Face it, most of you out there need to connect to the internet even when away from the home or office. Using your Smartphone is fun, but sometimes you simply have to have your laptop.
Face it, most of you out there need to connect to the internet even when away from the home or office. Using your Smartphone is fun, but sometimes you simply have to have your laptop. (Photo: Sierra \ J. Anderson)
The world of gadgetry is growing this week and over the weekend thanks in part to new releases from the Mobile World Congress. Sierra Wireless, the people behind AirCards and USB modems, have upped the competition and offered two new devices that might make mobile computing a little easier.
The AirCard 885E ExpressCard and the Compass 885 USB modem are small, full-featured, and offer the latest high-speed mobile broadband technology for use worldwide. With a more compact ExpressCard design, useful to those of you in the cramped seats of "Business Class," the AirCard 885E is ideal for people who regularly travel with a laptop. Sierra says it's "...durable, fixed antenna design with no moving parts offers a reliable wireless connection, and with TRU-Install software installation, customers are up and running quickly with no need for an installation CD." The plus with the TRU-Install is that many in IT will not need to search high and low when a sales rep complains about install issues and somehow lost the install CD.
The Sierra Wireless Compass 885 tri-band USB modem for HSPA networks packs more features in a smaller volume than any other modem, it looks cool too, so that’s a bonus. Sierra said it includes the IT time saver TRU-Install, a microSD card slot to expand its functionality, and a laptop clip accessory to provide flexibility in use. Compatible with mobile broadband networks worldwide, the Compass 885 USB modem is the only product currently available to include a connector for an external antenna, allowing users in remote areas or fringe network coverage to extend and strengthen their connection to the network. Expect to see these soon from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.
The Compass 885 USB modem and the AirCard 885E ExpressCard support tri-band HSPA/UMTS with receive diversity on all three bands, and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM, a bonus for world travelers. Both products offer peak data speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second on the downlink and up to 2.0 Mbps on the uplink (software upgradeable to 5.76 Mbps uplink as future improvements become available).
They are compatible with both Windows and Mac notebooks or desktops and offer GPS support for location based services such as local search and navigation applications. Both the AirCard 885E ExpressCard and the Compass 885 USB modem are scheduled for commercial availability in mid-2008.
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