True Wireless Freedom?
Written: Jan 04 '05 (Updated Jan 04 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Get on line anywhere covered by Verizon wireless broadband
Cons: Wireless areas are not everywhere, but they are growing quickly.
The Bottom Line: For me this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, just wish the slice didn't cost so much!
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| buddy1065's Full Review: Audiovox PC5220 CDMA Dual Band GPS Receiver |
Can such a card inserted into your laptop provide you with the ability to get on line without wires, routers, tacked on motel wireless fees, or home base stations? Is it just a futuristic dream to imagine surfing the net in a park, in your car at a highway rest stop, or sneaking a peak on the net when you've got nothing to do in your office at the job? Hold onto your hats boys and girls, for it is no longer a dream and the future is now...but at a price.
Description:
Check out the pics on my web page:
http://homepage.mac.com/bhardy3/PhotoAlbum34.html
As you can see there is a little flat antenna about an inch and a half long on the card that you pull up 90 degrees before using it. Good thing is it is not detachable; you won't worry about loosing the antenna. The card is well built and solid. It also has a little blinking light to let you know its working.
Installation:
Although the PC5220 card is actually advertised as a PC only broadband card, I found it easily worked with my 17" Apple Powerbook. The card comes with it's own CD software. I was skeptical, since none of the contained software applied to my Mac, but even though the Verizon salesman had his doubts that it would work on my Mac, I tried it anyway. The good news is it actually required no software for me; I simply inserted the card, chose it in System Preferences/Network and clicked on the little desktop phone icon in the top finder menu bar. That was it; on line quick and easy.
Data Rate:
Depending on how close you are to a cell tower, data speeds can burst up to 2 Mbps on Broadband access, with typical download speeds of 300-500 kbps
With National access internet connections are about 40-60 kbps with bursts up to 144 kbps. When your are outside of the broadband coverage area you can use National Access. You PC users can speed up you performance by using the CD software; unfortunately I haven't figured out a way for Macs since there is not yet any included software, nor do I know for sure that Mac performance will be slower without such software.
Reliability:
Though I have only had the card about 4 days I can say it seems pretty reliable on my Mac and whips the pants off my old dial up service.
In my conclusion I would whole heartedly recommend this card to anyone who wants to play with the future of wireless technology now. It is truly a little wonder in itself, and I am having lots of fun with it.
At this present time you can get a Verizon 1 year or 2 year contract at $80 per month and the card itself is free if you mail in the $150 rebate, which is what the card costs.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/broadband/index.jsp
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
buddy1065
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Location: Florida
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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