Comments on: More details on Virgin Mobile’s broadband card

By: June

June — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:36:31 +0000

When will Mac be supported? Once that’s a go, so am I…..

By: hershel

hershel — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:08:51 +0000

Another huge opportunity to take advantage of is Virgin Mobile’s 10$ for 120min plan. I am saving alot of money you all should call your local representative and find out more, it’ss be worth your time.

By: M H

M H — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:04:42 +0000

I live on a farm which does not have a land line, etc. I am amazed that I was connected to the internet in one night — a matter of 15 minutes– I have a great ASUS laptop and everything is speedy!

I expect I will only use $20 a month –the portability and no contract was what pushed me over the edge. Wow! The $150 with the $20 service agreement from Best Buy was not that much to pay and I can take this on vacation on the lake …

By: Mikey

Mikey — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:57:52 +0000

The price was too rich for my blood. I ended up buying a used USB720 on ebay and using Verizon’s day pass system. Details here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?p=12714383

By: Mikey

Mikey — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:37:34 +0000

More details here: http://www.twice.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6605089&articleid=CA6664157

Looks like the pricing will be steeper (as suspected)

$10 – 10 days (100MB)
$25 – 30 days (250MB)
$40 – 30 days (600MB)
$60 – 30 days (1GB)

-M

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:40:52 +0000

Wow, where have I been? I thought I knew about all the latest stuff, I guess not.

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:13:09 +0000

I use Sprint as my main phone line and use data on a regular basis via wireless tethering and on the phone itself. I can get in excess of 1500 kbps down and 600 kbps up at times. Usual rates are closer to 1.2/400 in my area. Broadband cards are even better if I remember correctly.

This would need Mac drivers for me to get it (says the guy with two laptops and a Windows Mobile phone) but a heckuva lot better than $60 for the same amount. Plus it’s prepaid, so no crazy overages. So the $150 comes out in the wa(r)sh after eight months. Not too shabby; I spent $130 on an AT&T aircard awhile back when GoPhone had a loophole for unlimited Data at $20. Mmm, those were the days, though I couldn’t get 3G at home. Used it elsewhere though.

If I control my usage I can keep below 5GB in a month, but not while using the connection as my primary. Heck, if I had to I’d keep it under 250MB, but it’d be web browsing only, not even YouTube. But if people want me to work on the road, I can expense a 250MB plan used for their work, right?

Also FWIW Verizon has contract-free available on all their postpaid plans now, and their 3G network is now the nation’s most extensive with the purchase of Alltel. Alltel is back on EvDO Rev. 0 in many areas last I checked, but it’s still not a shabby network. Then again, it’s $60/month for 5GB with 10¢ per MB overage, and you have to bring your own modem or pay them ridiculous prices for theirs. eBay is your friend here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Verizon-Wireless-UM175-broadband-USB-modem_W0QQitemZ110397665238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCell_Phones?hash=item19b436afd6&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Hmm, that was a good deal. Ah well, I like Sprint more than Verizon anyway.

My big questions: is 5GB for $40 really true? Can you stack 5GB packs? What model is the underlying modem (wireless router compatibility?) Does the modem have an antenna port?

I live in a semi-rural area that has good Sprint coverage but this would be a great way to get people currently on dialup onto some sort of broadband without huge installation charges and crazy fair access policies. Just hook up a $70 24 dbi antenna with some cable in between that and the modem and you’re good to go with a signal that’s faster than sat internet anyway, albeit capped at a lower GB allotment.

By: Mikey

Mikey — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:38:00 +0000

I’ve been looking for something like this for awhile now… the price seems a bit steep but we’ll see. I think part of my buying decision depends on how fast the network is.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:28:22 +0000

Does anyone know if this the modem will come with Mac-friendly software?

By: andrew

andrew — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:21:00 +0000

the key difference besides nation wide coverage is that cricket doesn’t offer a prepaid option–only contract-free post paid.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:44:22 +0000

Cricket has their own network which is why availability is fairly limited.

By: thetruth

thetruth — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:48:18 +0000

Okay, here is the truth.

It is a USB modem, not PCMCIA.

The cards last for 30 days after activation, whether used or not.

There is no 5GB option.

1GB is $60. Once either 30 days is up or you use the 1GB, you can buy /activate another card. You cannot activate multiple cards concurrently.

Before you think, “no way,” remember, this is prepaid/no contract stuff. Most no contract phones are way more expensive than postpaid phones, up to $.25 per minute, so it translates well.

This card is for the people that need the access for a brief amount of time and don’t want a contract. This is not for your everyday surfing/downloading.

By: miguel

miguel — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:58:41 +0000

Definitely waiting on this. Will basically only use it on weekends…..

By: Greg.

Greg. — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:30:41 +0000

Doesn’t Cricket=Sprint network as well?

By: Nick F

Nick F — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:25:26 +0000

so basically they are doing what cricket launched last year? if it is anything like that you can expect around 800k down. but crickets modem is only like 59.99 after mail in, iirc

By: kel

kel — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:00:31 +0000

how would you know its PCMCIA slots?? – i believe its USB,cant wait til this comes out- definatly try it out – i wont use internet on the go that much so 250mb suits me.

By: Roger A

Roger A — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:53:26 +0000

Is Virgin Mobile offering the “Postpaid” plan as “No Contract” like its Pay Monthly plans, or will it be on Helio’s side similar to their Hybrid service, and lock people into a contract if they want the 1GB or 5GB option. And Virgin f’ed up…should have been USB modems if they REALLY wanted to actually make any money, not “data cards” WHO THE HELL HAS PCMCIA SLOTS!??!

By: 4th

4th — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:47:18 +0000

I’ll go for the $40 option. virgin mobile uses sprint’s so it should be fast enough.

By: mingkee

mingkee — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:31:03 +0000

virgin mobile=sprint in states

By: tmc

tmc — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:17:35 +0000

would have done this if it had been available right now… meanwhile, I wait for sprint’s warehouse to “fulfill” my order, with (a) no way to cancel the order and (b) no eta on the shipment of said order. Grrrrr

By: attguy

attguy — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:41:06 +0000

I wonder how fast it will be…

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