Sprint's Sierra Wireless Compass 597 is tiny and sleek - USB EVDO Rev. A modem with style

If there's one thing that gets attention in the tech-world, it's Apple products. So, it makes sense that Sierra Wireless wanted to leverage the MacBook Air's "hotness" to publicize their newly announced Sierra Wireless Compass 597 EVDO Rev. A USB modem.

The MacBook Air initially got my attention. Then I noticed the yellow-lit USB dongle sticking out of the Air's notoriously slim and widely incompatible USB port. The Air's design necessitates that everything be as slim and small as possible, and as such, the ultra-portable notebook from Apple suffers from a too-small USB port - many USB dongles and flash drives just don't fit in the port.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw this super slim USB modem stuck into the side of the MacBook Air!

Sierra Wireless has kept the formula simple with EVDO Rev. A allowing 3.1Mbps download speeds and upload speeds of up to 1.8Mbps, and built-in GPS allowing, well, GPS-related stuff. The included microSD card slot makes the Sierra Wireless Compass 597 a microSD card reader, too.

The bright-yellow indicator light on the tip of the Compass 597 lets you know when you're locked on to Sprint's network, and adds some pop to the otherwise nondescript USB modem.

Expect a Q2 2008 ship-date for the Sierra Wireless Compass 597. I'm waiting on my review unit to come in, so stay tuned to see how this slim little USB modem performs in the real world!

[Source]

Sierra Wireless AirCard 595U EVDO Rev. A USB modem to be available on Verizon Wireless August 30

Wow, we’ve been waiting quite a long time for this thing to drop. After missing it’s initial shipping date for last year, we fully expected the Sierra Wireless AirCard 595U EVDO Rev. A USB modem in April. Well, now it’s August, and it seems that Verizon Wireless is finally offering the 3G AirCard on their network.

The USB modem can be plugged in directly to your computer, or connected through a dock. The Sierra Wireless 595U comes bundled with VZAccess Manager software and features a removable battery. It’s gonna cost you a lot more than the expected $49.99 price point - $179.99 to be exact (after two-year contract and rebates, of course).


We’re expecting this thing to drop on August 30, let’s hope Big Red keeps true to the launch window this time around.

Press release