Business travelers who roam the nation will appreciate the Sierra Wireless AirCard 775 ($299.99 list; as low as $49.99 with 2-year contract), an easy-to-use laptop hookup for Cingular's EDGE network. But the high monthly fees mean individual buyers are better served elsewhere.

EDGE is the most widely available fast cellular data network. Although it's slower than UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Service) or EV-DO (Evolution Data Only), it covers much more territory and is available in nearly every major metro area in the country. EV-DO is only available in 32 cities, and UMTS is in a mere six.

With EDGE we got average download speeds around 170 Kbps, with uploads at 55 Kbps. That's nowhere near broadband speeds, but it is faster than a dial-up connection.

Installing the AirCard was painless, and the software is a breeze—a little dashboard of an application that lets you dial, track calls, and send and receive text messages. Sierra will also install a toolbar in Microsoft Outlook that lets you manage SMS from Outlook if you choose. We were up and running in New York, Las Vegas, and North Carolina in minutes.

The AirCard 775's biggest drawback is Cingular's incomprehensible pricing plans. There are 17—count them, 17—different AirCard plans, ranging from $7.99 per month for a limited amount of data to $79.99 per month for unlimited use. Most important, the AirCard plans are far more expensive than phone data plans on the same carrier, even if you're using the phone as a modem. If you get a Nokia 6230, for instance, you can get unlimited data added to your voice plan for just $19.99 per month.

The AirCard 775 is an easy way to hook up to the only nationwide data network currently available. And businesses can probably afford the $79.99 unlimited AirCard data plan. But individuals should go with the Nokia 6230—a phone that can be used as a modem, offers the same download speeds, and has an unlimited data plan for just $20.