UTStarcom UM175 USB Aircard

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Summary

What’s Good:
The UM175 is a true USB plug and play. No CD required. Just plug in and go. Also, the price is pretty good.

What’s Bad:
The USB connection has the potential to go bad. If it does, you’re up the creek without the internet to look up the customer service number.

Price:
No longer available

Provider:

Reviewed on: 10/10/08

Bottom-Line:

The UM175 is a good card. However, you need to use it with a certain amount of care. The small space between the USB connection and the main device is a potential hazard. If it gets a hard enough bump, you’re stuck in a 2 year contract with a broken device. Hardly appetizing. Not for the feint of heart.

Contents
1. Details
2. Image Gallery
3. Manufacturer’s Description
4. Manual
5. Product Specifications

At first glance, the UM175 looks like a really big flash drive loosely shaped on a Star Wars Storm Trooper helmet. It’s Darth Vader counterpart is sold by Alltel. The form factor isn’t particularly horrible. However, if you’re looking for something sleek, there are other options out there.

Since it’s a USB format, it’ll fit into any computer with a USB slot. If you look closely you’ll see that the connector piece actually swivels.

Why is that important?

Well imagine you’re in a car or airplane. Something shakes up your laptop and it inches over. If it’s sticking out to the side, then it could bump into something, twist up the USB drive, and it’d never work again. Luckily, that’s less likely to happen here. You point the UTStarcom 175 up and it’s safe.

If you choose to stick it in a USB slot at the back of your laptop, don’t forget it’s there. I messed my card up that way by working on my bed.

Otherwise, it’s got what you’d expect. EVDO Rev. A (3.1 Mbps) and Mac compatibility. As for price? The UM175 is literally a give-away.

UTStarcom UM175 USB Modem

The UTStarcom USB Modem for Verizon Wireless is a convenient and flexible data card for use with PC or Mac USB 2.0 ports. The UM175 is small, slim, and compatible with almost any computer; if you have a USB port, this card will help you get online from anywhere with download speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 153 Kbps. Simple to use, the UTStarcom UM175 USB Modem lets you surf the Web, send and receive email, and connect to your companys remote network.

From Verizon

5.
From the Manufacturer