Not all notebooks have the luxury of an ExpressCard slot. For frequent on-the-go users who are looking for an alternative to a mobile broadband ExpressCard, there is the AT&T USBConnect Mercury. It measures 2.6 x 1.0 x 0.7 inches and looks a whole lot like a thumb drive. It has a microSD slot and offers minimal external lighting. Installing is as simple as popping it in an empty USB slot and letting the installer in the drive do its work. On the 21st floor of an office building, it was able to get 4 bars of 3G connectivity. It was able to upload 25MB file at a rate of 1.1 Mbps, though downloading was a mere 620 Kbps. In the Penn Station, it was only able to muster 3 bars and download the same 25MB file in 7 minutes and 5 seconds, or 475 Kbps, and uploaded it in 5:01, or 664 Kbps. Testing the USBConnect Mercury in Long Beach, it was able to get a whopping upload speed of 1.5 Mbps. On the other hand, the download speed was just 880 Kbps. Nonetheless, the lightning upload speed of the AT&T USBConnect Mercury might entice users who need to get files on the Web fast. And since it’s free (with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate), it really is worth the consideration.