How would you change Novatel's MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router?

Firms like Cradlepoint have been dishing out generic portable hotspots for years now, but it wasn't until recently that US consumers had a carrier-branded option for creating their own WiFi zone via EV-DO. Novatel's shockingly diminutive MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router has officially arrived on both Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and while GSM followers have been unfortunately left out for the moment, we're still eager to hear how early CDMA adopters are faring. Are you pleased with the convenience factor here? Have you had any odd and unexpected connection issues? Are you kosher with that 5GB limit on monthly throughput? Let us know if you think this thing's worth its asking price, and if not, what would make it so. And... go!

[Ghatid @ Jun 27th 2009 3:34AM]

Having a 5gb limit seems too little.

Also, it would be nice if you could pay by usage instead of monthly since you might not use the device every day.

Lastly, in the review, (with the pretty girl) she said that after prolonged use, the Mifi drops the connection sometimes. This seems like a pretty big flaw.

[milleraw775 @ Jun 27th 2009 3:35AM]

5GB a month certianly isn't enough for me, would like to see it cheaper. Really cool that that technology is out though, how cool is it to carry around a router with broadband built it.

[jay jay @ Jun 27th 2009 3:35AM]

remove the 5gb limit, lower the price and add a screen the has battery info , connection strength and number of user connected easily displayed on it.

[Timb @ Jun 27th 2009 4:52AM]

Sounds like a bunch of features that would just reduce battery life. I think a simple click to view LED setup for battery life like on Mac batteries would suffice.

[Adam @ Jun 27th 2009 8:19AM]

Why not have the MiFi send battery info upon request to the laptop screen? The connection driver on the laptop could interact with the device for diagnostics. Definitely remove the 5GB cap though.

[joejepsen42 @ Jun 27th 2009 11:55AM]

If you just go to the admin page it shows you all of that

[GadgetGeek @ Jun 27th 2009 2:31PM]

Jay Jay nailed every point I would change.

[NinjaButterfly @ Jun 27th 2009 5:33PM]

just make that display with e-ink and you wont be killing your battery to display that info.

[dsteve303 @ Jun 27th 2009 3:37AM]

Make the Verizon look as cool as the Sprint one.

[Julien @ Jun 27th 2009 3:38AM]

How about using Joikuspot (www.joikushop.com) on a Symbian phone?
Turns your device in a Hotspot. No need to carry any additional device around and use same data plan as your phone.
One time fee to buy the app and you're done.

[David432111 @ Jun 27th 2009 3:55AM]

I'm using that app on my nokia 5800 right now! It's a pretty great app and the light version is free too.

[JoePalma @ Jun 27th 2009 9:09AM]

I use WMWifiRouter on my Samsun Omnia. It's pretty much the same app. (They even link to each other on their webpages.)

[cj @ Jun 27th 2009 3:38AM]

Give us more battery options. I'd love to have 3 or 4 times the battery capacity.

Provide more lights to indicate draining battery levels or weak signal.

[CrispyBalls @ Jun 27th 2009 3:49AM]

It seems like all carriers have the 5gb cap. I have yet to find a company with truly unlimited data.

While this would be great for me as an iPod Touch owner the cost is too rich for my blood. $40 is as high as I will go for 5gb monthly. I too would like to see a pay by usage or no contract option.

[YukonDawg @ Jun 27th 2009 9:23AM]

@CrispyBalls

I just signed up for Clear WiMax service here in Atlanta and get unlimited home internet *and* unlimited mobile for $55 a month for life. In addition to purchasing the home and usb modems, I picked up their ClearSpot box which let's me create a WiFi hotspot for up to 8 devices . This service will kill the cellcos once it goes nationwide imho.

[PoisonEye @ Jun 27th 2009 12:19PM]

@YukonDawg
Well, maybe it'll kill SOME cellular companies...
Sprint owns 51% (or is it 55%) of Clear.

[joshua @ Jun 27th 2009 3:48AM]

make it dispense a pleasant fragrance

[PhotoFre@k @ Jun 27th 2009 3:50AM]

By turning it around and let me see the front of the device?

[PhotoFre@k @ Jun 27th 2009 3:51AM]

Wait... I'm mistaken for some other cr@p.

[A.C.E.R. @ Jun 27th 2009 4:47AM]

It's true, I mistook you for some other crap.

[KHK Wong @ Jun 27th 2009 4:05AM]

Godsend. My wife teleworks and the MiFi offers redundancy for our cable modem (no adsl available where we live). She's on Sprint's $150/m Blackberry and mobile data plan. Picked it up the first one my sprint dealer had in stock, a day after they arrived. Can't use tethering on BB because company has locked out bluetooth as well as the ability to install apps or change configuration of the BB. Can't use usb modem because her laptop is locked down and can't install apps or drivers for any devices without administrator password. Connecting to a wifi network is allowed, and the MiFi just plain works. Sure battery life could be better (4 hours max) but for something this small, having that much time is incredible. Besides, the power connector is same as motorola V9m -- just get a USB charging cable and plug in external battery or USB battery pack with AA batteries. 5 IP limit for NAT may sound like a drag but really, do you need to share with more than 5 machines? I don't share my home broadband line with that many connections. If you need to, just use internet connection sharing (peer to peer) in Windows or whatever linux equivalent is. For her work purposes, I don't see her using much more than 400MB per week so 5GB is fine for her purposes. Bottom line is she can work anywhere, at the beach, in the car, or at a food court in a mall.

[KHK Wong @ Jun 27th 2009 4:24AM]

forgot to mention. Cost of the mifi was $149. Less than price of a cradlepoint phs300 (we did get a free USB 3G modem that is of no use to us, especially now). Also, mifi is way cleaner solution compared to schlepping around a phs300 with a USB 3G modem dangling from it (is that why they call it a dongle?). Plus, recall that the phs300 battery life is about half that of the mifi. Again, it would have been best to save the additional $50 per month that the mifi cost but that just isn't possible with her company's security protocols. If it were me, I'd have wmwifirouter running from an HTC touch pro 2 and carry one device.

[bri85246 @ Jun 27th 2009 4:18AM]

@ Verizon

Per MB Rate After Allowance

250MB Plan: 10¢
5GB Plan: 5¢

[Joseph @ Jun 27th 2009 9:08PM]

You realize that translates into
after you max out your allowance it's
5G: 15cents to dowload a song
250M: 30 cents, on top of all the other charges

Thats rediculouse!

[pika2000 @ Jun 27th 2009 4:43AM]

More battery life would be good.

As for the 5GB bandwidth cap, unfortunately unless we see real competition, we will only see more restrictive caps and TOS.

[CHRiS @ Jun 27th 2009 1:26PM]

more competition is one solution, no one buying it is another. So long as people keep paying $60 a month, and hardly using it (except for web browsing and email) the cellular telcos will just keep singing their crap terms of service. Don't buy it until they offer a plan for you that works.

[Bryan C @ Jun 27th 2009 4:52AM]

First off, I'd take it out of the tin can and fine some other high-quality material!

[theampersand @ Jun 27th 2009 5:38AM]

Uh... stop selling it, and enable internet tethering for people who have wi-fi enabled phones...

[FUCKtheFCC @ Jun 27th 2009 6:04AM]

Blame the FCC and the cellular lobbyists for that stupid cap.

[Yazz Atlas @ Jun 27th 2009 6:32AM]

I recently purchased earlier this month. There are a few issues I have discovered. The first it works with my Intel Mac but had to be initial activated using Windows. The current Verizon software doesn't work on then latest Intel Mac's. Plugging the USB into the Mac appears to switch off the WiFi and put it in a modem mode, which the Mac doesn't have a driver for. If your on a Windows PC that's fine you can connect to it as a modem with the Verizon software. So if your thinking of just using USB it is useless for Mac users right now. The unit does get hot. So you may not want to put it in your pocket while connected. Charging the unit you can't really every turn it off. So while its charging its slowly eating at your bandwidth limit I fear. The last complaint is the annoying bright green LED. Why put super bright LED's on a device most users want to get longer battery life from. Has not one LED but two, power and status/traffic. A small well placed piece of electrical tape solves the light issue. So far I've been happy with it but let me be honest its a backup device. If my iPhone would have tethered cleanly I would have never gotten the unit. Even a jailbroken iPhone didn't cut it because of VPN's and the need to access ssh not just web apps. I like the WiFi and it means I can connect more than just my Mac but the iPhone and even my Linux bases netbooks without 3rd party drivers.

[imac12 @ Jun 27th 2009 10:00AM]

I just activated 20 of them with a Mac... so not really sure what you're talking about. And OSX as a built in WWAN driver for it, so you dont even need the drivers once activated.

[Odineye @ Jun 28th 2009 9:47PM]

I gotta second iMac12 here. I have one of these and activated it quickly and easily with my MacBook. It accessed the Internet right away while hooked up to USB, and started generating a wifi signal that everything in the area that was wifi capable could see. No worries.

Perhaps you were doing it wrong?

[horonym @ Jun 29th 2009 10:37AM]

LEDs are not an issue, there is a setting in the configuration that you can turn them off. Unfortunately, it is all on or all off.

[spartadog @ Jun 27th 2009 6:44AM]

Still getting used to it. I bought this with a new Pre on that crazy Saturday morning. Upgraded to this after two years using a Novatel EX720 Expresscard. I use it for business only and I work out of my car everyday. At home I have regular cable broadband so it's not my primary connection. In two years I have never exceeded 5Gb/month. Most of my data is a lot of email with big attachments (CAD files), lots of web activity including using a SaaS provider to log and track all activities and projects in real time and I stream 192k internet radio whenever I'm on the move from location to location. I download software, updates, big files, some purchased music - normal stuff. I don't run torrents or any other bandwidth hungry programs. 5GB for $50/month is more than enough and a bargain if you're a road warrior and you need to get the job done.

In some ways it's more convenient for me. And being able to share my connection is cool. I've always had to break the connection during my frequent trips from the car to the worksite because the laptop wouldn't fit in the case with the card sticking out of the side. Now I just pop the MiFi in my shirt pocket (my nippy got toasty) and maintain all my connections Citrix, vpn, GoToMeeting, SFDC etc without having to reconnect and go through multiple logins.

I can only get half a day on a full charge. I never had to worry about battery life before so definitely not a step forward there. I do like that I can tether it via the USB cable and connect using SmartView so I don't have to worry about the battery dieing but doing that disables the Wifi radio? Why? I should be able to tether to keep the battery fresh while my clients use the connection via WiFi. Am I supposed to carry the AC adapter and go plug the thing into the wall so we can all use the connection simultaneously? That's dumb and needs to be fixed in a firmware update.

Sprint left the GPS enabled unlike the Verizon MiFi. The EVDO connection performance is identical to the EX720 - reliable and fast but prone to the same drop outs and drop backs to 1x at the usual coordinates. But in the large area I cover (3 counties) there are only about 6 or 7 of those. Amazingly, the Pre doesn't lose it's EVDO connection through those same problem areas so that's a mystery to me. The web interface which you have to use to configure or monitor the device wirelessly doesn't update as quickly as the SmartView tethering app which can be a real PITA when you're wondering if you lost the connection or had a drop back. There are a ton of options and settings you can play with in the interface but the menus don't behave nicely in Firefox. A few extra LED's (not so bright!) to show battery life and connection status would be helpful. The LED backlighting the Sprint logo is stupid, useless and an unnecessary battery drain. I dunno, maybe I'll return it and go back the the card.

[Noah @ Jun 27th 2009 6:46AM]

The tools that run Verizon, AT&T and Sprint need to realize that they won't be swaying major populations into subscribing to their data services until they remove the strings from their terms. Real business users such as myself NEED to transfer more than 5gb a month. And I will not be subscribing if you insist on imposing a 5gb limit on transfer. Your bandwidth is nearly free these days. Basically what you're saying is "we don't care if you need to do something critical that requires that you exceed 5gb in a month, we only care about raping our customers to increase our own bottom line." This has NOTHING to do with the costs of your infrastructure. You should be concerning yourself only with increasing the bottom line by adding subscribers. This is what makes you profitable, not nickel-and-diming your subscribers. Until you remove the limitations, I will continue to disregard your wireless services, and use land-based connections instead.

[meikaat @ Jun 27th 2009 12:11PM]

Comments like yours are completely off topic. This is for the device itself which is not made by the carriers. With that said, I don't see how you're using 5gb a month if you're not using the device as your main connection. If you're using a data card when you're sitting in your office or something, that's probably part of it. Maybe it's time to forgo the 300kb email signature and background you use on the 2000 emails you send a month. If you're doing anything like mass emailing or something like that, you might want to do that on another connection. Most business people don't come anywhere near 5gb. Maybe you should take a look at what you're doing on a data card, and stop treating it like it's an always on connection. Turn off auto updates for things like antivirus and windows updates while in the field. I really just don't see how you can exceed 5gb if you truly are just using it for business... unless your business involves high quality video.

[David @ Jun 27th 2009 6:54AM]

It needs a higher cap. I deal in large files and complicated building models. I'll often use up 5 GB within the space of a week. If they offered an unlimited plan for anything up to, say, $150 a month, both my fiance and I would've signed contracts the day they came out.

[Vermifuge @ Jun 27th 2009 6:56AM]

The 3+ hours i get is just not enough. Also the MiFi seems to drop connection a lot more then my old U727 ever did. The addition of an external antenna port would have really gone a long way to correct this. The 5GB limit has never been an issue for me. In a given month using the device for work i use from 1 - 3 GB.

Does any one agree that the power adapter is one of the cheapest POS they have ever used?

Needs:

• Extended Battery
• External Antenna
• Better WiFi Range
• Micro / Mini or standard SD cardslot

[Ducman69 @ Jun 27th 2009 7:26AM]

The main reason I didn't buy it is the price and the 5GB limit with a "look who dropped the soap" fee there to haunt you... and while rollover minutes are all the rage, apparently rollover megabytes is a scary and foreign concept.

Drop the price and set a "soft" limit of 5GB and I'll be happy... IOW, if I hit 5GB, don't charge me a cent more, just reduce the speed by 50%.

[blacksamlou @ Jun 27th 2009 1:40PM]

Is there a way that a European service provider get MiFi proposed to us ?

[Cheryl @ Jun 27th 2009 7:51AM]

Can I use this to create a wifi hotspot for my ipod touch?

Cheryl

[thomasdenhart @ Jun 27th 2009 8:11AM]

Yes Cheryl, you can, from what i've been reading. I've wanted to get one, but the verizon contract is too pricey for me. Especially not knowing if I can get the verizon signal around where I live. Get one at amazon, with the Verizon plan, you can get a mifi device with a contract for a penny.

Hope it works out for you.

[Ksilebo @ Jun 27th 2009 2:45PM]

I use it with my iPhone whenever AT&T's 3G coverage sucks. Its handy.

[calvin g @ Jun 27th 2009 8:11AM]

I am enjoying mine but having a mini LCD screen with a status would be useful.


Cal

[wpwise @ Jun 27th 2009 8:22AM]

I would like to see a battery indicator so I know know just how much juice is left.

I woudl also like a way to turn it off and on. For example, when charging the device turns on. If you aren't careful, your PC could connect and eat a nice chunk of that 5 GB of allotted data.

[Eric B @ Jun 27th 2009 8:38AM]

Customizable port forwarding. I can't do remote desktop or VNC. It only does 'common' ports like ftp, telnet, http.

[justpete @ Jun 27th 2009 9:39AM]

There're advanced menus for entering custom ports in both the filter and forward windows.

[Eric B @ Jun 27th 2009 9:42AM]

Nope, not on mine. I have the Sprint version, maybe that is possible on the Verizon version. I have the latest firmware also.

[justpete @ Jun 27th 2009 10:36AM]

That's strange, I've got the Sprint unit and it's detailed in the manual too although it's the one you have to download rather than the worthless one it comes with.

[GadgetGeek @ Jun 27th 2009 3:10PM]

So what's the verdict? I would only use this if I could use port forwarding for VNC...