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Road testing 3's new MiFi

By Liam Green-Hughes, 18 September, 2009
Tags/Keywords
linux
ubuntu
mobile
last.fm
3
mtech
three.co.uk
3g
wifi
mobile broadband
mifi

This week I have been lucky enough to be one of the first people in the UK to have a play with a product that 3 are bringing out today (Friday 18th September): the MiFi. What on earth is a "MiFi" you might ask? It is a small device that combines a mobile broadband modem, a WiFi router and a battery. You can easily carry it around with you, and connecting to it is no more complicated than connecting to any other WiFi hotspot. Up to five devices can be connected to it, you won't need any extra drivers or configuration packages and yes it works on Ubuntu. You can also connect devices to it that can't use a mobile broadband dongle, like iPod Touches and Internet radio devices and locked down corporate laptops that you can't install software on to. I was invited to an event in London on Monday by the folk at 3MobileBuzz and got to find out about the device, as well as be loaned one to try it out.

The event was really interesting, we were given a presentation by David Kerrigan who is 3's Head of Internet Products and Services. He explained the thinking behind the device, and 3's mobile broadband ambitions with a chance to ask questions afterwards, an opportunity I used to ask about the experience of using the device for Linux users. The most common use of mobile broadband according to their research is a "constant checking culture", people checking for updates to Twitter, Facebook, new email messages and so on. A major use case for the device centres on the iPod Touch, which of course has WiFi connectivity but not any mobile broadband connectivity (unlike the iPhone, but to get one of those could involve an expensive contract), so this device can enable iPod Touch owners to connect their device to the Internet to browse the web and download new apps while out and about, and also at home without the need for an land line connection. He also said their target market is 16-24 year olds, which a bit of amusement in the room as there was nobody of that age group there! However, he did add that they sometimes get their target market wrong, but to be fair to him it is probably difficult to tell with a new product. They have some launch tariffs for the device too, but these might change as the market for the device develops. Currently these are £99 for a pay as you go option including 3GB of data of £69.99 for a one month rolling contract version. They do believe it will be a major product for them though.

The Mifi unit from 3I asked about the experience of using the device for Linux users, this is particularly an issue for mobile broadband products due the number of Linux netbooks that are now in circulation. Mobile broadband became popular at about the same time as netbooks, but a Linux user's mileage with these products will vary, it has come down to which distribution you run and which model of modem you have. From version 8.10 onwards Ubuntu has featured an updated Network Manager that supports many mobile broadband modems out of the box, but new models come out all the time so we have a situation where some work straightaway like the Huawei E169G, some work with some extra packages, like the ZTE MF627 and sadly there are some models that no one has yet figured how to get working yet. This is all a bit confusing for the consumer, and has generated a lot of activity on Linux-orientated blog and forums (as regular readers of this blog will know). Added to this is the problem that sometimes to get the modem working you initially need to be able to retrieve SMS messages from it, which is difficult under Linux and tends to require the Windows software supplied with the device.

I was assured that with this device you do not need to retrieve an SMS, you can run the account for the device entirely from their website, apparently the SMS usage in the past has been due to legacy systems and is being phased out. So for a Linux user this device should "just work", regardless of the distribution you are using, as long as you can connect over WiFi. So this is potentially really good news. If you get stuck they are training up a specialist support team for the product, but they will be second line support so you will have to talk to the people with the scripts first. The device can apparently be used as a dongle too, and has software on it for Windows and Mac (but not Linux sadly), through the USB connection, which is also used to charge it (a mains adapter is also supplied).

After the presentation we got a chance to use the device, I had brought along my trusty EEE PC and found that connecting it was very easy, I just selected the WiFi entry for the device and entered the WPA Personal key that was supplied on a bit of card with the device, then I was online, so that was a very good first impression! I tried out a few web pages which worked fine, so then tried some tougher tests by playing a YouTube movie and also trying out playing video podcats through Boxee. Both worked, so that was great too. The device supports the 801.11b and g WiFi standards which should be enough for most use cases. At the end of the event we were lent MiFi units to take away and try out for a few days to give us a chance to put them through their paces, this I did, trying it from various locations, but then thought it might fun to do a more extreme test.

I use streaming music services like last.fm and Spotify quite a lot now so I thought it might be interesting to try out something like this in my car, so I brought along the MiFi unit, got it connected to the Internet, then wired my EEE PC into the car stereo using one of those leads that goes from the headphone socket. I launched last.fm on the EEE, and in respect of the MiFi being aimed at 16-24 year olds entered "drum n bass" for the tag! Now it was time to test, and I went for a drive around Milton Keynes to see if the MiFi and 3 could provide me with music on the move. An important aspect of the test was that the MiFi should be able to reconnect automatically, in the UK it is illegal to be using non-handsfree mobile equipment while you are driving. I was quite surprised by the result, there were a few silent miles as you would expect, but the device did reconnect automatically and last.fm was able to keep streaming without needing to be restarted. So maybe we're not at the stage where music can be streamed from the Internet to a car, but the MiFi brings this a step closer. We were told at the presentation that 3's network should be much bigger next year so this test should work even better by then.

The MiFi generally works pretty well, the plus points are the fact that you can connect up to five devices to it, without the need to install drivers or resort to forums because you've been unlucky enough to buy a slightly obscure model of modem. It is also pretty small, slightly smaller, than a mobile phone, quite thin too so you could easily carry it in a pocket. The five hour battery life is pretty good and should match the battery life of many netbooks. It is also easy to connect to, and I like the fact that the connection is secured by default. A £25 limit is usually applied to accounts so you can't run up a huge bill too if you exceed your data allowance. It is fairly easy to get up and running, there are three buttons, one for power, a WiFi on/off button and a button to tell it to connect to the 3 network.

The status of the device is represented though five indicator lights on the front of the unit, these have icons, and a guide with the device tells youwhat all of these mean. To be honest I found this a little confusing, particularly as all of the light switch off after a couple of seconds to save power. It isn't always clear what is happening, particularly if you are in an area with a marginal signal. You also cannot tell the signal strength from it. It would be great if in later models these lights could be replaced with an LCD display like you get in mobile phones that could show more clearly the device's status.

Overall I think this is a device with a bright future and could be very useful not just as a device for when you are out and about, but also an alternative to fixed line broadband. I've got the device for a couple more days so I might be able to do some more testing with it. Thanks to 3MobileBuzz for organising a very enjoyable event and the loan of the MiFi, it's been fun!

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Anonymous (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Is it possible to insert a SIM Card from a 3 Dongle into the device?

  • Reply

Liam Green-Hughes

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by Anonymous (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Apparently it is, someone asked about that at the event. On the device itself it is pretty easy to get to the SIM card, it is just underneath the removable battery.

  • Reply

Tim (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by Anonymous (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

This is a belting little device.

Had a bit of an issue connecting through poor wifi software (its WPA TKIP and the wifi key is CASE SENSITIVE!) but other than that reached 2.2mb download and 1.5mb upload - note the upload.

This is in comparison to my previous Huawei E220 "soap on a rope" which never managed to feel that fast.

It's much snappier than the older modems, the transition between standby and HSDPA is almost instantaneous, and yes you can use the SIM card out of an existing dongle no problems (I bought the PAYG £99 option.)

5 * average test on www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk used to get figures above. In reality speed of a 5mg download from cnet.com dropped off to 150kb but that could easily be rate limited on their side. Will try it with microsoft.com later and see what I get.

  • Reply

Anonymous (not verified)

12 years 3 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by Anonymous (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

You can definitely put an existing 3 SIM into the Mifi. It was the first thing I did when I bought mine and it worked fine.

  • Reply

Liam Green-Hughes

12 years 3 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by Anonymous (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

I can confirm that, that is what I did with mine!

  • Reply

Allan Jones (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

I presume you can power the device from a mains adapter if you so choose? I can think of someone for whom this would be an ideal semi-permanent household fixture, positioned in the one place in the house where you can get a good 3 signal

  • Reply

Liam Green-Hughes

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by Allan Jones (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

It looks like you can so this will make mobile broadband an option for many more households that maybe have a signal that doesn't reach throughout the whole property. Maybe it would be good if a future version had an option for an external antenna to improve this further.

  • Reply

AJ Cann (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

I'm not sure driving around MK is the best way to test 3's network. I've not been over-impressed with 3 connectivity on trains and many other locations.
Having said that, the mi-fi is a very attractive prospect. I'm still confused about the pricing - is there a PAYG option?

  • Reply

Liam Green-Hughes

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by AJ Cann (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Yes there is, the £99.99 option is PAYG, but you also get 3GB of data that runs out in the first three months thrown in.

  • Reply

Allan Jones (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi by AJ Cann (not verified)

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

There is a PAYG option for the MiFi: £10/30 days.

Regarding 3 connectivity, in a mobile context things are not too hot for Three. Unlike other operators, it does not have its own 2G network. Instead it has an agreement with Orange to supply a 2G service. Like you, I've had bad experiences using a 3 connection in a train. Whereas other operators' dongles tend to switch over to 2G in the countryside, and back to 3G in urban areas, with 3 you just lose the connection once you're out of town, and my dongle, at any rate, doesn't reconnect automatically when you're back in a signal area.

I have been impressed in other respects with 3. On a number of occasions I've been away from home and found the only decent 3G signal came from 3.

  • Reply

Allan Jones (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

People with deep pockets can buy an 'unlocked' MiFi here and presumably use it with a SIM card from any operator's dongle

http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=183117

For my part, this looks to me more versatile, and cheaper, though not so dinky:
http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=8163

You plug the dongle straight in, so no need to fish out the SIM card from a dongle. Currently the main drawback is that it is vapourware! The manufacturer's site has nothing about it, and very few other sites list it. Its arrival has been imminent for months, so treat availability dates with scepticism!

  • Reply

Ted (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Hi

Does the router show up as an Infrastructure or Ad-Hoc network?

Many thanks

Ted

  • Reply

Sarah (not verified)

12 years 10 months ago

MiFi vs Access Gateway

This device makes an interesting contrast with the new Vodafone "Access Gateway". The MiFi takes a 3G signal to feed a router, the Access Gateway takes a router broadband feed and creates a localised 3G signal... Gets very confusing 8-)

  • Reply

Rachel (not verified)

12 years 9 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

I have been using a 3 dongle for about a year for university but have been let down with their coverage and their very poor customer service, now I've moved in with my boyfreind we have bigger internet needs, and I was thinking of taking out a bigger package, possibly on another network. This looks a really good option, but how do I know I'm not going to run into more problems and receive the same sort of customer service?

  • Reply

Jerome (not verified)

12 years 7 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

did you end up trying it on a Linux distro? Does wicd see it and connect ?
Jerome

  • Reply

Catalin (not verified)

12 years 4 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

They added now video streaming capabilities. I saw the CTIO demo, you can read more about this in my article here: http://www.thehdstandard.com/streaming-technology/mifi-adds-music-and-v…

Catalin
Professional Streaming Consultant

  • Reply

Anonymous (not verified)

11 years 9 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Is the 3 Mifi actually a Huawei mifi under the hood? The 3 model I think is cheaper? Which Huawei model? Would the 3 Mifi work with an iPad over wifi? Thanks.

  • Reply

mark (not verified)

11 years 5 months ago

Re: Road testing 3's new MiFi

Can you put a tablet sim into the mifi

  • Reply
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