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[Sean]

If you have the need to be connected always and everywhere and a SmartPhone or PDA just won't do it for you, the next step in wireless data is a PC Card in your laptop. These cards have evolved quite a bit from the first generation of cards both in speed and performance as well as the software interface to make them work. The current offering from AT&T is theSony Ericsson GC83 EDGE PC Card which at the time of this review was being offered free after rebate with new activation. In this review we will dig in and see what this thing looks like, how easy is it to set up and what can it actually do.

Here are the Specs as shown on the AT&T Wireless Website:-  Weight: 1.55 ounces -  Dimensions: 3.37 inch long x 2.12 inch wide x 0.19 inch thick -  Battery: Powered via the PC Card Slot (i.e. uses laptop battery) -  Warranty: 1 year on phone and accessories (limited to defects in material and workmanship) -  Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 98, Windows Me. -  High speed wireless access on the fastest national wireless data network. -  Nearly twice the speed of CDMA 1xRTT. -  Average data speeds 100 - 130 Kbps. -  Tri-Band 850/1800/1900 MHz. -  Protective Aluminum case for Card and Antenna -  Detachable antenna -  Communication Manager 4.0 CDSo let's see what comes in the box.

Above is the retail box. (I have to admit, I REALLY like the Sony Ericsson logo, it is very cool looking.)

Inside you will find the PC Card modem and antenna in a protective aluminum case, the AT&T Wireless Communication Manager 4.0 CD, a Data SIM card, and an assortment of manuals, warrantee paperwork and AT&T Propaganda.

Above is all the contents all spread out.

Above is the Aluminum case for the card, it is foam lined and holds the card and antenna nicely. I was eying this as a potential business card case.

The card itself is a standard Type I PC Card with a detachable antenna. The antenna is nice because if you don't use that slot for anything else, you could leave the card in the PCMCIA slot and just remove the antenna when you are tossing your laptop in a bag.

On the underside of the card, you will find the SIM card slot. There is no feature that locks the card in place, you just push it in and out and it is held by the spring pressure of the contacts pressing the card against the card case. While I did not have any issues with the SIM card slide out of position, I feel that there is a potential for this over time, a locking feature would have been a good feature to add.I tried my T-Mobile SIM card in the modem and could not confirm or deny if the GC83 was carrier locked or not. The reason for my confusion was that there was no SIM error message however I could not get a group of settings that would make it work.So let's get this thing installed and running. First up, BEFORE INSTALLING THE CARD, install the AT&T Wireless Communications Manager software (CMS). This software package basically insists on taking over all your wireless data connections, including Wi-Fi. This was a turn off for me as I like the Microsoft Zero Config manager that comes with Windows XP, you are basically bullied into using AT&T for your Wi-Fi connections.After agreeing to a 1700+ word end user agreement (legal fine print) you are directed through a wizard to install your wireless card.

In the third or fourth window you are faced with the screen above that will initiate the shut down and re-configuration of your Microsoft Wi-Fi manager.

The CMS can be configured to handle Wi-Fi only, EDGE/GPRS only or both, we chose both because he will have both Wi-FI and WAN installed and living together in one notebook.

Next up, select the type of device you will use to connect to the internet. PC Card is our choice, but the software is quite versatile in connection types.When prompted to do so, insert your PC Card in the PCMCIA slot.

The card was found and then installed properly, very plug-n-play. Once the hardware is installed you can look at some diagnostic information to see if everything was installed properly as show below.

Now it is time to open the actual CMS window as seen below.

In the upper right you select the wireless communication type you want to use. When a network is detected, you can click the connect button (grayed out in the image above) in the bottom right. The screen also displays the current call timer and a SMS Message counter.

Profiles are selected from a drop down list under the "Connect Using" button. You can set profiles in the screen below so that if you have different settings for different circumstances, you can configure these settings and select the profile very easily.

Below is the SMS Messages screen, a nice outlook type interface for your SMS service.

When composing a SMS you will see the screen below (this sure beats the heck out of using multi-tap or T9 for a message).

VPN is also a snap, in the VPN configuration screen you draw profiles from the VPN profiles already setup on your machine and to connect to a VPN, one click of the VPN button in the CMS and you are logging on, simple and smooth.

So now that we are all configured, let's get connected. Below is the CMS screen when you are ready to connect. You will see 4 bars of service, I saw 5 at times, (this is proof that the 850 band works, around here 1900 will get you 3 bars at best) and the connect button is now highlighted blue. Click it and you will be online in a matter of seconds.

Once connected, you are shown that the connection is successful in the tray on your PC.

So now that I am connected to EDGE, how fast is this thing anyway. We tested using two online connection speed tests, the first was thec|net Bandwidth Meter Speed Test, the second was theBandwidth Speed Test from Bandwidthplace.com. Each test was run 5 times and averaged to give the results below.c|net Bandwidth Meter - 192.5 kbpsBandwidthplace.com - 176.6 kbpsThese results are really quite good, AT&T publishes the "average" connection speed at 100 - 130 kbps and we are well above that but enough below the theoretical maximum that the results are believable.. Theoretically, an edge modem could connect at 384 kbps

When you are ready to disconnect from your EDGE connection, just click the disconnect button in the bottom right of the CMS. You will see also that the total data sent and received is displayed so if you do not have an unlimited account you can see how fast your plan is being used up, at 176 kbps, this is pretty fast.Let me sum upOverall this card was a pretty nice little package for connecting a laptop to the internet always and everywhere. The software and hardware install was smooth and easy however we did not like having to disable the MS Zero-Config Wi-Fi utility. The card itself was solid with a nice detachable antenna and only the lack of a SIM card retention feature made us question its physical design. Connection speeds were quite good ranging between 176 and 192 kbps, while it can not rival a cable modem, (mine runs about 2200 kbps) it is a very classy way to be connected on the road.Pros:-  Currently free after rebate-  176-192 kbps connection speed-  Easy software installation and configurationCons:-  Conflict with the Microsoft Zero-Config Wi-Fi utility-  No retention feature to stop the SIM card from slipping-  $80 a month for Unlimited Mobile Internet from AT&T WirelessGPRS PC Card