Novatel Wireless Merlin X950D

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londonic

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Im thinking about getting the Novatel Wireless Merlin X950D express date card for my Mac but not sure if it will work in SA on the Vodacom network. Im not living in SA and moving there in less then a months time. Connecting with HSDPA will be the best option at the moment to get me up and running as soon as possible after i arrive. My problem is the VMC software might not support this card or so it says on the site. It does say that is supports the Novatel U740 (HSDPA) model but a little worried as it is a model or 2 back in the range. Would i be able to use the Mobilink™ Lite Connection Manager software that come preinstalled on the card on the Vodacom network? More important, i wonder if this card itself will be compatible with the Vodacom HSDPA network? I would really appreciate if anyone can help me with this one before i waste money here and be stuck in SA with something that might not work. Oh and one last question... is a HSDPA on Vodacome a shaped or unshaped connection in SA?
 
londonic said:
Im thinking about getting the Novatel Wireless Merlin X950D express date card for my Mac but not sure if it will work in SA on the Vodacom network. Im not living in SA and moving there in less then a months time. Connecting with HSDPA will be the best option at the moment to get me up and running as soon as possible after i arrive. My problem is the VMC software might not support this card or so it says on the site. It does say that is supports the Novatel U740 (HSDPA) model but a little worried as it is a model or 2 back in the range. Would i be able to use the Mobilink™ Lite Connection Manager software that come preinstalled on the card on the Vodacom network? More important, i wonder if this card itself will be compatible with the Vodacom HSDPA network? I would really appreciate if anyone can help me with this one before i waste money here and be stuck in SA with something that might not work. Oh and one last question... is a HSDPA on Vodacome a shaped or unshaped connection in SA?
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If the card is unlocked (i.e. not locked to the UK network), it should work fine. You can just buy a pre-paid SIM and pop it in.

Vodacom is an unshaped but capped connection, i.e. you buy a data bundle of a certain size. But after that it's your data.
 
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Yep, if it's network locked to Vodafone UK [or any other network], it cannot be unlocked by Vodacom, however a version of VMC that includes drivers for the "Novatel Wireless Merlin X950D", would work with a Vodacom SIM Card - provided that the data card is not network locked.
 
thanks for all the help. the card will be bought sim free so no unlocking will be needed. i will use the above link for the pcmcia one i used here so i can keep that one for my mom. thanks again.
 
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Another option would be to look on eBay for a cheap secondhand card (either locked or unlocked) as the upgrade to 7.2Mbps could still be a long way off in SA. We are all eagerly awaiting the launch of a new competitor early next year so it might not be such a good idea to spend a lot on a datacard which you may want to replace a few months down the line. The new competitor will be offering CDMA/EVDO services as well as WiMax at a later date.
 
Yotch said:
Another option would be to look on eBay for a cheap secondhand card (either locked or unlocked) as the upgrade to 7.2Mbps could still be a long way off in SA. We are all eagerly awaiting the launch of a new competitor early next year so it might not be such a good idea to spend a lot on a datacard which you may want to replace a few months down the line. The new competitor will be offering CDMA/EVDO services as well as WiMax at a later date.
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Not so long for 7.2 but not 'imminent' ;)

Will be many years before Neotel could compete with MTN/Vodacom on an equal basis with a 3G network. Just the sheer scale of the number of base stations will make it a huge task and I'm not sure that's Neotel's intention in any case.
 
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its not really about the technology that is in the card but more about the price and size. i dont really want a massive card sticking out on the side of my mac. most of the Novatel cards on ebay uk are locked on tmobile that will take time to unlock and might keep me from being online the day arrive. the larger Merlin XU870 costs more (£224.95) then the smaller Merlin X950D (£163.95) on sim free sites in the UK for some reason. im also maybe considering getting an hsdpa mobile phone that can connect via bluetooth but not sure which one will work the best. any suggestions? im sure 2008 will see a lot of new possibilities to connect in south africa and hopefully by 2009 south africa will be up to standard... or is that wishful thinking?
 
londonic said:
its not really about the technology that is in the card but more about the price and size. i dont really want a massive card sticking out on the side of my mac. most of the Novatel cards on ebay uk are locked on tmobile that will take time to unlock and might keep me from being online the day arrive. the larger Merlin XU870 costs more (£224.95) then the smaller Merlin X950D (£163.95) on sim free sites in the UK for some reason. im also maybe considering getting an hsdpa mobile phone that can connect via bluetooth but not sure which one will work the best. any suggestions? im sure 2008 will see a lot of new possibilities to connect in south africa and hopefully by 2009 south africa will be up to standard... or is that wishful thinking?
Click to expand...

Just come to SA and get yourself a Slipstream Modem. You wont be dissapointed.

[EDIT]: Is the Slipstream Compatible with Mac by the way?
 
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