Product Reviews

The theory is undeniably attractive: slot this card into your PowerBook and you have Internet access for everything from email to iChat at up to seven times the speed of dial-up almost anywhere in the country.

And in practice, the reality isn't too far removed. Unlike many products launched by companies whose primary business isn't in the computer industry, the Vodafone 3G/GPRS datacard works well with Mac OS X.

The card can make use of the two main data-centric networks in the UK, 3G and GPRS, to make a connection to the Internet in a similar way to a mobile phone. GPRS (sometimes referred to as 2.5G) provides a data connection with a bandwidth roughly similar to dial-up, and covers 99% of the UK population. The much newer 3G network currently only covers 60% and is limited to urban centres as well as the M4 corridor from London to Newbury. It is, however, much faster, offering a theoretical seven-fold increase in bandwidth over dial-up. Online activity feels very nippy and if you're used to consumer-standard 512Kbits/sec broadband, the experience is similar to this, particularly for web browsing.

You don't have to worry about manually choosing between 3G and GPRS, as the datacard automatically switches between the two. An aerial is also supplied to boost the signal but we didn't need it while moving around central London.

Setup

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was relatively simple, despite the fact that the manual bears the hallmarks of having been written by a Windows user. The installation process automatically creates a new network location so that your existing settings remain unchanged, and after you've restarted and stepped through the configuration utility, connecting is simply a matter of picking the correct location and choosing the appropriate option from the modem icon in your menu bar.

Unfortunately, the list of compatible computers is quite small. The 12in PowerBooks don't have a PC Card slot, and our attempts to use the system with a PowerBook G3 failed.

We were impressed with the robustness of the system and we didn't need to carry out any arcane troubleshooting; it just worked. However, it is a shame that it's so expensive. The low-usage price plan seems quite cheap, but even if you only intend to use email, a couple of attached PowerPoint presentations or a few high-res Jpegs could use up your allocation. While it's true that Vodafone is currently targeting this device at business users - who are less cash-conscious than consumers - these costs still grate.

To help keep data use low, the system re-compresses most web graphics by around two-thirds before they're sent to your Mac. Pages can look a little ugly because of this, but it's a welcome budgetary measure.

Standalone GPRS price plans are less punitive (Vodafone, for example, charges a flat rate of £2/MB) so you may be better off using your GPRS-enabled mobile phone if you have one (see Accessing the Internet using GPRS, 3 September 2004, p70) for how to set this up.

You'll know by now whether or not this card is essential to your life. If there's any doubt, a GPRS mobile phone solution is a better and more economical option, but on its technological merits, this datacard is an excellent product.

NEEDS: Mac OS X + Type II PC Card slot + 15in or 17in PowerBook G4