Novatel Wireless, who makes a broad range of 3G PC cards and embedded modules has partnered with Autonet Mobile to integrate the Novatel Expedite E725 PCI Express mini card into the Autonet Mobile solution.
If you’ve rented a Car from Avis in the San Francisco area then you’re already familiar with Autonet Mobile, they’re the folks that delivered Avis Connect which enabled your rental car to become a wi-fi hot spot for $10.95 a day.
The solution is going to allow multiple users/devices to connect to the Internet from inside the car at 3G speeds. The E725 (datasheet) is capable of operating in the following spaces:
- EV-DO Rev A
- CDMA2000 1X 800
- 1900 Mhz networks
So what’s this all gonna cost? Well, Autonet Mobile hasn’t gone out of their way to demonstrate what their Products and Services cost, I’d challenge you to go find it on their site. You’ll need to dig deep; real deep… in fact, all the way down to this very first Press Release dated Jan 02, 2007. It indicates that the Autonet Mobile device retails for $399 and has a monthly service charge of $49. Whoa, $49 for 3G speeds? That’s 3.1Mbps if you get it. Compare that to your DSL Price/Speed or Cable Price/Speed. I’m getting Verizon FiOS into my house, 20Mb up and 20Mb down for $44.95 per month. $49 just doesn’t seem reasonable to me.
What do you think; would you pay $49 for this? You could be seeing it as an option in the near future on your next new Car purchase, Autonet is targeting the new car automobile industry in addition to OEM after market add-ons.
