MiFi, from the 3 network, offers a better solution, a kind of compromise between the two. MiFi is a small wireless device with an embedded 3 SIM. The device maintains a permanent connection to 3’s highspeed data network and functions as a Wi-Fi router.
Simply connect your smartphone or netbook, in exactly as you would connect it to a router at home, and you have Wi-Fi access on your mobile device.
Now, of course, this doesn’t come for free, and you’ll need to pay for a separate contract for your data. A rolling one-month contract is charged at £15 for up to 5GB data, or you can buy the whole thing for £99.99 with 3GB of data included in the price. Thereafter you can simply top it up at payas- you-go rates.
Up to five devices can connect to MiFi at the same time. The speeds you will get do depend on
the coverage in your location – and so may vary significantly if you are sat on a train, for example – but with good HSDPA coverage you will be able to use bandwidth-heavy services such as BBC iPlayer or Spotify effectively, while still accessing web documents or emails as you would hope to do over a regular Wi-Fi connection. Battery life is rated at five hours; our tests came up not far short of that mark.
MiFi is best seen as a natural next step on from the mobile broadband dongles that have proven popular over the last few years.
By working independently of a laptop (and operating system), it is far more convenient if you wish to share your connection, and even though it is somewhat larger than a dongle, it is an altogether more stylish piece of kit as well.
Source : Android Tips, Tricks & Apps © 2010 Imagine Publishing Ltd
