New toy – unlocked MiFi
At Lotusphere, Matt White was getting my attention. Not just because of his immense brain, witty humour and ability to get Allister Rennie to get him drinks before the OGS, but because he walked around with a bulge in his pocket. He wasn’t that pleased to see me.
Ok.. enough ‘fnar ‘fnar references.
Matt had a MiFi. This is a 3g Dongle, but without the dongle bit. Basically its a 3g Dongle that you put a sim into, but it is also a mini wifi router. So, insert your sim, turn it on and it connects to the internet. Then you connect to it as a wifi source and bingo, you connect to the internet! Unlike dongles there is no wire and you can connect multiple objects to it.
Had.to.have.one.
So, about 2 weeks ago I bought a MiFi on ebay. You could walk into a store and buy a locked one, but then you are tied to the carrier. On ebay, they are unlocked for about £60.
I got an
“UNLOCKED 3G HUAWEI E5830 Mifi USB Mobile Modem Router”
HUAWEI E5830 Mifi
It came with a 3G uk SIM card, and I added some credit to it. Then after traveling to Ireland I bought a 3G Irish sim card, and added some credit to it.
Connect to your MiFi and complete some very basic configuration work, then you can switch sim as you need (think about this people who travel) and all your devices can connect to this router and connect to the internet.
Speaking purely for myself this will come with me everywhere from now on and save me a fortune.
Ben Rose Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 8:59 am
Or, if you have an Android phone, install WiFi tether on it for the same result. I use it from time to time and it’s quite handy indeed.
pmooneynet Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 9:22 am
Ben, the problem there is is you travel too. If I change SIM, I change number, unless I do a lot of messy redirects in advance. But whatever works for the user is good for me.
Tweets that mention New toy – unlocked MiFi – pmooney.net -- Topsy.com Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 9:27 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by pmooneynet and Matt White, Anders Fredriksson. Anders Fredriksson said: I want this! RT @pmooneynet: A quick write up on a MiFi http://tinyurl.com/ybbzlkl For the ADHD twitter addicts. I love it. Buy one. [...]
Ben Rose Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 10:24 am
Yeah, very true. Of course most people have 2 phones these days so you can drop your “phone” SIM into another handset whilst travelling and use the Android as a dedicated MiFi and App device.
People get very confused in public places when I’m online using an iPod Touch and there is no obvious data connection for it – I told some people it was a new thinner iPhone, lol.
Matt White Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 10:39 am
You’d also need to root your Android phone. Not something that most people would be happy to do.
Kevin Pettitt Said,
March 29, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
If my experience using my Nokia E71 as a hotspot is any guide, using any phone as such will kill the battery (maybe 90 minutes of wi-fi use before you need to recharge to get through the day using the phone for “normal” stuff) and make the phone hot enough to leave burn marks. Great in an emergency but not for routine use.
Spending the next week on 3G only – pmooney.net Said,
July 10, 2010 @ 5:34 pm
[...] between now and then, all the kit in my house will connect to the intertubes using my MiFi. So far, this device has never failed to impress and has saved me a fortune. My lack of travel for [...]