MBA USB Connection Angle

[bobbleheadbob]

Just bought one of the new MBA's at the local Apple Store today. Yeah, me.

Anyway, I use a ATT USB Mercury wireless connector to get on-line when traveling. I tried to plug it into the MBA tonight and was very surprised to find that it doesn't fit in the USB slot because of the angle presented by the MBA opening on the side.

Has anyone experienced this problem with this type of device or a similarly shaped USB connector? Are there any workarounds or adaptors available to fix this? I would hate to have to return the MBA, but this is way that I connect on the go, and the MBA doesn't make sense for me if I can only use a wifi connection.

Thanks.

 

[SFStateStudent]

Has anyone experienced this problem with this type of device or a similarly shaped USB connector? Are there any workarounds or adaptors available to fix this? I would hate to have to return the MBA, but this is way that I connect on the go, and the MBA doesn't make sense for me if I can only use a wifi connection. Thanks.

I've got the MagicJack set-up as my primary long distance phone and I've been using an extension, since the USB connector on the MagicJack doesn't fit my MBA's USB port b/c it's too large and doesn't offer enough room to plug in w/o scraping the top of my MBA's frame. I don't think it's so much the angle, as it is the size of my MagicJack and its design. The extension was the only alternative...

 

[bobbleheadbob]

I did a little research and ended up deciding to try this adaptor from Staples to solve the problem:

http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/cat/enl/s0199985_enl.jpg

It was under $30 and seems to work OK so far, although I'll need to spend some more time with it attached to see how I really feel. I think one of the advantages for use with the MBA is that it has a very short cable (2") so it sits right next to the USB port. I didn't want a long cable with a lot of extra length. Also, the four USB ports mean that I can plug in an extra memory stick or external HDD. It comes with a power supply for devices that need external power, but you don't need to use that for devices that can power off the laptop.

 

[n0de]

I bought a 3" usb cable extender at MicroCenter for about $1. It just looks like a cable with a male USB at one end and a female at the other. It also allows me to adjust the position of the device a bit to get a better signal without having to adjust the position of my Air.

 

[Mactagonist]

I got a little swivel USB adapter from Radioshack to use with my USB WWAN card.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2344327

 

[Cynicalone]

I have the old USB 881b for on the go 3G and it is a pain to use with the Air. It fits in the port, but doesn't make it very easy to use headphones. I'm patiently waiting on a tethering plan for my iPhone for the times when I'm not on wi-fi.