Review by IowaCowboy  - Location: Indian Orchard,Hampden,MA
- Cost: $50 per month (24 month contract)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Solid, fast, reliable."
Bad "Low bandwidth allowances"
Overall "4G is comparable to a cable modem"
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I had the new AT&T MiFi for a little under a month for $60 for 5GB of usage. The reason I switched to Verizon is due to the high cost of the AT&T DataConnect plans and their lack of options even though I've been loyal to AT&T for six years and counting. Cost is a big driver for me. I like to have mobile broadband, but I only need it occasionally. Verizon offered me a MiFi Novatel 2200 MiFi Free with a 2 year agreement and they were running a promotion of 3 GB for $35 per month, which is a much better deal than AT&T 5GB @ $60 per month. I don't use the computer outside the house more than a couple of times per week so the 3GB/$35 per month fit my lifestyle perfectly. I went to the Verizon Wireless store at Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, MA and the sale of the device took less than 15 minutes. I went home and the setup was straightforward and I was online in less than 10 minutes. I did have a minor glitch with it dropping connections when connecting via the USB cable to my MacBook Pro but the solution was just a reconfiguration of the Network Preferences in the Mac OS software and did not warrant a call to tech support. Connection speed is about average for a cellular connection. It is not as fast as my cable modem but is not as slow as dial up either. I would compare the speed to the average DSL connection. So the bottom line is that Verizon Wireless has mobile broadband plans to fit every need and lifestyle, although it is intended to supplement a wireline connection and not replace one.
Update 6/24/2011
I just got the Novatel MiFi 4510L and it works great. They let me get full discount upgrade pricing (even though I bought the 2200 6 months ago) because they are upgrading my area to 4G. It is 6/24/2011 and Verizon is not scheduled to run 4G in Western Massachusetts until 7/21/11. I am currently getting moderate signal and my connection is comparable to a cable modem. I am using it right now to post this review. I did try the Samsung, but I exchanged it for the MiFi 4510L under the advice of the Verizon salesman and I find the Novatel works better than the Samsung. The only issue is that I could not keep my $35/3GB plan and had to kick it up to the $50/5GB plan. I would drop my home internet (Comcast) and use the VZW MiFi as my primary internet connection in a heartbeat (considering the many problems I've had with Comcast) but the VZW plans go up to 10 GB and I use an average of 12 GB per month on my home connection (which would get costly with the MiFi and you cannot connect ethernet devices to it and you can only have a maximum of 5 devices online at once and I have 5 devices that are online 24 hours a day (2 TiVo boxes, Wii, PS3, Apple TV, HP Printer). I also have as many as 2 computers online at once also.
Update 12/22/2012
Since Verizon Wireless upgraded much of their footprint to LTE, the speeds are like having a cable modem on the go. The old 3G EVDO speeds are more DSL like. I use Verizon Wireless 4G to access the Internet with the built in cell radios in my iPad and iPad mini and using these devices on the go is no different than using fixed line broadband with the devices connected to my home network. Verizon can have issues with billing at times.
My current MiFi is the ZTE UML 890L and I think it performs slightly better than the Novate
4510L.
The reception in my area (Springfield, MA) is pretty good but it will sometimes kick down to 3G if you are in a large building or in a basement (such as the food court at Holyoke Mall). It also sometimes kicks down to to 3G if you're in a moving vehicle (such as a bus or train).
member for 2.9 years, 1365 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 286 days ago
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