Hardware

A first look: Sprint Mobile Broadband PCMCIA

By // February 13, 2007, 3:56 AM PST // markwkaelin

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  • The Sprint Mobile Broadband card from Pantech looks pretty much like any other PCMCIA card. But this card provides high-speed access to your mobile workforce without having to worry about the typical 802.11 wireless access points. In my hometown of Louisville, KY, the Sprint Mobile Broadband service covers the entire metropolitan area so I could go anywhere in town and never lose connection. Not bad for about $60 a month.

    However, before you sign that two-year service contract make sure your area is covered. Sprint is adding areas all the time so you'll have to do some research to support your purchase before hand.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • The Sprint Mobile Broadband card comes in a nice small package. The current deal is that the card is free with a two-year contract.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • It comes with its own shirt pocket-size carrying case.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • When the Sprint Mobile Broadband card is in its carrying case you cannot really tell what it is. Imagine the envy fellow travelers will have when you whip this out at the airport to surf the sports news.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • In keeping with the minimalist design concept, the software that supports the Sprint Mobile Broadband card consists of a small status window.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • A non-scientific test of the Sprint Mobile Broadband transfer speeds on DSL Reports confirms that the service achieves reasonable throughput.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • To make sure the previous test wasn't just a fluke, I tested it again on DSL Reports against a server on the East Coast.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • The DSL Report numbers I received from my hometown in Louisville, KY were consistent with what has been reported for the Sprint network overall.

    The speed is adequate for Web surfing and e-mail, but might be a little slow for large file downloads.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

  • Courtesy of the Sprint Mobile Broadband Web site comes this map of the Louisville-area coverage. As you can see, in the Louisville metropolitan area service is not a problem. But 50 miles into the surrounding state is more hit and miss.

    Sprint and its partners are working to fill in the gaps, but it will take a while.

    © CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

    Mark W. Kaelin

The Sprint Mobile Broadband card from Pantech looks pretty much like any other PCMCIA card. But this card provides high-speed access to your mobile workforce without having to worry about the typical 802.11 wireless access points. In my hometown of Louisville, KY, the Sprint Mobile Broadband service covers the entire metropolitan area so I could go anywhere in town and never lose connection. Not bad for about $60 a month.

However, before you sign that two-year service contract make sure your area is covered. Sprint is adding areas all the time so you'll have to do some research to support your purchase before hand.

© CNET Networks, Inc. / TechRepublic.com

Mark W. Kaelin

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By Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.