Kyocera KR1 EV-DO router reviewed

For a while, it looked like the lime-green Junxion Box had the instant access point market to itself. But it's got some competition from Kyocera and D-Link, which have come out with their own mobile routers. Like the Junxion Box, the D-Link DI-725 and Kyocera's KR1 let you roll your own WiFi hotspot via a PC EV-DO card. In fact, the DI-725 and KR1 look suspiciously alike; both were developed by D-Link, and the main difference appears to be that the DI-725 is being sold directly to consumers, while the KR1 is being sold through cellular carriers. Network Computing gave the KR1 a try, and found it to be an easy, reliable way to create a quick-and-dirty ad-hoc network. Setup proved to be simple and straightforward, though the reviewer found it difficult to gauge signal strength, as there's no external or software-based indicator. And while the EV-DO connection was fast enough for web browsing, the review cautioned against trying to use it for real-time applications like VoIP (of course, the same could be said for standalone EV-DO as well).