Sierra Wireless AirCard 595 - Verizon Livery Review

We are going to be on the road all across the US in August. We need to stay connected to our friends and family as we travel. We want to post information about our travels on Internet review sites We don't want availability of wireless or wired connections to the Internet to limit our choices of where we stay. We went to our local Verizon store and came away with a Sierra Wireless Aircard Model 595, their latest.

This card plugs into the side of our laptop in the PCMCIA slot that most laptops have. It is powered by the laptop. A CD that comes with the card loads into the laptop. When all this is done and you have paid for service through a wireless telephone service provider you have Internet access wherever they have digital capable cell towers. It is simple to do and it works.

Speeds aren't bad, much better than dial-up, about like satellite Internet service. The Sierra site claims speeds of 3.1 mbps download and 1.8 upload. This feels about right. Once the card has dialed up the service provider and made the connection you use it like you would your wireless or wired broadband. In other words just forget about it and surf, get or send emails, download songs, whatever you normally do. My honey just took the laptop to the left coast with the card. She is so naive about computers that I feared she would never get it to work. She had absolutely no problem. She used it where she was staying, in cars, and in airports. She just turned the computer on with the card plugged in and went to email or the browser. If honey can use this it has to be simple.

it can get a little confusing at hook-up time if you also have your laptop wireless running and a hot spot is detected. You have to choose which one you want to use, but there is a screen to help you sort it all out. We just turn our wireless radio in the laptop off when the card is plugged in. Other than getting started sometimes being confusing this is just not in your way. It feels like you are connected through the more traditional wireless. Most of all it adds many more places you can surf.