DrayTek Australia just added a few new FAQs to their knowledge base including:
Check out DrayTek Australia’s blog post here for more.
We’re still waiting on an official compatibility list from Fritz but they can confirm so far that the following modems will work -
Click here to check the Fritz forums for any updates. In the meantime my advice is if you don’t see it in the list above or on the forums and/or can’t get positive confirmation from someone else who has tried it already then assume it won’t work.
Click here to check out the Fritz range.
Also available at the online shop are discounts on the Fritz AVMMT-F cordless phones and the AVMWLAN dual band wireless adapters if purchased with a Fritz router, as well as discounts on the routers with a signup with Exetel or TPG.
Click here to check out all of the options.
I get a lot of enquiries asking whether one product or brand is better than another and/or which one is the best. The problem is there isn’t a simple answer I can give in most cases because it all comes down to the features needed (or wanted) and how much you’d like to spend. A cheaper product may be everything one person will ever need or want and perform flawlessly for many years, while a more discerning buyer might need something more powerful and complex to adequately look after their needs. Other people might not have considered certain features but once made aware of them they decide that the extra dollars are worth spending.
One of the hottest categories at the moment are Routers with VoIP and/or 11n wireless and/or with 3G dongle support (or all of the above) so I put together a chart in XLS format (downloadable here)* comparing the more popular products at the moment and the features I think differentiate them the best. The product names can be clicked to go through to my reviews for more information and to check the latest price.
* Update: Added the ability to filter by feature using the pulldown arrows at the top of each column. Thanks to Rob for the tip. (Note to self, to add the filters, select the range including the header, then choose Data > Filter > Auto-filter.)
There are a few notable exceptions from this list which I left out because I think the technology is starting to date (like 11g wireless products like the Billion 7401VGPR3, 7404VGPX/7404VGOX) or they’re getting up into a higher end category, but if you’re in the market for something cheaper or dearer than the ones on my list then these are definitely still worth a look. Check out the Find-A-Router tool to find these and other products.
Cyberoam currently list the following 3G/GSM/CDMA USB devices as supported on their products.
Click here to check out the Cyberoam range at the OzCableguy shop. Or, to find all available options for any particular model just type the model No into the search box at the top left hand side.
| AXIMCom 3G/3.5G 11N Mobile Router Series | ||||||
| 3G/3.5G/3.75G Modem Support List | ||||||
| Last updated: 30th Jul. 2009. For current list click here | ||||||
| Seq | Brand | Model | Seq | Brand | Model | |
| 1 | Alcatel | OT-X020 | 43 | O2 | Surfstick2 | |
| 2 | A-Link | 3GU | 44 | Onda | MDC525UP | |
| 3 | AMOI | H01/H01A | 45 | MDC505UP | ||
| 4 | H02 | 46 | MDC503HS | |||
| 5 | AnyData | ADU-500A | 47 | MH600HS | ||
| 6 | ADU-510A | 48 | Option | ICON 7.2 | ||
| 7 | ADU-520A | 49 | ICON 210 | |||
| 8 | ASUS | T500 | 50 | ICON 225 | ||
| 9 | Bandrich | BandLuxe C100/C100S | 51 | ICON 401 | ||
| 10 | BandLuxe C120 | 52 | GT EXPRESS | |||
| 11 | BandLuxe C170 | 53 | GT MAX | |||
| 12 | BandLuxe C270 | 54 | Pro-Link | PHS100 | ||
| 13 | C-Motech | CDU-680 | 55 | Qisda | H21 | |
| 14 | CGU-628 | 56 | Quanta | Q101 | ||
| 15 | CNU-680 | 57 | Royal | Q101-R | ||
| 16 | D-Link | DWM-156 | 58 | Samsung | SGH-Z810 | |
| 17 | DWM-652 | 59 | Sierra | USB 306 (HSPA+ 21Mbps) | ||
| 18 | Huawei | E156/E156G | 60 | AirCard 595 | ||
| 19 | E160/E160E | 61 | AirCard 595U | |||
| 20 | E169/E169G | 62 | AirCard 875 | |||
| 21 | E172 | 63 | AirCard 875U | |||
| 22 | E180 | 64 | Apex 880 | |||
| 23 | E219 | 65 | AirCard 880E | |||
| 24 | E220 | 66 | AirCard 880U | |||
| 25 | E226 | 67 | AirCard 881 | |||
| 26 | E270 | 68 | AirCard 881E | |||
| 27 | E600 | 69 | AirCard 881U | |||
| 28 | E612 | 70 | Compass 885 | |||
| 29 | E620 | 71 | Compass 888 | |||
| 30 | E660A | 72 | Simcom | 5250 | ||
| 31 | E800 | 73 | Solomon | S3Gm-660 | ||
| 32 | E870 | 74 | Sony Ericcson | MD300 | ||
| 33 | E960 | 75 | MD400 | |||
| 34 | Hummer | DTM5731 | 76 | Toshiba | G450 | |
| 35 | LG | LDU-1900D | 77 | UTStarcom | UM175 | |
| 36 | Maxon | BP3 | 78 | ZTE | MF620 | |
| 37 | Novatel | MC930D | 79 | MF622/MF622 v2 | ||
| 38 | MC950D | 80 | MF626 | |||
| 39 | MC990D | 81 | MF628/MF628+ | |||
| 40 | XU950D | 82 | MF637 | |||
| 41 | U727 | 83 | MF638 | |||
| 42 | Nu | MU-Q101 | ||||
Click here for reviews and pricing of the currently available AXIMCom range.
I received the following information from McAfee regarding 3G modem support on the SG565 and the new SG560U model. This information should shortly make it into a knowledge base article on the McAfee website.
There are two parts to supporting 3G devices:
- the hardware USB dongle you plug in
- the carrier you activate it on
Hardware we know works with SG USB enabled devices, 4.0.2 firmware:
Devices that we *think* should work.
Most carriers will just work. So the list below is by no means exclusive – these are just ones that we know definitely work.
USA
Australia
Singapore
Brazil
I’ve been everywhere man, I’ve been everywhere… Or so the jingle goes. 3G wireless Internet is starting to really take off in Australia and I get a lot of requests from people about how to share it with multiple PCs on a network, preferably wirelessly.
The easiest way to go is with a router and there’s a few emerging on the market now to suit both the PC Card and USB types of modems.
The Billion 7300GX has been on the market for a few weeks now but for some reason is yet to take off. Strange, as over the last few months I’ve been virtually inundated with requests for this one and there seemed to be a queue forming for it. Where’d everyone go?
Besides being a wireless modem + router similar to the 7300G, the 7300GX adds the ability to accept PC Card style wireless modems and at under $200.00 it’s an absolute bargain.
Compatibility has been tested and proven with the Vodaphone 3G card and Telstra’s Turbo Express card but there’s an issue with the Hutchison card that should be resolved mid-November. No word on the Optus card at this stage.
Linksys led this market with the introduction of the WRT54G3G a couple of months ago but it’s a little more expensive and lacks the built-in ADSL modem. Mind you this means if you ever do switch to another type of broadband service you can plug whatever modem you like into it, chances are it’ll be ADSL anyway due to the minimal Cable coverage in Australia. But if you have Cable already and want to use a 3G connection for backup or failover then this one is the way to go.
Draytek focused on USB 3G modems and upgraded the existing USB Print Server port on the 2800 and 2910 series to accept them. USB 3G modems must be the more popular choice because these have been extremely popular.
Gabriel from Draytek Australia told me how he travelled across Taiwan by bus during the recent Draytek Distributor reunion and had a 2910G plugged into a power inverter in the bus’s cigarette lighter sharing a 3G USB modem wirelessly so everyone on the bus had wireless Internet on their laptops as they traveled. Neat stuff! More on this and other 3G sharing applications from Draytek here.
Update: In response to some of the questions I’ve been getting I have created a basic FAQ about 3G networking including a quick summary of the current 3G capable routers here.