Rogers has been pretty forthcoming about the LTE devices they plan to launch up until this point. And well, coming as we had expected to see — a USB style model with 4G LTE connectivity has since come available for purchase. The model is the LTE Rocket stick, which is also known as the Sierra Wireless AirCard 330U.
That being said, the LTE Rocket stick is a 4G LTE Modem and it is priced at $79.99 on a three-year agreement. Also nicely done, those looking to pick one of these up without a three-year attachment can do so at a fairly reasonable price point — $169.99. Of course, regardless of your commitment length, you will still need to get service from Rogers and that will come with some added monthly expense.
Otherwise, the LTE Rocket stick does come with some perks. Just to begin with, as mentioned this is a USB device which means you will need an available USB port to make it work. And while that may not sound as nice as a wireless hotspot, that means you have one less battery to worry about keeping charged with the sierra 330u.
The LTE sierra 330u brings support for Window and Mac computers including Windows 7, Vista and XP (with Service Pack 3) and OS X version 10.6 or later. Additional goodies include a stand-along GPS and aGPS, a memory card slot with support for cards of up to 32GB in size and support for use on Rogers network as well as roaming on others around the world.
More specifically, the LTE sierra 330u has support for “Tri-band HSPA+ /Quad-band EDGE for connectivity on the Rogers 4G HSPA+ network and roaming in over 190 countries.” And while these speeds will certainly not be guaranteed, Rogers is touting “typical” LTE download speeds of 12-40 Mbps.
Lastly, for those looking for a wireless hotspot modem as opposed to a USB stick, rest assured in knowing that the LTE Rocket mobile hotspot, the Sierra Wireless AirCard 763S 4G LTE Modem is still expected to arrive soon.