Here's a treat from HTC and Sprint to lighten those Monday blues: the Sprint Mogul, built by HTC, is getting a software update to bump the phone's data connection up to EV-DO Rev. A, roughly doubling current download speeds, and really boosting uploads. This makes the Mogul the first phone in the States to hit Rev. A speeds, and should make the $199 phone quite the attractive option for modem usage when an ExpressCard would be just too darn convenient. Only problem is that when Sprint and HTC promised this update in back November, they also said GPS would be a part of the package -- and just such a ROM was leaked in January. We're not sure what happened to that feature, but we'll try not to look a gift horse in the mouth for the time being.

Update: Turns out GPS is indeed included in this update, as confirmed by Sprint.

[Thanks, Joel P.]

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]

Still waiting around to hop on the Rev. A highway? Although last week would've been a swell time to do so, now's not too bad either, and Verizon Wireless customers have yet another option at their fingertips. The Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard is available now for anyone interested, and enables BroadbandAccess users to reach average download speeds of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps and upload speeds that range from 500kbps to 800kbps when situated in a Rev. A area. Additionally, this thing sports a "breakthrough" (ahem) antenna design that "moves the antenna away from the device as it is opened, providing greater sensitivity, dual external antenna ports for signal flexibility and a compact form factor." Get yours now for just $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and throwing your John Hancock on a two-year agreement.

It's been in the oven for almost four years now, but Paul Allen and team Vulcan have finally deemed the Flipstart handtop / UMPC well-done and ready to serve. You should already know most of the specs from our several posts about the device (not counting the older ones where we mock it as vaporware) -- 1.1GHz Pentium M ULV CPU, 512MB DDR RAM (just enough to run Vista!), 5.6-inch SVGA screen, three wireless radios -- but what's been kept under wraps until now is that the starting-at-$2,000 machine rocks EV-DO Rev A courtesy of Sprint for getting your mobile broadband on. Now this sub-sub-notebook is certainly not for everyone -- not to mention the fact that it faces stiff competition from OQO, Sony, and Samsung, among others -- but if you have a few extra bucks laying around, there are worse things you could do with your money than pick up this gadget lover's dream.

[Thanks, Thomas L.]

It wouldn't be a solid wireless trade show without some hot 3G modem announcements, and sure enough, Sierra Wireless is kicking off CTIA with pricing and release info for its AirCard 595U EV-DO Rev A USB modem. Better late than never -- we were expecting this zippy peripheral sometime late last year -- the 595U will be available from Sprint next month for "as low as $49.99," which means that you'll be signing a two-year contract and mailing in some rebates. Sure going USB isn't quite as convenient as built-in 3G or ExpressCard / PCMCIA models, but our lone slot is already filled with a MoGo Mouse, and we wouldn't give up that convenience for anything.

We heard tell of this little guy last month when Apple let the model number out amongst newly supported WWAN products -- so what's this Verizon V740 card got going for it other than explicit Mac support? Well, EV-DO Rev. A, of course. Built by Novatel, the V740 is here to replace the V640 in ExpressCard/34 duties for Verizon, with beefier bandwidth and a dearth of aesthetic changes. The card will be hitting retail on March 30th, and looks to be going for $110 with two years of service -- cheaper than Sprint's EX720 offering, but Verizon will get you in the end with those hefty data charges.

It wasn't much of a secret, we saw last week that Verizon's USB720 EV-DO Rev A dongle was slated for a February 1st release, and it makes sense that Verizon would be launching a network to feed the fat wireless pipes to it on the same day, but all the same we're quite relieved to hear Verizon Wireless is finally doing the Rev A thing all official-like -- after being all sneaksy about it up until now. The locations look to be the same ones we were rumoring earlier, at least for the most part: Massachusetts, including Boston and its suburbs; Richmond and Hampton Roads, Virginia; Chicago and its suburbs; Gary Indiana; Salt Lake City along with other cities in Utah; and Florida throughout Verizon's existing broadband network. There are already websites that have been tracking Verizon's subtle spread of Rev A across the country, and it seems like Verizon, while maybe not in a position to challenge the 66 million people currently covered by Sprint's Rev A network, wanted to wait until it got dang close to launch. Verizon expects your connection speeds -- for those of you lucky enough to live in Florida or one of the other metro areas -- to be about six times faster, with average download speeds of 450-800kbs, and upload speeds of 300-400kbps. The word on the street is that that download speed estimate is a tad conservative, while the upload speed mark is fairly optimistic, but we're sure you get the idea.

[Via Mobiledia]

While not the sexiest of laptops, Panasonic's ultraportables make up for that with a lot of heart and now even beefier wireless broadband options. Yeah, 3G options were already available on the W5 and T5 lappies, but now you can outfit these teensy things with that new EV-DO Rev. A stuff all the cool kids are talking about. Sprint is on tap for the service, and boasts average download speeds up to 800kbps. Both laptops will be available next month for $2,249, with the usual 12.1-inch LCDs and extensive battery life trimmings on the combo drive equipped W5 and Tablet PC T5.

[Via Crave]

EDGE, smedge, prepare to taste the speed of EV-DO rev A folks as Sony and Sprint team-up on the ultra-portable VAIO VGN-TXN10. Previously, only available on Cingular's EDGE network, Sprint will be packin' their Power Vision network into this 2.8-pound, sub-incher giving subscribers 450-800 kbps downloads and 300-400 kbps upload speeds (on average) when they begin upgrading to Revision A. For their part, Sony brings that 11.1-inch widescreen display, Core Solo proc, WiFi, Bluetooth, up to 11-hours off battery, and dual-layer DVD burner with Instant Mode for soaking up media without the need to boot into XP. It's not clear when, exactly, this combo will all come come together, but the notebook will cost you about $2300 when this whole thing kicks off in Q4.