Enjoying the Benefits of the Newest 4G Mobile Hotspots
What exactly is a Mobile Hotspot ?
A mobile hotspot is simply a portable 3G or 4G cellular data modem that is coupled to a wireless Wi-Fi router, all of which are enclosed in a pocket sized, rechargeable battery powered, all-in-one device weighing just a few ounces.
Think of your home network’s Wi-Fi router and how easy it is to get online with all your devices. Now imagine being able take that router with you wherever you go – in the car, the train, the beach, the office…anywhere where you have cell reception for that matter. A mobile hotspot enables a single data access plan to be shared among five separate users or devices. One device, one monthly bill, works with every Wi-Fi enabled device, old or new…what’s not to love?
For the past few years, most of us have been using Wi-Fi hotspots in our home, workplace, coffee shops, and now more than ever outdoors to connect to the internet . You simply can't beat Wi-Fi for the ability to easily, quickly and securely hop on the internet while not having to be tethered down with a jumble of wires and complicated configurations, You’ve probably also grown to depend on the new 3G and 4G Networks on your smartphone, laptop, handheld gaming system, iPad or eBook reader.
A Mobile Hotspot brings the best of both into one pocket-sized device: The universal compatibility and ease-of-use of Wi-Fi with the massive coverage and availability of 3G and 4G wireless broadband networks. No configuration, no hassles, no wires, and (hopefully) no more separate wireless bills.
Family’s on as weekend road trip? No problem. Turn on the Mobile Hotspot....connect five devices to the web at once – Cell phones, Laptops, iPods, Nintendo DS, Kindle reader, iPad & iPod…any device made within the last 10 years that supports Wi-Fi connections can get online at blazing fast 4G speeds. Breathe new life into that old laptop with wicked fast 4G. That old “slow” laptop, isn’t going to seem so slow when downloading at 10 Mps while sitting in the park.
Talk about instant gratification…5 second song downloads, on demand streaming video in HD, FaceTime video chat over Wi-Fi (hint: your iPhone4 will think you’re on Wi-Fi, not 3G) , Netflix, Pandora and more…all great stuff, and now more than ever, everyone wants everything when they want it, and more importantly where they want it. Mobile Hotspots deliver on the “where” promise. Create your own personal secure cloud for your family and business associates. No wires to carry, nothing to plug in, and no technical skills needed.
What are some ways to use a Mobile Hotspot?
- Save money and time when traveling – No need to pay expensive, in-room hotel Wi-Fi access fees or waste time looking for free public Wi-Fi hotspots. Create your own personal, secure hotspot for all devices within a radius of up to 150 feet.
- The whole family can connect to the internet while traveling in the car. When my family travels for any trip more than 10 minutes, I can be sure to hear “Hey Dad, can you turn on the Hot Box” (that’s what my 8 year old daughter calls it) so she can watch Ren and Stimpy on Netflix with her iPod Touch, connecting to my Samsung SCH-LC11 mobile hotspot
- Study groups for students – enable five laptops to connect to your mobile hotspot. Great for setting up groups where campus Wi-Fi may not be available. Some mobile hotspots, like the MiFi 4082 support up to 32 GB of shared internal storage – super handy for sharing or collaborating on a group project.
- Business meetings and presentations at remote locations – stop worrying about internet availability on the road or in client locations. Stop having to use plug-in LAN cables. Owning you own personal hotspot also conveys a level of prestige and professionalism that your clients, customers and associates will notice.
- iPhone users tired of paying 100 bucks a month for “Only 3G” service? Get rid of your overpriced “bundled” iPhone service and use a mobile hotspot with a VOIP app like Skype instead. Save hundreds or dollars per year – PLUS you’ll have the fastest iPhone in the neighborhood running at 4G speeds., even an old iPhone2 will blow away any new iPhone 4 when connected to a 4G Mobile Hotspot.. iPhone 4 users will also love the ability to use FaceTime video chat over a mobile hotspot, something that cannot be done on 3G networks.
- A mobile hotspot is great for trade shows and conventions where you and your associates need fast, reliable internet connections – Conduct online sales demonstrations or merchant credit card authorizations away from he office. .Time spent looking for a reliable, secure and nearby Wi-Fi access point, could be time spend making money instead.
If you’ve come this far, chances are you think you might benefit from a mobile hotspot. Perhaps you might not be sure which device or data service is right for you? We’ve broken out the most important factors to consider, and highlight the core facts, benefits and shortfalls to watch out for.
First off, a 3G vs. 4G Mobile Hotspot?
As of 2011, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all have turned on their 4G networks in a large number of cities and regions. All four providers offer 4G mobile hotspots. 4G is on average 500% to 1000% faster than 3G for download speeds and other critical performance aspects, and all that extra bandwidth really helps when you have 5 users or couple of different devices connected to your mobile hotspot.
By default, we strongly recommend a 4G mobile hotspot. For thrilling mobile download speeds, there is no substitute for 4G. The new 4G mobile hotspots are “future-ready”, and offer the best investment at a reasonable upfront and monthly cost. While 4G networks offer many obvious benefits, 3G mobile hotspots are far from obsolete. You might want to take some of the following factors into consideration to determine if a 3G Mobile Hotspot might be a better value and
- There are many “No-Contract” 3G mobile hotspots offered at great prices with monthly rates about 50% less than 4G plans. If you’re not anticipating on lots of streaming video and music downloads or otherwise heavy internet use, and you can “live with” download speeds of about 700Kbps, a 3G Mobile Hotspot may be a great value and your best bet.
| - Which carriers (if any) offer 4G in your area? Are you a heavy traveler that will be typically using the hotspot in a lot of area outside of your home metro area? Will 4G service be available in at least half those places?
Click Here for 4G coverage maps: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile
- Upfront Purchase: Presently, there is basically only two ways to get a 4G mobile hotspot: Either signup for a 2 year data service contract (average $50 per month) in which you can buy the hotspot for as low as twenty bucks, or pay full list price (on average about $250) for a “no-contract” 4G mobile hotspot, where you will still pay the same (average) $50 per month, but will not be committed to a term contract.
- What kind of content do you typically access? If your web usage consists of everyday “web browsing”, Facebook updates, Email and online shopping, then a 3G mobile hotspot might be a good deal for you.
How much internet do you and your family or associates (who will connect to your mobile hotspot) use on an average month?
Gone are the days of unlimited 3G data usage (download and uploads). Nowadays, every mobile provider (except Sprint 4G) meters their monthly usage of service to a set limit. If you think you might need to download more than 5GB per month on a regular basis, be aware that every 3G provider places limits on bandwidth usage, usually between 1 and 5 GB per month. If you exceed the limit, additional fees will be charged. Sprint’s MiiFi 4082 is the only mobile hotspot to allow true UNLIMITED monthly usage over 4G (only 4G, not Sprint’s 3G network). To help estimate your data bandwidth needs, Verizon has a very useful mobile data usage calculator
Note: As of November 1, 2011 Sprint Has Canceled "Unlimited Data" for all Mobile Hotspots
Which data provider will offer the best service and value for your Mobile Hotspot?
- Assuming you are already a customer of either AT&T, Verizon, Sprint of T-Mobile, and you are happy with your service and support, it may make sense to have one single provider for ease of billing and support. Many carriers will also allow a mobile hotspot’s data plan to run concurrent to existing phone plans, meaning you can effectively have less than 2 years contract commitments, existing customers can also sometimes be “grandfathered” into data plans that allow more generous monthly limits it they already have accounts that are a few years old.
- If you are an existing phone customer who has inconsistent coverage in their day-to-day areas, a competing provider may be the best bet. For example, in my own situation, the AT&T 3G coverage for my iPhone4 is great where I live (Long Island), but terrible near my office (Jersey City, NJ). My Samsung SCH-LC11 with Verizon 4G LTE service solves my connection and call quality issues for my iPhone. So far, just about wherever I go, at least one of the providers is going to have strong service.
- Mobile phone users can use a mobile hotspot to break free of some of the caps and limits that providers have placed on their 3G service. For example, your all excited to buy that new app on the AppStore, but as soon as you press the “BUY” button. You see that message “This App is more than 20 MB, Please use a Wi-Fi network”. A Smartphone or tablet online through a mobile hotspot does not have these limitations.
What is the most important factor for you personally?
Fastest Download Speed?
If raw performance is the number one factor, the Samsung SCH-LC11 Mobile Hotspot on Verizon 4G LTE is our strong recommendation. With download speeds in the neighborhood of an incredible 12 Mbps, this mobile hotspot can handle the rigorous demands for today’s multimedia, immersive internet. Verizon’s 4G LTE is the most advanced 4G technology currently deployed – the Samsung 4G mobile hotspot is will take advantage of these ultra fast download and upload speeds in the majority of locations across North Americas.
Lowest Monthly 4G Data Service Costs?
The upfront cost of the Mobile Hotspot is practically inconsequential when compared to the total long-term cost of service over 2 years. For users who want 4G access and do not have tremendous download volumes, the T-Mobile ZTE MF61 offers a $30 per month plan that allows 200MB per month, or $40 per month for 2 GB (2000 MB). If you looking for the lowest monthly data rate for a 3G service, Virgin Mobile’s MiFi Broadband2Go is a tremendous value at only $20 per month for 500MB.
Monthly Data Usage Limits?
As of November 2011, no options exist for "Unlimited Data", at least as we can confidently recommend. T-Mobile does technically have "Unlimited Data", but we feel this term is a sham. For T-Mobile customers who breach their data cap (300 MB to 5 GB, depending on level of subscription), T-Mobile will reduce the speed of their customers connection by 90% to 98% (4G will be reduced to 2G). Mobilehotspot is not comfortable in promoting this less-than-honest marketing effort by T-Mobile.
Mobilehotspot.com apologizes for any confusion, but due to the Oct 21, 2011 announcement from Sprint that all mobile hotspot and mobile broadband data customers will NO LONGER have Unlimited Data available, the editors of MobileHotspot.com are no longer able to recommend ANY Sprint Based 3G or 4G data services, mobile hotspots, or data modems to its readers and visitors. Mobilehotspot.com feels it is necessary to stop promoting Sprint mobile hotspots due to recently reported poor network signal quality and SEVERE degradation to the Sprnit wireless infrastructure service levels since the introduction of the Sprint iPhone 4. As of November 2011, for a 5G data plan, Sprint will charge $310 per month ($60 Base + $250 overage) for 10 gigabytes of data, where as Verizon is priced at $100 ($50 base + $50 overage).
If your are the type of person who wants high speed downloads over a 4G network, but does not want to worry about how many gigabytes are downloaded and uploaded each month, there is only one answer: The Novatel MiFi 4082 on the Sprint 4G network. Sprint is totally unique in offering TRUE unlimited and constant full-speed 4G downloads. No monthly limits whatsoever while on the Sprint 4G network. This is a great choice for families, especially with kids who watch hours of online video and download songs. Image having to count how many times the toilet is flushed every month so you don’t get socked with a huge, unpredictable water bill? Sprint’s WiMax 4G service could be the answer to your quest for worry-free, super fast, truly unlimited 4G mobile broadband.
Signal Quality, Strength and Overall Nationwide Coverage for Data Service?
A mobile hotspot is only as good as the data provider’s service. The best technology means nothing if you can’t get a signal. As an overall base measure of 3G coverage across North America, Verizon and AT&T seem to have virtually spent just as much advertising their superiority over each other as they have on building out their broadband networks (or at least it seems that way). In researching this argument, and drawing conclusions from reviews in the Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and dozens of technology related blogs, we have concluded that Verizon clearly wins when it comes to nationwide coverage for calls. But mobile hotspots do not utilize the same frequencies and underlying technology as that of calls, but rather data service. Excluding 4G coverage, which generally has metro-by-metro areas of coverage, AT&T offers a more reliable and overall faster 3G data coverage on a nationwide basis. For those who frequently travel or do business in areas outside major metro areas, we recommend the MiFi 2372 from AT&T. This mobile hotspot will operate on AT&T 4G networks where available, but will also take advantage of the extremely dense 3G coverage offered by AT&T. If you are a business traveler who first and foremost needs the most complete signal availability at reasonable (3G) broadband speeds, condider the MiFi 2372,.
No Long Term Contract Commitment?
For those who cannot stand the idea of being practically married to their mobile hotspot’s provider for the next two years, MobileHotspot.com recommends the Broadband2Go MiFi Pre-Paid Mobile Hotspot from Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile has become one of the greatest success stories in mobile communications by adding value to the concept of No-Contract mobile broadband service. Virgin’s mobile hotspot is actually the Novatel MiFi 2200, the most time-tested and (arguably) most popular mobile hotspot in the world. Virgin Mobile also has the most flexible and overall lowest monthly data service plans we have seen. Ranging from just $10 per 10 day interval to $50 per month which offers 2.5 GB of 3G usage per month and UNLIMITED 2G usage per month. The Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go MiFi mobile hotspot uses the Sprint 3G nationwide 3G network.
Summary of MobileHotspot.com Editor Picks for Primary Needs:
Fastest, All-Out Raw Speed and Performance: Samsung SCH-LC11 on Verizon 4G LTE
Best Combination of Speed with Enhanced Device Features: Novatel MiFi 4510L for Verizon LTE
Lowest Monthly Costs Options for 4G: ZTE MF61 from T-Mobile
True Unlimited Monthly Data Usage over 4G: MiFi 4082 from SprintMobile hotspot.com no longer recommends any Sprint 4G mobile broadband data plans
due to the cancelation of "unlimited 4G data" as of November 1, 2011
Best for Nationwide Travel: MiFi 2372 from AT&T
