Novatel Wireless, a San-Diego based developer of wireless broadband access solutions, recently introduced a new mobile hotspot device, called MiFi, that enables users to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices (anything from notebooks, netbooks and cameras to gaming devices and portable media/MP3 players) using a single mobile broadband device. Similar in size to that of a business card, the MiFi automatically connects to the 3G network when turned on and relays data to the intended mobile device/s via a short-range Wi-Fi network.
MiFi is already available to Verizon customers for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement and monthly service plan, while Sprint announced plans to make it available to its customers beginning this week.
“You can hold the MiFi 2200 in the palm of your hand, slip it in your pocket, even place it on a beach towel if you’re lying under the sun and wirelessly connect your laptop, MP3 player and gaming device to the Internet all at once,” said Steve Elfman, president of network, wholesale and product at Sprint.
As Hiawatha Bray of The Globe, who reviewed the unit, reported, “Imagine the possibilities: A team of office workers, laptops blazing, can share documents and images during an off-site meeting. Or a family on a summer road trip could carry MiFi in the car, allowing each of them – except the driver, of course – to use a different Internet service while barreling down the Interstate.”
Imagine the possibilities, indeed!
More articles on Novatel’s MiFi can be found at The Boston Globe and The New York Times.