Sierra Elevate 4G Mobile Hotspot for AT&T Reviewed
Testing the first "Dual 4G" Mobile Hotspot
The newest 4G mobile hotspot to enter the fast moving mobile broadband market is the Elevate, by Sierra Wireless, a company that has been successfully supplying mobile hotspots to the big mobile providers for a few years. The Elevate is available exclusively on AT&T for their 4G networks.
Surprisingly, AT&T was really late in releasing a 4G mobile hotspot. The Elevate became available to consumers in the beginning of September, 2011. Prior to the Elevate, AT&T was mainly pushing the 3G MiFi 2372. The MiFi was causing a lot of confusion, with some customers thinking they were getting a 4G hotspot. This is probably because the MiFi 2372 uses HPSA , not HSPA+ (the “+” indicating 4G).
With the Elevate, there is no question that the hotspot is 4G. The Elevate is actually the first 4G mobile hotspot to use “Dual 4G”, meaning it supports the older AT&T 4G network (HSPA+), but also supports the new LTE 4G that AT&T is in the process of rolling out nationwide. This is the first time we’ve seen a hotspot whose main 4G focus, the fact that it supports 4G LTE, is not really available yet across America. The good news is this: While HSPA+ is not nearly as fast as LTE, AT&T’s HSPA+ is the most widely available 4G network in the United States.So if you choose to invest in the Elevate, you can rest assured that you’ll likely have access to reasonably fast HSPA+ 4G while your waiting for AT&T to come to your city.
Sierra and AT&T probably were so late on delivering this hotspot to the market for good reason: They took the time needed and listened to what users really want in a mobile hotspot. This hotspot is the most “features loaded” we have ever seen. And these are real “wish list” type of features, like a real time data usage meter on the front panel and support for professional grade external antennas.
Features and Engineering
Looking at the Elevate in a photo seems to give the impression that the device is bigger than it actually is. In reality, the Elevate hotspot is about the same size as all other comparable hotspots, including the 4G MiFi and Samsung SCH-LC11. That's about the same size as a small stack of business cards. The outer dimensions are 2.2” x 2.8” by 0.7”. It weights in at just over 3 ½ ounces, a fraction heavier than the MiFi. The design of the Elevate is really thought out well, with a nice visual appeal and a super comfortable feeling in the hands or pocket.
On the front of the hotspot, you’ll find the power button, two external antenna ports, a standard Micro-USB port, and an audio switch, which allows you to adjust the volume of the audible alerts.The highlight of the device itself is the beautiful 1.77 inch LCD display panel. Every conceivable piece of related information is displayed in a very easy to read manner. Included is the SSID network ID, signal strength, battery charge, GPS signal, number of connected devices, and as mentioned earlier, the first of it’s kind: a real-time data usage meter that actually provides meaningful insight into how much data you have consumed, as well as how much you have remaining for the current billing cycle.
This feature will be a huge help for subscribers in managing the “pace” of their data usage, so they can avoid data overage fees. Like all other mobile hotspots, the setup and administration is done through the device's internal web server, which can be accessed at http://att.elevate. From the web based management screen, you can control all settings, including the Wi-Fi encryption mode, the SSID network ID, and GPS utilities.
The Elevate has several options that can help optimize battery use, such as allowing the user to set the idle time for the radio to shut down, as well as the ability to adjust the power output of the Wi-Fi radio in low/intermediate/high increments. If you know you will be using the Elevate only short distances from connected devices, the Wi-Fi radio can output only minimal power, perhaps adding as much as 30 minutes of additional maximum battery life.
The Elevate supports the newest Wireless “N” protocol, which offers the fastest transfer rates, as well as the most penetration of interior walls and objects. The Elevate is a breeze to setup. The unit is programmed to find AT&T’s 4G or 3G networks, and does so within 10 seconds. For each device you want to connect to the internet, browse for the Elevate’s SSID network name, and enter Wi-Fi password. Within about 8 to 10 seconds that device will be good to go.
The Elevate allows up to 5 devices to connect at once. From a powered off hotspot state to actually browsing the web on a mobile hotspot connected device, never took more than 30 seconds in total. The AT&T Elevate supports adding Micro-SD memory to the card slot located underneath the battery cover. This means you can add up to 32 GB of non-volatile storage, that can be accessed by connected devices like laptops.
The on-board memory is also accessible via connected USB cable. While this feature is not unique (the MiFi also has it), it’s nonetheless a nice bonus feature that comes in handy to store presentation files, device drivers, and other business documents that you might want to share with you connected colleagues.
AT&T 4G Data Plans for the Elevate Hospot
Much like Verizon, AT&T decided to offer a simple 4G data plan: $50 a month gets you 5GB. You pay $10 per GB, for all usage over 5GB. AT&T does not offer fractional billing for data overage, so your bill will always be rounded up to the next gigabyte. As for price, AT&T is pretty much in line with Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. The other carriers all offer 4G services at a rate of $50 to $60 per month.
It would have been nice to see AT&T offer some lower data usage tiers that might be more suited for users who never approach 5GB per month use, but all in all, 50 bucks for 5 gigs works out to a penny a megabyte…which in perspective is not too bad.
Interested in Purchsing the AT&T Elevate Mobile Hotspot? Click Here
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