Novatel's Merlin EX720 ExpressCard hits Sprint shelves

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 22nd 2007 at 8:08AM

The world just became a little less of a cold, dead, meaningless (or at least data-less) wasteland for Sprint customers rocking ExpressCard slots (of either the /34 or /54 variety) thanks to the official release of Novatel's Merlin EX720 modem on Sprint's website. Riding atop Sprint's glorious EV-DO Rev. A airwaves, the EX720 should deliver up to 1.4Mbps down and 500kbps up to virtually any ExpressCard-equipped device that needs it (MacBook Pros included), provided that the requisite $179.99 (after contract and rebates) has been forwarded to the appropriate bean counters over at your network. We can almost picture Cingular and T-Mobile folks seething -- for what it's worth, we feel your pain -- but hey, Sprintheads, go get your WWAN on.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wireless

Tags: data, ex720, expresscard, merlin, modem, novatel, sprint, sprint nextel, sprint-nextel, SprintNextel

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

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Khariff @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:53AM

Hey hey hey. Hope Cingular get one soon. Had my XPS over a year and been waiting for an express card without paying Dell $299.

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Scott @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:00AM

Ordered mine today. Thanks engadget.

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Greg @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:35AM

Lots of people have been waiting for this card for sometime now. Everyone thought that the U720 was only option, but not anymore. Order the EX720 from http://moremobileinternet.com/ex720 and get $50 back, making the card only 129.99!

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joefy @ Feb 22nd 2007 6:01PM

we are talking about this at http://www.cellphoner.net!

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Denis @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:08PM

I cannot seem to get this card to work with Vista. I downloaded the supposed Vista compatible software from the Sprint website. It blues screens when you put the card in...

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jibjab @ Feb 23rd 2007 4:21AM

Excuse my ignorance here, but I'm assuming this is the fastest connection available using the express card slot. Would that be a correct one?

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Bill H @ Feb 23rd 2007 7:35AM

THIS THING IS STUPID FAST compared to my Sprint A900 phone. Where the A900 got around 400 KPS the EX720 gets 1074 Kps in the same location on my Macbook Pro 2.33 Ghz! Just remember to activate the card on a PC or in Bootcamp first and be sure to get the new drivers Apple releastd in their software update if you own a Macbook or MBP. All I can say is WOW...WOW...WOW!

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Bill H @ Feb 23rd 2007 9:25AM

As for that Vista comment, read this review and you will understand why:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1818775

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EVDO INFO @ Mar 13th 2007 11:16PM

the EX720 is not just for MacBook Pro users!
the adapter mentioned in this article is a great solution!

http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/1894/63/

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alex @ Mar 18th 2007 11:19PM

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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