Sunday, May 24, 2009
Novatel MiFi 2200 Personal Hotspot
I have had an opportunity to try the new Novatel MiFi 2200 Personal Hotspot this weekend. The device and service are provided by Verizon. The MiFi is a wireless wifi router and cellular data modem built into one very small package. It is less than 1/2-inch thick and it can easily be held in the palm of one's hand. It connects to the cellular data network, and then up to five users can connect via wifi. You can connect notebook computers, wifi phones, or wifi enabled smartphones.Here are my initial thoughts...
- The device will work with nearly any wifi enabled device including Mac or Linux computers. The first connection to activate with Verizon does require a Windows computer. You will need to connect with a USB cable, and then install Verizon's connection management software which is stored on the device. Once this is done the software is no longer needed to use the wifi. You can reconnect the device with the USB and use the software to check your usage.
- The speed is not what I had hoped, but I have only checked from two locations. Neither location was much more surburban than urban. My home is well known for being a very poor Verizon reception location. I was attaining download speeds ranging from 130 to 300 kbps. A typical cable modem connection runs at 5000 kbps or so. I am going to try it out at some other locations this week, and update if I find better connectivity speeds.
- The battery is supposed to last for 4 hours online, and 40 hours on standby. I will try that out this week. The battery is pretty large and the wifi range is only 30 feet, so it is a believable estimate.
- It comes with a power supply with folding prongs as well as an USB cable.
- A real printed manual. It came in a svelt box with a very nice printed manual. The manual even describes how to log onto the web-enabled access to change settings. The WAP encryption key which is printed on the back of the device can be changed, and even the encryption can be changed or disabled. I would not suggest disabling. Someone nearby could quickly run up your Verizon bill.
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