The guys over at EVDOinfo.com have discovered that current Intel Macs already support 3G EVDO cards. Basically what they did is rip the PCI Express Mini Airport wireless card out of a Mac mini and replace it with a previously activated EVDO PCI Express Mini card taken from a Novatel U720 USB EVDO modem. After installing the recent WWAN update (by bypassing the hardware check), the Mac mini recognized the card and established a connection to the Sprint network. They note that this makes the Mac mini an absolutely perfect carputer (except for some antenna issues).They speculate that this should work on the MacBook (Pro) as well, but obviously nobody wants to lose Airport connectivity to gain WWAN support. However, this does seem to show that there's no technical limitation to adding EVDO connectivity to next generation Mac portables.
[via Digg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-15-2007 @ 7:06AM
ThunkDifferent.com said...
Holy Moly!
This is hot off the presses. I wonder how to hook a mini up to your car however, it seems like quite the task.
http://ThunkDifferent.com
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5-15-2007 @ 10:26AM
Wojtek said...
Hmmm, does it mean I will be able to connect my Mac Mini to a 802.1n WiFi network after all? It's that easy? Swap the built-in AirPort for a mini-PCIe 802.11n card?
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5-15-2007 @ 10:40AM
joe said...
Why not just use the USB card? A carputer will be stationary and I can see several applications for having Wifi still enabled in the car, and as mentioned, you wouldn't want to disable wifi on a portable. However, this is cool to know it works.
@Wojtek: Yes, you can already buy 802.11n cards that will go right into non-n intel based macs. Same card as in the new ones, and they drop right in.
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5-15-2007 @ 10:54AM
David said...
I use a Sprint EVDO card with my MacBook Pro and it's awesome. 1.5MB down, 512k up. I'm done screwing around finding a decent WIFI connection when on the road.
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5-15-2007 @ 11:45AM
Donald Burr said...
I just took the EVDO plunge myself (went with Sprint because I absolutely loathe Verizon), although in my case I went a slightly different route: a Palm Treo 755p with the Bluetooth tethering option. Works great, and now I don't have to fuss with driving around to find free wifi and/or paying for my T-mobile wifi hotspot subscription any more. And no more $10/15 per day hotel ripoff internet charges either. It's a good thing.
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5-15-2007 @ 5:09PM
Mike said...
Does anyone know if it would be possible to use that port for a laptops graphics card? It would be great if you could upgrade the mini that way!
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5-15-2007 @ 5:33PM
tnkgrl said...
I recently did something similar, but on a much smaller scale, and in my case I swapped the EVDO module in my OQO Model 02 with an HSDPA module (which required soldering on a SIM card holder): http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2007/05/07/oqo-model-02-hsdpa-mod-part-1/
Not directly Mac related, I know, but being primarily a Mac user, and considering OQO was founded by some of the people responsible for the Titanium PowerBook, I guess this is Mac related :)
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