First I'll discuss an option which I currently use, then I'll list some of the uses I have gotten from the service...
Free reliable national Internet service is offered by the company FreedomPop
You pay for the device, then are allotted 500MB of bandwidth per month at no cost. FreedomPop offers both home and MiFi hotspot devices starting around $40.00 dollars. National coverage is offered via FreedomPop's partnership with Sprint.
If you need more bandwidth per month, they offer various options which range from earning extra bandwidth by way of signing up to partner promotions such as Netflix, to trading data via social networking. You can also purchase more bandwidth by selecting any of their affordable monthly plans. They even offer rollover.
I was able to ditch my monthly iPhone service plan once it was out of contract. I now pay nothing for mobile phone usage. I transferred my cell number to Google Voice, installed an app called Talkatone and wireless connect my iPhone to my FreedomPop MiFi. I must say, it takes quite a bit of talking to use up those free monthly minutes.
Note: as an emergency backup, I purchased a $10.00 TracFone and spend about $20.00 every two to three months in prepaid minutes. Still a far cry from what I was paying for monthly mobile and Internet before the switch to FreedomPop.
Web Browsing: Works great, and depending on your location with a 4G connection.
GPS - Being a runner, I often use the GPS on my iPhone 4 and an excellent app called MapMyRun to track my runs. For my long runs (or during a half or full marathon), I often take along my FreedomPop MiFi so my wife and friends can see me run in real time on a map on their computer or via their mobile device. You don't need the Internet to use a mobile device as a GPS, but you do need the Internet if you expect an app to send data back across the Internet.
Note: I have used two different MiFi's offered by FreedomPop. The battery life on each exceeds 3 hours. You could literally place an iPhone with an app running such as MayMyRun and a FreedomPop MiFi in someones trunk, then track their travels and destinations for quite a while in real time.
Scenarios where this service would not be a good solution...
Streaming video - I tested by connecting three devices to one FreedomPop MiFi for an hour, one of which while streaming a movie from Netflix. The bandwidth depleted very quickly.
Data Downloads - I would not recommend using this solution within scenario where you would be doing a lot of downloading.
http://www.freedompop.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreedomPop
Free reliable national Internet service is offered by the company FreedomPop
You pay for the device, then are allotted 500MB of bandwidth per month at no cost. FreedomPop offers both home and MiFi hotspot devices starting around $40.00 dollars. National coverage is offered via FreedomPop's partnership with Sprint.
If you need more bandwidth per month, they offer various options which range from earning extra bandwidth by way of signing up to partner promotions such as Netflix, to trading data via social networking. You can also purchase more bandwidth by selecting any of their affordable monthly plans. They even offer rollover.
I was able to ditch my monthly iPhone service plan once it was out of contract. I now pay nothing for mobile phone usage. I transferred my cell number to Google Voice, installed an app called Talkatone and wireless connect my iPhone to my FreedomPop MiFi. I must say, it takes quite a bit of talking to use up those free monthly minutes.
Note: as an emergency backup, I purchased a $10.00 TracFone and spend about $20.00 every two to three months in prepaid minutes. Still a far cry from what I was paying for monthly mobile and Internet before the switch to FreedomPop.
Web Browsing: Works great, and depending on your location with a 4G connection.
GPS - Being a runner, I often use the GPS on my iPhone 4 and an excellent app called MapMyRun to track my runs. For my long runs (or during a half or full marathon), I often take along my FreedomPop MiFi so my wife and friends can see me run in real time on a map on their computer or via their mobile device. You don't need the Internet to use a mobile device as a GPS, but you do need the Internet if you expect an app to send data back across the Internet.
Note: I have used two different MiFi's offered by FreedomPop. The battery life on each exceeds 3 hours. You could literally place an iPhone with an app running such as MayMyRun and a FreedomPop MiFi in someones trunk, then track their travels and destinations for quite a while in real time.
Scenarios where this service would not be a good solution...
Streaming video - I tested by connecting three devices to one FreedomPop MiFi for an hour, one of which while streaming a movie from Netflix. The bandwidth depleted very quickly.
Data Downloads - I would not recommend using this solution within scenario where you would be doing a lot of downloading.
http://www.freedompop.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreedomPop
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ReplyDeleteGreetings Sir, exactly what does this post lack? I would have appreciated some feedback on how it could either have been better, more informative or any specifics where it did not meet your expectation (s). Thank you.
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