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A Real-World Test of the Verizon MiFi
uninet writes "Over the course of a few days last week, I was able to spend a good deal of time with Verizon's amazing little MiFi 3G router. It admirably performed its task of providing speedy Wi-Fi Internet to other devices via an EvDO Rev. A connection. Ironically, the device even improved the experience of using the iPhone, making it usable for surfing where its native network (AT&T) doesn't even connect."
I know, it's all wow-ee-wow-oo-oo, but I'm still not impressed. If you're on the road a lot and can justify the extra cost of cellular access, yes, it's very cool. For everyone else, not so much. I just can't pay for a home plan and a wireless plan or multiple wireless plans for myself and my family. It's a luxury I can't justify.
We've got phones that are palmtop computing devices, internet access devices, phones, cameras, video cameras, and music/video players all in one. Device makers are embracing the mantra of integration. Is it that the wired arms of the telcos can't vertically integrate home and wireless access into affordable bundles due to anti-trust concerns or is it that they currently see that keeping them separate maximizes profit because the market just isn't demanding "internet anywhere" convenience at a workable price point?
Start a happiness pandemic
now whats worth more, having internet outside and where the At&T network is or carrying around a small wireless router that get signals from another company? just asking...
Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
Sounds good
Ironically, the device even improved the experience of using the iPhone, making it usable for surfing where its native network (AT&T) doesn't even connect.
How exactly is that "ironic"?
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
I have a treo which does 3g on AT&T's (first cingular's) network. I would use the mobile test from dslreports.com on my treo to check my speed from various locations, just to play with my new toy. I got a pretty good feel for how fast it would go at my workplace, at my favorite lunch spots, etc and in different kinds of weather. The iphone came out and i saw a 25% drop in speed, the iphone 3g came out and i saw another 25% drop in speed. It seems like on most networks, if you want to get your advertised speeds, get away from where everybody is using it and attach to a cell tower without too many people attached. While these mifi tests may test the theoretical-realistic speeds (data transfer speeds in real world situations), if this catches on, users will experience realistic-realistic speeds (data transfer speeds in real world with real world congestion).
Standard disclaimer may apply, a single user's empirical tests do not cover even a fraction of a percent of the real world. Please feel free to post your anecdotes which prove or disprove my anecdote.
Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
I'll probably go out and buy one before long. Despite the expense, the 5GB monthly cap, and the onerous contract terms, the only broadband choices where I live are EVDO and an older wireless system using Alvarion gear. I got my Alvarion setup five years ago and have been gladly paying $44 a month for, at best, 320kbps, using a rooftop parabolic antenna pointed at the nearest tower. I have a laptop with an EVDO setup but still have the Alvarion gear for other household members. I would love to get rid of it.
Aside from people like me who can't get cable or DSL, devices like this work well for occasional users who are more concerned about convenience of installation than blazingly high speeds or the ability to download mountains of data. Clearwire has been selling similar services for quite some time.
Think of all the funny man-in-the-middle pranks you can play on desperate business travelers in airports with "free public wifi"!
Verizon's amazing MILF what?
It does exactly what it's supposed to, it's tiny, fast, and very simple to administer. It's a shame that 5GB/month costs what it costs, but if you can put out one serious server fire or interact with a customer in a way that saves a deal, it's worth every bit of what it costs.
I bought one on a Friday night, and it paid for itself and earned its monthly keep before lunchtime on Saturday.
Interestingly, it seems to be far more sensitive to Verizon's local RF signals than my phone is. Which is nice.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
It's pretty cool given the size of the device, but bridging cellular and WiFi networks is nothing new. I'm sure it's been done long before; personally I recall doing this in 2006 while working at Cal-IT2 (a research institution at UCSD). I was with a group of engineers stuck in barracks at Moffett Field with no WiFi or TV. We did have a Soekris board running Debian, a Verizon PCMCIA broadband card, and PCMCIA WiFi card which worked with hostap; and we ended up with a WiFi access point serving cellular broadband.
These days I can do the same thing using my Samsung Saga and ICScontrol to share connection over WiFi. Or I can tether to my phone to my laptop running Gentoo, place my laptop's WiFi card in ad-hoc mode.
Sadly, PS/2 was yet another victim of USB, which doesn't care what you plug into it, the electrical slut.
Your other option instead of waiting for a Mi-Fi, or if you want the portability of a USB cellular modem, is the Kyocera KR-2 Mobile Router. I use this with Verizon and it has the added benefit of being network-neutral, and also allowing for using another (faster) network and reverting to the cellular connection as a backup. The downside? Not as portable.
Let's talk when this can be used for using the internet. Until the price/GB drops, this is pretty much useless.
I thought this would be awesome, just the device I need until I tried to get an answer out of Verizon about the international coverage. The guy on the phone didn't even know the Mifi (okay, it was a week before it was due for public release). I've now tried twice to get an email answer about international coverage.
I'm a travel writer. I can't even seem to get anyone -- from any major carrier -- to intelligently talk about international coverage. If I'm going to be locked into a plan for 2 years, I damn well want to know if I'll be able to use it in Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Europe, and most of the US. But people just seem to turn into babbling idiots when this topic comes up. They answer "It works in our 3G network!" and you say "And does that work in Japan?" and there's a pause and then they try to explain what the 3G network is. I don't care what the 3G network IS. I just want to know if I'll be able to turn the thing on in Japan and have it work.
I'm off topic. I should just Ask Slashdot. Perhaps I will. But if anyone out there travels a lot and can recommend a phone _and_ plan that's going to work in the maximum number of countries, and _has_ to work in all four mentioned above, I'd love to know. I don't even need a phone. I primarily need email access and a touch typeable keyboard. Hence the interest in the Mifi. But if it's going to turn into a useless piece of junk the moment I touch down in Japan...I guess I'll still just hunt for internet cafes.
I was just about to pull the trigger on ordering one to replace my company supplied Verizon usb dongle, until I found out it cost $399 without contract (since the dongle and contract is company owned, I can't go messing with it).
Stupid carriers mark up the prices and then subsidize them at the price they should be at un-subsidized. The hell this thing cost $400 to make/market/support.
ARGH!
Didn't Verizon cripple its bluetooth phones by disabling certain data communications?
You should be able to share the internet with your laptop through bluetooth.
I stress SHOULD...
This should have been available years ago using hardware that already existed. They just couldn't figure out how to bill people for it.
As others point out, it isn't a revolution in communication. It is, however, a very elegant implementation of a useful service at a price that is (for my needs) reasonable.
I've been using it a week or two now, here's what my take:
Summary: It does what it says it does, in the way it promises, without the slightest hassle. For electronics, that's a hell of an endorsement.
The GOOD:
1. Size - it's damn easy to carry It really is as small as the ads make it look.
2. Replaceable Battery - I have a spare right with it (spare was just under $40)
3. Runs on USB charger, laptop USB, or Battery
4. Good - maybe not amazing - battery life (2-3 hours in reality)
5. Micro-usb connector is compatible with my phone charger so I carry fewer blocks
6. Performance -> It out performs the EVDO Rev A. Mini-PCI card that I had in my laptop.
7. Reception -> Better than my best cell phone ---- Also, in poor reception areas like some hotel rooms, I can put it over by the window where the signal is good, and use the network anywhere in the room!
8. Ubiquity -> I don't have to pick what device I bring with me based on my connectivity needs.
9. Multi-Device support -> Laptop, Hand-held game, netbook, kid's laptop in the car, etc.
10. No need to use the crappy Verizon connection software on the laptop (or worse, Dell's bastard stepchild version)
Less Good / Room to Improve
1. It needs a signal level indicator on the outside surface. To check signal, you have to hit the router's config page with a browser.
2. The data sheet on this says it has a connector for an external antenna. I have yet to see such a thing. Maybe it is hiding.
3. It seems to be powered up any time you plug it in to charge. No way to charge with the wifi part off (you can tell it not to connect to the cell network)
Overall, I'm really impressed with this thing.
Sure, I could run a linux vm on my laptop and share the internal card over the wireless; I could get a router that's compatible with another evdo card, or some other solution -- but this just works and works well.
As far as the cost: If you travel on business and end up paying for hotel wifi, this quickly pays for itself. Better yet, is the ability to pop open the laptop or handheld pretty much ANYWHERE and pretty much ANYTIME and get connected. Airport baggage claim, taxi cab, doctor's waiting room, and most important at the park waiting for one of my kids to finish soccer practice. You could just find an open wifi, but I like knowing what I'm connected to.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
Now it can do what my Nokia N95 (or nearly any S60 device) has been doing for ages through Walkinghotspot
Regarding the microusb connector, my experience is the opposite. The MiFi is the first device I've had using this connector. In comparison, my phone, my cameras, my GPS's, etc all use the miniusb connector. I must have two dozen of these cables lying around. Meanwhile, I now have to remember to pack the "special" microusb cable for the Mifi.
(And, size-wise, I don't see any reason why they couldn't have used miniusb instead of microusb)
I mean to say Oxford American English Dictionary. The grand OED itself says:
2. fig. A condition of affairs or events of a character opposite to what was, or might naturally be, expected; a contradictory outcome of events as if in mockery of the promise and fitness of things. (In F. ironie du sort.)
It goes on to note this usage has been around since at least the 17th century.
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"You would not get a high grade for such a design" -- Andy Tanenbaum on Linus' Linux design.
As it happened, I bought the MIFI at the same time I gritted my teeth and dove in headfirst on the BB Storm (which it turns out, I actually like -- though I can see where others may not). Both use the new Micro-USB connectors, and I'd purchased a car charger and second home charger for the phone (I keep one in my briefcase for travel). Now, between the two devices I have cables and plus wherever I need them. Synergy working for me for a change.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
Carriers don't buy enough equipment. They advertise speeds that they know they cannot deliver.
Obviously it's not irony. Since the device is black, it's "ebony".
A similar service in Hong Kong: Vodafone's home broadband, which uses a router that connects to the HSPA 3G network, combining a 4 port ethernet router, Wifi, an IP phone line. It's specifically NOT mobile, locked to a particular cell, but on paper seems good deal. HK$148/month for unlimited usage (about US$19), supposedly 7 MB/s. Just been introduced so no idea how it actually performs.
The Dial-Up Networking profile on most current VZW phones is enabled, so in theory you should be able to set up a connection through Bluetooth. This isn't officially supported, though, which means you're on your own setting it up. There's a BT profile compatibility chart at http://www.verizonwireless.com/bluetooth.
--- Work, worry, consume, die. It's a wonderful life. -- Bill Griffith
This thing is amazing, as long as the kids don't start watching youtube :)
I live in Argentina. We have a pretty good 3G network, provided by 3 companies (Movistar, owned by Telefonica, Claro, owned by TelMEX and Personal, owned by Telecom). I have a small huawei 3G device, it's GNU/Linux and Mac OS friendly, and I only pay $31 (31 US Dollars) a month for unlimited access. It works almost everywhere. I travel a lot, and I even get signal on small towns, and even on the road (I have signal over the 400 km from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata). Speeds vary, but it's more than usabe (On my last trip I downloaded a Linux kernel 2.6.30-rc5 at a constant 60 kb/s while going 140 km/h).
Also, the unlimited access is REALLY unlimited, I keep my torrents open 24 hours a day, on the go.
On the few spots I don't get 3G, it switches automatically to GPRS, which, while slower, is good enough for SSH access, and I don't pay a single extra cent for using it.
I have virtually forgot about 802.11
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
It is amusing that most people find it's acceptable to replace "Non Verizon GSM device with Wi-Fi capability" with "iPhone" ?
WMWifirouter works great, I got over 2mbps constant throughput with multiple laptops connecting over 1 cellphone (that's faster than the cheapest ADSL here). And an unlimited mobile data plan is less than 10 euro in the Netherlands! Only one problem though: the battery drains fast. Even when charging with USB the battery still slowly leaks to 0 and the temperature of the phone goes up. Good thing the program comes with some thermal-overload-shutdown before your phone explodes while you're browsing the internet on a hot summer day... ;-)
For Symbian phones there is also JoikuSpot b.t.w.
10. No need to use the crappy Verizon connection software on the laptop (or worse, Dell's bastard stepchild version)
Less Good / Room to Improve
As far as the VZ software goes, I learned from a board a long while ago that you can setup a dial up connection (dialing *777) through the WWAN modem, and it will connect over a standard DUN. Thankfully, I was able to do this and avoid installing the VZ/Smith Micro abomination they have.
The term wi-fi is a hijack of Hi-Fi. The Fi in Hi-Fi is meaningful, in Wi-Fi it's meaningless. It's just an attempt to steal recognition and to be cutesy. Calling it wireless is plenty informative. Have you seen the commercial for HD sunglasses? They go on and on about being "high definition" to borrow the name recognition of HDTV.
Off my lawn.
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
AFAIK, that only lets you use dial-up - I have a Verizon phone with no data plan, and on the few occasions I need to get to the network & have no WiFi access, I use it. I get 14.4kbps, so it's pretty painful, but it does work. Tethering to the 3G network is a whole different deal, and they're going to charge you for it.
The following picture was taken when the unit was sitting about 5 feet from my laptop. I'm using it as my uplink as I just moved into a new development with no neighbors to steal wifi from. Literally only 2 other (WPA2) networks are in range. Consequentially, this can't be blamed on interference:
http://twitpic.com/6jafg
Also funny, I had to reconnect twice while uploading that photo to twitpic earlier since the unit dropped my connection. The problem is intermittent and hurts all three devices connected to it, not just my crappy laptop.
tl;dr ... it's okay, but not near worth the money. Instead, buy a 3G card and a router that you can slot it into.
I'm the original poster of this question (about international coverage) and sure, there's info about the _phone_ coverage. But try getting them to say anything about the Mifi. I (I guess wrongly!) assumed that if a phone would work on the 3G network (nationally or internationally) so too would the Mifi. But it's not like that. Apparently. Verizon sure the f*ck doesn't seem to know. I am on about hour 378 of the "we respond to your email within 24 hours" wait.
Does anyone out there _with_ a Mifi live in, say, Tokyo? Visiting there? Anyone want to send me theirs so I can test it? I'm going to Tokyo next month and I would rush order one of these things if it meant I could skip my usual net-cafe fees, which can be up to 60 bucks per day or so in Tokyo, compared to the Mifi's $15. Price-wise, this is in my range. But if it turns into a brick the second I'm out of the country then it's not worth bothering with.