According to a popular broadband news site two wireless carriers will soon be offering Linux-based mobile hotspot devices from Novatel Wireless, with Sprint introducing the Linux-based device in June and Verizon Wireless offering the “MiFi 2200” to customers very soon.
The MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot is a low-cost, pocket sized device is a 3G/WiFi bridge/router that allows up to five users to connect and share the bandwidth of 3G HSPA networks, which was reported back in December. The fast set up of ad hoc workgroups in locations that have either no or little existing Internet infrastructure by mobile teams is the main intention for the device.
Novatel Wireless have advised that the MiFi 220 provides integrated internal Wi-Fi and CDMA antennas, measures 3.5 x 2.3 x 0.4 inches and weighs in at 2.05 ounces. A microSD slot that supports authentication and security technologies and memory cards up to 16GB, and GPS are also offered by the device say the company. When used by just one user it is claimed that a single charge of the MiFi 2200’s rechargeable battery provides 40 hours of standby time and as much as four hours of active use.
The offer of the MiFi 2352 version, which looks to be comparable to the MiFi 2200 devices that are aimed at the US market, was also announced in February by Telefonica Espana. A number of stories on the broadband news site say that Sprint and Verizon have now picked up on the new device.
The broadband news site has advised that, after a $50 mail-in rebate, both carriers will be offering the MiFi at a price of $100 with a customer agreement over two years. The monthly charges from Verizon Wireless will be $40 for a monthly allowance of 250MB with a per megabyte overage of 20 cents, or a monthly allowance of 5GB with a 5 cent per megabyte overage for $60. A “Simply Everything” plan from Sprint, however, will be offered at $150 per month and will combine the MiFi device connectivity with a phone service, and it will also offer a separate mobile-broadband-only plan at $60 a month.
In a quote from Steve Elfman, the president of network, wholesale and product at Sprint said “You can hold the MiFi 2200 in the palm of your hand, slip it in your pocket, even place it on a beach towel if you’re lying under the sun and wirelessly connect your laptop, MP3 player and gaming device to the Internet all at once.”