Option vs Novatel card

[magus]

Due to an accident of history which is not important, I have both an OPtion and a Novatel HSPDA card. I also have two SIM cards. Life sure is complicated when you are careless.

Anyway, I use the two cards interchangeably on my laptop (which never moves, so it is really a desktop). I have noticed (and been annoyed by) the fact that the Novatel card is totally unrelaible. It drops the connection. It pretends it is not there. and so on. For some reason it also shows the connection as 280K, whereas the Option card (rock solid) shows (correctly but inflationary) 1.8Mbs.

Could there be something wrong with the Novatel card? (Scary thought -- maye there is something wrong with the Option card?)

 

[vodacom3g]

Could there be something wrong with the Novatel card? (Scary thought -- maye there is something wrong with the Option card?)

What firmware version do you have on the Novatel?

 

[magus]

What firmware version do you have on the Novatel?

15.4-15.4-00

 

[bam1]

I also have the 2 cards, Novatel and Options for HSDPA, find the Novatel unreliable and also get connected at 230k with the Novatel and at 1.8m with the Option.

The Option card seems far more reliable.

Have yet to see the Novatel connect with HSDPA only 3G.

V3G any reason you know of?

 

[3G4me]

I also have the 2 cards, Novatel and Options for HSDPA, find the Novatel unreliable and also get connected at 230k with the Novatel and at 1.8m with the Option.

The Option card seems far more reliable.

Have yet to see the Novatel connect with HSDPA only 3G.

V3G any reason you know of?

I also have the two different cards, side by side, in 2 identical laptops. The option seems to get a stronger signal (and more stable), can be as much as a full bar more. Novatel is alot more erratic... also have alot more incompatibility issues with some laptops, and installation problems.

The Huawei card seems better in terms of compatibility issues, but the option card still wins with signal strength.

The speed reported on the novatel (230400) is not the real speed, it is a bug in the firmware which will be fixed in the next firmware, but it doesn't affect your actual speed of up to 1.8 mbps.

 

[bam1]

Thanks 3G4me

 

[magus]

Yes, re the signal strength, the Option has a big edge (no pun intended). My primitive speed test also shows that the Option is superior

 

[internaut]

You guys then probably justified my suspicion.
The Option cards seem to be more dependable.

 

[magus]

So is that it, then? Option card is way better than Novatel? Nobody argues?

 

[3G4me]

So is that it, then? Option card is way better than Novatel? Nobody argues?

Unless you need Quad band... I think the U740 is quad band, option is only triband.