[ltp] Express card slot cell modem doodad?

[Bjørn Mork]

Rubin Abdi <rubin@starset.net> writes:

> I have a spare sim card through AT&T with data service and am wondering
> if there are any express cards that do cell/GSM/HSDPA+ and are supported
> under linux?

There are some expresscards listed here, but they are all so bulky that
you might as well go for an external USB dongle IMHO:
http://www.4gsource.net/3g-4g-modems/pc-expresscards/3g-umts.html

I do not know the Linux support status of any of these, but they are
most likely identical to cousins in USB dongle and/or mini-PCIe form
factors.  So worst case is that you will have to add a new device ID to
an existing driver (which also can be done without rebuilding anything
by using the '/sys/bus/usb/drivers/<driver>/new_id' file).

> Additionally are these cards generally free of carrier
> locks or should I look for a particular kind?

They are probably just as locked as any other modem or phone.

> Also I know I can get some internal card for my X220, however I don't
> think I ever got the antennas needed for a such a thing, and the second
> slot is already being eaten up by a 480GB mSATA drive.

Yes, pleace listen Lenovo.  More slots wanted :-)

I sometimes wonder how Lenovo could find space for 2 full and 1 half
mini-PCIe slot in the X301, which doesn't even support mSATA, but not in
the newer models where mSATA (or m.2 SSDs) is supported.  Yes, I know
the 3rd slot was for "Turbo Memory" or Wireless USB, but those were
really experimental features even at that time.  Not nearly as real as
the current wish for wlan/bt + wwan + ssd, adding up to at least 3
slots.  Preferable more, as you probably want 2 ssds at some point.

The 2.5" SSD bay, on the other hand, is completely outdated waste of
space.  m.2 SSDs is the thing for new designs.

OK, that was todays rant.


Bjørn