2009 Verizon AirCard & Broadband Card Reviews

For the most recent info, check out the 2010 Verizon AirCard & Broadband Card Reviews

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If you’ve taken the free Mobile Broadband Buyer’s Guide, you already know that a Verizon AirCard or Broadband card come in 3 forms: USB, ExpressCards and PC Cards. You’ll also know the nitty gritty details on why PC Cards are being phased out.

Netbooks typically don’t have ExpressCard slots. That means you’ll need a USB broadband card.Try this. Walk into any Verizon store or look up any online retailer. You will hardly see any PC Cards available for purchase. It’s like trying to find a VCR and everyone’s selling DVDs. Sure they’re out there but not really.

Now why is that? It was actually a mobile-broadband-reviews.com reader that found this one out. Upon going to a retail store, they explained to him that you’ll see mostly USB cards as they try to reach out to the netbook market.

Why USB for netbooks? Well, the whole concept of a netbook is a little portable laptop that does just enough (i.e. hop online or type a couple documents). As such, to conserve on space (and cost), they don’t have ExpressCard slots. In my opinion I think that’s a bummer. The form factor on ExpressCards usually beat USB as they don’t stick out from the laptop as much.

Before we find a specific Verizon AirCard, let’s run through some basic and mid-level questions about getting a Verizon broadband card.

A question that comes up enough to make a worthy mention is “will the type of broadband card I get affect my download speed or coverage?”. In short, no. If a card is labeled as EVDO Revision A, that means you will get download speed up to 3.1 Mbps and upload speeds up to 1.8 Mbps.

Currently, all Verizon broadband cards meet the EVDO Revision A standard. As a matter of fact, the entire Verizon network is now EVDO Revision A with the exception of 1xRTT areas (think dialup speed in the boonies). In other words, not too much to worry much about.

If you do live in a rural area check our mobile broadband fringe area solutions.

The only potential performance difference between Verizon ExpressCards and USB broadband cards is coverage (or reception to be more accurate). Some Verizon ExpressCards come with and expandable ‘flip-up’ antenna for ‘better reception’. Do they actually work better? I have not personally tested it myself but it is a fact that external antennas do help reception.

While there are not any significant performance differences, USB broadband cards tend to one or more features than ExpressCards. Typically, newer cards come with a microSD expansion slot that can turn your broadband card into a flash/thumb drive (great for those who like combo devices).

Enough lecturing for now, let’s look at the 2009 Verizon AirCards and Broadband Cards:

(Click on any card for the full review)

Verizon Broadband Devices

Verizon Broadband Devices	Flip Antenna	Compatibility	GPS	Current Price
Verizon MiFi 2200	Internal Antenna (no expansion port for external antennas)	Anything that works with WiFi	No	Run a Price Check

Verizon USB Broadband Cards

Verizon Broadband Card	Compatibility	GPS	Extra Storage	Current Price
Novatel Ovation USB760 Broadband Card	XP/Vista/Mac	No	microSD (up to 8 GB)	Check Price

Retired Models

• Kyocera KPC680 Broadband ExpressCard
• Novatel Wireless USB720 USB Broadband Card
• Novatel Ovation U727 USB Broadband Card
• Novatel Merlin V740 ExpressCard
• UTStarcom PC5750 PC Broadband Card
• UTStarcom UM175 USB Broadband Card
• UM150 Broadband Card
• ZTE AD3700
• Novatel Merlin V740 ExpressCard

By The Way…

Here’s where you can get some good Verizon AirCard deals. We only recommend the best.

Also, as I explain in my ethical bribe, it helps the site pay our costs so we can keep providing great content for you.

If you haven’t already, definitely check out the review on Verizon mobile broadband speed as well as the Verizon coverage area if you’re serious about getting a broadband card. It’s definite must on your checklist. For now, let’s see what Verizon customer service is like.

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Need more info? Check out the rest of the mobile broadband reviews.