Novatel's Merlin EX720 launches on Sprint's Rev A network

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 9th 2007 at 10:46AM

Hot on the heels of Novatel giving a bit of Rev A love to Verizon with the USB720 comes the company's tailored-for-Sprint version of the adapter, the Merlin EX720 ExpressCard. Nothing too special here, aside from its ability to hit up Sprint's Rev A EV-DO network for average upload speeds of 300 to 500Kbps and download rates topping out around 1.4Mbps. Interestingly, it does tout Assisted GPS (A-GPS) location-based capabilities, which should allow users to locate nearby "restaurants, gas stations, banks, etc." without having to input their current address. The card itself will play nice with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, and even Mac OS X users won't have a problem utilizing the Merlin on their shiny MacBook Pro, and if all goes as planned, you should see these cards popping up in Sprint retail channels in just a few weeks.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wireless

Tags: a-gps, ev-do, EX720, expresscard, merlin, network, novatel, rev a, RevA, sprint

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

alex @ Feb 9th 2007 12:16PM

When I consider the fact that Sprint claimed Mac compatibility for their Novatel U720 when they release it a few months ago, and yet to this day it has no Sprint provided mac drivers or software for either a basic connection or its GPS capabilities...

I would have to pessimistically say that Sprint is not likely to ship anything that will allow the EX720 to work with macs.

If _anyone_ gets the EX720 to work with Macs, it will be the Mac+EVDO Experts at http://www.evdoinfo.com

Neutral

Thundernad @ Feb 9th 2007 12:22PM

"Nothing too special here, aside from its ability to hit up Sprint's Rev A EV-DO network for average upload speeds of 300 to 500Kbps and download rates topping out around 1.4Mbps."

This is sprint's first express slot compatible card, which I think is worth mentioning since there have been thousands of people waiting for this card, that didn't want to go the usb dongle route.

Neutral

alex @ Mar 18th 2007 11:04PM

For those who prefer Verizon as their carrier, the Rev-A V740 ExpressCard is now shipping!
Get the V740 ExpressCard for $70 less than verizon stores,
and get the best possible customer support by EVDO Experts,
by checking out this site: http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/1919/64/

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