Vodafone’s stick-shaped mobile broadband modem isn’t just slim, stylish and simple to use, it’s fast too. Astoundingly so.
One of the first modems to use the now-familiar ‘stick’ shape, Vodafone’s K3520 differs from much of the competition by boasting amazingly quick connection speeds of 7.2mbps.
That’s Vodafone’s single selling point for the Stick. And it’s a strong one. With a full-speed connection, you’ll be able to download files at blistering speeds, quicker than most broadband landlines.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely you’ll get those speeds with any degree of reliability. Connection speeds vary wildly depending on the location the modem is used. Find yourself in one of Britain’s major cities, and you’ll get a decent download rate using HSDPA, or High Speed Downlink Packet Access. However, drift outside of large conurbations and you’ll often fall back to the much slower GPRS network, which struggles to serve up web pages, let alone download files.
On the whole though, the Stick performs well. We tested it in a variety of locations, from central London to smaller, less mobile-friendly towns, and it generally gave a good performance.
Expect to achieve average speeds around the 2mbps mark. That’s not blistering, but you’ll struggle to distinguish it from a standard landline service.
The modem itself is well designed. More thought has been put into the practicalities of its shape, with the cap attached by a plastic cord - something annoyingly lacking from rivals, such as 3’s E169G.
Its minimalist shape also hides a slide-out draw for a Vodafone SIM card, and although it’s still slightly wider than it could be, there’s a USB extension cable included, handily dodging problems for anyone tight on space around their sockets.
When it comes to software, the Vodafone modem works well. All the drivers and software required for Windows comes loaded on the stick itself, eliminating the need for fiddly CDs. Mac users will need to download drivers, but it’s a simple step and once set-up, the Stick will work from then onwards.
So, when it comes to speed, results may vary from the advertised rate, but should be plenty quick enough for surfing and file-grabbing without much delay. The design is first rate, and software rock solid. A good buy, as long as Vodafone provides a strong signal in your area.
Verdict
One of the best designed stick modems around, but optimistic claims of speed might not live up to expectations
Best features
Extremely well designed
Fast HSDPA speeds
Not so good
Only a few will get the full benefit of Vodafone’s 7.2mbps service
Closest rival
Three E169G USB Stick Mobile Broadband Modem
Three’s modem looks similar, and is almost as fast. Forsake a few niceties in design, and you’ll have a worthy competitor that’s just as reliable.
100% secured payment
