need your opinion on wireless card

[imacanyone]

i have a macbook pro 2.16 and am thinking about getting a wireless card. what is your opinion or review on the card you have if you have one. i am looking at the Option GT Max 3.6 PC/Mac ExpressCard Wireless Broadband Card. i currently have a cell phone thru at&t so i would think i could possibly add the service to my current bill but that is not why i would get that one. i would like the best, most reliable expresscard. thanks for your opinion

 

[kenrobin]

i have a macbook pro 2.16 and am thinking about getting a wireless card. what is your opinion or review on the card you have if you have one. i am looking at the Option GT Max 3.6 PC/Mac ExpressCard Wireless Broadband Card. i currently have a cell phone thru at&t so i would think i could possibly add the service to my current bill but that is not why i would get that one. i would like the best, most reliable expresscard. thanks for your opinion

I'm also seeking out opinions. I went to the AT&T Wireless store to buy the Option GT Max 3.6 but received mixed signals as to whether AT&T supports Mac. I'd like to go with AT&T so that I could add this service to my existing wireless lines but I want trouble-free installation and the best performance.

Does anyone use their Mac Book Pro with Verizon Wireless or Sprint PCS? How is it?

 

[Toknee]

I use my MBP with Spint.

Use the Merlin EX720, and it integrates with OSX 10.4.10 seamlessly. Just pug it in, OSX recognizes it, installs the drivers, and your good to go.

The only thing missing, is the Sprint Connection manager, which tells wether you are connected to EVDO or 1xRTT network. There is a signal strength meter on the MBP, on status bar.

I live in the NYC area, and get EVDO almost all the time. EVDO is quick, and has worked so far with VPN's, and RDC to Windows 2003 Servers for remote administration.

 

[Chris88]

I have a black Macbook and I use a Verizon air card USB720. It works great

 

[kenrobin]

I use my MBP with Spint.

Use the Merlin EX720, and it integrates with OSX 10.4.10 seamlessly. Just pug it in, OSX recognizes it, installs the drivers, and your good to go.

The only thing missing, is the Sprint Connection manager, which tells wether you are connected to EVDO or 1xRTT network. There is a signal strength meter on the MBP, on status bar.

I live in the NYC area, and get EVDO almost all the time. EVDO is quick, and has worked so far with VPN's, and RDC to Windows 2003 Servers for remote administration.

This is good info. Thanks!

I've read that Sprint's cards are locked and that you have to use a Windows PC to activate them. Is this true?

 

[kenrobin]

This is good info. Thanks!

I've read that Sprint's cards are locked and that you have to use a Windows PC to activate them. Is this true?

The answer to my question above is YES.

I bought the Merlin EX720 yesterday at my local Sprint store. The guy who sold it to me spoke as if he was familiar with the card's use with Macs. He advised me to go to Sprint's site and download and install the software for the Mac OS before inserting the card into the slot.

This was partially true. He failed to mention that the card must be unlocked by a Windows machine at which time the latest software updates are loaded onto the card that is necessary for it to work with Sprint's network.

I learned this the hard way after wasting 30 minutes trying to get the card to work and making a 2nd trip to the store. By this time, the "expert" that sold the card to me was gone for the day. As soon as I mentioned the work "Mac", the other guys in the store immediately declared that the express card doesn't work with Mac and they recommended that I exchange it for the USB version. I insisted that the express card is supposed to work with Macs at which point they told me to call Sprint tech support.

Frustrated, I called tech support from my car and waited on-hold for 20 minutes to speak to a specialist who admitted that he wasn't familiar with the card's use with a Mac. He wasn't even sure if it could be used with a Mac but after consulting with someone else, he determined that the card needed to be unlocked with a Windows machine.

Fortunately I was still outside the Sprint store when I learned this vital piece of info so I was able to take the card into the store so that they could unlock it for me. This process also took 20 minutes but when it was finished and I inserted the card into my MBP, presto! I had action!

The speed is snappy. Not as quick as my cable modem service, but it is significantly faster than wi-fi hot spots.

I'm glad I took the leap of faith and bought the card, I just wish Sprint would educate its associates so that they can provide better support to Mac customers.

 

[Toknee]

Oh yeah, forgot to add that the card needs to be activated on a Windows PC.

You have a few choices here to do this.

Have the store activate it for you.

Boot windows feom bootcamp, and activate from there.

 

[KyleC]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 6.12) T-Mobile Dash)

I am looking at getting the 740. 3gstore.com will activate the card for you if your order through them.