The CradlePoint MBR1200 forms the heart of my new mobile Internet system

The Tech Field Day events I run are hotspots of social media, but it has been hard building an Internet presence to keep up. Constantly on the move, I need a flexible network with scalability and failover (and fail-back) between 3G/4G and wired Internet. My latest design relies on CradlePoint’s MBR1200 “Failover Router”, which can load-balance across multiple 3G and 4G data cards.

Introducing the CradlePoint MBR1200

My trusty CradlePoint PHS300 has been a constant companion at my events, from Tech Field Day to trade shows, conferences, and seminars. I set my SSID to “AskFoskett” and share 3G data to any who need it. But Tech Field Day has outgrown the bandwidth of a single 3G card, so I am stepping up my network hardware.

The MBR1200 is designed to be an always-on network access point, offering Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet connectivity and both wired and multiple 3G/4G WAN ports. It will use wired Ethernet connectivity when available and fails over to the 3G or 4G mobile network whenever required.

Perhaps the coolest trick of the MBR1200 is its ability to use multiple 3G or 4G modems at once. It load balances connections across up to five such devices, even over multiple networks. In my experiments, the MBR1200 did indeed balance fairly across a Novatel U720 on Sprint and a Novatel MiFi 2200 on Virgin. Though both use Sprint’s CDMA 3G network, throughput appeared to double when I brought the second modem on line.

The old PHS300 was battery powered, but the MBR1200 requires a wall AC or 12 volt mobile supply. This is not ideal for my use, but I imagine my Field Day delegates will tolerate a few minutes’ outage as we set up and tear down. They will likely appreciate the improved throughput of the MBR1200, though, with its more-powerful CPU and dual 802.11N radios.

3G and 4G Modems

My events have all been in the USA so far, so this section will be very location-specific.

I had previously used a 3G USB modem on the Sprint network through reseller Millenicom. They offered true unlimited data (unknown elsewhere in the US) for just $69. But the throughput of this service grew progressively slow lately, so I finally gave up.

Virgin Mobile has the best mobile broadband offering in the USA currently. I purchased a Novatel MiFi 2200 at Wal-Mart for $129. Although I’m no fan of the big-box chain, purchasing it there made me eligible for an “unlimited” (in reality, 5 GB per month) plan at $40 with no contract. The MiFi tethers to the CradlePoint routers for broad sharing or allows independent use by up to five users. The service uses the Sprint 3G network, just like my Millenicom plan, but seems faster.

There are three higher-speed mobile broadband offerings in the USA currently. Although none offers the performance once promised by 4G, all easily beat older 3G CDMA and GSM offerings.

Clearwire and Sprint share a WiMax-based network, and this is my first target. They have solid coverage and inexpensive unlimited data options. I have heard that Sprint does not throttle or cap heavy users like Clear does, so I’ll start looking there. The Sprint 250U looks like a good choice – widely available and supported by CradlePoint.

Next up is Verizon, which is building out an LTE 4G network. Although like Sprint Verizon requires a 2-year contract, they also offer a supported modem, the Pantech UML290.

Then there is T-Mobile USA, which brands its HSPA+ network as 4G. Although perhaps not technically 4G, this network offers higher performance than either competing network. The ZTE MF691 is supported by CradlePoint.

Shopping List

CradlePoint donated an MBR1200 to the cause after presenting at Networking Field Day, but I am still working on securing adequate 3G and 4G connectivity. Here’s my setup so far:

1. Failsafe Gigabit N Router for Mobile Broadband – The router itself
2. External Wifi Antennas for MBR1200 – Dual extended antennas
3. MBR1200 Modem Security Enclosure – A snap-on cover for the modems
4. Auto power adapter (5v, 2a) – Power on the go
5. Virgin Mobile Novatel MiFi 2200 – Virgin Mobile’s 3G modem

They support many, many modems, but not all. I’m also considering one of the following:

1. Sprint 3G/4G USB 250U modem
2. Verizon Pantech UML290 LTE 4G modem

Update!

As noted in the comments, CradlePoint suggests considering the following hardware instead:

1. MBR1400 Business Series N Wireless Router – This adds Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi “WiFi as WAN” to the MBR1200′s already impressive capabilities. Cool!
2. They suggest using an extension cord to place any WiMax modem a bit apart from the Wi-Fi radio since they tend to overlap. I know they’ve done extensive testing with radios, and I appreciate the advice!
3. CradlePoint suggests the Novatel 551 LTE modem, which is available from Verizon.

I went out and bought Clear’s PXU1900 WiMAX modem and Verizon’s Novatel MiFi 4151l to test these services. Read my follow-up posts:

Stephen’s Stance

This is very much a work in progress. The CradlePoint is great, but I’m not sure about the modems. I’ll post more once I have more experience. Until then, your bandwidth may vary!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Building a Combination 3G/4G/Wired Wi-Fi Network
This post was categorized as Everything, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Now for some highlights from the week:

• My writing:
  • I wrote another post for Network Computing: Storage Capacity Still Drives Accessibility
  • I picked up a new 2011 MacBook Pro last Thursday, and took it along to Redmond. You might want to read my MacBook Pro review series:
    • 2011 MacBook Pro Review: Introduction
    • Decision Point: Comparing the 2011 MacBook Pro Models
    • Benchmarking the 2011 13″ Core i5 MacBook Pro
  • I had some time on the plane, so wrote up some things I’ve been meaning to get out:
    • How Google and Dropbox Revolutionized My Laptop Migration
    • Keep Multiple Macs in Sync with Dropbox
  • Some good deals popped up this week, too: Great Deals on iPads (for now) and Get a Cradlepoint PHS300 Portable 3G WiFi Router For Just $79!
  • This week marks my first Storage for Virtual Environments seminar, so I kicked it off with Introducing Storage for Virtual Environments (From My Seminar)
• Other great stuff:
  • Terry Slattery is perhaps the most-famous CCIE, and we were lucky to have him join us at Networking Field Day in September. But he wanted to talk about Infoblox & NetMRI at Tech Field Day from last month! He also wrote about IPv6 Economics – Why Move To IPv6?
  • Another great post from Tech Field Day comes from Matthew Norwood, who will also be joining us in two weeks at Wireless Field Day: HP Networking – The Vision(As I Understand It)
  • Last week saw the unveiling of the iPad 2: I don’t often share John Gruber’s writing, but I loved The Chair, and also really enjoyed MG Siegler’s piece, An iPad Lover’s (Initial) Thoughts On iPad 2
  • Some interesting tech notes out of Redmond:
    • Using Hyper-V with large sector drives on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
    • An update that improves the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks is available
    • File Server improvements from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2. 8 items for 8 years…
  • A great Greg Schulz post on bit-level encoding: From bits to bytes: Decoding Encoding
  • Nigel Poulton is always worth reading, but his take on Storage Benchmarking and Formula 1 is especially rewarding
  • Nerd Vittles didn’t like the Motorola Xoom: A Disappointing Introduction to Android 3.0
  • Another great enterprise networking piece by Greg Ferro: Diverging Ethernet Switch Markets
  • Who’d have thought it? Exploring the Limits of Datacenter Temprature
  • Some great information on the next Mac OS: iOS on the Desktop: Hands-On With the OS X 10.7 Lion Preview
  • Bill Hill put together a great single-piece on Tech Field Day Posts as well as Fixed Block vs Variable Block Deduplication – A Quick Primer

Subscribe to my Google Reader feed or follow me on Twitter to see these in real-time.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Back From the Pile: Interesting Links, March 4, 2011
This post was categorized as Apple, Enterprise storage, Everything, Personal, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

It's like a MiFi, only way better!

Amazon is offering the PHS300 for just $79 with free shipping available. This is $100 off the retail price!

My PHS300 has been a constant companion for me for two years, providing Internet access for me and my friends wherever I go. I’m using it right now, in fact!

The PHS300 is a battery-powered box with a USB port and Wi-Fi radio. Attach almost any 3G or 4G modem or smartphone (other than the iPhone) and you’re online and sharing. It’s better than a MiFi: You can customize the experience, it’s faster (in my experience), and it scales to support way more users.

I love my Cradlepoint PHS300 router, and I love saving money. If I didn’t already have one, I’d be all over this deal!

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Get a Cradlepoint PHS300 Portable 3G WiFi Router For Just $79!
This post was categorized as Deals, Everything. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

It literally saved our bacon. See, being a security company, Symantec had a strictly-controlled network that did not allow live streaming to Ustream. Since the CradlePoint PHS300 was in use by the delegates, we were forced to send the live video stream over 3G. If the MiFi wasn’t available, no one would have heard the delegate requests for bacon at future sessions!

But the MiFi only lasted a few hours before the battery ran low. This is when I discovered the obnoxious design flaw: The MiFi 2200 requires a special charging cable. The bundled charger works, but normal folks (like me) might assume that any Micro-USB cable will work. They would be wrong.

A quick Internet search reveals that I’m not alone in my frustration here. My friends over at the EVDOForums have documented that the MiFi puts 1.4 volts on “pin X” of the USB cable, just like certain Motorola devices. Although any old Micro-USB cable will fit (including the one from my Jawbone Icon) it will not charge the battery.

Unlike the iPhone and iPad, which sense charger amperage using resistance across the data pins, the MiFi and Motorola require a voltage on a normally-grounded pin. This seems a less-elegant design, implemented with a simple resistor between pin-X and ground.

What Works

The solutions are simple but annoying:

1. Don’t run the battery down – This is an option for casual users, but I’m not one of those.
2. Install the drivers and charge from a laptop – This is probably the simplest solution, since the MiFi will supposedly charge from any cable on a PC when the drivers are installed. But it didn’t work with my MacBook Pro, takes much longer to charge anyway, and requires a powered-on laptop.
3. Pack the official/original charging brick/cable – This dramatically increases the travel bulk of the MiFi, which is a common complaint with ultra-portable devices.
4. Get an appropriate cable – I haven’t tried this exact cable, but a proper Motorola Micro-USB charger cable should work.

The MiFi also requires a fairly powerful USB charger: Reports say it draws 800 mA when charging, so many old 500 mA chargers (and PC USB ports) won’t cut it even with the proper cable.

What Doesn’t Work

I’ve tried a wide variety of USB power sources and cables and was not able to get the following to work:

1. Cables
   1. A plain-jane USB to Micro-USB cable I had lying around
   2. The cute and short USB to Micro-USB cable that came with my Jawbone Icon
   3. The tiny Mini-USB to Micro-USB adapter that came with my Motorola H800 bluetooth headset
   4. A BlackBerry-brand USB to Micro-USB cable I didn’t know I had
   5. The “power-splitter” Mini-USB cable that came with a Seagate portable hard drive
2. Chargers
   1. The original 1 A iPhone USB brick
   2. The tiny 1 A iPhone 4 USB brick
   3. The 2.1 A (10 W) iPad USB brick
   4. A Staples-brand mini surge protector with USB power ports
   5. The USB ports on my MacBook Pro (even after installing the drivers)

In summary, both the cable and the charger need to be right. You can’t just plug in a 1 A Micro-USB cable and have it work. It has to have the special “Pin X” magic.

Stephen’s Stance

It was nice to hear vendors talk about making Micro-USB a standard for portable devices, but it would have been nicer if they actually standardized the pinouts and sensing scheme as well. An average consumer will be frustrated when they plug in a device and it won’t charge, and will likely assume that the device is defective.

Plus, now I have to carry along the MiFi power brick. I hate that.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Why Won’t My MiFi Charge?
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

• My writing
  • I continued my series on Light Peak by musing about combining Light Peak and USB 3.0 and pondering, what if Light Peak was electrical rather than optical?
  • SolarWinds’ presentations at Networking Field Day and Tech Field Day 4 prompted me to look into Application Performance Monitoring
  • I also pointed out a great deal on the Cradlepoint PHS300 Portable 3G WiFi Router
  • Then there was my thoughts on the Dell acquisition of Compellent
• Enterprise IT news
  • Jennifer Huber talks about personal Wi-Fi hotspot devices vs. enterprise-deployed guest networks
• Other geeky finds
  • The Gawker breach hit me and many others. Read more in Discussing Gawker’s Breach With Founder Nick Denton.

Subscribe to my Google Reader feed or follow me on Twitter to see these in real-time.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Back From the Pile: Interesting Links, December 17, 2010
This post was categorized as Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

It's like a MiFi, only way better!

I love my Cradlepoint PHS300 router. It’s been a constant companion for me for two years, providing Internet access for me and my friends at just about every conference I attend (and organize!) It’s a battery-powered box with a USB port and Wi-Fi radio. Attach almost any 3G or 4G modem or smartphone (other than the iPhone) and you’re online and sharing. And it’s better than a MiFi: You can customize the experience, it’s faster (in my testing), and it scales to support way more users.

I bought my PHS300 for about $180, which is kinda pricey compared to the alternatives. So I was pleased to receive an email from Cradlepoint (who I’ve come to know) letting me know about a sale they have going on right now. For a limited time (how long?), you can get the latest PHS300 router (updated with 4G support) as well as an extra battery for just $99! Compare this to Amazon’s lowest price of $100 for just the router plus $25 for the battery. Note: Use promo code “HOLIDAY” when you check out to receive the discount!

I suggest also picking up the “padded travel case” (which is more of a sleeve) since it holds the router, the extra battery, and a 3G stick. It’s just $15 from Cradlepoint or about $14 from Amazon.

Virgin Mobile offers the best unlimited mobile broadband deal in the USA

Speaking of 3G sticks, I’ve been experimenting with Virgin Mobile’s prepaid wireless here in the USA. It’s the best deal going – $40 for unlimited EV-DO data with no contract! I grabbed the Novatel MiFi 2200 for testing, but it is, as I mentioned, much slower than my old Novatel 727 and both use the same Sprint airwaves. I suggest getting the Ovation MC760 and Cradlepoint router instead. It seems quicker than the MiFi, though it could be that Sprint is throttling Virgin customers on their network…

This isn’t some kind of paid Cradlepoint ad – I don’t get a dime if you buy a PHS300 from them, and they’re not paying me for anything. I just like their products.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Get a Cradlepoint PHS300 Portable 3G WiFi Router For Just $99!
This post was categorized as Deals, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

• My writing
  • Cloud storage gateway eases transition to cloud storage services
  • Eleven Tech Trends To Watch In 2011
  • How To Write To Windows NTFS Drives In Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard”
  • Introducing “Raising the Floor”, Our Datacenter Podcast
• Enterprise tech
  • NetApp Snapshot: News On NetApp – Ep 4
  • December #SANchat – 11 Trends for 2011
  • Fujitsu Teams up with NetApp to Design a Storage Blade
  • The Scaling Limitations of Etherchannel -Or- Why 1+1 Does Not Equal 2
• Other geeky stuff:
  • The Curse of Beta Hardware
  • Full Body Scanners: What’s Next?
  • Useful applications for the PC-to-iPad convert
  • CradlePoint CTR-500 Review

Subscribe to my Google Reader feed or follow me on Twitter to see these in real-time.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Back From the Pile: Interesting Links, December 3, 2010
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Tech Field Day is all about community

As some readers of my blog know, I organize the independent Gestalt IT cooperative. We’re a group of folks who investigate and discuss enterprise IT technology, writing articles, running online communities, and organizing live events. Field Day is our chance to come together in various locations for face-to-face meetings with interesting product and technology companies. We’re in San Jose this week for our first networking-focused Field Day event, and things are getting interesting!

Networking on Networking

We brought a dozen well-known networking pros to San Jose for Field Day, most of whom had never met in person. It’s ironic that our online-centric world highlights the value of live interaction to such an extent, but it was evident right from the start. While planning the event, Greg Ferro and I put together a list of dozens of possible delegates, finally picking a “dream team” we hoped to get involved. Amazingly, just about every one of these folks walked through the doors and sat down Wednesday night!

The networking community is much like other enterprise IT crowds like storage and virtualization. They are reeling from the pressures of vendors driving adoption of products, the impact of server virtualization, and the increasing industry consolidation. A key topic of discussion was the continual assault on perennial market leader, Cisco. They see an opportunity for HP, Juniper, Brocade, and the other challengers to chip away at Cisco’s margins and topple their control of major niches.

Consolidation on Ethernet and IP continues to be a challenge. Network-centric vendors try to pull storage and other traffic into their traditional protocols, and the results are controversial to say the least. Topics like TRILL, FCoE (and FCoTR), and DCB/CEE caused intense debate in this crowd. But their discussions were nearly as heated when discussing Apple’s role in the enterprise world, the future of IT, cloud computing, and many other topics besides. The talk ranged to photography (cameras seem to be a hobby for many), coffee, travel, and family as well.

HP’s Attack on Cisco

Thursday began with a half-day session at HP’s beautiful Executive Briefing Center. The focus here was the burgeoning war between HP and Cisco. HP’s A-series networking products (acquired with 3Com) appear to match the technical capabilities of Cisco’s high-end datacenter networking equipment, but the Field Day crew remained skeptical. They continually returned to questions about HP’s support for professionals like themselves with documentation and training, as well as their long-term commitment to the networking field.

They were impressed by HP’s Intelligent Management Center (IMC) demonstration, and presenter Les Stuart was ready and able to field their questions. The S-series of security products (acquired with TippingPoint) also piqued interest, though many were concerned about the pricing.

Through it all, though, everyone remained respectful of HP. They seems ready to take on any company everywhere in the data center stack. Although questions remain on whether they will succeed, everyone agreed that they are uniquely positioned due to their size, resources, customer footprint, and broad product range. HP is the enterprise IT company to watch.

SolarWinds: Mining Metrics

Being a storage guy, I was not familiar with SolarWinds, but just about everyone in this networking group had experience with them. In fact, this session was much more focused on feedback and suggestions than education and exploration. SolarWinds dived deep into their ability to collect performance metrics and presented their future architecture for scalability. Although it was difficult for me to follow the discussion, the Field Day crew was impressed!

Cradlepoint Links 3G/4G and the LAN

Turning the tables, the Field Day delegates were unfamiliar with one of my favorite networking companies, Cradlepoint. This small firm from Boise markets a line of routers that link networks with wide-area wireless data on 3G/4G mobile networks. Tech Field Day runs on a PHS300 battery-powered router while on the road, and I am impressed with the MBR1200 high-availability router I’m testing at my home office. Once they took a look, the entire Field Day crew was excited about this technology, even suggesting new product ideas.

Force10 Takes the Whiteboard

Breaking from the more-corporate sessions of the day, Force10 eschewed the projector and turned to the whiteboard exclusively. Steve Garrison gave the lay of the land before turning the session to a deep dive into networking architecture and the company’s 10 GbE products. The Field Day delegates really responded to this presentation method, a lesson that future presenters would be wise to learn!

Computer History and the Babbage Engine

Thursday ends with a retreat to one of my favorite San Francisco locations, the Computer History Museum. All delegates, presenters, and a few friends will gather for socializing, ogling artifacts from our industry, and even a demonstration of the Babbage Engine!

Friday: Juniper, Arista, and Xsigo

Tomorrow will see Juniper Networks, Arista Networks, and Xsigo Systems take the floor. I will update this post with coverage of their sessions tomorrow evening!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Notes From Networking Field Day 2010
This post was categorized as Computer History, Enterprise storage, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Expensive unlimited data plans enrich the carriers and benefit few customers

The end of unlimited data is nigh! As I discussed in yesterday’s post, AT&T’s announcement of limited data packages at lower prices has everyone up in arms. But the switch to a-la carte data is a positive move for everyone involved, including AT&T, the customer, and the US wireless phone industry as a whole.

Reality Check

Despite the hollers from the crowd, AT&T is not proposing pay-per-byte service. Their new plans serve up moderate (200 MB) and generous (2 GB) portions of data at much-reduced monthly fees of $15 and $25, respectively. Overages trigger large additional blocks of 200 MB for $15 or 1 GB for $10, respectively, and those on the smaller “DataPlus” plan can upgrade to “DataPro” on demand during months of heavy usage.

AT&T claims that 98% of smartphone users transfer less than 2 GB of data per month, and I’m betting that’s true even of iPhone power users. Of course, some people might use crazy amounts of bandwidth: Video streaming, Internet radio, and tethering come to mind. But I wonder how much data even the first two will require once they become available and popular. An hour-long podcast is about 25 MB, so Pandora, iTunes Live, and Spotify are presumably about the same. One could listen to those sites for 80 hours a month without exceeding AT&T’s new $25 2 GB DataPro package, and an additional 40 hours (1 GB) would only be $10!

The carrier also claims that 65% of smartphone users will be able to save money by opting for the $15 200 MB plan, and that this will drive further adoption of smartphones. Heavy iPhone users probably make up the outlying 35%, but the more-casual iPhoners will be able to cut their bill in half by selecting this plan.

Easy Savings

My own household includes three iPhones. My iPhone 3GS usage hovers around 400 MB per month, and I frequently stream audio from MLB.com At Bat and my favorite podcasts over the air. The other two iPhones average just 50 MB per month, with the occasional spike of around 100 MB. We currently pay $80 per month for data service: Two 3G plans at $30 and one original plan at $20. Under the new system, we can reduce our monthly data bill to $60 by switching the 3G phones to the $25 and $15 plans, respectively.

Don’t know how to stream big podcasts? Check out my article, How To Stream Any Size Podcast to an iPhone, Even Over 3G or EDGE!

We could trim the cost even more by moving both 3G phones to the $15 DataPlus plan and judiciously switching to DataPro during months of increased usage. I could also make more-frequent use of free Wi-Fi service at Starbucks, McDonald’s, Panera, and the local coffee shop, or flip on the Cradlepoint PHS300 and use my unlimited EV-DO hotspot. I imagine most iPhone users could economize similarly.

Follow the Money

Unlimited data plans hurt us all, forcing us to pay for the excesses of a few and limiting the availability of the coolest devices. Let’s get back to AT&T’s numbers for a moment. According to AT&T, only 2% of their smartphone customers transfer more than 2 GB of data per month. With everyone paying the same flat rate for unlimited data, each of those data gluttons was being subsidized by the bills of 50 regular subscribers. This kept monthly data fees artificially high and limited the adoption of smartphones in general. Even the iPhone, a smashing success by any measure, probably lost customers due to the high cost of data service.

But it gets worse. If 65% of smartphone users consume less than 200 MB of data per month, and AT&T can make money selling that much data at $15, then the company was pulling in seriously-massive profit margins until now. AT&T has between 15 and 20 million customers using smartphones, so this represents at least $150 million in monthly profit. All but the heaviest 2% of data users were profitable, and the company was gouging everyone else and pocketing the cash. Sure, they’ve spent some money on upgrades, but the AT&T 3G network is notoriously bad, from bottlenecks and dropped calls in New York to poor coverage in the heartland.

Then there’s the sorry state of competition among mobile phone carriers in the United States. Thanks to carrier locks and exclusive deals, the price for wireless data service remained fairly static until now. Unlimited data at $30 became an unofficial fixed price, and as Planet Money noted recently, price ceilings tend to act as a magnet. Perversely, the widespread availability of unlimited data plans kept prices artificially high. Until AT&T’s announcement, no one was willing to make the first move and initiate real competition.

Stephen’s Stance

Many criticized yesterday’s article, claiming a “peace of mind” benefit from “all-you-can-eat” offerings. I can understand their desire to know exactly how much their bill will be, no matter what their teenagers decide to do with their phone. But they should also consider that, all this time, they were subsidizing data gluttons, getting ripped off by their carrier, and restraining competitive pressure to lower prices. How much are they willing to pay to achieve a bit of mental calm? And aren’t these facts troubling, too?

I can’t wait to see Verizon’s response. AT&T’s pricing changes and their recent early-termination fee modifications mean they’re scared to death. Perhaps the rumors of Verizon iPhones and iPads aren’t off-base after all. At long last, we might be witnessing a real shake-up in the American mobile device market, and that’s something we can all cheer for!

It’s not all roses, though. Unlimited data promised to usher in a new era of mobile video and other innovative applications. It also posed potential competition for wired broadband providers, another market in serious need of competitive pressure. I’ll take a look at the downside tomorrow.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | The End of Unlimited Data – Part 2: Who’s Being Subsidized?
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This post is part of my series focused on the MacBook Pro.

• Don’t Be Jealous Of The New MacBook Pros!
• Upgraded! 320 GB in a MacBook Pro!
• SanDisk ExpressCard Flash Media Adapter: Nifty MacBook Pro Accessory!
• How I Get 7 Hours of MacBook Pro Battery Life
• Panic! Green Light and MacBook Pro Keyboard is Half Dead!
• Low-Power USB Ports Haunt My MacBook Pro

Card Slot In Card Slot

Apple has equipped the MacBook Pro line with an integrated ExpressCard slot since the very first post-PowerBook model back in 2006. This new expansion card form factor has never been as popular as PCMCIA/CardBus was on the laptops of the early part of the decade. So, for mid-2009, Apple decided to drop the slot altogether for all models but the massive 17″ MacBook Pro. In its place is an SD card slot, popular with the digital camera set.

Part of the blame lies in the increasing integration of features in modern machines: Users no longer need the slot to add a network adapter, Wi-Fi, audio, or optical drive since they’re all built in! Another huge factor is USB 2.0: It’s fast enough for just about any remaining peripheral.

There are only three urgent uses for an ExpressCard slot in a modern laptop:

1. Adding 3G wireless networking capability to systems (like Apple’s) that lack built-in 3G cards. Of course, many folks choose a USB 3G modem, and I’m in love with my Cradlepoint 3G wireless router.
2. Adding a second video adapter and external monitor. Modern MacBooks work great out of the box with two monitors, though, if you count the built-in LCD! And the new USB video adapters seem to work fairly well, too.
3. Adding more high-speed ports like e-SATA or FireWire 800. Although the MacBook Pro has two USB 2.0 ports, both are compromised in terms of speed or power. All of the new Pro models (even the new 13″) now include FireWire 800, but e-SATA is still AWOL.

The ExpressCard flash media adapter snaps in place and is flush with the edge of the MacBook Pro - very clean!

I didn’t need any of these features with my MacBook Pro: My Sprint 3G card is connected to the Cradlepoint router, I am happy to use the built-in LCD for multi-monitor desktop use, and I don’t need more FireWire or e-SATA storage. But, as I noted back in October, I did find a great use for the ExpressCard slot: An SD media card reader! That’s right: My now-old Mac features the exact same function that Apple just added!

I love having the convenience of an SD slot when it comes to importing photos from my Canon PowerShot cameras: It’s quick, the cards open right up in iPhoto, and I don’t have to carry any cables with me. Adding an SD card reader was cheap and easy, too! Amazon sells the exact same Sandisk SDAD109A11 adapter I bought for around $40. They’ve also got a Sonnet SD adapter (which I haven’t tried) for under $30!

I Have The Power!

Massive battery life is another solid addition to the mid-2009 MacBook Pro line. Apple integrates a huge battery right into the laptop, and reports indicate it really does deliver 7 or 8 hours of runtime. This is the first laptop I can think of without an easily replaceable battery, and follows Apple’s similar moves with the iPod and iPhone lines. Expect this to be copied by other manufacturers in the future!

My secret to long (battery) life and happiness!

Although my MacBook Pro lasts three to four hours on a charge, I purchased a second battery from the Apple store to help me work on the go. This has proven an excellent investment, and I have come to rely on battery power more than I thought I would. I have spent entire trans-Atlantic flights with the computer up and running, and have touched 8 hours of run time with two fully-charged batteries. Although extra batteries are not cheap (Amazon lists mine at $120), they’re much less expensive than they used to be!

If you do decide to get an extra battery for your older MacBook, here are some tips:

1. Get the original equipment Apple battery, not a third-party workalike. I’ve always had bad luck with off-brand batteries, and they’re not that much cheaper.
2. Download a copy of SmartSleep, the awesome and free sleep/hibernate utility. I have mine set to hibernate below 5% charge so I can swap batteries without losing data.
3. If you don’t want to wait for hibernation, just leave the Mac plugged in when you swap batteries. You can do this while it’s running or while it’s plugged in but asleep.

Sure, the cool unibody case and faster performance is tempting. But I’m still pretty happy with my good old MacBook Pro!

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© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Don’t Be Jealous Of The New MacBook Pros!
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