Novatel Wireless today announced the development of the industry's first EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) 3G external PCI ExpressCards/34, also known as external ExpressCards. The company has delivered pre-commercial samples of both its EV-DO and HSDPA ExpressCards, which are being developed pursuant to agreements and purchase orders from the company's principal customers - laptop manufacturers and major carriers.

Roughly half the size of standard PC Cards, Novatel Wireless' ExpressCards are being developed for mobile computing and support USB 2.0 and PCI Express applications. ExpressCards are designed to be a compact, high-speed and cost-effective solution, and more than 50 platforms from major laptop manufacturers are expected to offer external ExpressCard slots.

Many new notebooks either will support both PC Card and ExpressCard form factors or only the ExpressCard form factor. Novatel Wireless' EV-DO ExpressCards will enable subscribers to access EV-DO networks at speeds up to 2.4 Mbps (Megabits per second), and its HSDPA ExpressCards will enable subscribers to access HSDPA networks at speeds up to 3.6 Mbps, in each case through external ExpressCard slots. In addition, the EV-DO ExpressCards are backward compatible with CDMA 1X networks, and the HSDPA ExpressCards are backward compatible with WCDMA networks, allowing uninterrupted use outside of a 3G coverage area.

"Novatel Wireless is focused on offering large carriers and laptop manufacturers several unique value propositions," said Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "Our customer base includes the leading European and North American wireless operators, and we now believe that Novatel Wireless has the largest number of design wins with key laptop manufacturers for our embedded solutions. Our product portfolio includes PC Cards, embedded solutions and fixed mobile convergence solutions that span across both EV-DO and UMTS/HSDPA technologies. No competitor can offer these benefits to carrier and OEM customer channels, giving us a distinct competitive advantage."