WebUser 01 May 2019

(Brent) #1
Weekend Project

Subscribe toWeb User atsubscribe.webuser.co.uk 1 - 14 May 2019 59

yourself in a part of thecountry with only
3Gcoverage(or worse),you canexpect
tohearcomplaints fromyour passengers
when videos freezeor pagesfail toload.


Use a dedicated mobile hotspot
If you don’twanttouseyour smartphone
tocreatea hotspot in the car,consider
buying and using a dedicated mobile
hotspot(sometimesreferredtoas MiFi
or MobileWi-Fi).This is essentiallya
small portablerouter that turns a 3G/4G
mobile dataconnection into a wireless
signal.You canconnect multiple devices
tothe network (the numbervaries, but
20 is typical) and because it’s portable,
you can use itathome, in the car, ona
train andatyour destination – just take it
whereveryou wanttogo.
A mobile hotspot provides a more
reliableconnection than whatyou get
from simplytethering a smartphone


contract)for 10GB of data. O2 offers the
Huawei Pocket Hotspot 4G 2017for
£20.38 a month(on a 24 -month
contract)for 15GB per month of data.
If you want aneven betterrouter, O2 also
offers thePocket Hotspot Pro Netgear M1
for £24.84 a month(on a 36-month
contract).You get 15GB of data with
download speeds of uptoone Gigabit-
per-second.
Plans from the different mobile
providers alltendtobe customisable,
so ifyou want a shortercontract or more
data, it’s easily arranged.The price will
change accordingly, ofcourse.
There are also donglesavailable
specificallyfor use in avehicle, which
plug into the 12V power socket.This
meansyou don’t needtoworry about
charging beforeyour journey and can use
it topower your mobile phoneatthe
same time. Although these arerarely

The 4GEEWiFi Mini letsyou connect upto 20 devices


EE no longer sells the Buzzard 2 directly,
but it’s still availableto buy online


The Pocket Hotspot Pro Netgear M1 delivers download
speedsof up to 1Gbps

Connectyour devicesto the GX450
as soon as the ignition is turned on

(especially whenconnecting multiple
devices), aswell as better battery life.
It also has the benefit of freeing upyour
phonefor whatever tasksyou might need
it for, such as taking and making calls.
All the major mobile network providers
offer devices thatyou can either buy
outright, along with a data-only SIM card,
or pick upfor free(or for a small upfront
cost) as part of acontract.You don’t
needtostick with the same provideryou
usefor your phone, sofeel freetoshop
around.
For an idea of the sort of priceyou can
expecttopay, EE’s 4GEEWiFi Mini
(bit.ly/e ewm4 74 ) isavailablefor no
upfrontcost, butyou pay £13 a month
(on a 24 -monthcontract)toget 5GB of
data per month, or £22 a monthfor 15GB
of data. Another option is the Huawei
E55 73 4G MobileWi-FiRouter, which
costs £25 a month(on an 18-month
Free download pdf