Thrifty Wi-Fi That Travels With You
By THOMAS J. FITZGERALD The New York Times June 2, 2010
Wi-Fi is everywhere.
Or so it seems until you really need it and there is no coffee house with a free hot spot. Or when you don't want to pay a fee to connect at the airport or a hotel for an hour.
Our pockets and bags are filling with Web-connected devices: laptops, smartphones, netbooks, tablets, e-readers and even cameras. But to connect one when Wi-Fi is not available means using a cellphone network, and that usually requires buying a new data plan for each device.
The cost-cutting solution might be to create your own Wi-Fi hot spot, a cloud of Internet connectivity for wherever you go. Not only can a personal hot spot provide a single point of access for all of your devices, it can be shared with friends.
The options are growing. You can buy a simple, slim unit that fits in a pocket or ones that can shift from 3G to speedier 4G networks. You can convert some cellphones into hot spots, while a few new phones now come with hot spots included. I tried several such options while traveling and in my daily routine to see what they offered.
The Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon Wireless ($29.99 with a two-year contract) or Sprint (free after $50 rebate and with a two-year contract), is a Wi-Fi hot spot small enough to slip into a shirt pocket. It is a mysterious-looking object with no screen and a single button.
It wirelessly connects to a 3G cellular network just like a phone, but it also broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal to the surrounding area. Devices within a 30-foot range can connect. I used the MiFi while traveling by car from Boston to New York. Having the coverage brought peace of mind when using Google Maps on my iPod Touch and my laptop to guide me around Brooklyn.
Still, 3G speeds can be slower than what is available at land-based hot spots. Back at home, downloading my daughter's favorite videos was faster on our home wireless network.
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