Reviewing the Captr II from Cricket Wireless!

Click on Image for More information

I recently bought the Captr 2 and I must say from everything I have done with this phone,  I am really impressed.   So before I begin with my observations, I will at least tell you the specifics of the phone itself:

• Bluetooth Capable


• Camera phone


• Mobile Web


• Tri-band

The Retail Price of this phone is $59.99, even that can be a good thing.    I simply love this phone because of the durability of it and how reliable it has been for me.  I have been using a Plantronics Explorer series Bluetooth headset with this phone for quite some time and have great success with many of the features that come with this.

“What Have I tried?”  you may ask.

I will put it to you this way.   On other phones that I have used a head set on I have had very little success with voice dialing.    After you have trained you phone with your own voice could you dial a number without having to even touch the phone.   I like the fact that I could have it call any number I said and it rarely got it wrong.

The Pro’s of the Phone:

• Obviously the Voice Commands —  They have fixed common problems with voice commands and it works even better.


• Size —  I am one of those who like to have a small phone, don’t need any bulky phone to show off.


• Battery life — Having used it for over 3 weeks.   The Battery life is really good, Only having to charge it every couple days.


• Cost — It being a low cost phone, almost anyone can afford it.


• Great for College or Highschool Students —  It being limited on web browsing this is good for cost and still keeping it touch with your kids.

The Con’s:

• Screen size — If you are used to a big screen then this is something that you will have to get used it.


• Memory size — The phone memories isn’t as big as an Iphone, so you can’t have unlimited contacts or messages on the phone.

All in all, This phone is great for anyone who is on a tight budget.    I have been really pleased with it.   I definitely will recommend this phone to anyone who might need a low cost phone and still be on a budget.   I have not had it dropped calls from this phone and the signal strength has been over 2 bars anywhere I have went.   Go check out the Captr II for yourself and you will be happy with it like I am!!

Related articles

• Finding out which network carrier you are using with Pre-paid Cellular Companies! (paulstechtalk.com)


• Cricket's Muve Music anniverary one big chest-thump (ces.cnet.com)


• Plantronics Savi W745 headset - a review (ericbrown.com)


• Tips for Use a Bluetooth Headset (cf780126.typepad.com)


• Plantronics Marque M155 Bluetooth Headset Review: Designed for Smartphones (brighthand.com)

Cricket Wireless Releases the EC1705 Datacard

The Cricket EC1705 Datacard

The Cricket EC1705 modem is a feature-rich modem in a compact size and light weight.  It connects your or desktop computer to the Cricket high-speed wireless network.  You can send and receive text messages, and use it in all Cricket Broadband coverage areas.  The USB extension cable offers additional flexibility to connect to different USB locations in your PC.  The Cricket EC1705 modem offers you convenience, speed and power, all of which you’re sure to appreciate.

Supported operating systems:

• Windows Vista (SP1) or higher


• Windows XP (SP2) or higher


• Windows 2000 (SP4)


• Mac OS X (10.4.11+) and (10.5+)

To install the modem and the software, these minimum system resources are required:

• Port: Type A USB port


• Processor: 300MHz or faster


• Memory: 512 MB


• Free disk space: 30 MB


• Screen Resolution: 800×600, 256 colors

This was released this week, the EC1705 Datacard, is EVDO capable and will be using the Tri-band. I haven’t had a chance to test this modem out but it does look kinda cool! If you have this leave a message about how you like it!! I’d love to test this out but right now I can’t afford it, maybe later on this year!!

Cricket Wireless now Offers unlimited Nationwide service!!

 

Cricket Wireless is now offering Nationwide Coverage for there text and talk. So Iwanted to talk about this a little to help people who might need a little help understanding this. Some of the most common questions I am seeing are:

Do I need to do anything to get nationwide coverage?

If you are constantly on the road each month you will need to sign up for the new plan by dialing *228 on you phone. This will program the phone to allow you to go outside of your home coverage area. It will also change your plan, if you already haven’t changed to the new to plan. If you were on the $25 a month plan you will automatically be bumped up to the $30 dollar plan and this goes down the line.

What phones do I need?

If you haven’t already you should check to make sure you have a Tri-band Phone and if not consider buying a Tri-band phones. You can go and find the ones that are Tri-band Phones on Crickets Phone page.

What if I didn’t call *228 and now My phone won’t work?

You can always call 1-800-922-5159 and see if they will change your plan but other than that will have to wait to get to a Cricket Coverage area (Not nationwide) to program your phone. You can talk to Cricket Wireless customer support and see what they have to say about this. I suspect though you will have to wait.

Can I use this phone if I live in the Nationwide Coverage area?

Most definitely yes, You will have to double check with Cricket Coverage area to make sure you are truly in the nationwide coverage area but other than that you can order your phone through Cricket Wireless and they will ship it to you for free.

Do I have to buy it the Phone from Cricket Wireless?

No You don’t, you can always check out the Amazon website and check to see if they have Any unlocked Tri-band phones. There you can find some cheap Tri-band phones that can be used for Cricket Wireless. You may have to call Cricket Wireless to verify that they can do this but i see no reason why it shouldn’t work!!

I wanted to let people know about the New nationwide coverage area for Cricket Wireless, and would love to hear your experiences when it comes to roaming? leave a comment and let people know.

See you Friday!!

Reviewing the Cricket Um185 Broadband Modem

So I got the Modem and wanted to test out the speed being stationary, So I go to my usual site Speedtest.net look at the speed, check below for speed.
As you can see this went fairly well. It does depend on your Cricket Coverage area. So you want to hear all about it.

First thing if you are upgrading from the UM100 Broadband Card, You’ll want to uninstall the Quicklink Software.  To do that you can uninstall it by going to:

Computer > C: Drive > Program Files > Cricket > Quicklink > UNWISE.EXE

(This will uninstall the Quicklink software, I’d suggest after you uninstall it you reboot.)

Install the UM185 Software and Drivers:

twitter me and tell me what you think. Maybe you’ll twitter will be on my review site.

Getting Twitter on your Cricket QA30 Hint Phone!!

So you want to use [intlink id="3222" type="post"]Twitter with Cricket Phones[/intlink]. I have found a few ways to post to Twitter with http://Identi.ca . I can post to twitter with emails going to Identi.ca.  They give you a unique email address that you can use to post and You can receive twitter like sms through them.  They do have an options for Cricket but again you would have to use email to post but you can receive through text messaging without a problem.

This Phone comes with it's own Email application so you would just use the phone to do the emailing. I've not gotten this phone just yet because Cricket won't let me test it out but I am going to assume that with this phone having email capabilities, you can get around the twitter problem very easily.  You can use Twittermail to send and receive through your email application.   You can receive replies to your email address almost instantly.

Unlike Identi.ca, you can only send to Twitter but can't receive any updates on twitter.   You could however start using Identi.ca exclusively but that would be torture because most of your friends are using Twitter. I wish Cricket would let me test this phone out and find out other secrets for my users.

The Motorola Evoke QA4 has an Email application on it too but right now it is $279 and is on pre order.  I am expecting this to also be able to send and receive email just like the QA30 Hint from Cricket.  If anyone wants to submit a review on either phone just [intlink id="995" type="page"]email me or contact me through other services[/intlink] and I'll give your credit to the review.

*update*

Looks like Cricket Wireless is providing use with a twitter app call Twit Twit. I haven't played with it but I find it is at least a nice gesture on their part. If anyone has played with this application, I would like to hear how well this does!!

Vista Sp2 To Come out in Second Quarter of 2009 -- Not Compatiable with Cricket Broadband

Well that isn't really news we knew this was coming from my previous post about [intlink id="3402" type="post"]Sp1 being sent out to all users[/intlink].
[ad#cricket-right-ez]But what I did hear won't be a good feeling to all those who have Cricket broadband.   From a source that has contacted me and let me know, SP2 will break Cricket Broadband.   I on the other hand have to wait to see what all they put in the SP2 to figure out how to fix this small problem.   Until then I would suggest to all who like or want to continue to use Cricket broadband to install and use the Service Pack Blocker.

Download this and run as an Administrator in command line.  (START > SEARCH "cmd" > right click on CMD.EXE and run as admin.)  (You'll want to extract this program first but You'd want to do:

• The executable creates a registry key on the computer on which it is run that blocks or unblocks (depending on the command-line option used) the delivery of a Service Pack to that computer through Windows Update. The key used is HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.When the '/B' command line option is used, the key value name 'DoNotAllowSP' is created and its value set to 1. This value blocks delivery of a Service Pack to the computer through Automatic Update or Windows Update.
  
  When the '/U' command line option is used, the previously created registry value that temporarily blocked the delivery of a Service Pack to the computer through Automatic Update or Windows Update is removed. If the value does not exist on the computer on which it is run, no action is taken.
  
  

This will help prevent it from downlading and installing the SP until Either Cricket or I have the chance to test out how to fix the problem.  Any questions can be posted on the Forums and I'll answer them as quickly as possible!!

*UPDATE 1/1/2010*

The Latest update from Cricket is that Both the [intlink id="3059" type="post" target="_blank"]A600[/intlink] and [intlink id="4641" type="post" target="_blank"]The UM185C[/intlink] works with Vista Sp2 and Windows 7 32 and 64 bit systems.  So you no longer have to worry about it not working!!!

Cellular Modem common problem -- DNS LOOKUP

With Cellular Modems being used more and more, the common problem is:



Address not Found

This is something that comes with any ISP the DNS lookup problem. In which your connection acts like a VPN connection, it connects to a cell tower and then gets transported to the nears server and then goes on the internet. The Server does the DNS lookup for you and send you to the right page. There seems to be a problem with my Cellular DNS server because it doesn't have a complete list and if it doesn't know where you to go you get that screen.

[ad#cricket-right-ez]So I found an easy way to fix this problem. I have been using my Host file to tell my computer the IP of the server that I am having the problem. So how do I find out the Ip of the server? This can be a problem to an extent.

I found that visiting the OpenDns.com Cache check will tell me the internet protocol of the server for the time but it could change. I just edit the host file manually and insert the need information by hand. Like I said the IP may change from time to time depending on where you are going or if it is a big server. The servers ip will rotate to help the bandwidth and keep it even on all servers, so this only works with servers that have a Static IP.

There is a program that will help you manage your host file it's called Hostman and this does makes editing your Host file a little more easily. I have used this and I haven't found anything that does do anywhere better than this. If you have a suggestion on a good Host Manager, please tell people in the Forums or leave a comment. I'd love to hear some good programs to help update the Host file more easily.

Reviewing the Cricket A600 RF Connector

359921 - Cricket A600 Connector

I also got two types of Antennas for this connector, ARC-FR0803R30 and AA-012 - Dual-Band Mini Magnetic Mount Cell Phone Antennas. Thanks to Wpsantennas for the chance to review them. I've found them to help reception and increase the response to load website. I also gained easily 1 bar of signal but in some cases I could gain 2 bars of signal with the ARC-FR0803R30. This product is useful because it can be used as an directional antenna and if you know the Cell towers and you can aim it, that way you get better signal.

I used the AA-012 around my area while my wife was driving and it helped keep the reception steady and not make it sluggish when you move from on tower to another. All in all, I find the Antennas from Wpsantennas.com to help signals. They have a full range of Antennas to use and also they have Amplifiers that will boost your signal, in case your on the edge of Cricket Broadband. This would give you a better chance at getting on the internet. The AWS (1700-2100 MHz) amplifier available yet but they assure me that they will be the first one to have it. I can't wait to go on a long Highway drive and check out the Aa-012 on the Highway. In case you would like to know where the RF connector is [intlink id="3337" type="post"]just check out this post[/intlink]

A600 has an External RF Antenna

After someone makes a comment on disqus about there being an external antenna plug and I found it:

[gallery]

As you can see the External antenna connector is on the back of the a600, I have talked to someone who says he thinks he knows which ones will work but I wanted to let people know who only have a bar who wants a better connection. I will be testing out some stuff later on next week and will post about it and how much of a difference they make in long run. If you want to see it for yourself just take the rubber piece off the back right near the Cricket name, it looks to be easily taken off and put back on. I just used my fingernails to get it off, so it should be really easy to do!!

[intlink id="3387" type="post"]That little connector will help you get more signal[/intlink] out and should help improve your internet speeds with a little help from getting the right connector to attach to it. [ad#text-broadband1]

Setting the Record straight with Twitter and Cricket phones

I found this video online and thought I would post it:


[ad#cricket-samsung-u340]
As you can tell you won't be able to use Twitter with Cricket phones but they are working on it. I however have been use [intlink id="3065" type="page"]A600 Broadband Modem[/intlink] with Twitter without a problem. I have been using Tweetdeck as my platform of choice to use Twitter.

Although you can use the web based version Twitter, you won't be able to SMS with Twitter just yet. I do hope they fix this really quickly, because I'd like to be able to use my phone to receive important updates.  I expect them to fix this in  the coming months when they bring out some new phones.  [intlink id="3620" type="post"]Recently Cricket has let out the Smart Phones, with the Email capabilities[/intlink].   These phones, that have the email capabilities, can be used in conjunction with Twitter.  I talk about ways to use the newest phones to connect them with Twitter.

[ad#CricketDonate]

Offline Affiliate advertising!

Affiliate advertising can be done in multitude of ways, from Google Searching to word of mouth on the Internet. If you have something you want to sell sometimes the best way to sell it is Word of Mouth, see Technibbles article about Word of Mouth.

I am very happy with the [intlink id="3059" type="post"]A600 Cricket Modem[/intlink], and I have been taking it everywhere I go. I from time to time get asked what I have around my neck. I put the Modem on a lanyard and have been having people ask about it. This is a very good tactic to sell products online.  This is a great way for people to come to you and ask what that is?  I've had a lot of people in my area as I am fixing there computers or even walking around my local shopping areas to ask what is that I have on my neck.

That is where this card comes  into play:

As you can see this is very useful, but I made it one card.  From is the price and where they can buy it and the other is my review on my website.  I use Bit.ly website to track who goes there.  They can track how many people go there.  I signed up for that part.

[ad#cricket-right-ez]

There is so many ways to advertise by having someone put a flyer on cards about this.  I was thinking this would be good in my area because I am getting pretty good speeds with my [intlink id="3174" type="post"]A600 Modem[/intlink].  I have since though that my not be the best tactic but I will have these cards for people who want to ask what I have around my neck or when I take my laptop on the road and people ask about that little modem.

By wearing this modem, I am hoping people will ask questions online or check the reviews of the modem by searching for it.  Which will bring people to my site wanting to find out about this modem.  It might not get people to buy it right off but it will definitely cause people to want to know more about the modem.    I've also had people wanting to know more about this modem and so created these cards to better direct them to my site so they can find out even more and maybe even want to buy one.

Extended Review : A600 Cricket modem

So I recently went around town with this the [intlink id="3059" type="post"]A600[/intlink] and wanted to provide some insightful outcomes.  I used Speedtest.net like I did before and the results are:

Understanding the speeds.

As you can tell I was getting some really good speeds from this test.  It seems with the added length of the modem has also added a better antenna to the USB Modem.   Although you have to be[intlink id="2484" type="post"] cautious about where you go and the coverage[/intlink] area. Please mak sur you are in the Cricket Coverage area I've been looking for a way to get an [intlink id="2931" type="post"]extender for the modem[/intlink], but have not found a hole for it. So that might be out of possibilities.

What are some possible uses of this modem.

It having the capability to have an Micro SD card, There is a lot of potential for multiple uses of the modem.   In one of my other posts about [intlink id="3171" type="post"]Backing up[/intlink], I talked about some of the more common programs you could use to keep your passwords on you from time to time.  I wanted to add on some other programs that might be useful for the person on the go who might work on computers:[ad#Cricket_USB_Modem]

• Technibble's Repair tool section -- There are a bunch of good software picks to put on this little modem for use with fixing a hardware or software problem you might come across.


• Portable Apps -- This is a great little program that will allow you to have a wide variety of uses such as Mozzila Firefox, and Thunderbird.  There is even a portable Open Office suite so you will never need to have to worry about find a way to read an important document or creating a important document while on the road.


• [intlink id="2646" type="post"]Roboform[/intlink] -- I use this all the time and if you need to keep your passwords safe this is the best solution.  It also has a portable version for your cell phone and an USB.  No more worrying about keyloggers and other such malware, this will increase your security.


• [intlink id="3067" type="post"]The A600 Programs[/intlink] -- This is good for those times when the modem refuses to install the software.  You can always have the software available to install and use at your convenience.


• Portable Skype -- This is good for those who want to [intlink id="2601" type="post"]use skype with the modem[/intlink].  Although you will have to make some modifications and it may or may not work.  I've got the full version of skype but I heard it can be done.


• Wikipedia Of portable applications -- this is a good resource to find out even more programs that might work on the USB Modem.  It after all can hold 4 gigabytes of data.  So there is room for several programs.

I recommend buying this very reliable modem. You should always double check to see if you are in the Cricket Coverage area. If you would like to see some other comments about the A600 please check out my [intlink id="3059" type="post"]other review of this A600[/intlink], you will see some glowing recommendations from other people to buy this modem.

Reviewing Cricket Samsung U340

([ad#cricket-samsung-u340] Buy it now)

Phone Features
Camera Phone	Yes (VGA)
Headset Jack	Yes (2.5mm)
Vibrate Alert	Yes
Ringtones Included	Yes
Downloadable Ringtones	Yes
Speakerphone	Yes
Downloadable Games/Applications	Yes
Internal Storage	Yes
Contact Directory	Yes
Voice-Activated dialing	Yes
Predictive Text-Input	Yes
Data Browse Feature	Yes
Preloaded Wallpaper	Yes
Productivity Tools	Yes (Calendar, Alarm, Calculator)

Physical Characteristics
Size	Clamshell
Dimensions (H x W x D)	3.6" x 1.84" x 0.9"
Weight (w/standard battery)	3.49 oz
Antenna Type	Internal
Colors	Blue
External Display	96x96 pixels, Grey
Internal Display	65K Color TFT, 128x160 pixels
Battery
Battery Type	Lithium Ion
Talk Time	Up to 204 minutes
Standby Time	Up to 270 hours

This is a Cheap phone for those who have the need for one a cheap phone and can't afford much else. You have several plans available to the the Basic 30$ Plans to 60$ plans. This is good for the people who need a cell phone but need it cheap. The Coverage Area(Cricket Coverage Maps - Check and see if Cricket is available in your city.) is required to use this. Types of customers who would like this are:

• Single Mothers


• College Students


• Low Income Families


• Teens in High school


• Teachers


• Senior Citizens who don't know the technology very well!!

I ordered this through Cricket Website and At the time it was Free Shipping but that is only for a limited time.  After I received this, I did my usual check tools that would be useful, Here's what I would think be useful:

• Contacts


• Camera Phone


• Web Capability


• Voice Capability


• Speaker Phone

The Screen is crisp and bright, and I find the voice quality average.  This is good for those who want a small size and don't have a lot of room in your pocket.  I also find the sound quality to be good for those who need a speaker phone.  I highly recommend it for those who need to a cheap phone.  [ad#cricket-samsung-u340]

Are you Email domains being blocked by Cricket?

So I got this Tweet from Mai_ling on twitter and she said:

So I did some digging around the net and found it is something that is a common practice for ISP's to block PORT 25.   If you want to find out if Cricket is blocking your mail service you can easily follow these instructions to see if port 25 is actively being blocked.  So what are some options in fixing this little problem.

[ad#cricket-right-ez]Due to spammers exploiting port 25, ISP have been blocking port 25 for other domains but theirs.   You can receive email but not send email.  Most ISP's have a way for you to have an Alternative Port that you can use and you should check with your email domain provider to see if you can send and receive on either a SSL or another Port.

You could set up your email client to receive on port 25 but send out on the SMTP server of Gmail.  This would be useful for people who want to send mail out but not have to change there email address.  People will still see it coming from whatevername@whatever.com.   You can tell Thunderbird to send out on the port and yet use your domain as your email address.

Another possible solution that may work for some is to sign up for Google Apps.  The downside of this is It cost 50$ a year but that is 4.20$ a month to be added on to your Cricket Modem charge.  This looks promising and has a 30 day trial so, if it works then you will know before you have to pay for anything.  This should be dealt with by Cricket, they should have a way for there customers to send and receive email without having to jump through hoops to send email and receive email.

5 Steps in Finding the right Affiliates!

So you want to make Money with your blog but don't know how? I thought I would share with you what I've learned in the past few months to earn enough money to pay for the space and web address. I'll go through each step talking about steps:

First you will need to explore all the great Affiliate programs like OpenX, TMIWireless, Adsense,  Converseon, and Commision Junction.   There is of course even more out on the Internet, but these are ones that I like and have given me some insight as to Commission and Affiliate marketing.  I have been using TMIWIRELESS and Converseon more and more.  I still have Adsense but you have to get a balance on Advertising and what people are wanting.

Find the right fit for you blog and talk about the products you like the most.  I like TmiWireless because you give out free phones and still get money in return and Converseon for recommending Cell Phones. You should figure out what does better, and always keep looking. There are more than a few out that will work for you better. If you know one that I should look into let me know.

[ad#ad2-right]Remind readers about the affiliate programs so others can find them and blog about them.  It can also help with people coming to your site because the will encourage other people to check out what you've written and your recommendations.  You should come up with ways to promote your affiliates and encourage users to click on them and buy stuff from them.   This has brought in money by having them searched and indexed by Google.  You should find a niche that you have very little competition in, that way you get most of the traffic in for your self.

Create a Sneeze page, although this sounds rude, it is really a page talking about having helpful topics around your products or have them for people to find even more information about your affiliates.  Just like I have a Malware Resource, and Cricket Resource, also Cricket Reviews.  These will make it much easier for people to find what they are looking for and make it more enjoyable for the reader.  It also encourages people to come back and stay a while.

Although this is overlooked it is sometimes necessary to remind your readers about affiliates and talk about a product in detail by asking them to comment on a articles and encourage them to link to you.  This will bring in even more people to look at your blog and your reviews to get your page views higher and get more people to click your affiliate links.

I've not followed these steps very well in the beginning of starting my blog but I have learned a lot since then.  I've also learned that you need to update your blog on a weekly or even daily to basis to keep readers to come back.  You should always keep searching for even better affiliates to make your blog better.  You can also start advertising your blog by yourself without the middle but that is of yet I've not done enough on.  I will in the future when I get more experience under my belt.  I hope this has helped you in some way.

How do you like your Cricket USB Modem?

Lately I talked about the A600 USB 3G modem and Now I want to hear from the Readers?  You see I can't do my best reviewing these with comments from the readers, that being you.

Click the picture to send me email, just remember to replace "AT" with "@".

So I want to hear what you think about either the USB UM100 Modem or the A600 USB 3g Modem?  Here a re a few things to answer when you write your email.

Something will go to the people who email me?  I want to publish some of these comments on my blog for all to read.  I want to hear if what I am publishing helps you?  I will even give your credit as  to who wrote it.  If you have a site or something you want to promote by all means add that to your testimonial.  Here's the basic questions that should be talked about:

• Which one did you buy? (Cricket USB A600 or Cricket USB UM100)


• Did you Upgrade from the Cricket USB UM100 to the Cricket USB A600?


• Are you using it for travel or Primary internet?


• Is it for business or Pleasure?


• Are you happy with your choice?


• Do you recommend the Modem to friends and family?


• Any Situation you can think of where this has been helpful?

I am going to be asking for comments from Cricket about this also and I will be publishing this later on this month but before I do that you will have your chance to tell the company what you think of their Broadband solution.  Please keep these comments family friendly, if you cuss and I publish it, be advised I will edit the cussing to be family friendly.

Getting to the A600 Program Files

So you want to see this screen when you plug in the A600 Broadband Card:


[ad]But doesn't pop up! I found out why. If you installed it one time or another and had a problem with the installation and it won't pop up with that screen. You'll need to take this first step:

Uninstall THE USB DRIVERS for A600
C:\Program Files\Cricket\USB DRIVERS\Uninstall.EXE

Once you do that you will see need to reboot and then try to insert the A600 Modem into the USB slot. It should pop up with t hat screen or you should see the drive become available.

I've also took the drive and copied the program files into a sub Directory of the 4 Gig drive installed in the A600 and I decided to help everyone else out by uploading the self-extracting program to rapid share:

Cricket-A600-Program.exe Bit torrent file

This is the file I created on Memory card for when I need it.  If you are uncomfortable downloading this because your worried about virus, then follow the directions on how to uninstall the software to get to your Cricket software for the A600.  I did this to make it easier later on to re-install the software without having to uninstall software.  Let me know if this helps. You should consider downloading Free Anti-virus Software and free Firewalls to protect your system if you haven't already!!

Reviewing the 3G A600 Cricket Modem

So I got the Modem and wanted to test out the speed being stationary, So I go to my usual site Speedtest.net look at the speed, check below for speed.
As you can see this went fairly well. It does depend on your Cricket Coverage area. So you want to hear all about it.

First thing if you are upgrading from the UM100 Broadband Card, You'll want to uninstall the Quicklink Software.  To do that you can uninstall it by going to:

Computer > C: Drive > Program Files > Cricket > Quicklink > UNWISE.EXE

(This will uninstall the Quicklink software, I'd suggest after you uninstall it you reboot.)

How does the USB Modem work?

Once you do that you can then insert the A600 Modem into your USB.  The Nice thing about this is the software for the Modem is on the Modem itself, so you don't loose the CD for the modem.  It currently only supports Windows and MAC OSX operating system but I have seen there is a work around to use the A600 Modem with Linux if your wondering.Once you insert it into the USB you'll find you have a new Drive.  It will say a Cricket CD Drive with 24 megs used.  You'll want to run that program on the Cricket CD and that will install the software.

The Connection

As you can see this is the provided application to connect to the Cricket Network and the speed and signal strength can differ from location to location due to coverage areas. This application can do several different functions:

• Connecting to Cricket


• Text Messaging (Free with broadband connection)


• Bandwidth Monitor (Helps makes sure you don't use to much Bandwidth, they do have a soft cap of 5 gig's but haven't affected me yet.)


• Statistics, this is good for those who want to try to get the most out of the modem.


• Logs, Also good for those who want to keep track on how much they used the modem. It however only logs activity on the system it is connected to.


• Activation -- Seems to help get updated tower positions when your traveling and can be done as long as you can get a signal

Pro's to this EVDO MODEM:

• [intlink id="3174" type="post"]Memory Slot[/intlink] to have backups on files in case the worst case scenario happens (1 to 4 Gigbyte Capabilities)


• Speed and Bandwidth (See above for speed test)


• No loosing CD -- I have the [intlink id="3067" type="post"]program files[/intlink] online if you need them.


• Independent card reader without having to install the Modem Software.


• Able to take the modem with you as you go. (There is a clip slot for you to carry it anywhere you go.)


• Found out there is an External antenna connector and will be looking at Antenna's for it in the future.


• Swivel USB port, You can swivel it up or down 90 degrees or side to side 180 degrees. (X and Y Axis)

Cons:

• If you use it primarily internet you'll expect some slow downs from time to time during HIGH Peak Zones.


• This has a dormant signal feature that I will have to figure out how to disable but easily fixed by reconnecting to the tower. You can get out of dormant mode by web surfing, just load up your browser and the dormant mode will go away.

Twitter Comments:

@Laforge129 I sure am trying out the Cricket broadband.!I just started it last week and so far it never ceases to amaze me! (Via Twitter)

Conclusion

I and others would recommend the Cricket Broadband Modem a600 to anyone who wants an inexpensive and portable internet connection for $40 dollars and no contracts. Though with all the things you can do with this modem makes it an invaluable extra incentive in buying this modem. You should always check the Coverage area for Cricket and make sure you are able to use this modem in the first place. I'll have another update on this later on but I'm really impressed with all the features of this modem.

Clicker here to buy it now.

Check out my Extended Review of the A600 and All the programs that I added to my 4 gig MicroSD Card.

If you want to comment on the A600 just twitter me and tell me what you think. Maybe you'll twitter will be on my review site.

[gsom-optin]

A Sneak Peak at the A600 3G Broadband Cricket Card

So I was doing a little research and found this nugget from my Affiliates Network:

Features:

Removable Memory Format:  microSD
Storage Capacity External memory up to 4GB
Text Messaging Yes
Contact Directory Yes
Language English/Spanish

Wireless Capabilities:

Technology CDMA
Mode Tri-Band
Data Transfer Speed 3G (EVDO Rev 0, Rev A) and 1x
USB Broadband Modem (A600) Looks interesting, and I am thinking this will be the next thing the company will start Advertising for. Right now though, it cost 119$ with a 50$ Mail in Rebate and you spend 69$. With a CDMA only USB Card like the UM100, you know the speed of that. Now According to Wikipedia for 3G and I'll quote:

Thus users sold 3G service may not be able to point to a standard and say that the speeds it specifies are not being met. While stating in commentary that "it is expected that IMT-2000 will provide higher transmission rates: a minimum speed of 2Mbit/s and maximum of 14.4Mbit/s for stationary users, and 348 kbit/s in a moving vehicle,"

Now this is a much improved speed and I will be testing this in the future but for right now it is untested. I'll have another article in the coming months about this. I also like the look of this but haven't seen it first hand. The other thing I like is the the 4 Gigabytes of MicroSD memory. [intlink id="3171" type="post"]I can see a whole range of useful programs you can install on the USB and make it Portable to a point[/intlink]. I'll improve on that later on once I play around with what you can have on the card and what you have to have to use the USB modem. The Modem supports Windows 2000 through Windows Vista 64 Bit, also Supports Macintosh.

More to Come!!  (Check out the UM100 Review)

[ad#text-broadband1]

Figuring out the Hole for The USB Cricket Card? UM100C

So you bought and you see:



You probably wondering what that can be used for? Here's what I know and from what I found out. That little can be used as an external Antenna. You could also use this to boost your signal and be able to use this for places that might not be getting a better speed upward and downward bandwidth. You see it all depends on where the Cell Towers are. Although this will likely help those who are either 1 to Almost Zero signal, it will not help those who are outside of the network. It might help and it might not, it depends on the location your at and the closest coverage area. If your on the edge of the coverage area and you buy this antenna it Should boost your signal and get you a better speed. I will not say it will help but in theory it could help. If you want to find out the other post that I have done on this subject please check my Cricket tag for more information.  Although it varies on person to person, and region to region this is going to be a variable that will always remain in the grey.   Only way to find out is to try it.