By Chester Chen

AS A USB modem, the HUSBM-1 is a little smaller than a deck of cards. It does not require batteries because it draws power from the USB port.

However, toting it along is rather cumbersome: It would be easier if the package included a piece of Velcro or double-sided foam tape to affix it to the notebook. There is a small blue light indicator to show that the device is on and operating.

Insert a 3.5G-enabled SIM card and connect the modem via the USB cable provided. Install the included software and you are ready to access the Internet. The software toggles a mobile phone-looking interface for easy connection and authentication. Once done, you can activate Internet Explorer or the built-in SMS client application via the shortcut button on the VigSys user interface.

DL used M1's SunSurf 22 service for Internet access for this review.

The modem was tested in a fixed location and also in a moving vehicle. The latter was conducted to test VigSys' claims that the device can work in a vehicle travelling up to 130kmh. Driving at those speeds in Singapore would be illegal so DL carried out the tests along the Ayer Rajah Expressway at 90kmh instead.

It was possible to stream audio from the Class 95 radio station, although there were a few instances of dropped connection and pause. However, the lapses were not due to the speed of the car but the signal strength and Internet service provider (ISP) transmitter coverage. When streaming was interrupted, it was clear that we lost the HSDPA signal by looking at the HSDPA signal strength meter which is measured on a five-bar scale.

In the fixed location test, the modem pinged a local server (www.newmediaexpress.com) in 300 milliseconds.

Downloading from various local sources hit peak speeds of 412.2kbps when the modem had a signal strength of four bars.

By comparison, when using SingNet's 10mbps ADSL modem and service, we had an average response time of 10 milliseconds.

Your own data transfer speeds will vary based on your ISP plan and location. Don't worry about the HUSBM-1 keeping up because it supports download speeds up to 7.2mbps and upload speeds of 384kbps.

FINAL SAY

A practical device for wireless broadband connectivity at home, for small businesses or moving across town.