Thinking about purchasing a portable wifi router? You might be wondering which one is best and is suitable for your needs. Everyone’s requirements are a little different but there are some obvious benefits it provides regardless of your reasons for wanting to buy one.
If you’re simply looking for the best one currently on offer, check out my Vodafone pocket wifi review (in video) or continue reading if you’re a little unsure about this type of device and how it functions and operates.
Let’s first get the obvious question out of the way. What is a portable wifi router? It’s a gadget that offers you your own private and secure hot spot which is portable. While these have been around for a few years now, they’ve been quite expensive to purchase and Australian companies were not offering anything other that USB devices up until late 2009 – early 2010. Think of a portable wifi device like a mobile phone combined with a router; in fact, that’s exactly what it is!
It works in a similar fashion to how you surf the Internet on your iPhone or Android mobile. That means it utilises the HSDPA protocol which is otherwise known as an enhanced 3G connection. This ensures the speed is not only fast but that the coverage is widespread across Australia.
You might be wondering why people would want to own such a device when there are so many free wireless hot spots available across Australia. There is a very good reason for this and it’s because public wifi is not secure. On one hand, it’s impossible to know who the owner of the network is and if the connection has been set up as a honey pot. A honey pot is a free wifi service set up for the public to use in order to capture their private information such as banking transactions, email passwords and just about any other information you would not want to make available to other people.
With more and more people using devices like the iPad and taking their laptops to the cafe to do their work, it’s no wonder they want to have their own private, secure network, which is exactly what a portable wifi router provides them with. If you check your email, use Facebook or even pay bills on a public wifi network, your information is at risk every time you use such services. You’re virtually setting up a broadcast of all your personal information. It might seem like they’re doing a public service by offering it for free but you can’t ascertain their real intentions, so why would you risk it?
Surely there are other reasons to purchase a portable wifi router than just increased security? Yep, you’re right! In fact, security is probably the last thing people are concerned about yet it should be the first; that’s why it’s mentioned in this article!
You might have seen those other USB wireless devices on the market which offer you portable Internet access but these gadgets have 2 flaws. The first is that the USB dongle must always be plugged into a computer, making it useless for mobile phones, iPads or any other device without a USB port.
The second reason is that the connection cannot be shared with anyone else, which makes getting together with friends for a coffee and brainstorm session difficult. It also cannot be used in a small office amongst other workers in case the fixed connection goes down and a backup is needed. It’s also worth mentioning the fact that USB devices are powered by your laptop battery which only drains the battery life of your computer, reducing the amount of time you can spend online.
If you’re looking to purchase a portable wifi router, I recommend the one offered by Vodafone. This offer has recently been upgraded to include the first month free AND they’ve doubled the data allowance. What’s even better is that all their plans are perfect for those on a budget. Check their online deals out by clicking here or watch my Vodafone pocket wifi review done in video format for further information.
Remember, if you have any questions not answered here, just send me an email and I’ll get back to you!