My new favorite and must-have gadget
This past weekend I flew up to Minneapolis to visit my sister. On the way there, I discovered my new favorite gadget, the Samsung SCH-LC11 4G Mobile Hotspot.
If you're not familiar with what this gadget is, let me explain. This device, which is about the size of a credit card and as thin as an iPhone is a 4G mobile hotspot.
What's a 4G mobile hotspot you ask? Well, it's like carrying around your own personal wireless (wi-fi) network. Yes, a lot of us already have a wireless network in our home but that's the problem. It only works in your home.
This baby creates a wireless network that works anywhere you can get a cellular signal (with Verizon Wireless for this particular device). In fact, that's the beauty of how it works. The 4G mobile hotspot communicates with the Internet via cellular towers. And your gadgets communicate with it via wi-fi.
How I used the device
To help illustrate it a bit further, let me tell you exactly how I used this device on my trip to Minnesota.
I arrived in the Indianapolis airport a bit early so I had some time to kill before my flight. So out came my new iPad 2. But I didn't get the iPad 2 with 3G service so I had to connect to a wi-fi network to do any kind of Internet-related activities.
Well, the Indianapolis airport has free wi-fi but it's not as free as you think. Yeah, it's free to connect but not free to use. So, as an alternative, I popped out my 4G mobile hotspot, pressed the power button and voila, instant wi-fi. My iPad connects to the 4G mobile hotspot, just like at home with my wireless network, and I'm in business.
Better yet, because of the 4G availability at the Indianapolis airport, the Chicago Midway airport (my layover) and the entire metro area of Minneapolis, I had screaming fast connection speeds on my iPad. Much faster than I ever could have with the iPad with built-in 3G—for the entire trip!
Final verdict
Portable wi-fi. Verizon reliability. 4G speed. The only downside is I had to give it back to Verizon when I was done testing it.
Daddy knows what he wants for Father's Day.
11 comments for this blog post so far...
May 10, 2011 at 8:08 am
Chris
Very curious about this. Can you tell me the cost of this, and do you have to sign up for a service plan with Verizon?
May 10, 2011 at 9:47 am
Dorothy
I’ve looked into the cost of several of these mobile hotspots and they are all very expensive! I didn’t get 3G in my iPad 2 so I’ve looked at options, but they aren’t really options because of price. Some have no contract which is great, but the cost is still prohibitive.
May 10, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Chris
That’s what I thought. I would prefer not to be tied into a service contract. Thanks for the response!
May 10, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Dorothy
Virgin Mobile is the only one (that I know of) that is without contract but that doesn’t mean the rules are simple and the cost isn’t high. They also throttle their unlimited service. I agree with the Sprint guy on TV on this---unlimited should mean just that---NO LIMITS.
May 13, 2011 at 7:53 am
Patric Welch
Dorothy beat me to my answer. Virgin Mobile has a 3G mobile hotspot that you can activate with a 10-day pass. You can also buy a month at a time whenever you need it. Only one problem. There hotspot is 3G. The device I mentioned in this blog post is 4G. HUGE difference!
May 13, 2011 at 7:57 am
Patric Welch
Chris - I don’t know the specifics on pricing for this device but similar devices with 3G cost around $150. Sometimes you can get them cheaper by agreeing to a 2-year contract. Data fees per month will probably set you back anywhere from $25/month to upwards of $60-70/month.
If I’m not mistaken I saw this device for $19.99 through the Amazon Wireless store. I’m guessing that this is a huge discount to get you locked in to the 2-year agreement.
July 08, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Maggie H.
Are you able to connect a smart tv to a mobile 4G hotspot? I am looking to upgrade my gadgets and currently use Clear internet via a mobile flash drive for access on my laptop. I’ve done a bit of research and know this can’t be as easily plugged into a smart tv directly (I’d rather have to keep my laptop connected and use an HDMi cable). I don’t want to get into some cable package w/ internet/tv and I use mostly netflix. If these hotspots allowed a smart tv to access, it seems to be the solution I’m looking for.
July 11, 2011 at 7:00 am
Patric Welch
Maggie, I guess it depends on whether or not the smart TV you are referring to has built-in wireless networking capability. The mobile 4G hotspot serves as an available wireless network so in theory, anything that can connect to a wireless network should work.
July 11, 2011 at 9:49 am
Dorothy
I just know that I made a big mistake by not getting my iPad 2 with 3G upfront. Wifi isn’t all that available and even if it is there and free sometimes logging on to it is an issue. After the fact solutions are way too expensive for me. All this leaves me pretty disappointed in my iPad. I do have media on it so I can use it out in the world but not having internet connection makes most features of the iPad useless.
July 11, 2011 at 10:26 am
Patric Welch
Dorothy - why not go with one of the mi-fi choices? Either way you’re paying a monthly fee and most of the devices will let more than one device connect to them.
July 11, 2011 at 10:43 am
Dorothy
I’ve done research on various options but the truth is none have been affordable. I don’t need the 3G all that often so I would like to pay for what I use---not pay for 100% and only use 5% especially when that 100% is costing a lot of money and that’s on top of the cost of the device. I need no-contract with minimum usage at a reasonable cost and no one seems to be doing that.
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