If you want to use your 3G connection with your laptops or desktops the most ideal way is to use a 3G usb dongle popularly known as 3G data card not only is this a easy and portable way to use 3G, these data card generally provide faster speeds than using your mobile phones which bogs down your 3G connections, you should know that there are a lot of different data cards available in the market and not all of them are the same. Now you must be in a dilemma which one to go for. In this article I would list the important things that you need to look while purchasing a 3G data card.

Now the easiest way to get your hands on one of those dongle is to go to a BSNL office and buy one device from them. But with new players coming to the market it isnt the wisest bet, cause the device that you will get from bsnl are locked to bsnl network only, so someday if you decide to switch to tata docomo 3g or airtel 3g etc you are gonna have to buy a new device or have to get your current device unlocked which will put you through a lot of hassles so the safest bet is to buy one unlocked usb device to begin with. Unlocked Devices allow you to put in any network sim.

Now that this part is settled the other things to look in the data card is the download speed and the upload speeds, budget data cards have a max cap of 3.6 Mbps download speeds though BSNL 3G is officially capped to 3.6 Mbps there are reports from certain cities like Bangalore, Chennai where users are getting around 5 Mbps that mean that BSNL 3G network can support upto 7.2 Mbps and it’s an obvious fact that private ISP will offer high speeds, infact Tata Docomo has already started 21Mbps in some circle so to be on the safe side its better to go with atleast 7.2Mbps Devices also the other thing that is ignored by the users is the upload speed many budget data cards have a upload speed of just 384 kbps where as the better ones are rated at 2 Mbps or greater and even BSNL 3G supports upload speeds upto 2 Mbps.

Currently the 3G USB data cards that are sold across the retail stores in India are mostly ZTE or Huawei

1) Huawei E1750 USB modem

Max Download Speed: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
3G Band / Frequency: Single band 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: Yes and SMS support
MicroSD slot: Yes
External antenna Slot: No

The Huawei E1750 is costing around Rs 2,600 – 2,800.

2) Huawei E1752

Mostly same as the Huawei E1750 but this one is a dual band supporting 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA/UMTS 2100/1900MHz frequencies but upload speeds are at 2Mbps and it is costing around Rs 2,600.

3) Huawei E1550 3G USB modem

Max Download Speed: 3.6 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: 384 kbps
3G Band / Frequency: Single band 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: Yes and SMS support
External antenna slot: No
MicroSD slot: Yes

The Huawei E1150 is a budget 3G data card and is costing around Rs 1,600 – 1,900 on ebay.in

4) Huawei E122 USB modem

Max Download Speed: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: HSUPA 2 Mbps (5.76 Mbps with firmware upgrade)
3G Band / Frequency: Single band 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: Yes and SMS support
MicroSD slot: Yes
External antenna Slot: Yes

The Huawei E122 is costing around Rs 2,700 – 2,800 on ebay.in

5) Huawei UMG 181 USB modem

Max Download Speed: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: HSUPA 2 Mbps (5.76 Mbps with firmware upgrade)
3G Band / Frequency: Dual band 900 / 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: Yes and SMS support
MicroSD slot: Yes
External antenna Slot: Yes

The Huawei UMG 181 is costing around Rs 3,200 on ebay.in

6) Huawei E176 USB modem

Max Download Speed: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
3G Band / Frequency: Triband band 850 / 1900 / 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: Yes and SMS support
MicroSD slot: Yes
External antenna Slot: ?

On ebay.in the Huawei E176 is around Rs 3,200 – 3,500.

7) Huawei K4505 HSSPA 3G USB modem

Max Download Speed: HSDPA 21.6 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
3G Band / Frequency: Dual band 1900 / 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
MicroSD slot: Yes upto 32 GB

Currently not available in ebay.in but on ebay.com (internationl site) it was listed at US $80 – $90 + extra shipping cost.

8 ) ZTE MF190 Modem brandedd by BEETEL

UMTS/HSDPA/WCDMA 2100MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Support HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps, HSUPA up to 2Mbps
Storage Capacity: Up to 4GB Micro-SD card
Solution:Chipset supplier:Qualcomm
Chipset:MSM6290
USB VersionUSB 2.0 HIGH SPEED

The ZTE/BEETEL MF190 is sold for Rs. 2200-2400

9 ) ZTE MF 626 3G USB modem (mobinil branding)

Max Download Speed: 3.6 Mbps
Max Upload Speed: 384 kbps
3G Band / Frequency: Tri band 850 / 1900 / 2100 Mhz
GPRS / EGDE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Voice Support: No but SMS support
External antenna slot: No
MicroSD slot: Yes upto 4 GB

The ZTE MF626 is being sold on ebay.in for around Rs 1,900.

10) ZTE MF 627 3G USB modem

This ZTE MF 627 is very similar to ZTE 626 but in this one the max download speed supported is 7.2 Mbps but the upload speed are stuck at 384 kbps and is being sold on ebay.in for around Rs 2,600.