Ever since getting a MacBookPro I’ve been lugging around 2 laptops just so that I could use my Verizon EVDO connection. The new Mac laptop has an Express/34 slot which meant my older PCMCIA Type 2 card was no longer compatible. Trips to Fry’s hunting for Express/34 cards have been painful, all the reps I talked to had never even heard of it.

While I wait for a USB or Express/34 EVDO Verizon compatible card to come on the market I have been using the Kyocera 650 on my PC and routing the connection through WiFi to my Mac. That’s one expensive personal router! Not to mention, it’s heavy. BTW Linksys and Kyocera both have 3G routers on the market that support a variety of PCMCIA cards.

Good news: I got the Elan Digital Systems U132 USB Card Reader working on my MacBook’s XP partition. My back is very excited!

Once I installed the elu132 driver all I had to do was setup a modem connection and configure the modem to dial #777.

Now, if only EDS had OS X drivers I’d be really psyched. Still, this is a major welcome addition to the world of MacBookPro Mobile Broadband service. And, another great reason for Apple’s BootCamp project.

Finally, if you’re wondering: the Kyocera 650 does in fact support VoIP calls (despite the sticker on the box that says otherwise).

Note: If you configure a few extra settings on the Modem, such as port speed, dramatic improvements will be noticed. In fact, the Elan drivers appears to offer increased upload and download speeds. I believe I was capped at 56K up before, that’s no longer the case.