Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless ratings & reviews

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Product Description

Smallest 2 in 1 device
Average Customer Rating
Overall rating:
4.41 out of 5
4.4
 out of 
5
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Sort by: Customer reviews for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
Overall Rating 
5.0 out of 5
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I LOV IT
By william
- June 21, 2009
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By william
I LOV IT
- June 21, 2009
I this product I own it and use it for all of my internet needs I will admit it is a little slow at times witch is a major downer. But I use it on the average about 18 hours out of the day I would use it more but a person does need to sleep and eat once in a while. I use the 597 for sites like hulu to watch some of my favorite old tv shows it does take a little time to get the shows to buffer fully but I am not in a big rush. I love the MicroSD slot to I put a 2Gig micro card in there about 4 months ago and still have plenty of storage space on it. Well I just have to say this device is perfect unless you plan on playing alot of video games online.
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Review 2 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Pretty good all things considered
By GMC_Cowboy
- May 31, 2009
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By GMC_Cowboy
Pretty good all things considered
- May 31, 2009
I can get EVDO REVA service in places that my Sprint phone doesn't have service even, such as remote farmland in Central Arkansas. My speeds are on average of 1.5Mbps download in all areas - not great but it does the job for web browsing and email. And it's great to have a back-up internet provider when Comcast goes down, as seems to be the case regularly.
PS do not install the latest version of Sprint SmartView if you are using Windows 7 - it causes the OS to crash to a blue screen.
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Review 3 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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3.0 out of 5
3.0 out of 5
Connectivity anywhere What A Joke
By Leeanna Leonard
- May 21, 2009
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By Leeanna Leonard
Connectivity anywhere What A Joke
- May 21, 2009
The internet anywhere. What a joke. I get very little to no connectivity the majority of the time. Verrrrry frustrating. I use this for work or I would never have bought this product. I get no connectivity at home or at work and if I happen to get connectivity it is only 10% ever.
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Works flawlessly!
By Andrew Walsh
- April 11, 2009
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By Andrew Walsh
Works flawlessly!
- April 11, 2009
Great product! I run this on my Imac, software and installation are quick and easy to use. I share the connection wirelessly through the house and handles it nicely. I live in a rural area where dial-up or satellite are the only options, dial up is a joke, and satellite is to pricey and from what I have experienced much much slower than what this sprint card can provide. Minor bugs occur here and there but connection is reliable and good. Updates automatically download whenever they are needed. Does get a little hot sometimes but I use a usb extension cable so not a big deal. All in all great product
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Review 5 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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My First Broadband
By tloone01
- January 22, 2009
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By tloone01
My First Broadband
- January 22, 2009
This is my first broadband card. I never dreamed that loading it would be so easy. Just connect it to the USB port and it does all the work with very few actual steps to complete. The only problem I have is an easy one to deal with: if my laptop has been off or timed out without my physically removing the device sometimes it says that it can't find it. All I have to do is pull the device out for a few seconds and put it back in. I've never had to uninstall to reload over the 6+ months that I have had it. The signal strength has been wonderful, sometimes even better than my Sanyo. I have put it to the test setting it side by side with my friends broadband from AT&T (don't recall the actual device name). I would start accessing a particular site with her card, then while it was working start mine. My card was at least twice as fast, even with her laptop having more RAM and a faster processor (I have a Toshiba laptop. She has an Acer.) I was able to get busy on the desired site long before hers ever made to the site.
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Review 6 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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I'm with ''smurfygirl''!
By Marshall
- August 23, 2008
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By Marshall
I'm with ''smurfygirl''!
- August 23, 2008
I am new to computers and wireless services. My Toshiba laptap is my first experience. I have the ''Instinct'' so it only seemed logical to go with Sprints ''Compass 597'', sort of best of both worlds. The ''Compass'' was so easy to install and use, I giggled almost uncontrollably! Signal is very good and I've yet to visit a location here at home where I can't log-on, including miles out into the country, AWESOME! I agree with ''surfygirl'' on the fact that it does seem to generate alot of heat. I just hope it won't melt!
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Review 7 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Laptop now a blowtorch
By Libby
- August 8, 2008
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By Libby
Laptop now a blowtorch
- August 8, 2008
The card works as advertised, the problem is that whenever I use the 597 card my Toshiba laptop which has been entirely troublefree for the past year (since new) now runs HOT, the cooling fan runs at full speed blowing out very hot air and the battery life is now about 1/3rd what it is when running on the wireless internal. I can only guess that poor software is driving the computer hard for no apparent reason. I've not heard of this problem with Verizon air card users so I'm guessing it's the telecom's software.
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Offline
By Motherof5
- August 3, 2008
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By Motherof5
Offline
- August 3, 2008
Even with technical help My air card didn't work so I didn't have internet access all weekend. The was a problem with the air card. :(
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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My Review
By Francis
- July 27, 2008
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By Francis
My Review
- July 27, 2008
I live in Coronado, CA at the Silver Strand and I barely get any signal here with both my Compass 597 device and my Sprint cell phone. That's where i use is mostly. Connection, however, is way better in downtown San Diego. It does generate a lot of heat when it is uploading tons of data. I wish I could change the color of the yellow light on top to something like red. I ofter get glitches when staring this device as well. I have to restart it just to make it function correctly. I give thumbs up for the very easy installation. I wish the price was a little lower: probabaly about $50. The unlimited usage is great.
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Review 10 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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WOW...THIS THING IS AWESOME!
By STEVE S
- June 17, 2008
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By STEVE S
WOW...THIS THING IS AWESOME!
- June 17, 2008
This is just about the coolest device in the world. I just got my Compass 597, installed it flawlessly, and it works fantastic. It could not have been easier to setup, or connect with. Great job Sprint and Sierra Wireless.
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Review 11 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Great little modem
By Bill
- June 12, 2008
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By Bill
Great little modem
- June 12, 2008
I started shopping for a laptop card on the Sprint website, but the 597 caught me eye. I came to the conclusion after reading about its features that a USB modem would better meet my needs than a card. I ordered it from the website on a Tuesday and it amazingly arrived the next day via UPS!! It took about 10 minutes to install the software and boom, I was up and running. Performance is best when in an area of higher signal, but it still performs acceptably in low signal areas (one bar). I especially enjoy the extender cable that comes with it since my laptop's power cord plugs in right next to the USB ports. The cord also allows me to position the modem to get a better signal if need be.
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Review 12 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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5.0 out of 5
git r done !
By Cowboy
- June 11, 2008
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By Cowboy
git r done !
- June 11, 2008
The Compass 597 was a snap to get up and running quick, and there's no CDs or downloads - just plug er in and the device pretty much installs itself into Vista. As for performance, I was very surprised in a good way. Speed is about as fast as DSL - not lightning quick but definitely acceptable for web browsing and email. I had no problems with connections at all places that my Sprint phone traditionally works well. For the price, you can't go wrong. However the service plans leave a bit to be desired (either very limited or unlimited which is expensive, around $50 /month). For me, this is not fast enough to use as my all-around internet connection so $50 a month seems a bit high but I'm sure it'll save me at some point when Comcast goes down!
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Review 13 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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LOVE IT!!!
By smurfygirl
- June 8, 2008
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By smurfygirl
LOVE IT!!!
- June 8, 2008
Using it for my first laptop I love it plug and go very little setup, signal is great Love this product,My only concern is the heat generated by it but overall-- Buy this product!!!
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Review 14 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Great Device
By Lisa
- June 7, 2008
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By Lisa
Great Device
- June 7, 2008
I purchased the drive for work. But what the heck I now use for both work and home. The thing I like best is that it works anywhere and it is great. The connections and performance is great. Easy to work with and used it with in five mintues of being loaded on the computer. No more dail up or DSL.
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Review 15 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Sierra
By Arturo Garcia
- June 4, 2008
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By Arturo Garcia
Sierra
- June 4, 2008
this card is great !!!!!
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Review 16 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Like it
By Anonymous
- June 4, 2008
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By Anonymous
Like it
- June 4, 2008
Pros : No cd to worry about getting damaged or lost. Device is small and very portable, status lights are intuitive and easy to read. Was able to use it in Linux (Ubuntu 8.04).
Cons : Generates a little heat. Doesn't work in Win2k. Had trouble getting it installed in WinXP, installation took about 1 hour despite multiple reboots and install/uninstall attempts.
Conclusion : Highly recommend!
Have used this card on my desktop (WinXP SP2) and my laptop (Ubuntu Linux 8.04) for about a month or so now. The only issue I have is sometimes the signal drops to 0% but I'm pretty certain that has to do with our area because we've had signal issues here with multiple devices.
Even though I get a spotty signal (avg between 40% and 70%) I've been happy with my download speeds and it's often faster than my DSL.
I've been able to use this card at home (in the city) on the freeway and a bit out in the country side with no problems. The only places this device didn't work were spots where no one had cell signal.
ps. Also in Houston Texas.
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Review 17 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Pretty Cool Investment
By Charlene
- June 3, 2008
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By Charlene
Pretty Cool Investment
- June 3, 2008
This is my best net experience. It gets good reception, and it's not the fastest but its fast enough for my liking and it' easy to use from day one. I think it's a good deal for the dollar amount and I'd recommend it.
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Review 18 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Excellent
By Philip Wessel
- June 3, 2008
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By Philip Wessel
Excellent
- June 3, 2008
Im in the country and my only options were dial-up or satelite dial-up suck and satelite was way overpriced this is awsome I love it wouldnt go with anything else had at&t and it was slower then dial up took at&t's back fast I would recomend this to anyone
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Review 19 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Compass 597 by Sierra Wireless
By Tommy Helton
- May 27, 2008
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By Tommy Helton
Compass 597 by Sierra Wireless
- May 27, 2008
This the best internet i have ever used in my life time
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Review 20 for Compass™ 597 by Sierra Wireless
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Get the job welldone
By Paul
- May 23, 2008
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By Paul
Get the job welldone
- May 23, 2008
As u can c my ratings is 10 to 8 bc the price for its production is good but a little effy for service connectivty. its not like lighting speed as it says. i live here at houston, texas and i research b4 i buy it, i even check the bb speed and see result. upload and dl are best. so i bought it. but real time surfing is good but not best. look like reg. overal i like it. its cool. the connectivy i want to point out that i have to redial, and i dont know why i have to reconnect . wierd buts its understandable.
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