The Verizon MiFi 2200
Mobile internet access is important to me when I'm on the road. I've been using cellular data for years by tethering my phone to my laptop, but this year I was finally going to get an ExpressCard cellular modem – until Verizon took it to the next level with the MiFi.
The MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot is made by Novatel, but co-branded as a Verizon Wireless device. It's a cellular data “modem” that creates a WiFi hotspot you can use from any WiFi-enabled device, even several at a time. And it's small enough to fit in your pocket.
The device itself, which is about the size of a credit card but much thicker, has just one button. Press it to go. It uses a micro-USB jack for both power and to connect to a computer. It connects to Verizon's network via EV-DO, or the older 1xRTT data standard if EV-DO is unavailable, and then acts as a WiFi router for up to five devices at a time. Verizon claims four hours of battery life in active usage (and 40 hours of standby), but we'll see about that. The battery can be hot-swapped while the device is plugged into power (if you have an extra, which is not included), and you can use it beyond its battery life by keeping it plugged in. It will also, when tethered to a computer via USB, act as a regular cellular data modem, non-WiFi.
I received my MiFi today and immediately went about setting it up.
Background
If you travel, especially by car, you should be using Verizon Wireless. The only other provider worth considering is Sprint, which will let you data-roam onto Verizon. Don't even think about AT&T or T-Mobile; their coverage is a joke.
I've used Verizon's data service all over the country for years. I was using it when it was a 14.4k analog modem connection, then when it was 1xRTT (which seemed like a miracle at the time), and now with EV-DO. Right now, Verizon has EV-DO (so-called “3G data”) almost everywhere they have cellular coverage. It works in cities, in rural areas, in the desert, at the Grand Canyon, and so on. One notable place it doesn't work is most of Yellowstone National Park.
My current phone is a Motorola E-815, which is pretty old, but let's face it: Verizon's phone selection is pretty lame, and there just hasn't been anything interesting to replace it with. I've used this phone, tethered to my computer via Bluetooth, for mobile internet access for the past couple of years with great success, and other Motorola phones before it via USB.
Some reviewers don't give you a really good idea of how useful a device like this will be when traveling. Sometimes their idea of “wide coverage” is that it works in Manhattan and Queens. Sometimes they think like a business traveler who goes from one major city to another and just needs it to work in the hotel. (Some of these folks call themselves “road warriors,” which is sort of like the kid splashing around the pool comparing himself with Michael Phelps.) That's not me. In the coming months I will be using this device in some of the most rural areas of the country, and I will be reporting my experience.
One thing that gives me pause is that the device has no external antenna, nor any way to connect one. I always get phones with external antennas, and it does seem to help in fringe areas. A good 800Mhz antenna physically can't fit inside a small phone. We shall see how this works out.
Activation
Before you can actually use the MiFi you have to activate it with a one-time procedure that seems designed to be as frustrating as possible. You need only do this once for the device, after which it will work with any number of WiFi devices.
The activation process involves installing Verizon's connection management software on your computer. This software is also used, on Windows, when connecting to the internet in tethered (non-WiFi) mode, but of course it is not necessary to use any such software or drivers on a Mac. The instruction manual claims that you can also perform the one-time activation without installing any software on a Mac, but it doesn't reveal how, and though I tried, I was unable to figure it out. So I ended up installing the Verizon software, which is not merely an application – it installs all kinds of crap all over your computer, including kernel extensions. Thankfully, it has an “uninstall” feature you can use after doing the activation.
Once the software was installed and running, the activation was a process of one mysterious failure after another. I finally made it work using the following combination: (a) using an Administrator account, rather than my normal user account; (b) plugging the device directly into a USB port on the computer, rather than a hub; and (c) moving to another room in the house. I had to move to another room to get rid of the “could not connect” errors, despite the fact that, where I was sitting, my phone had a full signal, and despite the fact that after I got it activated, it connects just fine sitting right there.
Connection
As I said, you don't need Verizon's lame software for anything on the Mac after the initial activation, though you can use it if you want to. I don't see why you would. It's already gone from my computer. If you're stuck with Windows you will need to use it to connect in tethered mode (non-WiFi).
Basically, you turn on the device and it creates a WiFi hotspot. Printed on a sticker on the back of the device is the unique SSID and password you need to connect to it. You connect just like you would to any other hotspot, and presto, you're on the internet. That really is all there is to it.
If you'd like, you can connect to a web-based UI on the device that offers all the options of any regular WiFi router (default address is 192.168.1.1). You can change the SSID or password, turn off SSID broadcast, set up DHCP options, MAC address filtering, port forwarding, etc. It seems pretty complete. The default password for this is “admin,” which I had to dig through the PDF manual for.
Initial impression
I've had this thing for only a few hours as I write this, but I'm already excited by how cool it is. It should be much more useful than a data card in a laptop, for one big reason (aside from convenience): my iPod Touch now has mobile internet access.
Size comparison with iPod Touch
I don't have an iPhone because a phone on AT&T isn't very useful for a traveler. Instead, I have an iPod Touch, and I've been saying for a while that if they made an iPhone for Verizon, I'd buy one. That is no longer necessarily true. The MiFi, smaller than the iPod, gives my iPod mobile internet access just like an iPhone, but without AT&T. Verizon has made the iPhone irrelevant: just get an iPod Touch.
This is doubly important for me, because I write iPhone software. Being able to test away from home or another hotspot, without having to share off my laptop, is going to be nice. The device is smaller than the iPod, and just as easy to throw in a pocket.
From the computer, it just works, and seems to work exactly as well as using a phone. EV-DO speed is fine, so long as you don't expect it to be as fast as a home internet connection; by the numbers it sounds like it should be, but connection latency on cellular will ensure that it's not. I'm used to that, but it's worth noting.
Cost
Since you're reading this, you probably already know what it all costs, but in case you don't: the device itself is $100 with a two-year contract, or $270 with no contract at all. The data plan is $60/month, limited to 5GB per month of data. There is also a $40/month, 250MB plan; we'll call that the “idiot plan” and leave it at that. If you have no contract, you can also have no ongoing data plan at all, and just pay $15 per day for each day you actually use it – this one might be interesting to the occasional traveler.
Verizon's early termination fee to cancel a contract is $175, so unless you intend to use the day-by-day “plan”, there's no real point in not getting the contract. The price difference is almost exactly what you'll pay to cancel the contract early anyway.
Back in the day – up to a couple years ago – you could use Verizon's data service at will, with no data plan, with the connection counting against your normal voice minutes (meaning, unlimited nights and weekends). They let that go on for years, but once the unwashed masses began discovering cellular data, that was it, and they started requiring a data plan. In fact, if you tether from your phone, you now need the $60/month data plan and an extra $15/month thing to keep the connections from burning voice minutes. So it's actually cheaper now to use a dedicated device. Thanks, unwashed masses.
Long-Term Review
Having only had this for a few hours, I can't do a real, hands-on review yet. I will be using it heavily in the coming months, and I will report my findings right here, so stay tuned.
UPDATES:
Part 2: Experience On The Road
Part 3: Thwarting The Vegas WiFi Conspiracy
