Source: EVDO Blog|EVDO info

Pros
* No need to insert a card, mobile broadband always available
* Nothing to lose or damage, it is built-in
Cons
*Horrible Support (read below)
*No option for external antennas
*No options for external amplifiers
*Hard / impossible to upgrade
*If you upgrade the laptop to one without embedded EVDO, you have to pay retail for new
EVDO card
*Adds to cost of initial laptop purchase (no they are not free)
*Firmware updates / Connection Manager updates from Manufacturer NOT carrier
Some of the newer Sony, Dells, HPs and others Viagra Online are now including embedded EVDO as an option. On the surface, this sounds like a good idea.
But, what are the Pros & Cons of having EVDO embedded (built-in) or as an addon via PCMCIA, ExpressCard or USB?
More on Support:
I purchased a Sony TX model with embedded EVDO Rev A when it first came out (first laptop that had embedded Rev A EVDO). After we received the first one, it was working for a few days and then we started having connection problems with our Sony TX10. I decided to recover and reformat the hard drive and that DIDN’T help, the once working internal EVDO modem stopped working. I returned the unit and got a second unit.
I got the second unit working quickly and all was well. When I started having connection problems, I decided to do what is called a ##RTN which is a trick to reset the modem back to factory settings (I did this on the first unit too). Once again, we reformatted and recovered back to factory and still, we couldn’ t use the embedded EVDO device. The device would show signal strength, BUT wouldn’t connect. I knew the account was OK, because it was previously working. I just got a “Unable to update device”.
Now, here is where the “fun” begins.
Embedded EVDO modems are a lot like illegitimate children. When I called Sprint, they told me that they didn’t provide support for embedded devices, we would have to call the manufacturer. When we call Sony, do you think they have a lot of people on staff that know the internal workings of the embedded EVDO devices? Nope! So, now we get into a finger pointing contest. Bottom line, the embedded EVDO device is not working, so I reverted to using my trusty EVDO cards from Sprint and Verizon, those always work.
Now, since we are a Sprint Master Agent, and we have a lot of contacts at Sprint, I decided to see what we can find out. According to contacts within Sprint Tech Support, they confirm that if you do the ##RTN trick to reset the modem, you can actually damage the modem and you are unable to use it any more. OUCH! Here is what we found out:
“Novatel had an issue with their pre-production 720’s that caused IOTA to consistently fail after the module is refurbed using ##RTN, which sounds like what is happening here. The fix was to send the modules back to Novatel…”
I wonder how many people of embedded laptops will have the same fate? Was this a problem only with the first batch of units or is this still a problem with the current shipping units?
If you are considering getting a laptop with embedded EVDO, you might want to consider an EVDO PCMCIA, ExpressCard or USB mobile broadband device.
So… Sony, Sprint or Novatel, how can I get a replacement for my embedded EVDO modem?