PC 5220 Availability Status from Booster-Antenna

Michael · Last edited by Michael on Mon Sep 26, 2005 4:35 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hello,

This thread will serve to be an announce only thread to update those that have ordered a Sierra PC5220 data card from us and it is on backorder. We were getting in PC5220 daily up until August 5, 2005. If you ordered on or after that date, your card is on backorder. Before that date, we were pretty much the only place that was selling or getting the PC5220s.

Here is what we know.

Sierra Wireless shipped a substantial order of PC5220s to Verizon Wireless on or around August 9, 2005. There were expected to arrive at Verizon on or around August 12, 2005 and expected to be in the "channel" the week of August 15, 2005.

We are waiting for them to show up so that we can order them. When they do show up, we get them the next day, anyone that ordered gets them the following day.

As of Wednesday, August 17, 2005, we are still waiting for them to show up.

If you are a PC user and have a PC5220 on backorder, you can use any of the available cards. Please contact us and we can find out the laptop you are using and help select a card that is compatible with it OR one that will offer the best performance.

If you are a Mac OS X / PowerBook user and have a PC5220 on backorder, you are probably waiting on this card, because it offers the best Mac EVDO support. This is true today (8/17/05), but there will be options for you in the very near future.

Here is a quick summary and the current best choices for Mac Users:

Sierra PC5220 - fully supported Mac OS X 10.3.5 - 10.4.2. All drivers already, built-in, nothing to install, just stick in card and use.

1) Shows Signal Indicator in Menu Bar
2) Shows EVDO vs 1xRTT
3) allows PRL Updates (shows as Activate Card option).

Novatel V620 - We have a free Mac OS X driver / simple installer available. You do NOT get #1, #2, #3 above, BUT it does work and work well. Drivers work in 10.3.5 - 10.4.2. The developer who created the driver, at some point, may create a Tiger Widget to show #1, #2, #3. This also may not happen - we do not know for sure.

Kyocera KPC650 - We have directions on our web site to allow the card to work, you do not get #1, #2, #3, but it does work and work well. Verizon will soon release VZAccess for Mac that supports the Kyocera KPC630. This software WILL give you options #1, #2, #3. It is not available today, but is rumored to be available sometime in the next week to month.

So, what should you do? If you don't mind waiting, you can continue to wait. We will update this thread on the stock status. If you are not registered on EVDOforums, register and click the "Watch This Topic" and you will be sent an email when a new post is added to this thread (this thread is not opened to the public, so you will only get relevant information directly from us).

If you need a card and cannot wait. We believe the Kyocera KPC650 is the best choice. It is the one of the newest cards, has the newest chipset, has the best built-in antennas, has an antenna port for adding an external antenna or signal amplifier (although the antenna cables for the 650 are not available until 1st week in September), AND most importantly, this is the card that Verizon will officially be supporting on PowerBooks in the near future. The cost of the KPC650 is $10 less than the PC5220.

If you want to change your order from a PC5220 to a KPC650, we can ship a card today and have it arrive tomorrow (please contact us to confirm availability - we usually have 8 of these in stock - but if everyone on backorder switched on the same day - there may be a 1 day delay before shipping). If these directions seem complicated and unfamiliar, we can perform these steps for you remotely at no charge (requires that your PowerBook have a dedicated IP Address - cannot be behind Airport/DSL/Cable/No Firewall - plugging your Cable/DSL directly into your PowerBook for a few minutes allows us to access it remotely). We ship the KPC650's pre-activated and ready to use on Macs that have had the few steps performed (documented above). That will allow you to use the KPC650 immediately (without #1, #2, #3), and when Verizon releases the VZAccess for Mac for KPC650, you can download the software freely, install it and get #1, #2, #3 after installing the software.

If you have any questions, please contact us and we will be sure to answer any additional questions and help in anyway that we can.
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Michael · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:43 pm Post subject:

We have some news related to the PC5220.

Apparently, the substantial order that Verizon received last week of PC5220s was a final order from Sierra and was destined for Service and Insurance (to handle those that break or lose their PC5220). So, it originally looked like we couldn't get any, even though, we KNEW they had just taken delivery of them.

A few minutes ago, after talking with someone very high up at Verizon, he indicated that we could get one last shipment of PC5220s. After, this order, we will not be able to get any more PC5220s.

So, if you have one on backorder and you want to continue waiting, we have been informed that we can get them late next week.

If you are reading this thread and you are interested in getting a PC5220, I would recommend you order one, so that you can get in line.

If you have one on order, do not worry, the last shipment WILL include yours.

As we know more, we will continue to post to this thread, so to be informed, register on EVDOforums.com and then click "Watch This Topic", and you will be notified a soon as we post.

FYI, if you are corporate account, needing a large quantity of PC5220, I would suggest you contact us immediately, as you may not be able to get these much longer.
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Michael · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:18 am Post subject:

Hello,

I know this sounds like a salesman, but believe me it is not.

"If you want a PC5220, or you know of someone that wants one, you need to order by Monday 6/22/05, or you may never see one again".

Call around, PC5220s are not available at Verizon Stores, even call Verizon direct, they don't have them. We have a promise from high ups at Verizon to get one more shipment and it will be our last one.

So, pass the word.

If you are thinking about getting the KPC650 (or switching to the KPC650), here is new info:

- VZAccess for Mac will be out within the next 3 weeks

- We are putting together very detailed, step by step directions to make your mac compatible with KPC650 (keystroke by keystroke with screen shots every step of the way), to make doing the steps easy and painless. THis will be available only for customers. You will only need this, if you want to use the KPC650 before the software comes out.

We will be ordering some extra PC5220s on the last shipment, but I am not sure how long those will last.

-Mike
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Michael · Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 11:50 pm Post subject:

For those wanting to switch to the Kyocera KPC650, we have released detailed step by step directions to get your Kyocera KPC650 working with Mac. You can follow these directions to start using the KPC650 and your PowerBook today, and after VZAccess for Mac is available from Verizon, you can install it and gain all of that new functionality:

- signal strength indicator
- network type (EVDO vs. 1xRTT)
- Activation (needed to update the PRL)
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Michael · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:34 pm Post subject:

Looks like Kyocera Released the KPC650 VZ Access software for the Mac, read the full review at:

VZAccess for the Mac for Kyocera KPC650 Review

Download directly at:

http://vzw.smithmicro.com/download/
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Michael · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:12 pm Post subject:

We are writing a mini review of VZAccess for Mac for KPC650, we will be adding more to this over the next few day, as we play more with the new KPC 650 software.

Here are a few screen shots.

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Michael · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:26 pm Post subject:

For those with PC5220 on backorder with us, IF you have any questions with the recent developments today (KPC650 for Mac) and have some questions, you can contact us via email:

sales at booster-antenna.com

Also, we will be working late tonight answering iChats, so if you have a question, give is a yell at:

iChat/Aim: BoosterAntenna
or iChat/AIM: EVDOinfo
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Michael · Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 8:13 pm Post subject:

Looks like we *should* get our final PC5220 order in the next few days. If you have one on backorder we will be able to ship soon.

I would strongly suggest reading the threads up here on the Kyocera and Mac. Most of the PC5220 that were on backorder have switched, and they are very happy, it is a newer card, with a newer chipset, better antenna, AND Verizon will keep updating the software.

If anyone finds this thread wanting a PC5220, please contact us for availability.
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Michael · Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2005 10:29 am Post subject: PC5220 Availibility

those waiting on PC5220's, it looks like we will be getting them in Tuesday, more info posted Monday. Mac users should consider changing to the Kyocera KPC650. If you are using building a Stompbox, you can get them by Wednesday.
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Michael · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:47 pm Post subject: PC 5220, Mac, Linux, Goodbye

Looks like the PC5220 are officially gone Sad

They have not been available for the past six months and we have been getting them until the first week in August 2005. We did some detective work and found out that Verizon received 7,500 PC5220s from Sierra Wireless mid August. We have been told that those were destined for Insurance and Service units of Verizon. We had an order for 25 PC 5220s to build StompBoxes for a company requiring them and got delivery today.

We feel very sorry for future customers who call Verizon to replace their broken or lost Sierra PC 5220 card, since the new cards have the new firmware and the new Verizon PC5220 Firmware has the following issues:

- PC 5220 Firmware 2.35 Breaks Mac OS X Menu Bar

- Verizon VZAccess 5.4.0 & PC5220 - Upgrade Warning

There are going to be many angry future Verizon customers, and they will probably find this thread and be even more angry that Verizon didn't warn them of the potential problems with the new firmware of the PC5220 (DO they even know about these problems???) We contacted Sierra Wireless and they tell us there is no way to revert the Firmware. For Mac users, we hope that Apple gets ahold of a new PC5220 card with new Firmware and updates the Mac OS X to support these cards (that would solve that problem).

We also feel sorry for those that buy direct from Verizon, as they still may be selling these latest batch to "customer directly", and I am fairly confident, these new customers will have problems too.

The good news for new customers.

If you are a Mac customer, the KPC650 is now the card of choice, software allows the KPC650 to have all the features of the Sierra PC5220, WITH the added advantage of having a new chipset, better antenna and basically a better card (if you need a KPC650, we support Macs and sell for $20 less than Verizon Stores or Verizon direct)

If you are building Stompboxes, the Sierra AirCard 580 is an easy replacement. It is about the same size, same antenna port, and with minimal changes, the card can work in a Stompbox (or other variarions of Linux).

Another option, if you have to have a PC5220, is Ebay, just make sure that it is the older Firmware AND that it is at least a P8A Revision card.
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Michael · Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 2:03 pm Post subject:

I am building 25 StompBoxes for a customer and received the last shipment of PC5220 today. The packaging has changed on the PC5220, it looks just like the KPC650 and V620 packaging.

I can now 100% confirm that the New PC5220 that Verizon has (the 7,500 Verizon received for Insurance and service), is based on the new firmware and breaks under Mac OS X 10.3.5 - 10.4.2 and breaks MCM Debug mode under Windows. Apparently, Verizon may still be offering the PC5220 in the direct sales channels.

The new Firmware does work fine on a StompBox and Windows (if you do not need the MCM Debug mode).

You can distinguish the new PC5220 from the following:

UPS 8 12320 00190 8
PC5220 - SMS
MFG PN (outside box) 1100467
Also a FW: 2.35 (this is the firmware version)

On the PC5220 card, the PN is 1200718

If the status of the PC5220 changes, I will post to this thread.
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