Friday, June 14, 2002
Review of Sierra Wireless AirCard 555
Posted by marlof in "ARTICLE" @ 12:19 AM
http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/tips/aircard555.htm
On PDABuyersguide, Lisa G. reviews the Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 that can use the new 2.5G network on a CDMA basis, called CDMA2000. That is what GPRS is to the GSM folks. Lisa also reports on high speed connections at 60kbps to 70kbps. I am lucky if I get more than 35 kbps through my GPRS Ericsson T39m. If you're interested in the Audiovox Thera, you might like to read this review as well, as it has this card embedded in the unit, and uses the same bits for phone/data connections.
Her conclusion: "Pro: Yes! Now that you can get high speed access that feels fast starting at only $35/month for 150 minutes with no roaming and free domestic long distance. Unlimited plan arriving in June and speeds fast enough that you won't be obsessing on how may minutes your Internet session just ate up, this is awesome. And it doubles as a backup cell phone that has a National Single rate calling plan. Software and driver are very robust and user-friendly.
Con: I would still love to see prices fall into the consumer mainstream. We need $35/month and 400 data minutes! The Watcher call log doesn't keep track of call durations, so you'll be worrying how many minutes you've used. You must use a headset if you want to use your PDA for voice calls. You have to be in an Express Network (CDMA2000) area to take advantage of high speed Internet access. No Mac notebook drivers."
On PDABuyersguide, Lisa G. reviews the Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 that can use the new 2.5G network on a CDMA basis, called CDMA2000. That is what GPRS is to the GSM folks. Lisa also reports on high speed connections at 60kbps to 70kbps. I am lucky if I get more than 35 kbps through my GPRS Ericsson T39m. If you're interested in the Audiovox Thera, you might like to read this review as well, as it has this card embedded in the unit, and uses the same bits for phone/data connections.
Her conclusion: "Pro: Yes! Now that you can get high speed access that feels fast starting at only $35/month for 150 minutes with no roaming and free domestic long distance. Unlimited plan arriving in June and speeds fast enough that you won't be obsessing on how may minutes your Internet session just ate up, this is awesome. And it doubles as a backup cell phone that has a National Single rate calling plan. Software and driver are very robust and user-friendly.
Con: I would still love to see prices fall into the consumer mainstream. We need $35/month and 400 data minutes! The Watcher call log doesn't keep track of call durations, so you'll be worrying how many minutes you've used. You must use a headset if you want to use your PDA for voice calls. You have to be in an Express Network (CDMA2000) area to take advantage of high speed Internet access. No Mac notebook drivers."
