What is a Mobile Broadband Card?
The term "mobile broadband card" can simply be defined as a device that allows you to have Internet access when you are on the road once the device is plugged into a laptop. It is a service you pay for with a wireless carrier (such as Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint) to allow you to connect to the Internet using this device. As of this writing, the devices I will be referring to are the ones that connect to your laptop using the USB port.
The top 4 providers out there which I will be referring to are as follows: Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. Each of these wireless providers have a broadband/wireless card that plugs into the laptop to allow you to access the Internet from wherever you are (provided you have a signal). My tests with the broadband cards were done in several places in NY but each card was tested in the exact spots to ensure proper results. The locations where this was tested at are as follows: Grand Central Station, Madison Square Garden, South Street Seaport, Westchester County and Queens County. The test that I did on each device was browse the web (Youtube, CNN, Yahoo, Facebook), sending out 2 emails (no attachment, a document of 25 pages, and streaming Video from HuLu Plus. So lets get started.
Pantech® 4G LTE USB Modem UML290 - Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless has the Pantech 4G LTE broadband card. This was rated as one of the better broadband cards that Verizon offers its customers. Its futuristic design makes it pleasing to look at especially when you connect it to your laptop. I took the device and used it on my Windows 7 laptop as well as my Apple Macbook Pro with Lion installed.
The think I liked the most about it is no CDs to use for installation. The software necessary to install the Verizon Access Manager is in the broadband card. This is great for those who don't want to have to always carry the CD with using someone else's laptop. Once the laptop is fully powered on, just plug it in and the installer should run. Just follow the prompts and you will have a new icon on the desktop called VZ Access Manager. Once I got connected to the Internet, I was impressed on how fast my connection was. It picked up a 4G connection in each of my testing locations. In one particular location in Queens, it switched between a 3G connection and a 4G connection, however the speed was still not an issue for me.
Using my Outlook on both the Windows and Mac Laptops, sending an email with and without an attachment was pretty quick. Browsing the internet was very decent considering its not a WiFi connection, when it got to viewing some shows from HuLu Plus, it was a little choppy, which I expected, but between the times it buffers the content to the play back was rather quick.
Sprint 3G/4G Plug-in-Connect USB
Sprint has this broadband card that is smaller than the Verizon Broadband card. I also like this one because it also comes with no CDs, just plug it in and it will ask you to confirm the installation of the software. This also worked on my Windows 7 and Macbook Pro laptops. Now I am a careful person so I know how to take care of equipment such as this, but I feel that if most people hold it in their hand, they would feel they could break it by looking at it. It has good weight to it but I feel they could've make the outside of it feel durable. Going now to the same locations to perform my test, to my surprise were identical to that of the Verizon device. Here is the best thing though about the Sprint device. If you decided to install the operating system Linux on your laptop, this card will have no problems at all on it! Verizon only supports Windows and Mac as its operating systems. Sure, if you are tech savvy enough you can get it to work but Sprints card will work right out of the box on Linux. This is pretty cool for those who use Linux on their laptops.
AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G
The AT&T broadband card looks like a smaller version of a Tic Tac casing, but wider. It feels sturdy enough to withstand it falling on the floor. I was able to install this easily on my Windows and Mac laptops. The software install prompt loaded once I plugged the device into the USB port so no need for any CDs. Going to the same locations, my results were a bit different though. In NYC, by the seaport and by Grand Central station, I was getting a 3G signal, which doesn't make sense since not to long ago they had set up the 4G towers around these areas. In Madison Square Garden, It kept switching from 3G to 4G so I couldn't get a steady connection long enough to fully load a website. When I was in Queens and Westchester County, it was working like a charm. The only issue I had with this in my tests was trying to load HuLu Plus. It for some reason or another, kept the stream in its lowest quality format, which means, it looked choppy. I could rule out there was an issue with HuLu at the time but when on YouTube, it felt like it wasn't loading the video quick enough.
T-Mobile® Jet™ 2.0
I must say right off the bat I love the design on this card. I am old school so this reminds me of one of my older usb thumb drives I use to store my documents. This also allows you to just plug it into your Windows or Apple laptop, install the software without CDs and you are good to go. I will be completely honest that my results on the test left me dumbfounded. My tests on this device blew the AT&T device out of the water! No matter where I was, I always had a 4G connection. However, when it came to certain areas up in Westchester county, I either had a connection, or a dead zone. When I did have a connection, I was comfortable browsing the web at decent speeds, sending emails and watching a show or two online.
For additional information on these cards and the plans that are offered you can visit them at the links below:
http://www.verizonwireless.com
http://www.sprint.com
http://www.att.com
http://www.t-mobile.com
Now, before I get to what I believe is the best broadband card, I need to explain something first. As you have seen, these tests were done in NY and as such will vary in other regions of the USA. I didn't mention if these cards will work when traveling overseas. It is the responsibility of each individual to check with the provider whether or not these will work overseas and obtain the proper information on pricing plan going overseas. I can say this about the customer service for each company though, they now have very good service people, but if I am to rate from the top to bottom, I would rate it like this:
- Verizon Wireless
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
- AT&T
I will have to say, the best broadband card is the Sprint, with the Verizon Wireless card running a close second, followed by T-Mobile, and AT&T. Why did I, a loyal customer of Verizon Wireless, chose Sprint over them? The answer is simple; As a tech, I also use Linux on a laptop and the fact that all I needed to do on the Linux laptop was just plug it in, run the install and start to work was a blessing. With Verizon Wireless, they do not officially support it on it but you can find work around online.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the companies of Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T for working with me in allowing me to test the devices. Thank you all and until the next time!
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