So you may have noticed that 3Mobile released the first MiFi product in the UK this week. I was lucky enough to have had a trial unit on loan a couple of weeks back… here’s a brief rundown of what I did and thought of it. If you’re un-inititated in what MiFi is, think of a mobile broadband dongle, but instead of using the USB and software to provide your laptop with an internet connection, this standalone device will connect to multiple devices – laptop, phone, games unit… anything that has wifi built in.
Unboxing
Yup a boring unboxing video.. give it a view if you want. The unit is about the size of the palm of my hand. Quite sleek to look at. Display has five LEDs, to signify things like power, connection to GSM network, 3G network strength and whether the wifi is active. It’s quite clear what LED represents what. What isn’t as clear is the buttons on the side, they could’ve been more labelled more clearly, I also seemed to need to press them in for a few seconds in order to get them to activate.
The device charges an inbuilt battery via USB or mains to give you usage on the go. There are many leaflets in the box, each with a clear bit of simple info about the device on.
Connection
Once active and on the 3Mobile network, you can turn on the wifi. The unit will have it’s own unique name and secure key. I found connecting uncomplicated and it worked pretty much straight away.
First usage
I failed to do a speed test, however I found it adequate enough for quick loading of most the websites I would want to visit on the move – BBC News, Digitalspy, IM and Twitter apps. As you’ll see, the video didn’t load as smoothly as I would’ve liked, but then I wouldn’t have expected it too have done so.
After the initial use
I rarely take my laptop out and about in London, so decided to do most of my playing from that point on with my iPhone. I turned data roaming off and used the MiFi to give me a data connection. I noticed no difference in times that pages took to load, or videos, or data for apps. The killer for me was being able to use Skype on the go. Those who use iPhones know that its Skype app has quashed the ability to make Skype Calls over 3G, it will only allow it on wifi. Well, now my iPhone had wifi, albeit mobile connection from inside my bag, but crucially, its still wifi. So I was able to walk around making Skype calls. OK. So I’m not going to buy a MiFi just to do this – the extra cost isn’t justifiable… but if I had one for other purposes, I’d sure find it a great added bonus.
Another notable test, I took it round to a friends one evening and hooked three phones and two laptops upto it simultaneously. Obviously, it was useless for media related streaming, but we were all able to do basic browsing. Sadly I neglected to film this experiment!
This is a product I wouldn’t buy for myself unless I was going on a substantial holiday, it’s just too expensive to justify for casual use – HOWEVER – I am considering reccomending the school I work at invests in one to allow groups to use offsite on trips, so that updates can be communicated back to base and students with wifi devices can get a few free minutes to catch up.
What I really really prefer about MiFi over the USB sticks we’re so accustomed too, is the lack of software I have to install in order to manage my connection. Every stick I’ve previously tried has completely screwed up and wanted to dominate my internet settings, causing me countless headaches. MIFI has no software, just a wifi, which makes it a product that’s instantly a thousand times more preferable.
…and thats about all I’ve got to say. If 3Mobile make the device cheaper, I’ll certainly consider getting one.
