Sierra Wireless intros Compass 597 EV-DO USB modem

Truth be told, there's nothing extraordinary about Sierra Wireless' latest EV-DO USB modem. It plays nice with Rev. A networks, includes a microSD slot, and comes with TRU-Install to simplify the setup procedure. Granted, it is "the only product in its class to include a connector for an external antenna (saywha?)," and it is remarkably small, so it's still worth a look if you're currently doing without. As expected, you'll reach downlink speeds of up to 3.1Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1.8Mbps, and the built-in GPS antenna is a nice bonus, too. Unfortunately, we've no idea how costly this one will be, but be on the lookout for a Q2 launch.

[Via MobileBurn]

[jmattick @ Mar 5th 2008 10:59AM]

When they say that it's "the only product in its class to include a connector for an external antenna", what exactly do they mean?

I know for a fact that the USB720 and USB727 USB Modems offered currently by Verizon Wireless have external antenna connectors.

[Dorf @ Mar 5th 2008 11:11AM]

jmattick, you beat me to it. I use the external antenna on my USB 720 all the time. I suppose the fact that it has a "GPS antenna" makes it a new class? :-)

[DorianGray @ Mar 5th 2008 11:15AM]

@jmattick

What they mean is "Our Marketing assclowns made an outrageous claim without due diligence in the hopes that the average shmoe would also not perform due diligence." And they were right -- except where this forum is concerned, clearly.

[conor @ Mar 5th 2008 4:08PM]

I am using one right now with external antena sitting in the car

[H4MM3R @ Mar 5th 2008 1:08PM]

The USB727 has, GPS, Rev.A, MicroSD slot. Plus it has the external antenna port. So It looks like it will come down to PRICE and AVAILABILITY.

[AlphaTeam @ Mar 5th 2008 1:23PM]

The only feature I see that useful is the GPS, which unfortunate already exists and works in the 595U.

Maybe this one will be slimmer without the seemingly useless battery?

[Kate @ Mar 5th 2008 3:30PM]

Well, it's no Space Quest 7.

[tvBilly @ Mar 5th 2008 10:56PM]

What a crock.

Look at the Franklin CDU-680. It fully supports win, mac, and linux. It has a built in Flash Drive with all the necessary software for all the different OSes. It has an external antenna jack. It has true GPS (which also has its own separate external antenna jack). Oh, and not only has it been out for months, and works really really well, but it's also smaller than the 597.

[dondg @ May 14th 2008 3:18AM]

where can i get a external antena at.

[jhkilroy @ May 14th 2008 6:15PM]

Here:

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=114&products_id=837