T Mobile have recently launched an extension to their Web ‘n’ Walk plans – a USB modem promising ‘mobile broadband’.
The device is a re-badged Huawei and comes in a DVD-style case which highlights how small and therefore portable it is.
T-Mobile nicely include Mac OS X drivers which reverses the usual trend of only supporting Windows users for computer and laptop devices. However they loose points for not offering a Mac version of the software suite of applications which allow Windows XP users to send SMS messages via the device.
Installation on a Windows machine is even easier with the software and drivers being stored within the modem prompting installation the first time the device is connected to the computer.
I found the lack of SMS capability on a Mac a mild disappointment but the performance of the modem ultimately outweighed any negatives.Light and small it’s capable of reaching some decent speeds – my Windows XP laptop consistently reports a 3.6MB connection.
If being connected away from the home or office is important to you than the it’s time to move away from having to find Wi-Fi offering coffee shops or pubs and invest in one of these.