Novatel touts MiFi modem for mobile hot-spot capability

Novatel Wireless announced a new pocket-sized modem device Tuesday that's designed to let mobile users connect a variety of devices to wireless WAN.

The MiFi becomes, in essence, a moving Wi-Fi hot spot for users wanting to reach the Internet from a laptop or handheld device such as a camera or multimedia player that is not already equipped for cellular WAN connections, Novatel officials said.

The modem is about the width and length of a credit card, but thicker, and will be available through wireless carriers in the first half of 2009, said Rod Hadley, senior technical advisor for San Diego-based Novatel. Exact specifications were not available.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Novatel Wireless announced a new pocket-sized modem device Tuesday that's designed to let mobile users connect a variety of devices to wireless WAN.

The MiFi becomes, in essence, a moving Wi-Fi hot spot for users wanting to reach the Internet from a laptop or handheld device such as a camera or multimedia player that is not already equipped for cellular WAN connections, Novatel officials said.

The modem is about the width and length of a credit card, but thicker, and will be available through wireless carriers in the first half of 2009, said Rod Hadley, senior technical advisor for San Diego-based Novatel. Exact specifications were not available.

The price should be under $200, but could be even less, depending on carrier subsidies, Hadley said in an interview.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Media, said the MiFi modem has the potential to "change the whole way wireless works" by reducing costs for mobile workers and consumers. "By allowing any Wi-Fi capable device to be WAN enabled, this can potentially be a game-changing product in terms of how users get connected away from home," he said, calling the MiFi unique in the marketplace.

The MiFi can be used to make a high-speed connection to the Internet from anywhere there is a cellular connection, including inside a moving vehicle where multiple passengers require Internet access, according to a statement from Novatel.

Hadley said that an 802.11 b/g connection is required between the MiFi and the user's laptop or another device such as an Apple Inc. iTouch. The MiFi then reaches the Internet through HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) and EVDO networks. Novatel released a photo of the product, but didn't provide specifications. It said there will eventually be an entire family of MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspots.

The MiFi features a one-touch on-off switch, and will provide four hours of active use and 40 hours of standby time from its internal battery, Hadley said.

Carriers who adopt and market the device will be able to offer customers a landing page for Internet services, which can also be a window for the carrier to offer customized content and services, Hadley said. The MiFi can also host applications, he said.

No carriers have yet said they would market the product.

For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld. Story copyright Computerworld, Inc.