MIFI = virgin mobile wifi hot spot

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/technology/personaltech/02pogue.html?8dpc


I'm tempted to cut the cord on my house phone. unlimited access and portable in your pocket size is tempting for 40 bucks a month.

Very Cool stuff.

My only question would be, will Virgin Mobile work at your house? Living in a rural area, its liable not to have any signal strength. Better check it out first, or do they have a 30 day guarantee with it?

My home dsl line is the same price, so I haven't really checked into the spec's yet.

oldelmer1 wrote:My only question would be, will Virgin Mobile work at your house? Living in a rural area, its liable not to have any signal strength. Better check it out first, or do they have a 30 day guarantee with it?

Virgin Mobile is part of Sprint. The Virgin MiFi uses the same 3G network that any Sprint phone does. All he has to do is have someone with a Sprint phone come over and check the 3G signal. The carriers have these maps, but nothing beats actually trying it out.

I'm using an Android Hero with Sprint. My phone is rooted and there is an app for Wifi Tether (requires root). The new EVO phone has tethering included. When I am out I connect wifi to my Hero for 3G networking connection. Sprint says internet is unlimited but I understand there is a real limit but if you don't exceed the limit every month you are ok.

bighornram wrote:I'm using an Android Hero with Sprint. My phone is rooted and there is an app for Wifi Tether (requires root). The new EVO phone has tethering included. When I am out I connect wifi to my Hero for 3G networking connection. Sprint says internet is unlimited but I understand there is a real limit but if you don't exceed the limit every month you are ok.

A few of the guys around the office picked up the EVO. Sprint and Verizon offer the WiFi tethering for an additional $30 a month!! But, again if you root the phone and use an app like you do, you can get around that. Same works on the Droid X and Droid 2 on Verizon and the Samsung EPIC 4G on Sprint. There are quite a few of us around the office that are cell phone junkies. Android is sweeping the office.

I have a Droid X and am looking into the tether. I can pay $20/mo for the official version or root it. Either way, it is a better option than the $60/mo I currently pay for a broadband modem. Not sure if it could replace my DSL at home; just have to try it.

scottz wrote:I have a Droid X and am looking into the tether. I can pay $20/mo for the official version or root it. Either way, it is a better option than the $60/mo I currently pay for a broadband modem. Not sure if it could replace my DSL at home; just have to try it.

Check out PDANet or EasyTether Lite in the market. If you tether via a USB cable, I don't think you will need root. As far as I know, root will be needed to use the X as a WiFi hotspot and avoid paying Verizon the extra $20. I think both of those apps are one time fee. I haven't had a need for them yet, but I'm sure at some point I will.

I have my X rooted using a very easy application. It's called EasyRoot. Google pulled it from the Market, but you can sideload it from the developer's, Unstable Apps, page. Google "EasyRoot" or "Unstable Apps" and you should find it right away.

I have good 3G signal at my house. I may test them tonight and let you know what speeds I see on my laptop.

scottz wrote:I have a Droid X and am looking into the tether. I can pay $20/mo for the official version or root it. Either way, it is a better option than the $60/mo I currently pay for a broadband modem. Not sure if it could replace my DSL at home; just have to try it.

Scott, I am currently using my DROID X as I type. Speed is almost as good as my 3 MEG DSL at home. Both DW and I ae on at the same time and no issues what so ever.

I would say you are right, it wont take the place your home DSL, but it sure works great when you are off camping like we are.

Good news is, Verizon is set to be turning on their LTE network in 30 major markets (NFL Cities) shortly. Should be faster than Sprint's 4G WIMAX network. So that may be another option, getting a mobile hotspot device from them with LTE capability. That could conceivably replace a DSL connection.