Sprint has released the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router for use on its network. The battery-powered EV-DO router will allow users to connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to Sprint’s EV-DO Rev. A network.

It will be marketed in stores as the Sprint Mobile Hotspot. According to Sprint, this device is the first in the US to support MiFi’s GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications. The up front cost is $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year agreement), though there’s only two options for getting it connected.

Just ask anyone who knows me; I can hardly stand to be without Internet access. If my connection goes down I begin to get cold chills at the thought of missing an email within five minutes. To stave off an Internet restricted diet in case of emergency I have my iPhone and laptop complete with EVDO modem to keep me from being offline.

I have often considered getting a USB EVDO modem for use with my desktop computer, but haven’t bitten the bullet and done that yet. Novatel Wireless introduced a couple new USB modems today that look very tempting. The MC992D and MC990D are both wireless broadband modems that can operate on multiple frequencies including HSPA, WCDMA, EDGE and GPRS networks.