Sprint Compass 597 Review
The Sierra Wireless Compass 597 USB Modem is now available
for use on the Sprint MobileBroadBand EVDO network. The Compass 597 is
much smaller than the Sierra Wireless 595U as you can see in this next
photo:
The
Compass 597 is built well and feels sturdy in your hands. It comes with
a slot for a microSD cards allowing it to serve double duty -- a
storage 'thumb drive' for music, videos, presentations and other files
you want to keep handy; as well as an easy way to help ensure you have
an internet connection no matter where you are or what computer you
have access to.
Aside
from its small size and microSD slot, the Compass 597 has some other
cool 'hardware' features worth mentioning. It has two LEDs that blink
or stay lit in blue or amber colors to indicate different connection
states, and it has a yellow light that glows when plugged into a USB
port a la "Sprint LightSpeed". Of course, the Compass 597 has
a built-in antenna that does a decent job of receiving signal, but for
those weak signal situations the Compass 597 also has an RF port
allowing for externally attached high-gain antennas like the selection available at 3Gstore.com
The
Compass 597 ships with a pair of nice accessories: a travel bag and a
very unique USB cable that is bendable and holds its shape, allowing a
user to position the Compass 597 out of harms way, and into best
position for signal capture. Here's our short video review of the Compass 597 showing the cable in use as well as other aspects of the Compass 597. (requires flash)
Unlike all previous
EVDO devices sold by Sprint, you won't need to keep track of a software
CD because the Compass 597 incorporates Sierra Wireless' TRU-Install
technology to store versions of Sprint's SmartView
connection manager software for Windows XP and Vista, as well as Mac
OSX Tiger and Leopard -- that's right, this is the FIRST device that
Sprint has ever shipped with a true Mac OS connection manager! (its
worth noting that the Compass 597 software does NOT work with Windows
2000 or Mac OSX before Tiger)
Once the Compass 597 is attached
to any computer that does not already have the SmartView software
present, the installation process automatically guides the user until
they are connected to the internet. Once installed, Sprint's SmartView
is really a polished application with a lot of functionality including
Sprint's GPS "Location based services" that allow you to easily find
the nearest bank, coffee shop, restaurant or gas station. Its worth
noting again that all the same SmartView features are available on both
the Windows and Mac OSX version of the software including GPS. Mac
users are finally 'equal' to windows users in this respect. We've got a
whole article about the coolness of SmartView
that you can read online, if you want to know more about it. Speaking
of Macs... the Compass 597 fits and works great with the MacBook Air.
check out the picture below, and for more - check out our MacBook Air article.
With the release of every new EVDO device comes hundreds of customer phone calls that ask: "How fast is it?" or "Is it faster than this or that device?"
The Compass 597 is an EVDO Rev-A capable device, and will achieve the
maximum possible speeds available from whatever tower you encounter,
given adequate signal strength. This can be said for all other Rev-A
devices ever sold. Our testing of all EVDO devices concludes that no
device stands out as being consistently faster than any other. You can
read more about our opinion on device speeds at this article. Having said all that, here is proof that the Compass can indeed "go fast":
(note that other sprint devices I had with me at the time saw similar
speeds. it was a "well fed" tower that made these speeds possible, not
specifically the Compass 597)
Like
all other 3G or EVDO device, the Compass 597 is designed to provide
internet connectivity to the single computer it is attached to... but
what if you want to share that single connection with more
than one computer? or perhaps with WiFi-enabled devices that are not
computers such as the iPod Touch or iPhone? What about PS3, Wii or xBox
game consoles or VOIP phones? Can the Compass 597 somehow be set up to
provide internet connectivity for these devices as well?
The
answer is a resounding Yes! and the easiest way is by attaching the
Compass 597 to a cellular router like the Cradlepoint CTR350, PHS300 or MBR1000. In fact, because Sierra Wireless recently bought Cradlepoint Technologies, their routers were already supporting the Compass 597 even before it launched! The Cradlepoint routers use WiPipe hardware optimization
to provide higher priority to certain types of connections, which
results in better performance to the multiple computers and devices
that share the connection provided by the Compass 597.
As
Sprint's EVDO coverage expands further into areas that have long been
considered "the boonies", many rural customers who can't get 'common'
cable or DSL service that is readily available to 'city folks', find
the combination of a Cradlepoint router
and Sprint EVDO using a Compass 597 to be a dream come true. No longer
do these folks desperate for broadband have to suffer with expensive
satellite options and the high-latency that comes with it, or worse...
dial up on antiquated POTS lines that can only sustain 10-20 kbps at
best.
Is there anything wrong with the Compass 597?
Not really. Some folks have complained its actually too small, and
would be easy to lose. Some have noticed that under heavy use in weak
signal areas, it can get warm to the touch and even a little hot. We've
already had one customer call to ask if we have replacement caps
because they lost theirs. There was a major issue on Sprint's network
when the Compass 597 was first launched that resulted in a major headache activating the devices for the first time,
but that really wasn't the fault of the Compass 597 as much as it was
Sprint not being as prepared as they could have been ... all in all,
there isn't much about the Compass to complain about.
In
conclusion, the new Sierra Wireless Compass 597 on Sprint's
MobileBroadBand EVDO network is an excellent Rev-A USB modem that is
available right now for just $19.99,
after a $50 mail in rebate, on a new 2-year unlimited data plan for
$59.99/mo. It is a great replacement for the bulkier 595U it replaces
and has already become the most popular Sprint EVDO device that we sell.
When
its time to set yourself up with high speed mobile broadband internet
access, remember to deal with a company that has helped thousands of
people set themselves up right the first time... a company that
actually uses the products they sell... and more importantly a company
that provides superior customer and technical support backed by years
of experience... get your Compass 597 with Sprint service from the EVDO Experts at 3gstore.com
and we'll pre-activate your Compass 597 before it leaves our warehouse,
ensuring that you never receive a device that is "dead-on-arrival".
Every Compass 597 that ships from our warehouse is tested to make sure
it will work with a Cradlepoint router, right out of the box. If ever
the Sprint network acts up again, you'll never be faced with activation
issues because we'll have worked it all out, long before you ever
receive your order. For more information about why you should buy your
next EVDO device from 3Gstore, check out "Why Buy From 3Gstore".
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