WWAN choices: what's your preferred form factor?

A few months back, we ran a poll asking which integrated radio you'd prefer in your mobile device: cellular wireless WAN or WiFi. Now that James just switched from a PC Card to an ExpressCard for his EV-DO account, I thought I'd pose a similar poll that focuses solely on WWAN. You've got several choices, right? There's integrated WWAN that can only be used with the single device it's in. There's the old standby of PC Card for devices with a PCMCIA card slot. The new ExpressCard form factor offers connectivity options for newer devices. Then there's the near universal approach of USB and of course, in some cases, you can tether a 3G phone to your device via USB cable or wirelessly through Bluetooth.

Pros and cons abound and your choice will obviously vary on your device and your needs. I opted for the USB route with my new 875U AirCard because I want the freedom to use my connection across nearly all of my devices. How about you? What's the preferred form factor and why? Give a vote and then follow up in the comments.

What's your preferred form factor for WWAN?

Integrated is the way to go: no muss, no fuss!PC Card for me. I'm old school.ExpressCard because I'm cutting edge.Tethering my 3G phone; why pay two data bills?USB is key. One modem for many devices

Comments

[dannyo]

I run a sprint u720 for the same reason, one evdo card/modem for many differ devices. install it on all machines and your good to go. grab the card and a machine out the door and you running!

[Rodfather]

I'd prefer an internal solution, but if my devices aren't capable of it (like now), I'd go with the USB solution. But for now, I'm going with tethering since I don't know if my next device will have internal WWAN or ExpressCard/PC Card slot.
If one of my devices had an ExpressCard slot, I'd probably go with that. There are adapters that let you stick ExpressCard modems into PC Card slots or USB.

[Chris K]

Tethering! All the ubiquity of a USB device, with no cables to mess with. If I want a faster option, I'll upgrade my handset every couple of years anyway. Integrated radios are too limiting, and USB dongles leave me with a second data bill.

[Scotty]

I cry foul on your heavily inaccurately editorialized poll questions! :-)

The Expresscard fits into a $25 USB adaptor so you can use it as a USB modem (after all, it is running USB in the Expresscard slot). But then you have all the USB headaches about 2.5W is not enough power for 3G radios, which is nicely solved by the extra juice available via the Expresscard slot.

Same for 3G phone tethering. If you bluetooth tether your battery runs flat quickly. If you USB tether it runs flat less quickly. But you run the risk of running short of phone talk time if the battery meter isn't accurate enough when tethered (my Samsung ZX20 has this issue.)

The other problem I had with 3G phone tethering is a possibly shortened life on your 3G phone. I'm on my third ZX20 and I think that is due to the heat generated in the phone when tethering. It gets hotter than a baked potato after 30 minutes. I know that is bad for the battery capacity (making a bad situation worse) and it seems to also be bad for the electronics as well.

If you need it to work and not drain/kill your phone: Expresscard. The Expresscard HSDPA also lets you share your SIM if you can't afford two data plans. With EV-DO you're stuck.

[Chris]

HSPDA vs EVDO? No comparison. Forget about Rev A, vanilla EVDO blows HSDPA out of the water

[Genghis Khent]

I know this is an old post. But the subject still is relevant. To me anyway. I am trying to decide whether my next broadband ExpressCard should be HSDPA or EV-DO. I've searched for comparisons but what I found is outdated. I see posts like Chris', but I'm looking for comparisons that are a bit more substantiated. Appreciate any links, input, etc.

[Kevin C. Tofel]

I think the single-most important factor is: which network provides more coverage in the areas you plan to use it? You're not going to see a huge difference in speeds between HSDPA and EV-DO but you will experience a massive bandwidth drop if you fallback to EDGE or 1xRTT due to a lack of good 3G coverage.

All things being equal, the speeds will generally be the same, so to me it becomes a question of coverage. I'm not disputing Chris's comment above because in his coverage area, his observation could be correct. That's the challenge of 3G: since coverage and usage varies by location, you can't take someone's experience as your decision-maker. Example: in an area with better HSDPA coverage, someone could factually dispute Chris's claim and be correct.

[Genghis Khent]

Kevin, thanks, makes sense. I live in L.A. I imagine that the coverage is similar downtown where I work. The hills where I live may be a different story. I guess I have some homework to do.

[Kevin C. Tofel]

This could be a hassle, but... you might consider buying both an EV-DO modem and an HSDPA modem. Usually, you can return the device and cancel the service with no ETF within 15 or 30 days. This way you can see which coverage provides the better bandwidth where you work. It's a pain, but it beats making a mistake only to pay later.

[Genghis Khent]

Kevin, good suggestion, but which begets my next question. For HSPDA, I'm going with Cingular. But for EV-DO, Sprint or Verizon? From what I read, Verizon is the Evil Empire, but Sprint is not in good shape financially.