Update 3 Mobile Wifi Device Review – It has often been said that we are now in the ‘mobile’ decade, with rockets of mobile phones, tablets and other Internet-enabled mobile devices helping to ensure that we don’t have to be offline for too long. But the need for speed means mobile devices can’t compete with a good old-fashioned laptop with a Wi-Fi or broadband Ethernet connection.
Aside from speed issues, sometimes you just need a decent computer to work from too. So how can we get around this problem?
Update 3 Mobile Wifi Device Review
MiFi is a line of compact wireless routers originally manufactured by Novatel Wireless that act as personal mobile WiFi hotspots, and the first such MiFi device was introduced in the United States in 2009, with Novatel trademarking the “MiFi” brand name in the United States. .
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However, in the UK, mobile operator 3 owns the “MiFi” trademark and has been marketing a similar device from Huawei under the name for over a year.
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MiFi devices can be connected to multiple devices at the same time, including mobile phones, tablets and laptops, and a typical range is around 15 metres, although published claims suggest the range can be up with 30 meters.
In 2010 Three invested half a billion pounds in web improvements, giving it 45% of the UK mobile internet market. Three released their first MiFi device in 2010 (the Huawei E585), and last month they unveiled its follow-up, the Huawei E586.
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The device itself is a small OLED screen that displays important information such as the amount of data in use, current connection speed and duration of browsing as well as a panel to view SMS and change settings. David Kerrigan, head of mobile broadband at Three at the time, said:
“As the UK’s largest 3G mobile broadband network, we’re delighted to introduce our high-speed mobile Wi-Fi product. It combines with our award-winning HSPA+ dongles, making us the only operator which offers a range of broadband products that are fully HSPA+ capable. Portable. In addition to that speed increase, the new cradle charger, which looks great, will help people get the best performance at home.” What is the difference?
So what does the 586 offer that the 585 doesn’t? Introducing a new charging cradle and minor design changes aside, the main difference is that this updated version is an HSPA+ modem, which it claims will offer download speeds of up to 21.1 Mbps. But the catch is that there’s a good chance you won’t be able to get anywhere near those kinds of speeds yet.
Three is rolling out HSPA+ to its networks this year, and aims to upgrade 80% of its network to HSPA+ by the end of this year, with the rest following soon after.
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A typical use case for the MiFi dongle can be anything – you just slip it in your pocket or backpack and you have your own website wherever you go. I decided to test this baby on a train journey from Edinburgh to London, tracking its performance along the way to see what kinds of speeds I could get out of it, after all it is about speed …right?
I left Edinburgh Waverley train station at 2.50pm on Sunday evening, did the first download/upload speed test, and got 2688/650 Kbps. At this speed, I could easily surf the web, watch YouTube clips and stream football commentary from BBC Radio. Apart from the occasional “buffer”, it ran pretty smoothly for about 30 minutes.
Wandering through the Scottish countryside an hour south of Edinburgh, reception was spotty, switching effortlessly between no reception and fairly quickly. And it’s important to note that this device has the same limitations as a standard mobile phone connection on the Three – so if you’re on the move, black spots and signal tunnels will affect your ability to connect.
I switched to Virgin’s integrated WiFi to test the difference, and it sat at a fairly consistent 1320/379 kbps. Although you can plug the MiFi dongle into your laptop, I wanted to check the device’s battery, and rolling into London Houston around 8pm, the battery was on its last legs. Five hours is still good enough.
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If I’m honest, I found the intermittent promise of fast mobile internet to be frustrating. It peaked at around 4 Mbps, a speed that is more than enough to do most of the things I needed to do online. But as soon as I felt comfortable doing something, like watching an online video or even just reading an article, the connection disconnected. I was much better off just opening a book and reading instead of sticking to such an inconsistent internet connection.
OK, maybe a train test around the hilly countryside isn’t the fairest test to properly evaluate a WiFi device, but if nothing else it helps highlight what many rural locations have to endure on a regular basis.
Many people will want to be able to connect while crossing town. So I tested it at different times and places in London. Normal download/upload speed remained around 1500/1000 Kbps. At the time of writing, at home on a Saturday afternoon in London, the fastest I could get was 1968/591 Kbps, but sometimes it dropped to half that in a few minutes. So, the MiFi device may be fast enough for city use, but it probably can’t be used as someone’s primary internet source unless all they really need is email and basic web browsing capabilities .
The potential of MiFi devices is huge, simply because people need high-speed internet access on the go, without worrying about whether or not the hotel or cafe they’re going to has free public wifi. I think we are slowly getting there, but this test shows that there is still a way to go before we can expect fast and reliable Internet access wherever we go.
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Paul Sawers was a reporter for The Next Web in various capacities from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check h (see all) Paul Sawers was a reporter for The Next Web in various capacities from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check him out on Google+.
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Like cloud computing and the latest smartphones, portable Wi-Fi is one of the most popular products passed on from techies to regular users. These small devices allow multiple products to connect to their mobile internet connection, eliminating the need for multiple network contracts and saving you hard-earned money. Yes, we’d always welcome cheaper rates, but it’s interesting that three people think the mobile WiFi units themselves need a choice.
As a result we now have the 3 Value MiFi – which is the heart of the Huawei E5331 Wi-Fi mobile device. Like its more expensive sibling, the excellent Three Premium MiFi, it provides 21.1Mbit HSPA compatibility, connects up to five devices at the same time and has 30 minutes less battery life at 4.5 hours. More radically, the 3 Value MiFi ditches the Premium’s detailed triple-layer OLED display in favor of a simple five-icon LED, but aims to make up for it by costing 40 per cent less at just £50.
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Does the argument make sense then? Out of the box we are not sure. Despite being the more complete device, the MiFi Premium has a smaller footprint (95.5 x 49mm vs. 92.8 x 60mm) although it is only slightly thicker (49mm vs. 60mm) and at 80 grams is five grams more lightness. We also have issues with the build quality of the Value MiFi. The white finish is more prone to marks and the device has a rough connection to its removable back cover that feels cheap.
In terms of connectivity the MiFi 3 Value is a victim of cuts as it loses the compatible 32GB microSD slot of the MiFi Premium – which allows this model to function as a memory key when connected to a computer. Meanwhile the switch to a basic icon display (network strength, Wi-Fi signal, battery and new job) omits vital information that could be expensive in the long run, such as a roaming indicator and the amount of data used you download. Additionally, each icon’s color scheme of green or orange for a strong or weak signal gives the user a somewhat binary level of information compared to the Premium MiFi power bars.
There is also another frustrating complication. While the Premium MiFi has a dedicated security button that displays its SSID and WiFi key, the Value MiFi only has a power button so it means removing this information
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