Sprint Mac EVDO |
| Sunday, 25 September 2005 | |
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This just in.... Sprint certifies the first EVDO USB Modem that is compatible with all Macs. MacBook Pro and EVDO Page - has the latest info for getting the latest Mac working with EVDO. Mistake #1 You go into your local Sprint Store so you can purchase an EVDO card for your PowerBook. Mistake #2 You ask the sales rep, if the EVDO cards they sell work with your PowerBook. The sales rep, says no, they do not. Mistake #3 You assume the sales rep is right. Do not make the same mistakes, learn from your fellow PowerBook owners. EVDO + PowerBook DOES WORK. We have been using EVDO with a 15 inch PowerBook since July 2004 (on Verizon and in summer of 2005, started using Sprint's High Speed Wireless on Macs). Now we are applying the same things we learned with Verizon and offering them for people that want to use Sprint's High-Speed Data network (EVDO). Frequently Asked Questions Does Sprint support Mac OS X? Most sales reps are very knowledgeable on phones, and may have never actually used a EVDO card. Sprint Tech Support does not support Mac. If you call with and state you have a PowerBook, they may tell you that they do not support Apple. Can I get Mac OS X Support Here? Yes, all the information at our web site is FREE, enjoy. We are an Authorized Sprint Agent, which means, you can also purchase your EVDO cards and service from us (for the SAME cost as buying from Sprint - BUT we support Macs, have drivers and directions AND can get Sprint Cards working on PowerBooks). For those that purchase from us, we will support you via email, phone, iChat for free. For those that made the mistakes above AND need technical support, you can purchase support from us. I just purchased a Sprint Connection Card from a Sprint Store, and they told me to come here for help and support, can you help me? If you want real Mac support from a company that not only understands EVDO and Mac, but using EVDO with Mac, you found us here. Just like a Sprint store, we are an authorized Sprint Agent (same monthly bill comes from Sprint, same rebates, WE provide Mac support). If you are within your 60 day trial period, we suggest that you return it and purchase from us. You can usually get your EVDO card shipped today (if ordered by 12PM CST) and delivered tomorrow. Most importantly, you are helping support us and then we can in turn support you (via phone, email, chat). Even though, your Sprint Store Sales Rep, tells you that we support Macs here for free, that is not true. We do provide LOTS of free information on our web sites, but we do not provide phone/email/chat support to those that purchased directly at Sprint stores or Sprint's web site (you can purchase support if you didn't purchase from us) Which PowerBook do I need? Any PowerBook running Mac OS X 10.3.4 - 10.4.2 with a PC Slot (PowerBook 12 inch and iBook do not have PC Slots - so they will currently NOT work. However, there is a way to have another PowerBook with a slot share the EVDO connection over Airport , so that the PB12 or iBook can use EVDO (just not directly). Also, the soon to be released Kyocera KR1 Router will allow iBooks and PowerBook 12 inches to work with EVDO. Which EVDO card should I get? Currently, there are 2 different EVDO cards available. The Sierra AirCard 580 and the Merlin S620. We have Mac OS X drivers available for the Merlin S620. We also have detailed directions to get the AirCard 580 working with PowerBooks running 10.3.5 We have created steps (very technical: AirCard 580, Merlin S620) to follow to get the other EVDO cards working, BUT you will not see the signal strength indicator, the cards will connect, but you will NOT know if how strong the signal is, if you are in a EVDO or non-EVDO area, and you will not be able to update the PRL of the card (needed to see new EVDO towers). If you are only going to be using your EVDO card in a few areas and you happen to KNOW that there is great EVDO coverage, seeing the above in your menu bar, may not be too important. If you are going to be traveling around to different areas, it can be VERY important having this feedback. Also, we now have available a SIMPLE Mac OS X installer for the Novatel V620 card. Just run the installer and a Merlin V620 driver will be installed for you. You DO NOT get the menu bar indicator (as shown above), but it does work and it is simple to get to work. The Connection Cards MUST BE activated on a Windows PC BEFORE they will work on a Mac. We do offer technical tips to get the Merlin S620 and AirCard 580 to work with the PowerBook, BUT we are not able to provide phone support for this, UNLESS you purchase the cards from us. We do offer paid phone support, if you didn't buy the card from us. If I purchase an EVDO card here, will it still work on the Sprint Network? Yes, we are an Authorized Sprint Agent, we are selling you a Sprint EVDO card and Sprint service. The contract you sign is with Sprint. You have all the same perks that you do at Sprint stores, like rebates, same 60 day trial to try out and cancel contract if not happy, and of course the same network. The monthly pricing is identical too. Do I really need a booster antenna for my EVDO card? If you are in a 100% coverage area, or you are 1 block away from the EVDO tower, having a booster antenna will be a waste of money - you cannot boost/help in this situation. If you are traveling around to different areas, it can help considerable, especially, if you get great coverage right outside your home/office/hotel/etc, but inside coverage is spotty or weaker - the booster antenna does a great job in this situation. Feel free to read the reviews at 3gstore.com or research what others have to say on EVDOforums.com. Also, if you are going to order an EVDO card and booster antenna, order the EVDO card first and you will get a coupon code for $10 off the antenna. Why do you have 3 web sites? We run 3 web sites: EVDOinfo.com, EVDOforums.com and 3gstore.com. We setup the first two help educate people on what you can do (and what you cannot do) with EVDO. 3gstore.com is the web site that sells stuff (booster antennas and Sprint EVDO products and service). You will find 99% useful tips, news, coverage and other EVDO stuff at the first 2 sites. The other 1% are banner ads that we point to our sales site. There are many sleazy EVDO web sites, that will say anything to try to get you to buy from them, yes, they even lie and say things that are completely false and inaccurate. These web sites are the main reason why we setup our web sites. Kind of like the consumer reports of EVDO - one stop for all your accurate and useful EVDO information. How long have you been using a Mac? Since January 1984, yep, we got the original Mac 128K and have been a happy mac user since then. Now, we use a PowerBook 15 inch for EVDO. We also have a PowerBook 12 inch and 12 inch iBook for testing new products. How long does it take to get an EVDO card? You can place your orders at https://3gstore.com/sprint/ and select overnight delivery and if it is before 12PM PST, you can get your EVDO card tomorrow. Your order goes through Sprint Credit - there is some additional information on the form (SSN, etc) that is securely collected - so you need to fill out the form vs. doing it over the phone. Do I need a Windows Laptop to activate my card? YES Inserting a Sprint Connection Card directly in a PowerBook will not work. Which is why, we offer Mac users, the option to pre-activate any card before being shipped to you - this saves you the hassle of finding a Windows laptop for first time activation (Nobody else understands this is a HASSLE for Mac users - we make it easy). What does Activating Card or Updating PRL mean? When your card gets activated (PC5220 = first time you insert it, or if other cards get activated on a PC first), something called a PRL (or Preferred Roaming List) is downloaded to your EVDO card. This is a list of cell sites that your EVDO card knows about. As Sprint adds new cell sites, they will update the PRL. Sprint usually updates the PRL every 3 - 4 months. If you fail to update your PRL, those new towers will be invisible to your EVDO card. So, when going to a new area, OR every few months, it is a good idea to update your PRL. If you purchased a card that is not currently supported by Mac OS X (all cards currently), you will need to stick in your EVDO card in a Windows Laptop and run the Activation Wizard (this is what is on the Windows CD that comes with every EVDO Card). If I purchase my EVDO card from you, will you help if I have a question? YES and we will help those that purchased from us for free. If you didn't, you can use EVDOinfo.com and EVDOforums.com for free and we offer paid technical support. If you are within 60 days of purchasing your Sprint Connection Card, you can return it, get out of the contract, and cancel your order. Next, you can order an EVDO Card from us and then you will get support for FREE. I read that there is a place selling SuperCharged EVDO cards, are your cards SuperCharged for faster speed? You probably read that from a web site run by Robert Kim who sells this information for $200 - $300. You can perform these changes for free, just read our SuperCharged EVDO page. I am convinced, how do I order? Just stop by and place your order at 3gstore.com. This is a great web site, but how do I know you are not like that other web site that just says anything? We also maintain a public EVDO forum, for all users to participate. We try our best to help users up there too. Stop by and you will see we are more than just talk (EVDOforums.com). Also, if you are a Mac user, be sure to sign out Mac EVDO thread, so others can see that IT WORKS! Isn't this a web site just selling stuff? No! This web site is 98% useful, cool, and accurate information. This page does have more of a sales tone - BUT we want to present a solution for Mac users and let them know that Mac + EVDO does really work. Order a Merlin S620 From Sprint for Your PowerBook and Get this:  Order a Merlin S620 From Us and Get This:  And have a happy PowerBook:  |
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