We check out Verizon Wireless' new portable Wi-Fi hotspot, an unexpectedly cool device, in our Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 review.
Review summary of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200:
 |
|
Gallery » |
 The Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 is one of those rare devices that comes along and truly wows us. While we were impressed with its slick design and ease of use, it was the wireless performance that truly impressed us, and raw speed is the most important aspect of this cool little device. Surfing Verizon Wireless' 3G, EV-DO Rev. A network here in Dallas, we saw some of the fastest downloads we've experienced on a cellular network, all from a device that was slim enough to fit in a front pocket. We wish battery life were a little better, but otherwise the price is reasonable, the performance is unbeatable and the possibilities are diverse and often entertaining. Forget about USB modems and paying for Internet at Starbucks. The Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 on Verizon is the way to go. Release: May 2009. Price: $100.
Pros: Slim, sleek and portable. Super-fast Wi-Fi Internet access. Interesting pricing options.
Cons: Battery life was a bit short, we wish it could last all day. $60 per month plan might be prohibitive for consumers.
| Poor |
Mediocre |
Good |
85%
VERY GOOD |
Excellent |
|
|
|
Full Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Review:
|
The Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 is one of the more unique products in Verizon Wireless' profile, and arguably one of the coolest. The device is disarmingly simple, yet effective. It's a Wi-Fi router that gets its Internet access from a cellular modem. It's packaged in a slim, attractive shell with a battery pack, so its incredibly portable. Does that sound confusing? In a nutshell, if you can get Verizon Wireless data service, with the MiFi 2200, you have a portable Wi-Fi hotspot wherever you go.
I feel the need . . .
The best thing about the MiFi 2200 isn't the portability or design. It's the speed. In our tests, the device was very, very fast. It uses Verizon Wireless' EV-DO Rev. A network, an upgrade over the standard 3G service that Verizon Wireless has been offering for years. On these faster networks, we connected our laptop to the MiFi 2200 over Wi-Fi and saw download speeds approaching 2.6Mbps. That's the fastest download speeds we've ever seen on a U.S. network, whether over a cell phone or USB modem. Recently, we set an infoSync record using the Samsung Propel Pro as a tethered modem on AT&T's 3G HSDPA network. But the Propel Pro, with download speeds around 1.7Mbps, had its doors blown off by the far-superior Verizon Wireless MiFi 2200. Unequivocally, the MiFi 2200 is the best device we've tried for connecting a laptop to the Internet via cellular networks.
Of course, most of us don't sit around counting megabits, so just how fast is 2.6Mbps, exactly? Web pages loaded very quickly, though not quite as fast as they did when we used our normal Wi-Fi 802.11n connection with our cable modem. Videos on Hulu and YouTube were able to stream pretty much in real time. There was a bit more delay filling the initial buffer, but once videos started playing, they played smoothly without hiccups.
To really put the MiFi 2200 through its paces, we connected it to our Apple TV. You can connect up to 5 devices to the secure Wi-Fi connection on the MiFi 2200, and we tried a nice range of Wi-Fi enabled gear. Using the MiFi 2200, our Apple TV was able to download TV shows from the iTunes store, and in less than a minute we were watching an episode of The Daily Show we missed last week. High-def programming didn't work out as well. The MiFi took a few minutes to fill the buffer on the Apple TV, and even then had to stop the action while it loaded the immense video into memory.
What can you do with it?
One of the coolest aspects of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 is the range of possibilities for its use. We connected the MiFi to our laptop, our Apple TV, and a bunch of cellular phones we're testing in house. All connected quickly to the Wi-Fi network. To set up the MiFi for its initial run, we had to run VZ Access Manager, but Verizon Wireless wisely packed all the software we needed to run the Mac OS version in the MiFi device itself. We just plugged the MiFi into our laptop with the included microUSB cable, and the device popped up as an install disk. With other carriers, especially T-Mobile, ignoring Mac users, we were pleased with Verizon's support, and also with how smoothly the initial install went.
Our favorite uses for the MiFi 2200 tended toward the more ironic. First, we connected our Apple iPhone 3G. Performance over Wi-Fi was much better than it was over AT&T's standard 3G network. So, in essence, using the iPhone 3G over Verizon Wireless' network was a much faster experience. Ahh, Verizon Wireless, if only you had grabbed the iPhone when you had the chance, we might all be much happier now. We watched YouTube videos, downloaded tunes from the iTunes store and surfed the Web, and all of these were much faster with the MiFi.
Then we hooked up a Nokia Nseries phone and started making VoIP calls. Again, we were very pleased with the results. Over a fast connection, VoIP can sound even better than cellular networks, and this was definitely the case with our Nokia N85 running through the MiFi connection. We also tried uploading photos to Flickr and a few other upload tasks, and all of these worked nicely.
Finally, we gather up all the laptops we had lying around and connected them to the MiFi 2200. With 4 laptops going all at once, download speeds slowed significantly, but we still found Web browsing and Internet access to be quite usable. Speeds could crawl to a much-slower 600Kbps at times, but we often still topped 1Mbps, which is adequate for access on the go.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away
Verizon Wireless estimates about 4 hours of casual use between battery charges with the MiFi 2200. We actually managed a little more than 6 hours of casual use, mixed between laptop, streaming video and cell phone use. In our straight download tests, with 4 laptops running bittorrent clients downloading long-form podcasts (legally, we might add), battery life dipped closer to 3 hours, but our most extreme tests certainly don't qualify as "casual use."
It's too bad Verizon Wireless couldn't eke out a full day of usage, or at least 8 hours. The MiFi 2200 is very slim device. It easily fit in a sports jacket pocket or a jeans front pocket. For twice the juice and double the up time, we'd take a device that was twice as thick. The MiFi 2200 is much more stylish and cool looking that this device needs to be, and we're not complaining about style, but a little extra power could go a long way.
Better than free Wi-Fi with my coffee?
The Verizon Wireless MiFi 2200 isn't meant to replace the free Internet at your local coffee shop. In fact, the device might have a somewhat narrow, if appreciative audience. There are a few pricing options available. You can buy the device with a contract agreement for $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Then, Verizon Wireless is offering a choice of plans. Pay $40 for a 250MB/month cap, or $60 for 5GB. If you really need Wi-Fi access on the go, the $60 price isn't bad. That's the same price Verizon Wireless charges for a USB or PC Card modem plan, but the MiFi 2200 lets you connect a variety of devices instead of just one. If you'll only use the MiFi 2200 once in a while, Verizon also offers a daily pass. Pay full price for the device up front, $270 at launch, and you can then buy a 24-hour pass for $15. Considering most hotels and Internet cafes charge about $10 for a day-pass, and also tie to you to one location for Wi-Fi, and we think Verizon's pricing is competitive. We'd like it to be much lower, of course, but it's not unreasonable.
We tried a few interesting tests for the MiFi 2200's range, and found it to be pretty good, but not on par with our dedicated router. Admittedly, our router uses the wireless-n flavor of Wi-Fi, which offers superior range, but the MiFi was no slouch. We could get a solid signal from anywhere in our house with the portable device. In a daredevil stunt, we even tried using the MiFi between two moving cars. One had the MiFi and the other had our portable Wi-Fi devices. The MiFi could hold its connection to 3 or 4 car lengths while moving. It made for an interesting option on a caravan road trip.
Price and availability
The Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 is available now from Verizon Wireless for $100 after a mail in rebate with a contract agreement, or for $270 without a contract.
|
|
|
|
|
Archive