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Business Buyer's Guide to Mobile Broadband Illinois

How to choose the best hardware, carrier, and service plan to take your business on the road.

1. Local Companies

2. Introduction

3. Technologies

4. A Look at 3G Devices

5. Featured National Company

1. Local Companies

Indigo Productions
(847) 705-8115
2107 N Westmoreland Dr
Palatine, IL

Hermans Inc
(309) 786-0145
2820 Blackhawk Rd
Rock Island, IL

Eziaz Inc
(312) 377-7600
550 W Van Buren St
Chicago, IL

Ipiphany
(847) 463-3600
3501 Algonquin Rd
Rolling Mdws, IL

Centralis Partners Inc
(847) 864-7713
2822 Central St
Evanston, IL

Worldwinetrade
(312) 224-4400
70 W Madison St Ste 2060
Chicago, IL

Abooji Inc
(312) 207-1200
820 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL

Aabs Consulting
(847) 724-4170
1740 Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL

Byte Me! Computers
(847) 670-9125
718 E Northwest Hwy
Mount Prospect, IL

Eclick Performance.Com
(312) 640-0083
4 E Huron St
Chicago, IL

Business travelers know that staying productive on the road requires serious connectivity. That's where 3G (third-generation) cellular data services come in. By adding a mobile broadband connection to your laptop, these wireless wonders give you anytime access to the office, the Internet, and the world. Here's what you need to know to get your notebook online from anywhere.

3. Technologies

Currently three major types of cellular broadband technologies exist: EvDO, UMTS, and EDGE.

EvDO: Evolution-Data Optimized (EvDO) wireless service is the most established type of 3G data connection available in the United States. Offered by Sprint and Verizon Wireless, EvDO cards feature data rates of up to 3.1 megabits per second in a covered service area. In areas where EvDO service is not available, most EvDO cards will still run via the carrier's slower and older (but more widely deployed) 1xRTT data service. Most metropolitan areas enjoy excellent EvDO coverage, even in outlying suburbs.

UMTS/HSDPA: The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) has been growing in the United States, thanks to its adoption by Cingular in 2004. Now known as AT&T, the company has continued to offer UMTS service and devices. At this writing, AT&T's UMTS network remains less developed than the EvDO networks of Sprint and Verizon Wireless, though it is available in major urban areas throughout the country. If you require service in outlying suburbs, UMTS may not be ready for your business--yet. Older UMTS hardware offers data rates of up to 384 kilobits per second, while newer hardware using the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) protocol can reach speeds of up to 3.6 mbps.

EDGE: Not generally considered a true 3G data technology, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) data service is still widely used by AT&T and T-Mobile. It is much slower than either UMTS or EvDO, with maximum data rates of around 236 kbps. Though EDGE provides acceptable performance on cell phones, it can seem painfully slow on a laptop. If online performance matters to your business, stick with EvDO or UMTS/HSDPA.

4. A Look at 3G Devices

Your notebook's add-on slot will dictate the right type of 3G card for you. Here's a look at the available options.

PC Card: Most notebooks made in the last decade feature a PCMCIA Type II, or PC Card, slot. About the width of a credit card, a PC Card slides into the side of your notebook and draws power from your notebook's battery.

ExpressCard/34: Smaller than a PC Card, an ExpressCard/34 device also slips into the side of your notebook. ExpressCard is common on newer notebooks only.

USB: These days Universal Serial Bus is, as it name says, universal on PCs and Macs. While many ultralight notebooks may not offer either a PC Card or ExpressCard slot, you'd be hard-pressed to find any modern computer lacking a USB port. USB data adapters are a great choice if you're planning to use a single device with a variety of different computers.

Built-in: As 3G Internet connectivity has grown, so have the options for delivering it to your PC. Many major manufacturers, including Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Sony, and Toshiba, now sell laptops with built-in mobile broadband adapters for EvDO and UMTS/HSDPA. Built-in mobile broadband typically adds about $180 to a notebook's retail price.

5. Featured National Company

MindGems Inc.

738-4669
121 Santa Maria Avenue
Pacifica, CA
http://www.mindgems.com

Read more about Business Buyer's Guide to Mobile Broadband

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Business Buyer's Guide to Mobile Broadband Illinois

1. Local Companies

2. Introduction

3. Technologies

4. A Look at 3G Devices

5. Featured National Company