantly sold. Since Virtuas supplies EVDO cards to its employees, I've been yearning for one ever since.
As Bruce noted, the current models don't fit in MacBook Pros because they ship with ExpressCard slots instead of PMCIA. I did some research last weekend and found MacBook Pro owners have two options: 1) a USB adapter or 2) the Verizon V640. The V640 is obviously the better solution as it's more compact, but they're not shipping yet. The good news, according to EVDOinfo.com, is they will be soon.
July 7, 2006 @ 8:30AM CST Update
Verizon is in the process of sending Novatel V640 ExpressCards (aka XV620) to their warehouses, we are expecting the ability to order them over by the end of this week, however, this can be delayed based on Verizon Official Launch dates.
I'd love to have one of these bad boys for Raible Road Trip #10.
7.9MB is impossible...they can only burst to 2MB/sec. If they got 7.9MB, comething got cached...they are physically unable to run at those speeds. See:
http://dts.vzw.com/faqs/VZAccess/faq_natlbrdbandaccess.html?sp_link=1#item4
You will likely see 250-600KB averages in Denver and when sufficiantly close to a tower with full bars, you will get 1.2-1.5MB speed. 2MB will be only in the best conditions w/o many users connected to that particular tower.
You do not need an EVDO card to surf with your Mac. A phone is sufficient and will produce the same speeds as a card. This is called tethering. Verizon typically will charge an extra $15/month to allow tethering, although they need to catch you first.
The Verizon 640 is *not* the only phone supporting this. Nearly their full lineup of phones support EVDO, including the popular V3C/M Motorola RAZR. If you are looking to get a phone, I recommend the MotorolaQ or Treo 700p. The MotorolaQ will rewuire hacking some drivers on your Mac to tether it via USB, but the700p is ready to go out of the box. I recommend these phones because they allow you to retrieve your email and surf the net or IM, w/o a computer. Something that comes in handy when you are in a tight situation like whenboarding an airplane, etc. I also recommend getting a phone that has bluetooth. Although the connect speeds will be slower with BT, it also comes in handy when yuo need to make a rapid connection to the net w/o having to hook up a USB cable...again...very handy when you need to get mail, etc, and you dont want to dig through you rbackpack hunting down the cable.
Any phones that do not directly support tethering usually can be tethered with quick hacks. I recommend howardforums.com as it seems to have information on just about any phone and how to hack them.
Posted by Jeff Genender on July 08, 2006 at 12:55 PM MDT #
Whoops on the Verizon 640...I thought you were referring to the phone...not the card...my boo boo. In anycase, if your company is paying for it, the card is good. But if you pay for it, the phone is good because you get a discount..its $44.95 for EVDO service unlimited data plan, and couple that with a 20% corporate discount, you can get that down to $35.96. That is a lot cheaper than the $59.95 monthly service you will pay for ther card.
Posted by Jeff Genender on July 08, 2006 at 01:03 PM MDT #
Posted by Colin Sampaleanu on July 08, 2006 at 01:52 PM MDT #
Posted by Jeff Genender on July 09, 2006 at 04:44 PM MDT #
Posted by tim l on July 17, 2006 at 12:26 PM MDT #
Posted by Tim l on July 17, 2006 at 12:29 PM MDT #