Verizon Wireless Broadband plays with Macs pretty well
(Updated
4/19)
I'm posting this entry from my laptop on a moving train using Verizon's wireless broadband service. It's pricey ($80 a month for "unlimited" service) but thanks to some serious OS X gearheads, can work pretty well with Macs. I did have to activate the required PC card (a Novatel v620) on a Windows laptop first but some people have gotten the activation done at a Verizon store.
Speed is nothing like the pokey, less-than-dial-up speeds I was getting using AT&T/Cingular's GPRS over my Bluetooth phone as a modem. I had no problem sending and receiving email, surfing the web and downloading a few program updates -- or posting blog entries. I have 15 days to evaluate the service, but it seems like a much better value than the $60 a month I pay Cingular for a much slower and data-limited (50 MB a month) plan. I also get Verizon's much broader and more reliable network coverage. It is a minor drag carrying around the PC card as its antenna sticks out of my Powerbook's card slot. Someday maybe these supersonic speeds will be available on a Bluetooth phone too, though Verizon's track record on Bluetooth isn't promising.
Update: Looks like PC Magazine has given the Novatel card a rave review.
Subject tags: Gadgets, Verizon, Wireless, Macs
I'm posting this entry from my laptop on a moving train using Verizon's wireless broadband service. It's pricey ($80 a month for "unlimited" service) but thanks to some serious OS X gearheads, can work pretty well with Macs. I did have to activate the required PC card (a Novatel v620) on a Windows laptop first but some people have gotten the activation done at a Verizon store.
Speed is nothing like the pokey, less-than-dial-up speeds I was getting using AT&T/Cingular's GPRS over my Bluetooth phone as a modem. I had no problem sending and receiving email, surfing the web and downloading a few program updates -- or posting blog entries. I have 15 days to evaluate the service, but it seems like a much better value than the $60 a month I pay Cingular for a much slower and data-limited (50 MB a month) plan. I also get Verizon's much broader and more reliable network coverage. It is a minor drag carrying around the PC card as its antenna sticks out of my Powerbook's card slot. Someday maybe these supersonic speeds will be available on a Bluetooth phone too, though Verizon's track record on Bluetooth isn't promising.
Update: Looks like PC Magazine has given the Novatel card a rave review.
Subject tags: Gadgets, Verizon, Wireless, Macs
Posted: Tue - April 19, 2005 at 06:15 PM
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Published On: Dec 12, 2005 10:56 AM
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Published On: Dec 12, 2005 10:56 AM