I Work Anywhere Now with a Sierra Wireless Aircard 595 from Sprint

Again, my MacBook totally indispensible, and I have recently added a Sierra Wireless Aircard 595 USB modem to my computer arsenal. I need Internet access almost anywhere, at anytime and I have moved around a lot in the last year and a half. Now I can write out in the middle of South Dakota if I’m moved to it.

Where can I use this? Wherever I have a wireless phone signal. I can pull over onto the side of the road if I want–as long as I have that signal.

Up to now I’ve been fortunate/lucky to have various types of wireless access — open networks locally that I’ve been able to access, a roommate’s wireless, or my own wireless service through a cable provider. Last winter I had to sit in a Starbucks for a couple days and pay for T-Mobile service, which really pissed me off; quite a racket, oops I mean "partnership." heh, heh. But I had an interruption recently that taught me a lesson about connectivity–I need it for my work constantly, not just when the wind blows in the right direction. And when I visit my parents a wireless signal is nearly impossible to access –I can catch some access off a neighbor’s if I stand up in a corner of the kitchen, sit my laptop on top of a stack of phonebooks on the kitchen counter and if the temperature is below 70 outside–really.

So I decided I was ready to own my own access that I can take on the road, to South Dakota or to my parents.

Very simple purchase– I just walked into the Sprint Store and asked specifically for the Sierra Wireless card.  (I already own a Sprint wireless phone and I’m happy with the service so a Sierra Wireless card seemed like a convenient right-for-me solution). The initial cost was something like $159 with a $50 mail-in rebate which I had a few minutes to fill out right there while I waited for Super-Slow Sales Guy to log in all my updated information to their computer.

Easy to setup, at least on a Mac. A good friend of mine bought the first gen Sierra Wireless card last year and she reported that the setup at that time was not compatible with her Mac right out of the box, she actually had to download an extra setup program from some online source. However, my point is the newest Sierra Wireless cards ARE Mac compatible. The little user manual is designed for both Windows and Apple users. Setup? Insert a disc and follow the onscreen instructions. When I was done the wizard tried to tell me that setup was not complete for some reason, but it really was–I’ve been up and running without a burp for a couple of months now. It was a treat to be at my parents over Christmas and have the good fortune to sit down and work on my laptop wherever I chose.

The Bill: $59. per month for the service added onto my wireless phone bill. Also the initial price for the card was added onto my bill so I didn’t have to pay a thing in the Sprint store.

What the Sierra Wireless Aircard comes with: its battery, the card, user manual, setup disca USB extension cord (this lets you use both USB ports simultaneously. Without this extension the card may not allow room for you to use your other USB port).

The speed? Well, I’ve had faster wireless before, but this certainly serves my purposes. I’ve had a couple of instances where I’ve launched the application and it seems to take forever to log onto my browser (Firefox). When that happens I’ve simply closed Sierra Wireless and relaunched with much better results and connectivity.

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