If the murky world of mobile broadband is causing your laptop to look a tad ugly or just isn’t working thanks to niggles with OS X Snow Leopard, then mobile hotspots are where it’s at. While 3′s MiFi is ace, the Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot also does the same thing with a SIM and Wi-Fi signal. So how does it measure up? Read our Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot review now and we’ll reveal all.
The Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot works just like its 3 rival, but has a dinkier look and works as well. Setting up couldn’t be easier. Just slap in the SIM (we used an O2 one) and fire it up. To get Wi-Fi working, all you need to do is choose the MiFi_2352 option in your connections manager, pick it and tap in the ISP address. Then it’s just a case of typing in your password.
From then on in, you can cruise around the web at speeds comparable to O2′s regular mobile broadband and faster than the somewhat shonky offering from 3. The Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot was no match for our home broadband though. Google searches could be snappier, especially considering we were using the fastest HSPA setting. But out and about its ace, freeing up a USB port for another stick or just for charging your blower.
It can be used as a conventional mobile broadband dongle as well, but doing that won’t let you share the Wi-Fi love as you can when it’s wireless. We hooked up with three other pals on the Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot and speeds stayed consistent. It’s ideal for a quick business meeting or just when all of you need to check your mails during a quick powwow break.
At £210 SIM free, the Novatel Wireless Intelligent Mobile Hotspot isn’t cheap and you’ll need to get a separate SIM deal for it to play nice. While it does look the part and is easy enough to use, we’d suggest going with the 3 MiFi if cost is your biggest concern.
