Mobile Hotspot Technology - MiFi is the Best of Both Worlds!
The best of both worlds! In my opinion, MiFi is the best of the Wi-Fi and mobile broadband worlds! You and a small handful of friends/colleagues can access the device using Wi-Fi, which is high speed, reliable, and secure. You also don't have to worry about damaging a PC Card modem sticking out of the side of your computer, or snapping off a USB modem (even the super small ones still stick out and are fairly fragile). On top of that, you get the convenience of mobile broadband with 3G technology (or 4G - see below!) that you can take anywhere, and you don't have to worry about installing drivers like you do with other broadband modems.  So what's the downside? By now you might be thinking that a personal mobile hotspot is really too good to be true! There are some downsides to consider:
Where do I get it! Currently Sprint and Verizon are the only two carriers that provide MiFi service. With their EVDO-RevA technology, they can offer fantastic speed compared to the GSM-based carriers; at least at this point in time. Unfortunately, however, they only offer postpaid (i.e. contract!) plans, which is why you won't find their plan details listed here ;-). What's next? Actually, the future is already here! In August 2009, Sprint announced a dual mode 3G/4G (WiMAX) MiFi device. This means that when you're in 4G coverage areas, you'll have even faster Internet speeds! The trade off is that the device is a little bigger because it not only has to have 3G and Wi-Fi technology, but also 4G technology. The cost of these dual mode devices will also be slightly higher, at least to start.  I haven't yet seen any of the major prepaid broadband providers offering their plans on MiFi hardware. There's really no reason they couldn't, and I believe it's only a matter of time until it's available. It's probably a matter of the carriers wanting to target their "higher value" postpaid customers first. Also, with prepaid, there's little to no hardware subsidy, which means that because Mi-Fi is new, the hardware is more expensive. In turn, what this means is that prepaid customers may not have the appetite to buy it when the price is too high. Over time we can expect that it will become more popular and readily available, at which time we will certainly see it offered on prepaid mobile broadband plans! But wait, the good news is that there is one postpaid carrier offering a no contract, month-to-month offer; check out Verizon MiFi! Conclusion Mobile hotspots are a fantastic technology development that I expect will become more and more popular, and may even eventually replace PC Cards and someday USB modems. They're compact, convenient, and easy to use! I'm also looking forward to prepaid mobile broadband customers having access to MiFi technology!
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