Novatel today announced its Merlin XU870 tri-band ExpressCard which supports HSDPA/UMTS and high speed quad-band EDGE/GPRS. The Merlin XU870 ExpressCard will initially be configured for 3.6 Mbps data speeds and when mobile operators start providing 7.2 Mbps service, a software utility will be used to upgrade the card and boost its speed to 7.2 Mbps. The Merlin XU870 ExpressCard will allow new notebook platforms, with the ExpressCard slot, to take advantage of its performance and scalability for wireless broadband connectivity.

"The Merlin XU870 ExpressCard is our second external ExpressCard/34 solution for notebook platforms that either contain both PCMCIA and ExpressCard slots or only ExpressCard slots," said Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless.

The Merlin XU870 ExpressCard will be available in the third quarter. No words on the pricing.

[Via Novatelwireless]