Product review – Computrace LoJack for laptops

by Scott Carmichael on

In this product review I’m going to take a closer look at a piece of software that has the potential to recover your laptop should you ever become the victim of laptop theft. Laptop computers are the perfect item for thieves; they are easy to grab, they are worth a fortune and they are pretty easy to resell.

Laptop thieves are everywhere; it could be the person standing next to you on the train, it could be the maid cleaning your hotel room, it could even be the strange guy walking down the hallway at your office. There are some basic physical methods to protect your machine, but in the end, you will always run the risk of losing your machine, no matter what you do.

This is where my review product for today can help; LoJack for Laptops is a piece of software that combines 2 basic components into one security solution; one part is the software itself, the other is the LoJack theft recovery team.

I first became interested in LoJack after a friend at a large company told me some stories of how LoJack helped them recover machines that were reported stolen. They even found a stolen machine inside the home of the staff member who filed the theft report. LoJack has a very impressive recovery record, and on average 60 stolen machines a week are returned to their rightful owner. To read some of the success stories, check out their website.

The first step in protecting your machine is to install the LoJack software on the PC. The installation process takes about 5 minutes and requires you to enter a serial number which is included with the package. Then you provide LoJack with your personal information such as address, email and phone number. LoJack also offers the option to purchase the software and serial number directly from their site.In order to verify that the installation was successful, the software makes a test call to the LoJack servers. This also lets you change any firewall settings if necessary. From now on, your computer is invisibly protected by LoJack.

In the event your laptop is stolen, you first call the police, then you contact LoJack and provide them with the information they’ll need to initiate a search. They will then go to work tracking your laptop. The entire success of LoJack is based on the stupidity and greed of the common thief; most of them will take your computer home, plug it in, and surf the web. Of course, they are unaware that the moment the machine connects to the Internet, it “phones home” and lets the LoJack theft team know what they need to know in order to recover the machine.

Once installed, LoJack is invisible to the user. It doesn’t show up in your programs list, and it can’t be easily uninstalled.

Of course, this software protection is no replacement for common sense, and some physical protection from a laptop lock and an ID tag like those from yougetitback or trackitback.

LoJack is available in three different versions; the standard version costs just $39.99 and provides basic laptop recovery. The premium version adds remote data deletion and a service guarantee. The third version is aimed towards corporate users, and includes things like asset management. The purchase price protects your laptop for 1 year, so you will need to renew this subscription yearly in order to keep the protection active. LoJack for laptops is available for Windows and Mac users. As part of a “back to school” promotion, you can purchase LoJack standard for just $29.95.

The data deletion feature in LoJack Premium lets you remotely wipe everything off the laptop, which is especially important if the machine contains sensitive data. The service guarantee protection means LoJack will recover the machine, or you’ll receive up to $1000.

$40 is a pretty low price to pay for protecting a laptop easily worth $1000. In my opinion a product like LoJack is a “must have” if you travel with your laptop. There are however several downsides; the product will not work outside the US as LoJack will be unable to recover it. There are also several ways an experienced thief can disable the service, but I won’t make their lives easier by describing them. All you need to know is that the average dumb laptop thief won’t know LoJack is installed, and that LoJack has a proven track record at returning machines to their owner.

Product review – Slacker G2 personal radio

by Scott Carmichael on


Welcome to my review of the Slacker G2 personal radio. The Slacker G2 is the second version of a portable Wi-Fi enabled music player from Slacker. The first part of this review is about the Slacker service itself, if you want to read about their new player, scroll down a bit.

Slacker is available through the web or their desktop player. With Slacker, you get access to over 100 channels of music, as well as the ability to create your own personal music channel, with artists and songs you select. In addition to listening to the Slacker service on your computer, you can also bring your favorite music along with you on the Slacker G2 portable player.

The Slacker G2 player is a Wi-Fi enabled music player that can download 25 or 40 Slacker channels directly to the device, ready for you to listen on the road. The player has 4 or 8GB of storage, depending on the version, which is more than enough for days of music for each channel. Think of it as a portable radio, with nothing but the music you want to listen to.

Once you have selected the music channels you like, using either the desktop or web based Slacker player, you simply let the Slacker G2 connect to a Wi-Fi network. Depending on how fresh the collection is on the device, you’ll have a brand new lineup of songs in about 5 minutes.

On my Slacker G2, I picked 15 Slacker stations, and added 2 of my own custom stations. The predefined Slacker stations are some of the best I’ve come across; they cover everything from the usual 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, to comedy, toddler music and several stations with hits from around the world. Unlike some online stations, where the music is picked by a big computer, Slacker actually employs real DJ’s to help tweak the music lineup, and add the newest performers. In total, Slacker has over 2 million tracks in their collection.

The ability to create a custom radio station is fantastic; you build the new channel by selecting your favorite artists and/or songs; then you let Slacker add more music by fine-tuning the music you want to hear. You can have Slacker add more songs based on popularity of the track, the year and by including DJ picks. The end result is a radio station that plays nothing but the stuff you like. If by any chance you do end up hearing a song you don’t like, you simply ban it, or if it is a track you like a lot, you can set it as a favorite and save it to your library.The Slacker service is free in its most basic version, but to get access to the best features, you’ll have to subscribe to their premium radio service.

Once you subscribe to premium radio, you’ll be able to skip tracks as many times as you want (this is limited to 6 times per hour/per channel on the basic player). The premium version also removes the commercials and adds the ability to request an unlimited amount of songs to your custom radio stations. And finally; the premium version also allows you to save songs you hear on a radio channel to your Slacker library.

The Slacker premium radio service costs $7.50/month on an annual subscription, $8.33/month with a 6 month subscription or $9.99/month with a 3 month commitment. Each option comes with a free 7 day trial.

The Slacker G2 hardware

Included in the Slacker G2 box is of course the player itself, as well as a pair of premium noise isolating headphones with 3 sizes of ear pieces. Also in the box is a quick start guide, Slacker sticker, USB charger, a Mini-USB charging/sync cable and a rubber case with belt clip. All the parts are pretty high quality, and come with some nice little touches, like a Slacker logo on the USB cable.

The player looks quite stunning; the front is made of glossy plastic, so it’ll of course become a fingerprint magnet. The sides are made of rubberized plastic, and the back is made of metal, with a raised Slacker logo.

The player has a 2.5 inch (240×320) color display, which takes up most of the front of the unit. Above the screen are the ban and favorite buttons, and below the screen you’ll find the play/pause/power, skip and rewind buttons. I have to point out that you can not go back to a previous track if your are listening to one of the Slacker music channels, the back button only works with music coming from your saved library (this is a licensing issue).

On the top of the player is the volume control and the headphone jack. On the left is the mini-USB connector, and on the right is the scrollwheel, home button and a hold switch, for locking the buttons.

On the bottom of the Slacker G2 is a wide connector, not unlike that found on some other music players. The connector is for adding accessories which may be added in the future. I know what you are thinking, and no; it is not compatible with iPod accessories.

The portable player is always in perfect sync with the desktop and web players; if you add a new station, you can send it to the portable player, and the next time you connect, you’ll receive it on your device. The same method works the other way around; if you are listening to a song on the train and press the favorite button, that song will appear in your desktop library next time you connect.

Another advantage of Wi-Fi syncing, is that Slacker pushes new firmware updates using the wireless connection, unlike other players where you have to connect the player to your PC and download an update file.

The player can be connected to your computer using the included USB cable, but that is only necessary for adding your own music which can be done with the Slacker desktop player, or with Windows Media Player.

The desktop player is only available for PC’s. Mac users can of course still use the web player to select music and add music stations to their player.

The user interface on the Slacker G2 is nice and clean; there are no 5 levels of confusing menu’s, nor does the device offer anything other than music; there are no games, no personal organizer and no video support. As soon as you turn the player on, you are in the main play screen; this screen displays the album art of the selected song, as well as the artist name, album and next artist in the current channel.

By scrolling down, you can select any of these items; selecting the album art displays any available information about the album including reviews and the release date.

Selecting the album name shows a list of the 4 previous songs, and allows you to go back and either ban or favorite/save that song. Selecting the artist name displays an artist biography provided by All Music Guide. These bio’s can be pretty long for some of the more popular artists. Scrolling down below the current song information pulls up the Slacker menu, where you can select stations, the library, user playlists, the settings menu and the connect screen.

In the settings menu, you’ll find the usual portable player stuff like the backlight timer, brightness, volume normalization and an equalizer with 10 presets.

Slacker / Devicescape

Slacker have teamed up with Devicescape to bring a Wi-Fi hotspot login service to the player. Since the Slacker G2 does not come with a full keyboard or web browser, many wireless hotspots would normally be inaccessible to the device. The Devicescape client bypasses the entire login process, and does all the work for you. Devicescape is currently compatible with hotspots from Wayport and AT&T. With this support, you’ll be able
to wirelessly sync the Slacker G2 player at your local McDonalds, Starbucks or other Wayport or AT&T hotspot location.

Pricing and availability

The Slacker G2 costs $199 for the 25 station/4GB version, and $249 for the 40 station/8GB version. You’ll be able to find it at Slacker.com, Amazon.com and Buy.com and it will be on shelves at your local Best Buy later this month. When you order a player directly from Slacker, you’ll be able to provide them with an existing Slacker account name, and you’ll receive the player personalized for use, preloaded with stations from your own Slacker account!

Slacker for travelers

Since many of you are frequent travelers, I’ll list some of the reasons I think the Slacker G2 is a perfect choice for you:

  • No need to carry a laptop to update the player – to refresh the music on your Slacker G2, you simply connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
  • 15 hours of music playback – enough for a longhaul flight
  • Player charges using a regular mini-USB charger – same charger used for many mobile phones
  • No need to install software on your laptop – you can add new music and channels to the player and listen to that same music directly through your browser.
  • All music provided by the service is legal – no worries if you use it on your corporate laptop!
  • Player comes with premium noise isolating headphones


Final thoughts

It is hard to describe how impressed I am with the Slacker G2 without coming across as an idiot. The player and accompanying service have totally changed the way I think of collecting music. With my iPod, I had gathered thousands of songs, put together from CD rips of my own collection, purchased tracks and “other sources”. This entire collection has now been replaced by Slacker.

Their service streams all the music I like, directly to my desktop (or web browser), and I can take any of that music with me. The few songs I like that Slacker did not have in their collection can still be synced to the player using any MP3, WMA and AAC file I already own.

In addition to not having to own any music, I can also get instant access to any new music, plus I no longer have to waste hours sorting my songs and correcting file names, tags and album art.

At $199 (or $249), the player is more expensive than most other players in the market, but knowing that I’ll never have to buy another CD again makes it worthwhile. There are other players on the market with a similar “all you can eat” format (like the Microsoft Zune and Zune Pass), but at $7.50/month, the Slacker service is cheaper and offers more features. The $90 for an annual subscription is what I used to pay every month for new CD’s.

The Microsoft Zune is probably the only player worthy of being compared to the Slacker G2; it also offers Wi-Fi (though no wireless syncing outside the house until the upcoming firmware update). The differences between the Slacker G2 and the Zune are the price of the monthly service ($14.99 for Zune Pass), and that Slacker offers a far more integrated service (web, desktop, portable player). Slacker also builds their offering more around their music channels and custom channels, instead of just asking you to pick random music.

I’m no audiophile, but I found that the sound quality of the music on the Slacker G2 was much better than any other player I have owned in the past. Slacker clearly put some effort into the quality of the files they use, and the audio hardware in the device.

The device has a few quirks; when it is being charged, it always turns on, and stays on until it is done charging, and the desktop Slacker player can be a little finicky when you try and sync to the player over USB.

Of course, coming from an iPod will also mean no easy access to the thousands of accessories designed just for that player, I’m hopeful that companies will start designing products around the Slacker G2 pretty soon.

All in all, I can only say that this is my new portable music player. I haven’t touched my iPod since I got my hands on the Slacker G2, and in the time I have been using the device, I have come across 100’s of great new songs I had not heard before, and about as many songs I had forgotten about, and never managed to add to my collection.

If you like music, and would love to find new artists, I can highly recommend visiting Slacker and playing around with their web player, before you know it, you’ll be dying to take that music on the road with you, on your own Slacker G2 player.

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Product review – Medis 24-7 fuel cell Power Pack

by Scott Carmichael on

Last week I reported on the upcoming availability of the “Medis 24-7 Power Pack” fuel cell power source. To recap; this portable device uses fuel cells and a chemical process to generate power, and has enough “juice” to charge your gadgets for up to 3 days of use.

The concept of fuel cells has been something that has always intrigued me, so when I got the chance to review this product in real life, I jumped on it. If you are into geeky stuff, you can read this Wikipedia article describing how the process works.

The Medis 24-7 Power Pack is available in 2 versions; a starter pack with the power cable and an assortment of power “tips” for $29.99, and a refill pack without the cables for $19.99.

The power pack itself is a small black box with some vents and a power connector on top. The pack is shipped in its “non activated” state, and has to be squeezed together to get the fuel cell process started. The device is sealed in an air tight bag and a green plastic strip is wrapped around the device to prevent it from being activated prematurely. The device weighs just 6.3oz (179 grams).

To activate the device, you remove the green strip and squeeze the top and bottom of the unit together till a gap at the bottom is fully closed. It takes some pressure to accomplish this, and the process can not be reversed; once you activate a power pack, it immediately starts making electricity until the fuel cell runs out. When you shake the unit, you clearly hear the liquids sloshing around. When the device is generating power, it is completely silent and it does not produce any heat.

Initially I had considered posting a full technical review, and digging out my multimeter to dazzle you with my amazing technical skills (I’m joking!), but I decided that it would be much easier to put the device through a “real world test”.

For the review, I’ll be using the 24-7 Power Pack with their Xtreme power cable along with a Blackberry Curve, a Nokia N78 and an HTC Touch Dual smartphone. These are all common devices, and the kind of device you might need an emergency power boost for when you are on the road.

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Blackberry Curve

The starter pack includes a MiniUSB tip, so Blackberry owners going all the way back to the old 7000 series devices will be able to use the Power Pack. In my case, I plugged the Power Pack into my Blackberry when it was at 42% battery life, which is the average for me after about 2 or 3 days. The Blackberry instantly detected a power source (as indicated by the plug symbol next to the battery) and started charging. About every 10 minutes, I checked the battery status menu and a little over an hour later, the device had reached 100%. This charging time is on par with the original charger delivered with my Blackberry.

HTC Touch Dual

The Touch Dual uses the same power tip as my Blackberry, and the results were similar. Getting the phone from 57% battery power to 100% took just under 40 minutes.

Nokia N78

For my final test, I switched to a Nokia N78; this smartphone uses the Nokia power tip included with the Power Pack starter kit. Unlike my other tests, I waited to charge this phone until it was 100% drained (to the point where it would no longer turn on).

When I plugged the charger cable into the phone, nothing happened. According to the manual, this is normal; it can take several minutes for the phone to reach the stage where the charging circuitry actually has enough power to turn itself on. After about 2 minutes, the phone beeped once, and the display showed the charging process had started. With a completely drained Lithium-Ion battery, the 24-7 Power Pack took just over 2 hours 15 minutes to get the phone to 100% (the phone was turned off for this charge).

Fuel cell life

I first activated my 24-7 Power Pack three days ago, and since then I have charged 3 different devices 7 times. Most of those charges were from around 50% battery life (except for the Nokia N78, which received a 100% charge).

The specifications for the 24-7 Power Pack claim that the device can provide continuous power for about 20 hours. I’m currently on day 5 with the Power Pack, and it is still delivering enough power to charge my devices.

Flying with the Power Pack

One of my first questions about the 24-7 Power Pack was whether it would be allowed to come with you on board a commercial flight. Thankfully Medis have that covered, and the device has received a Department of Transportation approval. That approval is also printed on the device and the box.

A little bit about the “Xtreme power cable”

Medis has 2 different power cables for their 24-7 Power Pack; one is designed for low power devices, like the Motorola RAZR or an iPod Shuffle, the other is for high power devices like Smartphones and the iPod Nano/Classic.

The low power cable does not deliver enough continuous power to charge some devices, so you’ll need to check the Medis site to determine the cable you need. In most cases, a smartphone, PDA or MP3 player will require the Xtreme cable ($49.99).

The Xtreme cable is also quite a bit larger than the standard cable, but at just 2.5oz, it won’t take up too much space in your bag.

Recycling

Unlike batteries, the Medis 24-7 Power Pack comes prepared for recycling. Included in the box is a zip-lock bag, and the side of the box has a return address for shipping the unit back to a recycling facility. The box is not postage-paid, so you will have to pay for returning it. Like all products, it’s “greenness” will depend on the discipline of the user.

Cost and final thoughts

I’ve already determined that the product actually works, so this brings me to the cost. There is no denying it; $20 for a non reusable, non rechargeable power pack is going to seem too steep to a lot of people. There is also no way I can come to the conclusion that it isn’t an expensive option.

The Medis 24-7 Power Pack is going to have a fairly narrow targeted audience, and the average traveler might not fit that profile. The advantages of the device don’t come to their full potential unless you find yourself in a situation where you are nowhere near a regular power source for several days, or where you are in a “life or death” situation holding a cell phone with a dead battery.

There are also some alternative products out there; I’ve previously covered a rechargeable battery power source that can recharge your device 2 or 3 times, this device is more portable. At $60, it is just 3 times more expensive than a 24-7 Power Pack refill kit. These battery packs do have a few drawbacks; they lose their capacity over time (a fully charged Lithium-Ion battery pack will lose between 20% and 35% capacity a year) and you will need an AC or USB power source to recharge it.

In the end, I really can’t do anything other than let you decide whether you think $20 is an acceptable investment for powering your devices, plus you’ll have to take into account the initial investment for the starter kit and/or Xtreme power cable. It is a fairly high price to pay, but there really isn’t any kind of similar product out there.

Personally, I think the
device is pretty cool, but I’ve got a weird geeky fetish for power products. I’ve spent far too much time traveling with a dead gadget to ever leave home unprepared again. If you travel a lot, and keeping in touch with people back home is important to you, then it might make sense to buy one of these and keep it in the box in the event disaster (or a dead battery) strikes.

The Medis 24-7 Power Pack will be on the shelves of your local Best Buy in early October which does prove that regular retail channels see some the same potential in this product that I see. Time will tell whether the concept is a successful one and whether consumers are willing to pay $20 for this kind of convenience.

Product review – Chargepod multi device charger

by Scott Carmichael on

In this product review, I’m going to introduce you to the Chargepod multi device charger. The Chargepod is a product from Callpod, and it has 7 connectors; one for powering the device itself, and 6 for charging your electronics. Each connector holds an small removable adapter with the appropriate plug for your gadget.

In the version I am reviewing, the package comes with an AC (wall) charger and a car charger cord. There are some people (like myself) who will usually find themselves on the road with far too many gadgets. The hassle of carrying multiple chargers as well as extension cords and power splitters gets greater with each new gadget. It is however not unthinkable that even the most novice gadgeteer will have at least a mobile phone, a Bluetooth headset and and iPod in their luggage.

With the Chargepod, you simply carry the power adapter, the Chargepod itself, and the power adapters you need for your devices. Then, to charge them, you simply connect the Chargepod to an outlet, insert the power adapters and plug your gadgets in. The Chargepod then charges up to 6 devices at the same time.

Callpod, who make the Chargepod, have 48 different power adapters, and since some of these can be used for multiple devices, the product covers close to 500 different phones, PDA’s, smartphones, gaming consoles and more. If you can’t find the correct power adapter for your device, but you do have a USB cable, then you can purchase a female USB plug power adapter and plug the cable into that.

In my personal travel bag, I carry the Chargepod with tips for a Nintendo DS, Garmin GPS unit, Plantronics headset, a Blackberry, Nokia phones, 2 HTC smartphones, an iPod and a female USB tip for recharging my backup battery pack. The Chargepod replaces 7 different chargers, plus I can use it to charge all my devices at the same time, instead of having to play a boring game of outlet bingo.

The Chargepod kit I carry in my luggage weighs 15 ounces which includes the Chargepod itself, the AC and car chargers and 12 different power tips, as well as the carrying pouch.

You can purchase the Chargepod in 2 versions; a basic kit with the AC charger and the Chargepod, or a bundle kit with the Chargepod, AC and car chargers and an assortment of adapters.

If the bundle pack does not contain any of the power adapters you need, then you are better off with the basic version, and configuring your own kit. The basic kit costs $39.95 and the bundle kit costs $79.95. Each additional power adapter is $9.95 (all MSRP). You can purchase the Chargepod through Amazon, where it retails with a substantial discount; ($32.99 for the basic kit or $47.99 for the bundle kit)

I’ve come to depend heavily on my Chargepod, both for its ease of use as well as the convenience of being able to leave a bag full of power bricks at home. The included AC adapter works on 100-240 Volts, so with the appropriate plug converter it can be used anywhere in the world. The only minor annoyances with he product are that the prongs on the AC charger do not fold in, making it quite bulky, and that the carrying pouch is not always spacious enough to hold all the parts. Other than that, I can highly recommend the Chargepod for its ease of use.

Product review – CradlePoint PHS300 personal wireless hotspot

by Scott Carmichael on

Let me open with a warning; this article is full of buzzwords and acronyms, but I promise to try and keep things as simple as possible.

The CradlePoint PHS300 is a pocket wireless internet router. Unlike other routers, that get their Internet access from your cable company or DSL provider, it connects using a cellular broadband modem.

Still with me?

To get access to the Internet using your mobile operator, you have several options; you can purchase a phone with Internet Access built in (like an Apple iPhone). You can also use a mobile phone with “tethering” capability, which involves physically connecting your mobile phone to your computer, or you can purchase a stand alone “cellular modem”.

If you need mobile Internet access on your PC, and you are not within range of a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you’ll have to go with tethering, or a cellular modem. However, both methods have several disadvantages:

  • You usually need to install special software on your computer.
  • The (often expensive) connection can only be used by one person at a time.
  • Reception is often lacking, as your modem will be away from the window, where the cellular signal is usually the strongest.
  • Battery life of your computer is severely impacted when you use a 3G modem card plugged into it.

The Cradlepoint PHS300 fixes these issues by moving the wireless connection away from the PC. To connect to the Internet, you simply plug your compatible phone or cellular modem into the router, turn it on and you instantly turn the combination into a portable battery powered wireless hotspot. Brilliant.Connecting to the Internet is as easy as turning on your laptop (or Wi-Fi enabled smartphone) and connecting to the wireless network name being broadcast by the Cradepoint router, just like connecting to any other Wi-Fi hotspot. Since this is a regular WI-Fi connection, more than one person can connect to the signal, but you’ll of course have to share the speed with anyone else online with you.

The CradlePoint PHS300 router weighs just 4 ounces. The device has 2 connectors, one switch and a couple of LED light indicators. The 2 connectors are for power and for your USB cellular modem/phone. The switch powers the device on (or off) and the LED’s show the power,charging status and the connection status of the Wi-Fi and the cellular modem connections.

In this day and age it is a rarity when I come across a device that really delivers on the whole “plug and play” promise. In my first test, I plugged my modem card into the PHS300, turned the device on, and 30 seconds later I had my laptop connected to the Internet using AT&T. There were no settings to mess with, and I was even able to skip reading the manual.

Your connection is secured using 2 methods; with a common (shared) password, or with regular Wi-Fi security (WEP or WPA). Changing the settings on the device is done through your web browser, but fear not, most of these settings are only for advanced users, if you just want to get online, you won’t have to deal with them. When the situation requires it, you can create a password that can be shared by others, which is perfect if you need a quick and dirty Internet connection for more than one person in a meeting room or airport lounge.

The PHS300 is powered by an internal Lithium-Ion (user replaceable) battery pack, extra batteries are $29.99. Battery life is rated at around an hour and a half with a USB modem, or up to three hours with a tethered phone (which of course has its own battery). Included in the package is a regular AC adapter. A car charger is available directly from CradlePoint for $24.99.

The speed of your connection will of course depend on your modem and the network you are using.

In my first test, I connected to AT&T Wireless, using a Merlin XU870 modem card. In this test, my download speed was a comfortable 1281 kbps. In my second test, I connected to AT&T using a tethered smartphone (an HTC Touch Dual). This time the speed shot up to 1427 kbps, which is faster than many people have on their home broadband connection. I then used the Merlin card with a T-mobile subscription, and only reached 152kbps (T-mobile does not have 3G in my area yet).

For my final test, I connected to Sprint using my HTC Mogul smartphone. Let me say up front that CradlePoint fully admit that this phone is not the most reliable option for tethering, as Windows Mobile is considered too buggy to always keep a connection active. Despite the warning from CradlPpoint, I did not experience any loss of connection. The only difference between using a modem card, and tethering, is that I had to manually enable the tethering setting on my phone.

Here are the speeds I reached when using the CradlePoint PHS300 with my various phones:

  • AT&T 3G with an HTC Touch Dual: 1427kbps
  • AT&T 3G with a Merlin XU870 card: 1218kbps
  • Sprint EVDO Rev.A with a Sprint Mogul: 831kbps
  • T-mobile EDGE with a Merlin XU870: 152kbps

Of course, these numbers are fairly meaningless to most people, so let me just say that the speed on AT&T and Sprint was perfectly acceptable for most Internet applications, on the AT&T connection, things just felt much faster, pages loaded almost instantly and I was even able to view a couple of Youtube video clips, albeit with a slight delay at the beginning where the player buffers the clip.

CradlePoint offers several other models of cellular broadband routers including the CTR500 which has an internal Expresscard slot for the modem card as well as a network port for connecting your laptop through a wired connection.

All in all I am immensely impressed with the CradlePoint. At $179 it is the perfect solution for anyone who has dealt with the buggy connection software from their mobile operator, or who has watched their laptop battery die in an hour when they were surfing the web from the airport lounge. With most mobile operators charging between $60 and $80 per month for a wireless broadband connection, frequent users of paid hotel or airport Wi-Fi will easily be able to save a substantial amount every month. The biggest advantage of course, is being able to turn this device on, and have instant wireless Internet access for more than one person.